by Joanne Wan
Various events have showcased techies’ abilities to rhyme, pitch in sixty seconds, and generally engage the user in a short amount of time. BUT, can techies sing? I have found that techies usually have a penchant for music as it is also very analytical to create.
Last Friday, I ventured out to the Podcamp West Pre-Party at The Mint to see how well my fellow techies could carry a tune. Given that the venue was in the Castro, there was an eclectic mix of patrons prepping their material for a night of karaoke. There were drag queens, local queens who were obviously fixtures at The Mint on any given Friday night, and downright amazing soul singers.
Following up on Stowe’s post, many people at the party were transplants, and it was clear that the bug had bit them…hard. Victor Karamalis had flown in from Florida the week before and was thinking of ways to move out to Silicon Valley permanently. As an ode to home, he brought some Latin flavor to the event. When Victor started singing Ricky Martin’s Livin’ La Vida Loca, other partygoers joined in. What was cool was that the fellow singers included Tajee Tajima from Japan and Greg Narain from NYC. You be the judge of whether they did the song justice.
The reason why I love the tech community is everyone’s ability to be supportive, smart, and fun-loving at the same time. The Podcamp party gave people a chance to slow down and see each other in a different light…as a karaoke singer. Here’s to more Livin’ La Vida Loca!
Greg Narain, Nikhil Bobb, Joanne Wan, and Neils
Podcamp PodcampWest karaoke VicPodcaster GregNarain Greg+Narain VictorKaramalis Victor+Karamalis TajeeTajima Tajee+Tajima JoanneWan Joanne+Wan