photo: man and woman acting out a movie scene

Nouveau Karaoke

When you were a kid, you wanted to be a rock star or a movie idol.

When lines are projected on a movie screen, hilarity ensues.

But then you realized being rich and famous and adored isn't all it's cracked up to be, and working in a cubicle is actually a lot more glamorous than being a celebrity.

Actually, wait, that's not quite what happened...

Anyway, just because you didn't grow up to be Tom Hanks or Aretha Franklin doesn't mean that you can't spend a minute or two every now and then seeing what it'd be like to be in their shoes.

Every Friday at midnight in Austin, TX, movie buffs flock to the Alamo Drafthouse Village movie theater/bar for a night of "Videoke". "Videoke" is basically the film cousin of karaoke - it involves getting up in front of a movie screen and speaking (and acting out) the lines as the film rolls. The lines from the film are projected on the bottom of the screen. Hilarity then ensues. "Videoke," sometimes referred to as "Movieoke," is also popular in New York and even Australia.

There are over 100 movie scenes to choose from. Dozens of people participate each night; some do their best to precisely pantomime the movie, while others ad-lib the whole thing.

"One guy does an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice no matter what the scene is," says Henri Mazza, who is the MC for the Alamo's "Videoke" nights."Even if the scene is from Forrest Gump!"

Rather be a rock star than a thespian? The UmixIt program allows music lovers to fiddle with actual songs - you can add a new bass line to an Aerosmith song or replace Billy Joel's vocals if you please.

But less sedentary types will love Chicago's updated version of traditional karaoke - Live Band Karaoke. Five nights a week, three bands (The Hootenanners, The Karaoke Dokies, and Liquid Courage) play at bars around the city, backing up anyone who wants to sing.

"Regular karaoke is just lame. It's the lamest of lame! But this just rocks!" says Bec Hunter, one of the agents for the bands. "The guys in the band will jump around with you and sing all of the backup and if you're confused, they'll totally help you out. You totally get to be a rock star."

Posted on January 30, 2006