Karaoke Madness, 2009 edition

My living room at 4:45 a.m. on Sunday Feb. 8: Two party-goers are about to leave, one has stumbled down from the guest bedroom where she was napping, and eight are still singing into the microphones, voices shot.

I'm one of those eight people. At times my eyes drift off into a thousand-yard stare, but I'm still going. Miraculously. I'm 12-weeks pregnant at this time and haven't been able to stay up past 10 p.m. on most nights, but no one there except me and my husband know this little secret yet.

Everyone is singing along to Africa by Toto. Why? I don't know. I mean it's Toto. Sure, the theme of the party is Bad '70s Karaoke, but I'm pretty sure Toto isn't '70s. Oh well, I'm too tired to care. We all keep singing. It's what we've been doing for the past eight hours or so. We've forgotten how to stop.

5 a.m.: Two more people have left. We're down to seven total. Everyone quit drinking hours ago. Empty wine glasses and water bottles litter the room. The stereo is blaring American Pie, which is our official last song of the evening. We always end on American Pie.

Midway through the song, we see car lights on the street. Are the police issuing parking tickets? Not sure.

Near the end of the song, a big white light shines through the drapes of our front window, illuminating the room. Yep. I'm pretty sure that's the police.

I walk over and turn the volume way down. We finish singing. The police go away. They didn't even ring the doorbell. Turning down the volume must have been enough. I don't even think the neighbors called to complain. Must have been a routine patrol.


Post-party after 5 a.m.: The clean-up crew kicks into action. Recyclables are collected. Glassware is carried into the kitchen. Food is put away.

Three people head out to find $5 parking tickets on their cars. (Oh, those wacky suburbs and their middle-of-the-night, on-street parking laws!) The remainder of us stumble up to our respective beds and guest beds.

The party is declared a success.

So what is this karaoke madness?

It's a party we've thrown three years in a row now. We set up a computer with iTunes and use a shareware program called MiniLyrics that will scroll the song lyrics on the computer. We borrow a mixing board, microphones and speakers from our friend Rod, and go crazy with the singing. Really crazy.

Oh, the evening starts out orderly enough. The hosts and the brave guests start with some songs we've prepared. The more reserved quickly discover they can act as backup singers. By the time the night is through, just about everyone has ventured onto the stage in some way, shape or form. It's silliness. Some people choose to sing pure karaoke, most choose to sing along to the popular version of a song, two people have even brought instruments and truly serenaded the group.

Some people have a lot of fun because they love performing and watching the performances. Some people have fun because the atmosphere is an automatic ice-breaker -- you don't have to work hard to make conversation.

My favorite memories of the night? 

All the fun costumes people showed up wearing. Mark, Mike, Brian and Angie in some vintage thrift-store finds, Kelly and Gene in their love-child hippie ware, Michelle in her glittery hat, Jules in her Ring of Fire boots, JC in her Mary Tyler Moore outfit and updo, Hilly in his pirate shirt and wig, Dave in his cowboy hat and John Denver shirt. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.

There was the number where Dave kept putting different hats on Mario while he sang. It was totally spontaneous, and Mario kept soldiering through the song, being a good sport about the silliness.



Dave's outrage when Hilly's Superstitious performance was rated the best of the night (even though he'd won the title for the same song last year, and Superstitious didn't even fit the '70s theme.)

Mark pulling out his flute to play along to Jethro Tull (really late in the night).

The fact that just about every girl managed to talk Mark into singing a duet.

The dogs wanting to be underfoot all the time. Thor eventually finding a hiding spot under the DJ table so he could be near me.

The three 28-year-olds working so hard to pull us out of our 70s mellow-song rut and livening things up with some Baby Got Back and Fresh Prince.

Hilly and Paul dancing with anyone and everyone.

Jaye taking video from her comfy spot on the wing-back chair in the bar, scolding anyone who stepped in front of her.



Jaye and Mario trying to make Kyle jealous by posing for photos on the wing-back chair.

Dave talking wrong lyrics into my ear as I'm trying to sing You're My Best Friend.

That's what comes to mind in the five minutes I took to think it over. I'm sure I'm missing other fun moments. (If you were at the party, feel free to remind me of other moments in the blog comments.)

Need photographic and video evidence?

Check out the 176 photos and 20 videos we uploaded to Flickr. Evidence is collected from cameras belonging to Kelly, the Hillys, Mike and me (thanks Jules and eveyone else who picked up one of these cameras and snapped off some photos). Also thanks to Dave and Jaye for the video. 

