29 posts tagged “2006”
You knew it would come to this.
Alas, our little trip down memory lane is coming to an end. Fear not! New memories will be made, new gauntlets will be thrown, new eardrums will be mangled, new patrons of the Rock-It Grill will be tormented.
In honor of The One and Only KttD Repeat Champion, who enters this year's competition trying to do what no one has done before-- win back to back-- (and as we've all heard, he really stinks up a stage), I give thee Hotrod basking in all his glory. And, by the way, completely forgetting to thank his coach and manager in his acceptance speech (which I actually didn't record).
And some final, parting words from Cappy, which, well, you'll just have to hear for yourself to believe.
And a special shout out to the Karaoke DJ at the Rock-It who provides us with what may be the funniest intro I've heard in some time.
You knew it would have to come to this. Frankly, there's not much for me to say here except the following.
- Listen all the way through.
- I am sorry for us all.
For the purposes of ID'ing the various interviewees, we hear first from the Champeen himself, one Hotrod. I wasn't around for KttDs 1-5, but I truly can't envision (or don't want to have to try) something that was more uncomfortable to witness than this performance. There were people in the Rock-It Grill who I truly think were close to kicking Hotrod's ass while he was on stage. I saw more menacing glares and grimaces there than I can recall ever seeing.
Mid-performance, I chat very briefly with a table of folks who were stationed near the speaker. I believe they may have been co-workers from the marine biology office where Hotrod worked.
Post-performance, I confer briefly with the man of the hour, then I check in with Doc Paradox, Mwaanga, and Dre who was quite flushed with excitement. Correction. It was in fact Emma Peel in there at the end.
In a previous post I stated that the other shoe would drop. Well, kinda. Despite all the gracious accolades pertaining to mt reporting skills, I was never quite able to ferret out just exactly WHAT happened that fateful February night in 2006 to the hallowed Lord Ramsey Cup. All we know is that it was in one piece when the night began, and broken at some point midway through.
I speak first with Doc Paradox, who is apoplectic at hearing the news of the fallen trophy. I turn then to Dabysan, who was entrusted with the Cup/plate, being the KttD V champion. In the background, we hear from a very suspicious Dre who asks a very important question-- and implies that foul play may have been, well, at play. Lastly I talk with Sarah Mehaffey, who clearly played some role in the tragedy-- but what??
We may never know.
It's really too bad Dabysan is off in the Bahamas this week, as I would have loved to have heard his reaction to this post in real time. I guess we all know where his priorities lay.
After listening to this clip a few times, I must say that I don't remember thinking it sounded this bad at the time. It sounds really, really bad, non? Then as now, I believed that while Daby's singing in and of itself is painful, no question, he seemed to be really yukking it up on stage. He seems to not only be comfortable in the limelight, but to crave it. I mean check out his avatar. He wants to be seen belting out a tune. This for some, myself included, is a bit of a black mark when casting votes. For others, not an issue.
As with all things KttD, flexibility is a critical ingredient to a prize-winning, blue-ribbon, State Fair champion-like performance. Assuming one can be prepared, completely, for any eventuality is sure to lead to downfall. Only those able to think on their feet in the haze of the competition, bar smoke, and withering scowls of the Rock-It Grill regular patrons have a chance to survive. 'Cause lemme tell ya bruthas and sistas, these are some really bad crooners.
In this installment, Hotrod and I discuss Emma's performance of Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go." Now to the untrained ear, it may seem as if I am being critical of Emma's performance. Au contraire. I actually voted for Emma as the top, worst performance right up until Hotrod killed us all with "Wild Boys." A lot of others went for Emma, too.
No, friends, my remarks are but high praise. "Piss poor" in this competition is like "amazing, fantastic" in any other singing competition.
But as Hotrod explains, sometimes in the heat of the competition, emotions take over. The pressure is, well, pressing. It compresses. It needs to escape. Maybe in the form of giggles. Who knows. Only Emma can say for sure. Nonetheless, her rendition of Wham's classic pop tune was awful. Almost good enough to win, but not quite.
