i keep a diary

May 19, 2003

Sid & Buddy Karaoke

My friends Matt Lesser and Matt Lavin (aka - "Sid and Buddy") started throwing a kick-ass Monday night karaoke party just a few blocks from my house. They took the basement of the Nolita Tavern and turned it into a custom karaoke room! If you combine the fact that I'm a karaoke ham with the fact that I rarely leave a 15 block radius of my apartment, that adds up to me pretty much being there most Monday nights from 12-4am. (These pictures are taken from 5 different Monday nights that I was there. Yeah, I know. "Hi, my name is Brian and I have a karaoke problem.")

sid and buddy
Matt Lesser The Hairdresser (aka "Sid") and Matt Levine (aka "Buddy).
flyer ˆ karaoke ˆ sid and buddy
sid and buddy
Oh, did I forget to mention that they have a giant bag of costumes and (if you want) you can dress up as whoever you're singing a song by? Er, or as in this case, you can dress up in random, white jumpsuits. (Sorry guys, I forgot who you're supposed to be here!)
costumes ˆ karaoke ˆ sunglasses ˆ sid and buddy
matt l, matt lesser, sid and buddy
But oh! This is and easy one! As Axl and Slash...
costumes ˆ karaoke ˆ matt l ˆ matt lesser ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser, sid and buddy
Matt dressed up as Moby...
karaoke ˆ matt lesser ˆ sid and buddy
dan cassanova, matt lesser, sid and buddy
Matt and Dan as the White Stripes...
costumes ˆ karaoke ˆ dan cassanova ˆ matt lesser ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser, sid and buddy
...and my personal fave, Double Elton Johns!
costumes ˆ karaoke ˆ matt lesser ˆ sid and buddy
herman the cowboy jew
Also a steadfast fixture in the karaoke community, ladies and gents I present to you: Herman the Cowboy Jew!
karaoke ˆ herman the cowboy jew
herman the cowboy jew, matt l, matt lesser, sid and buddy
Herman in action (most likely kicking his signature rendition of Britney Spears' "Hit Me, Baby [One More Time]") with Sid and Buddy on backup.
karaoke ˆ herman the cowboy jew ˆ matt l ˆ matt lesser ˆ sid and buddy
me
Duet with a stranger.
duet ˆ karaoke ˆ strangers ˆ me
david w, me
Usually as the night gets going, impromptu dance parties break out...
strangers ˆ david w ˆ me
...complete with shirtless-man action! (Now that's a par-tay!)
drunk ˆ karaoke ˆ strangers
matt l, matt lesser, sid and buddy
Look! Sometimes there's even the occasional celebrity. That's Peter Reigert (he played "Boon" in Animal House, remember), up on stage to sing "Shout." (He was there because it was the wrap-party for a movie he'd just finished directing. Beverly D'Angelo [aka - Ellen Griswold *swoon*] was in the movie too and I was hoping that I'd get to dedicate a karaoke jam just for her, but she was a no-show. Bah.)
best ˆ karaoke ˆ sorta famous ˆ matt l ˆ matt lesser ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser, sarah, sid and buddy
On Monday, May 19th at 12:14am history was made as Sarah Lewitinn (of "Ultragrrrl" fame) finally drank enough to climb up on stage and pop her sweet, virgin karaoke cherry! She was a lil' shy at first...
best ˆ cherryoke ˆ karaoke ˆ matt lesser ˆ sarah ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser, sarah, sid and buddy
...but soon enough she was rocking her hips and belting out with the best of them!
cherryoke ˆ karaoke ˆ matt lesser ˆ sarah ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser, me, sid and buddy
You know what baby's got...
best ˆ karaoke ˆ yell ˆ matt lesser ˆ me ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser, me, sid and buddy
..."Baby's Got Back!"
butt ˆ karaoke ˆ matt lesser ˆ me ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser, me, sid and buddy
She's got eyes of the bluest skies...
karaoke ˆ matt lesser ˆ me ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser
Sweet, floor-writing, air-guitar action.
matt lesser
dan cassanova, herman the cowboy jew
Whoops! Herman Did it Again! He played with your heart! (Whatever ladies, don't buy it. He's! Not! That! Innocent!)
duet ˆ karaoke ˆ dan cassanova ˆ herman the cowboy jew
grant, herman the cowboy jew, me
Me, Grant and Herman.
grant ˆ herman the cowboy jew ˆ me
grant, sid and buddy
Grant freestyles to the BeeGee's classic, "You Should Be Dancin'" (with Buddy on falsetto backup pipes).
karaoke ˆ grant ˆ sid and buddy
grant, matt lesser
Matt and Grant.
cowboy hat ˆ grant ˆ matt lesser
me
Wait, what's that I gotta have again?
karaoke ˆ me
Oh, that's right. Faith. I gotta have faith.
karaoke ˆ lyrics ˆ tv
sid and buddy
In a fantastically bizarre twist, if it's your birthday, you get to spank Sid and Buddy.
birthday ˆ spank ˆ sid and buddy
me, sid and buddy
Yo, you can diss and say that karaoke's gay and all. But you clearly have no idea what you're talking about because karaoke makes chicks totally hot and then they want to do you.
costumes ˆ karaoke ˆ me ˆ sid and buddy
matt l, matt lesser, me, sid and buddy
What, you don't believe me? See those two smoking hot, blonde hula girls? Yeah, that's right! They got so hot and bothered by my karaoke jam that right after i was done singing they took me in the bathroom and I totally got down with both of them! So who's gay now, huh? Huh?
best ˆ costumes ˆ gay ˆ karaoke ˆ matt l ˆ matt lesser ˆ me ˆ sid and buddy
matt lesser
Matt in, um, action.
karaoke ˆ matt lesser
matt lesser, sid and buddy
Short People Got Big Reasons to Smile.
karaoke ˆ matt lesser ˆ sid and buddy
grant, matt l, matt lesser, me, sid and buddy
And for the big finale of the night, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody!"
beard ˆ costumes ˆ karaoke ˆ grant ˆ matt l ˆ matt lesser ˆ me ˆ sid and buddy
dan cassanova, grant, me, sid and buddy
Complete with mad Twister scramble during the instrumental break...
karaoke ˆ twister ˆ dan cassanova ˆ grant ˆ me ˆ sid and buddy
matt l, matt lesser, me
Bwa-haha.
best ˆ twister ˆ matt l ˆ matt lesser ˆ me
matt l, matt lesser, sid and buddy
And I saved the best for last...check out the ghetto pyrotechnics! That's right, they took sparklers and scotch-taped them to the ceiling for the big "Wanted Dead or Alive" Bon Jovi hair-metal finale!
best ˆ fireworks ˆ karaoke ˆ sparkler ˆ matt l ˆ matt lesser ˆ sid and buddy