What did we sing for all those many hours?

Here's the official list as transcribed from our notes.

Haley & Jaye, Yesterday's Once More (Carpenters)
Dave & Haley, Billy Don't Be a Hero (PaperLace)
Mark, Band on the Run (Paul McCartney & Wings)
Mike, Jackie Blue (Ozark Mountain Daredevils)
Kelly, I Feel the Earth Move (Carol King)
Tom, You Take My Breath Away (Rex Smith?)
Brian & Michelle, Whenever I Call You Friend (Loggins & Nicks)
Mario, You May Be Right (Billy Joel)
Jennifer, You're So Vain (Carly Simon)
Stacy, Coin-Operated Boy
Gene & Kelly, Don't Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John & Keiki Dee)
Mike, What's So 'Bout Peace, Love And Understanding (Elvis Costello)
Hilly & Paul, Wildfire (Mike Murphy)
Dave, Mandy (Barry Manilow)
Michelle, Get Right Back to Where We Started From (Maxine Nightengale)
Amber, Cecilia (Simon & Garfunkle)
Joanne, Beautiful (Christina Aigulara)
Jennifer & Mark, Summer Lovin' (John Travolta & Olivia Newton John)
Hilly, Rock With You (Michael Jackson)
Mario, Lola Live (The Kinks)
Mike & Kelly, Do That To Me One More Time (Captain & Tenille)
Amber, This is How we Do It (Montel Jordan)
Jennifer & Jaye, Delta Dawn (Helen Reddy)
Haley, Rock the Boat (The Hues Corporation)
Stan, Locomotion (Grand Funk)
Dave, Jaye, Mark & Haley, The Rose (Bette Midler)
Amber, Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes)
Gene, I Saw the Light (Todd Rundgren)
Rod & Tesha, You Dropped a Bomb on Me (The Gap Band)
Mark, After the Loving (Engleburt Humperdink)
Hilly, The Joker (Steve Miller Band)
Joanne, You Make Me Feel (Aretha Franklin)
Stacy, Bring Me Some Water (Melissa Ethridge)
Mike, It's Too Late (Carol King)
Kelly, You Are Everything (Stylistics)
Amber & Shannon (& April???), Fresh Prince Theme Song (Will Smith)
Mario, Me and Julio Down by the School Yard (Paul Simon)
Mark, Reminiscing (Little River Band)
Hilly & Mark, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing (Leo Sayer)
Tom, Vehicle (The Ides of March)
Gene, Moondance (Van Morrison)
Rod & Tesha & Angie, Baby Got Back (Sir Mixalot)
Hilly, Superstition (Stevie Wonder) -- reprise from last year
Mike, Brother Louis (Stories?)
Haley, I Am Woman (Helen Reddy)
Dave, Little Willy (Sweet)
Joanne & Mark, You Don't Bring Me Flowers (Neil Diamond & Barbra Streisand)
Mario, Hard Luck Woman (Kiss)
Angie & Tesha, Schoop (Salt N' Pepa)
Amber, I Wish (Skeelo)
Stacy, Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves (Cher)
Mark, Aqualung (Jethro Tull)
Haley, You're My Best Friend (Queen)
Mike, Brandy (Looking Glass)
Mario, Weekend in New England (Barry Manilow)
Stacy, Wig, Wham, Bam (Sweet)
Angie, Come Through My Window (Melissa Ethridge)
Haley & Mark, Top of the World (Carpenters)
Mike, Kung Fu Fighting (Karl Douglas)
Dave, Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver)'
Paul, Wichita Lineman (Glenn Campbell)'
Mario, Radio, Radio (Elvis Costello)
Amber, The Next to Be with You (Mr. Big)
Mark, Coming to America (Neil Diamond)
The Gay Pirate Duo (Dave & Hilly), I Want to Be Your Everything (Andy Gibb)
Joanne, If I Ain't Got You (Alicia Keys)
Mike, Laughter in the Rain (Neil Sadaka)
Mark, Carefree Highway (Gordon Lightfoot)
Stacy & Mark, The Impression that I Get (Might Boss Tones)
Mario, Everything I Own (Bread)
Mike, Sometimes When We Touch (Dan Hill)
Mark, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot)
Stacy, Only the Lonely (The Motels)
Dave & Chris, Escape (The Pina Colada Song), (Rupert Holmes)
Mario, Burning Love (Elvis Presley)
Mike, Highway to Hell (AC/DC)
Tom, I Can't Hold Back (Survivor)
Haley & Angie, 3 a.m. (Matchbox 20)
Angie, It's in His Kiss (Cher)
Stacy, Angel from Montgomery (Bonnie Wrait)
Mark (aka Panfir) on the flute, Bouree (Jehtro Tull)
GROUP SINGALONG
Afternoon Delight
Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac)
Renegade (Styx)
Stayin' Alive (Bee Gees)
Paradise by the Dashboard Lights (MeatLoaf)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
This Beat Goes On/Switchin to Glide (The Kings)
Fox on the Run
Don't Stop Believin'
Carry on Wayward Son (Kansas)
Beth (Kiss)
Turning Japanese
Africa (Toto)
I've Done Everything for You
Love is Alright Tonite
American Pie (Don McLean)

