Off-key at Tequila Joe

One great thing about Cebu is that a lot of people here can really sing. That's why Karaoke is really popular throughout the island. Everywhere I go, from high scale resto-bars to a minuscule roadside store, there's always a Karaoke machine with some serious singing showdown going on. Even the local bands’ vocalists have exceptionally great voices. I could round them up and herd them off to American Idol auditions and I personally think that every one of them would get a yellow pass to Hollywood. And come some bar's acoustic night, the audience participation is a highly coveted part of the show.

So when I sing, either in Karaoke bars or when I take over the spotlight of a band’s vocalist, people pay attention. Not because I can belt out a tune like Amy Winehouse, but because I’m one of the few in the Cebuano population who royally suck at singing. And what I love about this place is that most people appreciate me. Most people who are my friends, at least. =D


Last night, I assaulted the senses of the Tequila Joe crowd when I took center stage and sang my horrible version of Like a Virgin. After the band’s vocally-impressive performance, I think I came out like a drum roll and a bull horn in the middle of somebody’s dreamless sleep. I sang at the top of my lungs and gradually shrank off along with the microphone stand because I didn’t know how the damn lock works. But I didn’t miss a beat as I gracefully swayed down along with it. And what did I get for my efforts? A call for an encore! There’s really no place like home.

(Tequila Joe is located at the Ayala Entertainment Center, Cebu Business Park)