I suppose Karaoke has it's place. Arny Bailey       Back to Cover

Last July, ABOUT FACE was ________

booked at an outdoor “Harvest Festival” in Entiat, Washington.  We had performed there the previous year and were invited back (repeat performances are a good sign….or a sign you’re the only idiots foolish enough to make the trip).  Although a small event, playing outdoors on a warm starlit evening surrounded by appreciative people, great food and a ___

beautiful location make it worth the drive.  Then, about mid-way through the evening, we noticed that the average age of the attendees was steadily edging upward and those who would be defined as “youth” were gradually disappearing.  I remember thinking, “Where were they off to?”  I was only brought into the loop after our performance.

 

Karaoke Trailer.

Apparently, “some guy” had towed in a “Karaoke Trailer” as a part of the evenings’ entertainment.  Now, as a live musician, the word “Karaoke” might as well be spelled with four letters.  OK, so, I have done this on one or two occasions not including the late nights goofing around with my wife via Comcast On-Demand.  For the most part, singing lead in live bands makes Karaoke seem a bit silly (this ___

also translates to my distaste of the Rock Band video game…..I mean, if you’re doing this for reals, what’s the point?  Does Donald Trump still play Monopoly?).

I suppose Karaoke has its place.  It certainly did on this warm evening in Entiat as the youth filed off to record their own CD and DVD, all compliments of the festival host.

I’m not exactly sure you can really call this a piece of gear.  In truth, it’s more of a complex composition of components housed in an exterior shell to accomplish a specific result.  Wait a minute!  I just described every piece of gear I own!  Only this has wheels…big wheels…and a trailer hitch!

Country/Bluegrass player turned engineer Larry Youngblood owned and operated a recording studio in Seattle (Mirror Sound Annex) for about 15 years….until it became a job.  One day while cruising e-bay in search for an enclosed trailer to haul all his gear, he stumbled across an ad for a “Karaoke Trailer” in Las Vegas and thought, “Holy crap!  That is ME!”  The ad described a mobile recording studio confined in a 16’ long Wells Cargo trailer that the current owner was using at Casino’s to record American Idol-wanna-be’s for fun and demo’s for more serious artists.  “I didn’t realize how much I was looking for an escape from the studio work until I saw this,” says Larry.

 

Anyone can do it - Here's proof!

The trailer is split into two rooms.  The room at the front is the control room and is complete with Sony Sound Forge 9 recoding software, Lexicon PCM70 Reverb, an old delay unit that, as Larry put it, “I can’t even recall the brand…and I think it’s likely worn off.  I’ve had it for years and nothing sounds better.”  Also included are Alesis compressors and a few other in-line gadgets and very high ________

quality microphones.  To write and print out the CD’s and DVD’s of the performers is a Rimage Duplicator/Printer that does all this in one shot!

In the rear of the trailer is the actual recording booth.  Essentially and 8’ x10’ room, it’s big enough for quite a few Karaoke vocalists or a nice 3 piece bluegrass ensemble.  “Of course, if ______

someone wanted to throw a drum set in there they could, but it would likely need to be alone as it would pretty much fill up the space,” says Larry.

Both spaces have panels that open up so party goers can watch (and hear) the performance from the outside and in so doing open up the entertainment for all. 

Larry says that about 75% of his bookings come from street fairs and rodeo’s and that the balance come from private parties.  His business operates under two names;  Lake Chelan Studios and Play and Reel.

“Custom built, completely mobile and affordable Karaoke recording studio, separate performance room designed for vocalists, story tellers, comedians, song writers, rap-artists, poets, outdoor weddings, and corporate picnics. A qualified engineer with years of recording experience, World class microphones, SoundForge recording and editing software, and an inventory of 16,000 songs to choose from. All performances are recorded __

to CD, or DVD with titles and art work included.”

At $15 per song you get a DVD of your performance.  A pretty good deal when you consider the cost of all the gear and trailer not to mention the fact that you literally walk out of the facility with the results.  Larry is semi-retired now and does this to augment his income and admits, “It’s a lot of fun to __

see these folks all have such a good time!”

As digital recording has moved most studios into our homes, it’s no wonder there aren’t more mobile units around.  Pretty cool idea when you think about it…..just add wheels.

ARNY BAILEY

Crowd enjoying the show.
Inside the studio - control room beyond.

MEET THE WRITER - ARNY BAILEY

MEET THE WRITER - ARNY BAILEY

President of In Form, Inc. Media Design and Chief Editor of Weekend Musician is a licensed architect practicing in the Pacific Northwest and weekend musician currently fronting ABOUT FACE, a classic rock cover band and The Grand Delusion a Tribute to the music of Styx and Journey.

In Form Inc Architecture