It’s your band for one song

Ernest A. Jasmin, for the Northwest Guardian

Rockaraoke night at Jazzbones isn’t your sissy karaoke night. With a live band and a gung ho following, it’s karaoke on ’roids! Another round of ‘Don’t Stop Believin’,’ anyone? Rockaraoke is to regular karaoke as the Incredible Hulk is to Mini Me. It’s bigger. It’s bolder. It’s rowdier.

Rockaraoke is both the name of the house band that headlines Jazzbones on Monday nights and the Sixth Avenue nightclub’s most popular theme night for a year running. The two come together once a week to give locals karaoke amplified, with the fun meter cranked way into the red.

While crickets are chirping at neighboring venues, it’s not unusual to see a line snaking down the pavement in front of Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., as patrons line up for cheap drink specials and the fleeting rush of rock stardom.

And for a few moments, many of them do become rock stars as they join spunky hostess Bria Macoy and a tight band that can switch from Pat Benatar to Earth Wind & Fire without skipping a beat.

Karaoke enthusiasts hop onstage for snarly, fist-pumping deliveries of Billy Idol hits and heel-snapping attempts at Michael Jackson.

(Eee-hee!) The house erupts in spontaneous bouts of pogo dancing for the Black Eyed Peas’ NBA anthem “Let’s Get It Started.”

And just to keep the mood funktastic (or maybe just to show off) the Rockaraoke band might throw in an impromptu mash-up of Red Hot Chili Peppers hits “Give It Away” and “Under the Bridge.” (And why don’t the actual Chili Peps try that one out?)

From faithful regulars to impressed newbies – singers to their friends whooping it up or shakin’ their moneymakers on the dance floor – the crowd savors every minute.

Hollie Day, 32, of Tacoma belted out 4 Non Blondes’ bombastic ’90s hit “What’s Up” for her debut Rockaraoke performance on a recent Monday night.

“It’s a totally different ballgame because you’re with a live band,” Day said. “I think it’s a lot harder than karaoke, ’cause it’s a live jam. I think anybody can get up and do karaoke, but you’ve really gotta pull it out to get up there with a live band.”

Adam Schubert, 21, of Tacoma also recently got hooked on karaoke with a band.

“The first time I did it, it was my brother’s birthday,” said Schubert. “We sang (Strokes hit) ‘Reptilia,’ me, my brother and his friend. And since then I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’m addicted.’ I’ve gotta keep doing it. I’ll be here every Monday. I love this place.”

Some people need a little coaxing. But they, too, seem to catch the Rockaraoke bug.

“My first time was last Monday,” said Shelly Gerdes, 29, of Lakewood, who sings with a local band called Oasis, which explained how well she nailed Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.”

“I did not get up and sing,” she said. “Believe it or not, I’m very shy. I get stomach sick before every gig. But I had so much fun watching everybody here. … So we decided to come back this week, and I’m bringin’ my mom back next week.”

There are plenty of hams in the crowd, like Christopher Foote, 22, of Renton, who showed off by singing “99 Luftballoons,” the German version of Nena’s ’80s hit “99 Red Balloons.”

“I think it’s way better than original karaoke,” Foote said, “’cause you’ve got the real guitar goin’ and you feel like you’re really onstage with a band instead of just (being) embarrassed up there all alone.”

If you haven’t guessed by now, Rockaraoke isn’t your typical karaoke night with drunken sorority girls singing shrieky, off-key versions of “Genie in a Bottle.” Many of the performers seem to have a little experience, whether they’ve played with bands or sung in church.

“Every place we play, there are always really, really interesting regulars,” said Rusty Urie, 32, of Seattle, who plays keyboards for the Rockaraoke band.

“It tends to draw people who are pretty hard-core karaoke people who do it a lot and kind of take it seriously. And this is kind of the next level for them, which is great.”

Not that anyone should let tone deafness stop them, he added. “It’s definitely not about talent. And often times the worse a singer is, the more entertaining they are. So people should definitely not be afraid to do it, because you can be entertaining without having to be good.”

And you can sing with Rockaraoke even if you don’t live in the South Sound. The band also performs Wednesdays at the Irish Emigrant, 5260 University Way N.E., Seattle, and Thursdays at the Oak Harbor Jazzbones, 930 S.E. Pioneer Way; 206-525-2955 for details on the Seattle shows, 360-279-2528 for Oak Harbor.

What: Rockaraoke night

When: 9 p.m. Mondays

Where: Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma

Admission: free

Info: Call 253-396-9169 or visit www.jazzbones.com. Rockaraoke tunes

Here are five songs that you’re bound to hear during Rockaraoke night at Jazzbones. So says bassist Peter Sams:

• Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”: “You’re always gonna get the Neil Diamond.”

• Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes”: “‘Bette Davis Eyes’ was really popular for a while, and then we didn’t play it for about six months. And now in the last month or two it’s been popular again.”

• Oasis’ “Wonderwall”: “Who knows why that’s popular?”

• Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman”: “Nobody else sings it. That’s my song. It’s just funny to see a bald guy do it.”

• And of course the most popular of all is – drum roll, please – Journey’s “Don’t Stop – Believin’”: “Don’t Stop” always gets called. Even if (hostess) Bria (Macoy) doesn’t do it, somebody will do it.”