A bucket list meme

I found this on Aerten's Blah, Blah, Blah site a few weeks ago. It looked like fun, so I had to try it.

Things I've done in my life (in bold):

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Want to play along? Copy the list to your own blog (or email) and highlight the things you've done.

Life: Where no eardrums were damaged, I think

I'm a little late with this karaoke party rehash. I know that most have you have been biting your nails in anticipation. Sorry. :P

Overall, I'd call the night a success.

Here's a link to the photo evidence, and here's the short version of what happened:

We had about 25 guests.
Many dressed in '80s inspired clothing.
Party ended at 5 a.m.
The police were not called.
I played DJ until 3 a.m.
Between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., people requested and performed to at least 60+ songs.
We bought 25 songs on the fly through iTunes.
From 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. was the open-mic, all-sing, free-for-all.
From 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. you couldn't pull me away from the mic.
No, I was not drunk.
My husband and I were out of bed the next morning by 10 a.m.
The house was clean again by 1 p.m.

Here's the playlist as I logged it at the time. There are probably errors of omission and errors in song titles. This is exactly as I wrote it down. And it's a good thing I wrote it down, too, because there were a few times as I was typing this when I said to myself, Really? I sang that? Oh, yeah, I remember now!

Stars (***) denote an award-winning performance as determined by our panel of judges. Awards were for '80s songs performed before 11:30 p.m.

Erasure -- Dave and Kyle
Walk Like an Egyptian -- Haley and JC
Rock this Town -- Mark
Welcome to the Jungle -- Lara***
Just a Girl -- Ladyknyght
Love and Affection -- Tom
Superstitious -- Hilly
Like a Virgin -- Joanne
The Logical Song -- Haley
Tainted Love -- Mark and Kelly
Let's Go -- Kyle
Ballroom Blitz -- Lara
True -- Ladyknyght
Stop Draggin My Heart Around -- Mike and Kelly (aka M-elly) live
Every Rose Has Its Thorn -- Dave and Paul***
She's Out of My Life -- Tom
Just a Gigolo -- Hilly and Wook***
Stray Cat Strut -- Hilly, Mark, Mike, Paul and Mario
White Rabbit -- Lara
Careless Whisper -- Joanne
{Something I failed to log} -- Dave and Kelly
Devil Inside -- Ladyknyght
Jesse's Girl -- JC, Haley and Kelly
I Won't Back Down -- Hilly and Mike
Cracklin Rosie -- Mark
Green, Green Grass of Home -- Mark
Killing Me Softly -- Mike and Kelly (aka M-elly) live
Sharp-Dressed Man -- Hilly
Candy-O -- Paul
A Piece of My Heart -- Lara
Kiss Me Deadly -- Ladyknyght and Haley
Semi-Charmed Life -- Dave and April
Rock Me Tonight -- Kyle
Ring of Fire -- Eric
Alicia Keys If I Ain't Got -- Joanne
She's Like the Wind -- Tom
I've Had the Time of My Life -- Mark and Kelly
Purple Rain -- Hilly and Mark
Love Vigilante -- Mario
Bring Me Some Water -- Ladyknyght
Black Dog -- Lara
Verve Pipe Colorful -- Paul
Fun, Fun, Fun -- Haley and Paul
Brian Wilson -- Dave and Mario
Money for Nothing -- Mike
Leather and Lace -- Haley and Mike
Why Georgia -- Dave, April and Paul
Come Monday -- Mark
Coin-Operated Boy -- Ladyknyght
Can't Hardly Wait -- Mario
For What It's Worth -- Lara
Du Hast -- Mark
Landslide -- Haley
Like the Way I Do -- Ladyknyght
Overkill -- Dave
Coldplay Trouble -- Wook
Luck be a Lady Tonight -- Mark
Laid -- Mario
No Sugar Tonight -- Lara
Centerfield -- Mike and Hilly
Only the Lonely -- Ladyknyght
Bennie and the Jets -- Paul and Santos (with Mike and Hilly)

