austinoutsider.com

The two things I can’t really watch on TV are realty programming and car racing.  Not that I would not mind racing a car but watching cars go around and around in circles is just a little boring.   Crashes are exciting but watching a show waiting for a crash makes me feel just a tad evil.  Anyway enough of my personal opinions.  Formula one racing might be coming to Austin in 2012.  Austin is slated to hold F1 races from 2012 to 2021.  This will be the first time in F1 US history where a world-class facility and race track will be constructed for the sole purpose of racing.  Funding and sponsorships are still being decided due to the multi million price tag on this constructed.  The construction of the race track alone is estimated at $250 million.  If there are any Austinities into racing this should be pretty exciting.

Forget its supposed origins in Japan; Karaoke is the child of a conspiracy between small, boring towns and bars. Think about it: small towns stay lame intentionally so that being thrown up on stage in front of a bunch of people that probably hate you is not so bad considering your nightlife alternatives are a) getting lost in Walmart or b) going to Youth Group, and bars profit from your stage fright by selling liquid courage in a glass with salt and a little lime wedge, if you so request.

Although Austin is not a lame, small town, it does have a lot of bars, some of which have been infected by small-town-type karaoke. However, I believe I have found a mutation among our own Austin variety. It is Everette’s karaoke nights at Beerland on Mondays. Maybe it’s the venue, maybe it’s the crowd he attracts, maybe it’s the songs on the list… whatever it is, karaoke at Beerland is a wonderful thing, and I, among others, have been converted from bitter skeptic to karaoke obsessed addict.

There is an amazing energy at Everette’s. The crowd is mixed, but mostly 20-somethings. Everyone sings along, everyone dances. Waiting for your song doesn’t feel like waiting for your execution, waiting for your stage cue, waiting for your public speech; instead, it feels like everyone in the room is playing a game and now it’s finally your turn. There are compliments, smiles, people meeting people, people dancing with strangers.

Fortunately, Everette’s karaoke has multiplied, taking on new venues. In addition to the initial Monday night slot at Beerland, Everette is also at The Peacock (515 Perdernales) on Tuesdays and at Headhunters on Wednesdays.

Saturdays. People’s Pharmacy on N. Lamar. You must talk to Ricardo. On Saturdays Ricardo sits on the benches outside of the people’s pharmacy against a backdrop of tabloid paper sized ink drawings of famous sites all around Austin and other parts of the country. As people pass him to go into the store, he grumbles about people hating art under his breath. He is a stocky man, white hair, in his 60s, wearing an old T-shirt, unsmiling. From his appearance, I couldn’t tell he was selling art. I thought that the drawings taped all over the pharmacy’s windows were a part of some coloring contest for kids. I told him as much and he countered that everyone knows him and knows that he’s selling art, but people don’t care about art anymore. Sensing that art is a sore point for Ricardo, I let the subject go, but apparently I had not only broken ice, but floodgates of conversation. Ricardo is a genius quantum theorist, a genius string theorist; he studies voices in white noise and the history of Christianity. Mary, mother of God, hid in Southern France after her son’s death, and aliens probably won’t come back to Earth because humanity is too stupid. Really, if you want to engage in deep, philosophical coffee shop conversation, you must pay Ricardo a visit. And bring five bucks with you so you can buy one of his drawings. They really are quite good.