Karaoke Kings

Some say karaoke is the poor man's version of American Idol. \n For Derek Reckley, it's just another chance to get up on stage and do what he loves -- entertain people.\n Reckley, 23, an actor and IU theatre student, is also a self-proclaimed karaoke enthusiast. \n "It's become a huge thing, actually," Reckley said. That's an understatement.\n His stage name is D-Bone, which was a childhood nickname, and his shtick is with the soul music. For this IU student, karaoke is a passion.\n "I do soulful songs. I prance and do James Brown and stuff," he said. "[Karaoke] is just a fun way to get on the stage, experience the crowd and study what people enjoy."\n Reckley has taken that passion beyond the regular karaoke routine, finding the societal study of karaoke performing just as interesting as getting up there and doing it himself. He is in the process of filming a movie about karaoke with Pale Trio Productions. He's even performing in an interactive play about karaoke in June called The Age of Cynicism, or Karaoke Night at the Hog, which is being put on by the Bloomington Playwrights Project.\n Everyone has seen the karaoke stereotype, whether they've ever entered a karaoke bar or not. The drunken woman with her work friends gets up on stage, slurring her words dreadfully as she warbles off-key into the mic. The happy-go-lucky guy with just a few too many under his belt proclaims undying love to the tune of Bruce Springsteen while his college buddies howl with laughter.\n While Reckley thinks those moments are classic, he also believes there is a strange sort of art to the karaoke process, which he finds fascinating.\n "Trying to find an art behind it is quite amazing," he said. "It's strange what the crowd will respond to."\n He described how karaoke can empower ordinary people.\n "People who look like the type of person who would not sing on stage get the largest crowd reaction," he said. He told a story about a recent karaoke singer, a tiny, 50-year-old woman, who stood up in front of a large crowd and sang "I Will Survive." The audience roared with approval, giving her a huge amount of support that a typical, young 20-something wouldn't have received from the same song. \n "If you've got balls and you go up there and do it people will applaud you more," he said.\n Reckley also talked about how karaoke can be an addictive rush.\n In the moment when a person steps up to the mic to sing, there is a pause as the crowd waits. They're watching, and studying, and the singer finds they've suddenly got an adrenaline rush. \n It is the feeling of power that keeps people returning to the mic time and again. \n "For a little moment, they can feel like they are someone important," Reckley said. "It's sad in a way, but also kind of beautiful."\n The Age of Cynicism runs every evening at 8 PM. from June 1 through the 17 at the Bloomington Playwrights Project, located at 109 W. 7th Street.