{Then the free-for-all, open-mic started}
Don't Stop Believing
3 a.m.
Bohemian Rhapsody
American Pie
Sympathy for the Devil
If I had a Million Dollars
Switchin to Glide
{log stops here...}

If you read my pre-party post last week, you'll know I was really nervous about my two duets.

Mike and I were supposed to sing Leather and Lace live with Mike playing the guitar, but, fortunately for me, he broke a string before we had a chance to perform, so we just sang along to the Stevie Nicks/Don Henley version. People said that if we'd sung it earlier in the night, we might have been up for an award.

Mark and I had talked about singing Suddenly together. I knew it was going to be a disaster for me because Olivia Newton-John's part is too high for me. When I asked Mark about it at the party, he said the male vocal was a little challenging for him, too, and he hadn't practiced much. We were going to let it slide, but then some time around 3-4 a.m. we decided, What the heck!, and sang it anyway. At that hour of the morning, it didn't matter how atrocious my singing was.

Oh, yeah, in case you're wondering why we quit at 5 a.m.? One of our friends suddenly remembered that her alarm clock was set for 6 a.m. and she wanted to make sure she was home to turn it off before it woke up her son. Their departure turned into the signal to shut everything down. Otherwise, who knows when we might have stopped...

Life: The karaoke train-wreck to come

Two years ago I did something I never thought I'd have the courage to do, I got up in a bar and sang a karaoke song solo. And I didn't suck.

People who know me in real life were shocked that I got up and sang. I have a well-deserved reputation as being the quiet/shy/reserved person in the group. In fact, shortly after Marriott first met me, she expressed concern that I was being left out of conversations because I wasn't talking much.

"Really?" I said. "I don't feel left out. I'm participating in my head."

And it was true, I had all sorts of comebacks and comments swirling in my head, but I don't always like to compete to be heard. Plus, sometimes, truthfully, all I'm doing is listening and there's not much else going on at a conscious level. Just processing. (Sounds a little vegetative, I know, but sometimes I just don't have anything to say.)

One thing that I have been vocal about with friends, though, is a fear of public speaking. It's kind of a nuisance, actually, because I'd like to be able to present workshops and the like some day, so every once in a while I do something totally scary just to shake things up. Like taking an acting class, or allowing myself to be brought up on stage, or singing karaoke.

Yes, back to the karaoke.

A few weeks after that first karaoke experience with our friends, we were having a party at our house. At some point, our friend Mike brought out his guitar along with an amp and microphone, and Dave brought out the iPod, and the evening turned into an impromptu sing-along night.

We had so much fun that two months later we planned an official karaoke party. Our friend Rod brought over his mixing board and speakers, we had two microphones, we set up the computer to play iTunes along with a scrolling lyric program called MiniLyrics. There was a lot of good and bad singing, and everyone seemed to have a blast.

A year ago February, we did it again, and all I can say that at 3 a.m., when most people had gone home, I was at the microphone attempting some Fleetwood Mac while Rod disassembled the set-up. And I was 100 percent sober.

Truthfully, I don't have much of a voice, but evidently I enjoy singing. (The church youth choir and the middle school swing choir didn't develop my voice so much as make me acutely aware of when I am flat, which is often.)

Which brings us to today. Less than 48 hours to go until our next karaoke party. Same setup as previous parties, but this year with a theme -- Awesome '80s. Instead of repeating songs from previous parties, we're encouraging everyone to try new material (that was Hilly's idea -- thanks Hilly. I think.)

Unfortunately, I didn't start thinking about what songs I want to sing and practicing until this week. And here is where a few problems come into play.

No. 1 -- I like to sing along to songs by male vocalists, and sometimes that comes across as strange. Past efforts on my part have been Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen, Here it Goes Again by OK Go, Mona Lisa by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger, and Love You Madly by Cake. See, all those have been male. Sure, there was the Bree Sharp song, but that falls under problem No. 2 below.

No. 2 -- Some of my favorite songs are more obscure. Did you see the list above? Not many crowd-pleasers in that group. Someday I might have the right crowd for Metallica's version of Astronomy, but I'm pretty sure that only my car upholstery will ever get to hear me sing that. Way too long and niche.

