The mini-Christmas season is coming to a climax, and according to MaRa, this year it has been celebrated like before the koruna. This is reflected in Pete Sinervo’s work as he hosts karaoke in a bar in Tampere.
The karaoke party at the Ihku bar in Hämeenkatu, Tampere, opens at 21:00, but Sinervo has arrived early, as usual, in a good mood and smelling good “so that people would feel comfortable talking to me”.
At this time of the evening, the space is still lit with glaring fluorescent tubes, but it’s easy to see how to organise your work: open the numerous TV screens hanging on the walls “how come there seem to be more of these all the time?”, test the microphones “tse-tse-tse-yks-yks-yks-yks-kaks” and check that the spray bottle has enough cleaner “the corona restrictions are gone, the protection is not”.
– Given the way people’s living costs have risen, the year looks even better than normal. There is a lot of pent-up demand from the interest rate and even though the economy is tight, people don’t want to compromise on Christmas at this stage,” Lappi sums up.
Companies, public administration and groups of friends are also on the move. Karaoke is an essential part of many a night out.
When everything is ready, Sinervo gets a black coffee from the bar counter.
Lights off! Disco balls on! Welcome to karaoke!
At the beginning of the millennium, Sinervo worked in a security company. As you might expect, customer encounters on the streets and in shopping centers were not very positive. He longed for new jobs, and fate intervened one summer evening. At that time, Sinervo met a pretty karaoke host girl in a bar. There was no romance, but work.
His debut as a karaoke host took place in Pälkäne’s then Mallaspub, whose atmosphere Sinervo describes as authentic and full of life. Now, after two decades, when stories are told in the deep chest voice of experience, Sinervo is still of the opinion that there is a \”bigger spirit\” in the karaoke business of suburban cafes than in the quieter downtown bars.
– Yes, that’s what I thought on the first night, that it’s a nice job. I wanted to come again as soon as tomorrow.
And not just nice, but meaningful. As a karaoke host, he felt that he was doing something really important and big. Sinervo thinks that maybe some people’s thing is that they want to bring joy and entertain. From there, somewhere in the middle of *Rentun roosu* and *Autiotalo*, Sinervo found his element and still thrives in it.
Sometimes even seven evenings a week. Sinervo belongs to the rare group for whom karaoke is a livelihood instead of a side job. Sinervo says that performing karaoke is often seen as a stopover in the lives of young people, where the salary is used to buy cucumbers on top of bread.
– Many people are surprised to hear that I only do this on weekends. That this is a Monday-to-Sunday job. Especially during the pre-Christmas season.
Shifts often last at least until the wee hours and in nightclubs like Ihku until five in the morning, so the song brings not only cucumber but also cold cuts to the bread.
Even though the job of a karaoke host looks easy, it is physically demanding and requires good social skills and a psychological eye for the game. You have to sense moods and be ready to accept all kinds of stories.
Sinervo even compares the work of a karaoke host to the profession of a barber. Namely, when a person wants to grab the mic, his heart is open and something is on his mind.
– People come to talk about how they’ve had a bad day. I’ll make it better then.
Karaoke, which arrived in Finland to stay at the end of the 80s, is a special genre because it unites the entire nation – its joys and sorrows. Sinervo says that you don’t have to be yourself in karaoke. When the singer leaves the song wish, the performance and the pressures remain at the same time. More important than staying in tune is the atmosphere. Karaoke people are encouraging.
According to Sinervo’s experience, the pattern of the evening often goes something like this:
– Let’s start with the Suomi hit, which slowly becomes more pop. At some point, when the best party is going on, we pull our wrists open, because someone necessarily wants to sing *Lapland’s summer*.
Life and karaoke have many similarities.
Style is free, but rules are respected
Although the concept of karaoke is simple, it contains a few rules. Sinervo reminds that each place has slightly different systems, but the basis of everything is the karaoke queue.
– It means that when a customer brings a song, it is put at the end of the queue. Be he new or old. Only one song from the singer can be in at the same time. This also applies to duets and larger groups.
Karaoke is equal. Goldilocks do not wedge in this sport. Sometimes Sinervo puts his own song request at the end of the queue if he is being sung to or if a customer has requested it.
– I go to perform in the same way as others. I’ll stop talking here and sing a song. Then I’ll get on with the job, and I won’t demand applause for myself. But I insist on customers.
Another of the rules of karaoke is that you can always sing along, but it is not appropriate to enter the stage without the permission of the performer on duty. Sinervo give another microphone, unless the artist specifically asks for it.
– Karaoke is based on that my famous five minutes. So it’s the moment of being on stage. In that moment, he is a star who seeks his own experience by singing.
And there are enough experiences in karaoke every night, but is the experienced host surprised by anything anymore?
Sinervo thinks for a while and answers that he is rarely surprised anymore by what happens on stage.
– Yes, my jaw dropped. He drew *Diamonds* absolutely brilliantly. The sound levels of the opening songs were tweaked to suit him. Oh that was great!