Working the pipes

Not everyone can be a Vanessa Williams, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Peyton Manning or even a Colton Berry. Few reach national or even local renown. But everyone can be a star for at least 2 to 3 minutes a week.

“It’s your chance to be a star,” said Joe Knotts, of Stuarts Draft.

Knotts and his wife, Brenda, are known as Phat and Sassy. When not playing in their band of the same name, the Knottses coordinate karaoke on Wednesday nights at Foster’s Grille.

Knotts, who had his own dream of fame and fortune to play guitar professionally, says he never made it. Working Bourbon Street in New Orleans was not the same as making it in Las Vegas or the Grand Ol’ Opry, he said.

Today his ambition is to help other people find the star in themselves.

Valdez “Bumpsie” Daniels sings every Wednesday. The brother of the founder of the Bootsie Daniels Band, Bumpsie loves to sing.

“I’ve been singing here since the second night they held karaoke here, late November or December,” he said. “I sing with the St. James Baptist Disciples of Harmony. I’ve always been singing. My brothers sing.”

Bumpsie, who says he’s well known at Foster’s, said he gets applause anywhere he goes. The gospel singer says he doesn’t frequent bars, but Foster’s is a regularity.

“I like it because it’s family-oriented. My daughter, Ashlie, works here and my granddaughters, Ahjmani, 5, and Alahnna, 3, also sing here. They sang the ‘ABC Song tonight.’ ”

Paul Hamlyn — “Pops” to his staff and Foster’s general manager — says that Wednesday night karaoke has a following that comes out rain or shine.

“They come out here no matter what the weather,” Hamlyn said. “Sometimes it’s full up in here. Other times maybe not. But everyone is welcome.”

That includes the musically challenged, he said.

“Their system can change the song’s key for you. They can make your voice really sound better than it is,” he said.

A diverse crowd of people attended the singfest Jan. 14 — young and old alike, from toddlers to the middle-aged, — some waiting for their chance at the microphone, others eating and waiting for a show. Few seats sat empty.

Knotts called each performer from a board, where the bravest wrote their names.

“We’ve got all kinds of songs to choose from,” Knotts said. A booklet of songs, with 5,000 choices, wound its way through the crowd. “We’ve got 450 more to enter into the list.

“It’s something different for families to do together,” he said. “Kids love it and I love to see them go for the gold. It’s the same thing as ‘American Idol.’ You get to see who’s goofy and who isn’t.”

Each performer chose a song from the repertoire, which includes Luther Vandross, George Young and The Statler Brothers. During breaks in the schedule, Knotts encouraged others to get involved by playing dance tunes like the “Electric Slide,” the “Chicken Dance” and the “Macarena.”

The Karaoke Man, as Knotts said he is known, got into karaoke as a charter bus driver in Jacksonville, Fla. He brought his karaoke machine in and bus riders began to perform rather than play the old standard G-rated movies.

“You’ve got to keep it moving; we play a little of everything,” said Knotts, who is also a local school bus driver. “I try to make it fun and friendly.”

Knotts also has another motive.

“I’m trying to keep the kids off the streets,” he said, which reminded him of a couple of boys who stop in at karaoke on their way to church choir. Knotts says they sing two songs each and head off to sing in their choir.

Mainly it’s about keeping it fun.

One Churchville girl is so good, Knotts says he is going to help her make a CD.

“You never know, you might get another Martina McBride out there,” he said. “When it’s not fun [anymore], I don’t want to do it.”

Kimberly Leagan, 16, has also sung at Foster’s since karaoke began there. She sings every Wednesday night.

“My whole family goes. I bring a different friend with me every week,” she said. She also brings her 2-year-old daughter, Hannah, with her.

“She loves it,” the full-time single mother said. “At home, she watches the Chipmunks movie. She knows all the words to all the songs. She tells me she wants to sing.”

Passing her love of singing on to her daughter comes naturally to Leagan. Her own grandmother, mother and aunts all sing.

“Hannah loves Trisha Yearwood and ‘Suds in the Bucket,’ ” said her mom. “Now she’s singing Carey Underwood’s ‘When He Cheats.’ ”

The crowd loves the little ones and show it by their applause.

Leagan says one day, she’ll realize her dream of being a singer.

“I love it. I sing all day. They can’t get me to stop. It’s not about the fame or fortune, it’s all about having fun,” said Leagan, who has been singing since elementary school. “I’ll make it to be a singer someday.”

“In their eyes, when they go to bed at night, they think they did something really cool,” Knotts said.

“Some of these kids are really good. Some are really bad. But that’s karaoke.”