Upstate Beat: Live Band Karaoke at Smiley's Acoustic Cafe - Greenville Journal

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Every Wednesday night at Smiley’s Acoustic Café in downtown Greenville, Upstate guitarist John Atkins walks a metaphorical tightrope onstage. He hosts Smiley’s weekly Live Band Karaoke night, taking the stage with bassist Chad Hughes, keyboardist Sam Kruer and either Troy Jones or Jason Owens on drums.

A variety of singers sign-up and hop onstage to sing with the band. But Smiley’s Live Band Karaoke works a little different from other places. Most bands have a list of songs that they’re able to play, and the singers have to select from the list. Atkins and the Smiley’s band don’t bother with a list.

“Anything we don’t know, we just jump on the Internet and learn in front of everybody and play.”  – John Atkins

That’s right, the band will attempt to learn your chosen song on the spot and perform it while you sing. And while this is a combo of experienced musicians, there are plenty of songs they just don’t know.

“Someone might come up and ask to sing a song that nobody’s ever heard,” Atkins says. “A song that we can find maybe one chart for it on the internet. Then we’ve got to listen to 30 seconds or maybe a minute of it on Spotify, and then go.”

If that sounds both risky and fun, you’re starting to get the idea.

“You’ve got to be able to perform under pressure,” Atkins says. “That’s challenge number one. Sometimes it’s just god-awful, and you can’t let your ego get in the way of the fact that you’re about to take a crap in front of a bar full of people. It is what it is. We’re trying, it’s all in good fun, sometimes it’s really awesome, sometimes it’s not, but we ask for applause and try to get on to the next song.”

Smiley’s Live Band Karaoke has been going on every Wednesday night for the last five years or so, and Atkins says he’s learned a few things along the way about how to make it work. For one thing, the band has the right to politely decline if they feel the song just won’t work.

“It’s the hardest gig I play every week and it’s also the most fun because I never know what I’m going to play.” – John Atkins

“Some nights it turns into a game of ‘Stump The Band’” Atkins says with a laugh. “We d0 reserve veto rights. Don’t call for (Queen’s) ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ We all know it but there’s 19 different pieces in it and it’s probably not going to go very well. Our advice to everybody is read the room, and it helps if we’ve actually heard the song before. It’s not a requirement, but if somebody in the band goes, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve heard that before,’ then that’s at least a start.”

If they wanted to, the band could create a song list of around 100 tunes, but Atkins says that the spontaneity is what makes Smiley’s Live Band Karaoke stand out. He’s also quick to praise his bandmates for coming through in uncertain circumstances.

“Chad, Jason and I have played in bands off and on for a long time so we’re a pretty tight trio,” he says, “and Sam and Troy are just monster musicians who are very adaptable. That’s the biggest thing for making live band karaoke work.”

And Atkins adds that the experience has made him a better musician, as well.

“It’s the hardest gig I play every week,” he says, “and it’s also the most fun because I never know what I’m going to play. So it’s definitely made me like 100% better as a musician. It’s definitely improved my chops. It’s not something that a lot of people can do, so it’s kind of a feather in the cap.”

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Upstate Beat: Live Band Karaoke at Smiley's Acoustic Cafe - Greenville Journal
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