No. 3 -- My favorite bands in the 80s were Rush, Pink Floyd, Guns N'Roses, Rush (again), Yes, Queen, Rush (again) -- you get the idea. Not necessarily the easy-to-sing, karaoke crowd-pleasing favorites, especially when sung by someone of the wrong gender. :)

So what am I preparing and practicing?

I tried to go for a fun song, so I'm working on Walk Like an Egyptian, which might come out OK. And my rendition of The Logical Song isn't so bad (yeah, it came out in 1979, so sue me). And just this morning, my husband talked me into doing Fun, Fun, Fun as a prelude to his Brian Wilson (both not '80s, but that's fine).

Then why do I say that karaoke is going to be a train-wreck?

Two reasons: Leather and Lace and Suddenly.

Leather and Lace is a Stevie Nicks song that I told Mike I would sing with him as a duet. No real recording backing us, though. Nope. Mike's playing his guitar. It's all us. Gulp. Let's just say this song is challenging for me. But that's not even the real train wreck.

The real train wreck waiting to happen is Suddenly. I was dying to sing with Mark (who has a to-die-for Neil Diamond voice) and for some reason agreed to do Suddenly with him. But I am definitely no Olivia Newton-John. It's way out of my vocal range and so far my practice sessions in the car have produced voice-cracking abominations that not even my upholstery appreciates being exposed to. Ugh. I definitely need to call Mark and bag on this -- or drink a lot at the party.

OK, so 48 hours of practice to go. Pray for me. :P

I'll let you know how the party turns out, and whether I bagged on Suddenly. In the mean time, in writing this post, I discovered Last.fm. I made a handy-dandy widget of the songs I've been talking about, plus a few extras that might show up in a sing-along/karaoke post in the future.

Karaoke madness Part 2

Did you see Karaoke madness Part 1? That was all about our first foray into karaoke -- the bad, the not-so-bad and the almost entertaining. Well, this is Part 2, where, using a microphone, an amp and an iPod, we improvise karaoke in the comfort of our own home... Scary stuff. But we had a blast. (Joanne, I hope you don't mind that this is what became of your birthday party.)

Dave did the most singing. I cannot even begin to recount all the things he attempted. There was punk with Kelly, and crooning ala Sinatra and even a little Barenaked Ladies "If I had a million dollars" duet with Kyle.

Me, for my part, I attempted a little Harvey Danger "Flagpole Sitta", a reprise of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' "Mona Lisa". At least improvised karaoke seems to be well in the spirit of a Me First and the Gimme Gimmes song. (If you haven't discovered this group yet, you're missing something.)

Just to show that we weren't the only people falling prey to the inspiration of our muses, here are Mike and Hilly. Mike was the whole reason we had the microphone and amp. They didn't need an iPod to back them up, as Mike supplied actual talent with the guitar. And Hilly displayed a nice set of pipes.

For some reason, though, Lesley didn't get up and sing. Conveniently for her, we forgot that she actually had some voice training in opera. Just so you know, Lesley, there will be a next time. Even though you've escaped back to New York on your way to England, there will be a next time. You will sing for us. LOL

Karaoke madness

I did something that qualifies as totally scary for me: I sang karaoke solo in front of a group of about 30 people on Saturday night.

Sure, it was about 1:30 a.m. and I'd been warmed up by singing, as part of a group, "American Pie" (now that's an exhausting song to sing -- all eight-plus minutes of it), but it was a major accomplishment for me.

What did I sing? A favorite of mine: Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

Several (I mean several) years ago, I went up with my sister and someone else and mutilated the same song in a karaoke setting, and then there was that contribution to the "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" ensemble at a Christmas party years ago, but this was my first solo endeavor. I think I can say with confidence that I didn't suck this time. All that practicing in the car over the years must have paid off (apologies to any other drivers who might have overheard me).

This time, when I went up there, I tried to remember my successes in my acting class, and when the lyric "I gotta be cool, relax" came up, I took it to heart.

I wasn't the only person in the family to brave the waters with solo karaoke. Dave "the crooner" did Sinatra's "Summerwind", Van Halen's "Ice Cream Man" and Radiohead's "Creep". I have to say that his "Summerwind" was a big crowd-pleaser.

So, my scary goal for June has been met. Now I need to backtrack and collect that goal for May. I will yet master a manual transmission.