You may have seen Michael Moses Griffin singing karaoke at some local Brookfield establishments, but he is not your typical karaoke crooner. In fact, this year the Brookfield resident was chosen as the best male karaoke singer in the country. And in September he took home a silver medal in the Karaoke World Championships, held in Thailand.
But for Griffin, the biggest reward in singing karaoke is the performance itself.
“I love to perform. I’ve never wanted to be a star,” he said.
The last song Griffin sang in the World Championships was Rick James’ “Give it to Me Baby,” because of this: “It’s a difficult song to sing, but it’s probably my favorite for the performance that I can put along with it.”
He said that his experience in Thailand was “absolutely incredible,” and added that he’d “never been anywhere like it.” He said he found it interesting that there were food and shopping everywhere, that newspapers and songs on the radio were in English, and that most items were inexpensive-with a very nice meal costing about $8. He said he would like to go back when he would have more time to spend-without being tied up with rehearsals and performances.
Griffin also enjoyed meeting so many people from different countries. In the evenings, they would all gather around the piano in the hotel lobby and perform for each other.
“It was very nice,” he said.
He encourages others who might be interested to get involved in karaoke.
“It’s definitely wonderful, and I would recommend it for anyone interested in singing and meeting some wonderful people,” he said.
And, as for the future, Griffin is doing some recording and also will be completing his graduate studies in music education at Northern Illinois University.
“One way or another, I will be teaching in public schools,” he said. “And if someone wants to pick up my recordings, that would be great.”
He will also be doing some more traveling. In addition to being invited back to the world championship without having to go through smaller competitions, representatives from Australia and Ireland approached him about performing at their national championships. But despite the travel, the thrill of competition and the attention being somewhat exciting, Griffin never seems to lose sight of why he got involved in karaoke in the first place.
“I do these things for fun; that’s the beauty of karaoke.”
Fright Nights
As Halloween approaches, are you looking to get the yell scared out of you? The Brookfield Jaycees’ Haunted House is up and running at Ehlert Park.
The haunted house is always highly rated and now has a new award under its belt, the much coveted Dick Brandt Memorial Award for Outstanding Overall Haunted House for 2006 from the Northeast Region Jaycees.
“This is the granddaddy award that all Jaycee Haunted Houses shoot for each year,” said John Hanna, public relations chairperson for the haunted house. “We had not won this award in 15 plus years.”
This year’s haunted house, with the theme “In Fear We Trust,” features new rooms, and a different flow throughout the house, which is likely to spook most everyone.
“I personally love seeing the reaction of people as they exit the haunted house,” Hanna said.
For the more squeamish, there is a “Lights On” children’s matinee on Sunday, Oct. 28 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the haunted house, visit www.brookfieldjaycees.com or call 708 387-HOWL (4695).
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