\u201cWe were playing pool and discovered this band was playing, and it was just a coincidence,\u201d Maria said. \u201cI really loved it. I haven\u2019t seen so many musicians playing with an open mic before.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Maria Pilar Leon singing with the Melbourne Karaoke Big Band at the Retreat Hotel in Brunswick. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Penny Stephens<\/cite><\/p>\n James Coomans was at the same gig with friends, but unlike Maria, he had a plan of attack. \u201cI had seen their set list and from day dot, I sort of went through and thought, \u2018What do I want to get up and have a crack at?\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first song I got up to do, I could barely stand \u2013 my knees wanted to give out. I didn\u2019t pick an easy starter, Uptown Funk<\/em> by Bruno Mars, which is quite the register. But after I got started, the adrenaline got pumping and it just became great fun.\u201d<\/p>\n At a typical Melbourne Big Band Karaoke gig, pub-goers are initially reluctant to sing. The sheer size of the band \u2013 five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, two keyboards, two guitars, bass, drums, two vocalists \u2013 is a little daunting. Summoning up the courage to belt out a song with such firepower behind you takes a little cajoling.<\/p>\n This is where Matt Broadbent, the band\u2019s drummer and MC, steps in.<\/p>\n James Coomans singing karaoke supported by Belinda Parsons (2nd from left).<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Penny Stephens<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a fair bit of experience walking out into a crowd, getting people up on stage and having that back and forwards between the band and the audience,\u201d he said. \u201cWe do a warm-up track and then there\u2019s always someone who wants to get up and sing. And as soon as they see one person get up and do it, people are pretty happy to get up. It\u2019s a really sort of supporting environment-everyone\u2019s kind of rooting for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Broadbent and friend Dave Palmer founded the Melbourne Karaoke Big Band four years ago when Broadbent assembled a big band to celebrate his birthday and invited guests to sing. It was such a success, the pair decided to take it to the pubs of Melbourne.<\/p>\n Pandemic lockdowns got in the way, but also gave Palmer, a professional trombone player and teacher, plenty of time to write the parts and assemble the musicians.<\/p>\n \u201cFor his birthday, I\u2019d stacked the band with very good school kids that I was teaching,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were super capable kids and it was easy to just fit them in with no rehearsal and just go in and play.\u201d<\/p>\n With the exception of four experienced musicians and one vocalist, the other band members are high school students or recent graduates. It\u2019s a rare real-world band experience for them, said Palmer.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are getting a chance to get out and gig in a real venue instead of just in their school rehearsal rooms,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of on-the-job training for them. And what I also like about it is that we\u2019re not playing so much for our egos, as for the opportunity for people to experience that feeling of being up in front of a full big band. It\u2019s way outside your usual daily life.\u201d<\/p>\n The band\u2019s first gig was at the Post Office Hotel in Coburg last November last year followed by two performances at The Retreat Hotel in Brunswick. A fourth gig is scheduled for December 3.<\/p>\n For bass player Damien Reynolds, 17, it\u2019s just about having fun. \u201cThat first gig was really exciting, we\u2019d had a couple of rehearsals leading up to it, but I hadn\u2019t really had that gig experience before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bass player Damien Reynolds (second from right) performs at The Retreat.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Penny Stephens<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really great to develop it in terms of playing with other people and in a setting where sometimes things are a little unpredictable and you\u2019re flying by the seat of your pants.\u201d<\/p>\n What makes things easier for the plucky audience members is the presence of backing vocalists Belinda Parsons, a professional singer and teacher, and her former student Sian Hulland.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we get singers who get up and are freaking out, I will sing the lead line with them, but I\u2019ll back off a bit so they hear me enough to feel supported, but not enough so that I take over,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve only had about 20 per cent of singers who have not been too crash hot and what happens then is we sing along with them and do some harmonies. As long as they are having fun, that\u2019s the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Parsons said she sees the band getting more gigs in the future, particularly in the corporate events space. But the ultimate vision is to play at Federation Square on a sunny Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to see us there with an open mic when we know there\u2019s a big crowd going through and Matt can get out there and harass people who are walking through, I think that would be a great vibe in the summer months,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n