the current

10 the currentNovember 2010Karaoke is a great stress-relieverby Dani PostBruno Mars hits the big time with ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans’by Timothy LongA vibrant 25-year-old Hawaiian nativeis stealing the hearts of women allaround the world with romantic lyrics,a sweet voice and his smooth attitude.Bruno Mars escalates to the forefront ofpop music as a solo artist with the releaseof his debut album “Doo-Wops &Hooligans.”Mars found the top of music chartsby collaborating with Travis McCoy in“Billionaire” and B.o.B. in “Nothin’ onYou.” He’s now decisively moved to hisown digs, but he still invites a few friendsto the share in the party that is his debutalbum. As hinted by the album title,Mars invites a new generation to explore1950s style doo-wop, reggae, and R&Bby introducing his version (every songNeed a change of pace, a break fromthe norm, want to shine like a star?Thursday nights at The Office Bar andGrill in Gladstone is the place to be.Kelli Hiatt tends bar by trade, and inher free time she loves sing her favoritecountry songs. On this October nightshe sang, “Walk” by Lorrie Morgan. Shegot up on stage like a pro and laid downthe lyrics as if they flowed through herveins. As Hiatt wrapped up the tune, thecrowd went wild, clapping and whoopingand hollering as if she were Morganherself. Hiatt said she has been singingsince she was a schoolgirl. In high schoolshe took number one in her state choirperformance. She has been singing karaokefor about four years now and findsThe Office her favorite place to perform.“Karaoke is a stress reliever and it’sjust fun,” Hiatt said.Cliff Stotler, another regular at karaokenight, also plays harmonica and iscurrently obtaining his M.A. in psychologyand his B.A. in juvenile justice atPark University.“I have been coming to karaoke herfor about two years now and love to getup on stage and throw down some oldschool Hip Hop,” he said. His favoritesong to sing is “Sabotage” by the BeastieBoys. Hip Hop, Hippity Hop Uh-HipHop Hippity Hop. Look out, Beasties,you may have some competition.Bo Anderson is the karaoke DJ forThe Office. He’s been singing karaokeis written in part by Bruno Mars) for allto hear.The first solo single, “Just the WayYou Are” is the peak of the album. Thesingle topped the charts by drawing inlisteners with heart-warming lyrics, pianobackground and bumping beat. Thetrack shows the amazing vocal rangeof Mars, which exceeds most male artist’sin the industry. Bruno Mars bringslovers together singing, “Her eyes, hereyes make the stars look like they’re notshining/ Her lips, her lips, I’d kiss themall day if she’d let me.” Filled with thesememorable lyrics, the timelessness of“Just The Way You Are” makes it a balladfor our generation, comparing to thelikes of Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars.”In “Grenade” Mars remarks that hewill go to the ends of the earth for thefor 20 years.“I enjoyed it so much I decided to becomethe Karaoke DJ,” he said. For thepast 17 years, Bo has been doing karaokeand DJ gigs all over Kansas City. Hewon $1,000 in a karaoke contest singing“Minnie the Moocher” in his early days.His all-time favorite song to sing is “Justa Gigolo.” Bo loves to sing and enjoysall extremes of music. He currently has88,000 songs on file and has sung 2 to 3thousand of them over the years. Bo alsodoes a charity event for the mentally disabledadults every 3 to 4 months.“I just love socializing, singing andhaving fun with the crowd,” he said.Kevin Montgomery is a graduateof MCC who earned his B.A. in music.With that in mind, he comes to The Of-one he loves. This track pulls off a MichaelJackson tone and attitude, andanyone who has fought and failed in arelationship will feel Mars’ heart andemotions throughout this song and tothe end of the album.“Our First Time” is an R&B/reggaecross that melts the hearts of lovers likeJ. Holiday’s “Bed.” “The Lazy Song” explainshow many of us feel when we haveworked ourselves to the bone and needa mental day off from the world. Marsdraws us into his story with an amazingvoice in a new type of style among today’sartists. “Marry You” proves BrunoMars is capable of taking a genre of musicthat many young people may thinkis antiquated and make it appealing bytaking doo-wop to the next level.“Talking to the Moon,” molded withfice on karaoke night for other reasons.Although Montgomery does not participatein the singing, he enjoys makingfun of his friends who try.“I have been watching Bo’s shows foreight years. I love Bo’s shows. This is theperfect place to socialize and hang outwith my friends,” Montgomery said.Everyone is nervous the first coupleof times they get up on stage, singers say.After a few songs go by, though, the environmentbecomes an extended family.Karaoke accepts all kinds of peopleand genres of music. It is a way to escapethe humdrum of day-to-day living andget out there and show off.The Office is at 6825 N. Oak Trafficway.piano and organ overtones, carries thevoice of Mars to another level, giving evidenceto his emotions. “Runaway Baby”carries a fast-paced catchy rap tone tokeep listeners moving. “Count on Me”suggests what it is like to be a friend ofBruno Mars, as a “Lean on Me”-typesong that should bring friends together.“Liquor Store Blues” featuring DamianMarley to “The Other Side” featuringCee Lo Green and B.o.B. each evokelisteners to try the other side of musicaway from mainstream for a bit and enjoy.“Doo-Wops & Hooligans” keeps uswanting more, as it takes a bold stepaway from mainstream pop.LIT FEST from 3novel, and the readers say “I appreciateAmerica so much more after reading thebook. Manivong also works at Fox 4 inthe Creative Service Department as Senior-Writer.The Literary Festival gets great supportfrom the campus and the community.With the diverse group of writersthat attend and the activities, anticipationfor next year’s event is higher thanever before.Satterfield attributed the success ofthe festival to major support from MCC-Longview President Fred Grogan. Shealso collaborated with creative writinginstructor Terri Lowry, Directorof Teaching and Learning SupportLinda Nelson, Humanities DivisionChair Diana Grahn, English instructorJan Rog, and Jill Ladas andMike Ekey of the marketing team.CHIEFS from 12divisional rivals the Oakland Raidersand the Denver Broncos. If theChiefs can continue to show thesame consistency on offense asthey have on defense—and with theirremaining opponents combined recordssitting a meager 31-39—Kansas Citycould be AFC West Champions for thecurrent@mcckc.edufirst time since 2003.