KARAOKE
ROCKS TRADEWINDS
THURSDAYS AND SATURDAYS
Cheryl Jones, co-owner of CC's
Karaoke & DJ Services in Lincolnton,
likes to occasionally perform at
Tradewinds on East Main Street every
Thursday and Saturday. Photo
by Jon Mayhew/TCS
By
Jon Mayhew
People coming to Tradewinds on East Main
Street may think
they've stepped into a local version of
"American Idol" on
Thursday and Saturday nights. People are
standing around
singers, cheering and clapping for each
one, as one of two
karaoke dee-jays (also called KJ's) plays
songs and announces
each singer.
Actually, it's C.C.'s Karaoke Services.
Behind the microphone
are Lincolnton residents Carrie Zeitler
and her friend and
business partner, Cheryl Jones. For the
last two years, the pair
have locally popularized karaoke.
Michelle Beer
likes to sing the German version of
"99 Balloons. Photo
by Jon Mayhew/TCS
And the
first thing they want everyone to know
about karaoke is
that anyone can do it without fear of
judgement from others.
"The biggest secret is creating an
atmosphere where everyone
feels accepted," said Zeitler,
adding booing of any singer isn't
allowed at any time.
The pair actually met while Zeitler was
working for another
Lincolnton karaoke company. Jones was a
customer.
"We became good karaoke
buddies," said Zeitler.
After leaving that karaoke business,
Zeitler said people asked
her and Jones to start a karaoke business
of their own.
That's when C.C.'s Karaoke Services was
born.
 Klay
Shrum performs a ballad at Tradewinds.
Before
Zeitler and Jones were fully ready to go
into business for
themselves, they already had their first
client. Jones said they
only had about a week to scramble.
For the first 15 months, the pair
"did" karaoke at The Lincoln
House restaurant.
"We had to move fast," said
Jones, adding they had to get music
and equipment together. "We got it,
though. We pulled it
together."
Jones said the pair were extremely
popular at The Lincoln
House. So popular, in fact, karaoke had
to move to a bigger
room at the restaurant.
"We moved it from the bar to the
restaurant portion," said Jones.
"We were very successful, holding
karaoke there up to four
times per week in most cases."
The Lincoln House, however, changed their
restaurant style. And
after being there for nearly a
year-and-a-half, the duo were
looking for another Lincolnton
"gig."
Enter Trandewinds on East Main Street. At
first, the duo were
only there Saturday nights.
But like The Lincoln House, karaoke was
popular at Tradewinds.
So the pair expanded to Thursday nights
as well.
Cheryl and Carrie can be seen there
starting about 8 or 9 p.m.
on Thursdays and Saturdays, taking
requests and having many
singers perform. Regulars are mixed in
with both Carrie and
Cheryl and new singers. Sometimes, Carrie
will help new people
get used to singing karaoke, which
involves following words
rhythmically on a screen.
According to Jones, what makes C.C.'s so
popular is the fact the
duo can get current songs that patrons
hear on the radio.
In fact, C.C.'s Karaoke Services are so
popular, there isn't
enough time to fit in all of the singers
that want to perform.
"Thursdays, we generally start a
little late because it's a later
crowd," said Zeitler, adding the
winter season is the busiest.
"People don't want to do anything
outside."
There are currently over 40,000 songs
people can choose from.
And there are new songs added almost
weekly.
Zeitler said the biggest misconception
about karaoke is that
every song makes a good karaoke song.
It's not true, said Zeitler.
"Singers have to approve their songs
for karaoke ," said Zeitler,
adding the trick to being a popular KJ is
to know who has a good
sense of humor.
"We have a lot of fun," said
Zeitler. "Sometimes, we do themed
rotations. When it's a small crowd, we
play around and have a
lot of fun. We try to keep it
lighthearted."
For
more information on CC's Karaoke & DJ
Services, see their advertisement on the
home page of The Carolina Scoop.
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