But she's the odds-on favorite to win this year, so watch out.
So who out there is cringing in quiet solitude waiting for the other shoe to drop? Who out there has been so quiet, in fact, that there very silence is screaming out loud and clear as an admission of... SOMEthing. Must be something. Hmmmmmmmmmm... We shall see.
Not to worry. This isn't THAT post.
In honor of the many who've heard tell about the KttD, and found yourself mounting the stage at the Rock-It Grill for the first time to be part of making history, we salute you. What must it be like to know that you aren't a great singer, you're not a bad singer, you aren't necessarily even sure what the hell is going on? You just know that you are caught up in the frenzy of it all, and like a virgin, you want to be touched for the very first time.
You want... to be wanted. Sing it, Dan.
P.S. Dan is not, really, a poor singer. Not the level of poor required to win such a brutal competition. But being an average singer shouldn't stop you, nay, it shouldn't stop anyone from basking in a little bit o' the glory. And by the way, it's not only me singing along on this one-- Sarah was standing next to me like the Dan groupie that she is.
For reasons that I won't go into here, this post should actually be listened to ahead of Part 4. Alright, I'll just explain that I wanted Daby to be able to hear yesterday's post before he jets off to the Bahamas for a week of concentrated down time, gathering up his mental well-being and Vitamin K in preparation for a stiff challenge: taking the cup away from the man who took it away from him.
In the first of two audio clips in this episode, we actually get to hear one of the more lively performances of the competition, Hotrod's rendition of "Since U Been Gone" by Ms. Clarkson. I decided to include this file since HR, as we all know, was the KttD VI champion, though not with this song, and because I have audio of it. (I am nothing if not practical). I apologize in advance for singing along at the start of the song; it's a damn catchy tune and I am a known Kelly Clarkson fan. But apparently so too was the rest of the Rock-It Grill that night, because the crowd went wild, cheering, singing along, clapping-- enraptured with the performance, despite, as you will hear, it's incredibly off-key, sharp delivery. As all KttD vets well know, getting the crowd into your song can actually be the kiss of death.
In the second clip, Hotrod assesses his performance. I also get his take on the brewing scandal involving Cappy. Like any professional athlete or coach, he graciously gives Cappy the benefit of the doubt. Bear in mind this interview occurred prior to the moment where I was able to pull the tanking confession out of the Cap'n.
Enjoy.
Join me and Dabysan while we attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff. So to speak.
Oh, yeah, and then there's the CONFESSION of El Cap-e-tan. Just that li'l nugget.
Ok, okay, I know posting this in the morning on a workday is a bit of a low blow, but I was busy last night. All those marine mammals out there will just have to make it on their own today, because I know what Hotrod will be doing instead of his job.
In this installment in our little series, I am joined by a slightly rattled KttDV-defending-champ Dabysan, after Hotrod has finished his first performance of the night ("Since U Been Gone," of Kelly Clarkson fame). As Dabysan pointed out in a previous post, song selection is at least 50 percent of the competition. Well, if I'm your coach, song selection is probably more like 65% of the competition, but let's not haggle. You'd have to know Hotrod to fully understand why singing a then-wildly-popular pop number by the first American Idol is just fuckin' genius. Picture one of the most uncomfortable men on the planet standing as still as a post as far away from the video prompter as possible, with a white-knuckled grip on the mike, and the only part of his body moving through the entire song is his face contorting into pain as he belts out a righteous tune from a small, powerful young female pop icon.
Oh yeah, and singing it very, very poorly-- despite giving it his full, vocal-all. Throwing down the gauntlet, as it were.
Let's tune in as Dabysan talks the shit on Hotrod.
In this installment, we join Vanna and Hotrod at the DJ station at the Rock-It Grill at KttD 2006. We've just learned that yes, in fact, the song choices for the evening ARE available. Eureka! Or, as I say in the clip, "Awesome 'possum!" We are also joined by our buddy Dan, a KttD virgin, who is preparing to sign on the dotted line for his maiden voyage. It's a touching moment.
Aren't your palms getting sweaty just thinking about it??
Listen in.
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