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Poetter Hall was purchased by the SCAD founders in March 1979. Classes began in September of that year.  
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Trivial Pursuits

Trivial Pursuits
 
Karaoke draws alumnus to spotlight

Karaoke
Photo by Jennylyn Pawelski 
SCAD alumnus Dane Sponberg performs “Johnny B. Goode” at the Rail Pub July 13.

By Monique Bos
Published: Friday, August 18, 2006

Savannah College of Art and Design alumnus Dane Sponberg (B.F.A., photography, 2006), who works as a freelance photographer for the college, has a hobby he compares to a mongoose skiing: karaoke.

“It takes mental ability and physical control,” he said. “Doing karaoke is like being an Olympic skier … Sometimes the song you’ve heard on the radio and can sing along to is not the same as the karaoke version, so you’ve got to be able to switch gears really quickly and have good reflexes. So you have to be quick like a mongoose. So really, you’re like a gold-medalist, Olympic-skiing mongoose on a downhill run.”

Sponberg and his roommate, Bill Jackson (B.F.A., sequential art, 2005), have been participating in karaoke for approximately two years. They were initially drawn to a weekly karaoke night at the Mellow Mushroom.

“I guess we just heard about it through flyers,” he said. “We were living in the residence halls, and Mellow Mushroom was within walking distance.”

Although performing in public was intimidating at first, they quickly began to enjoy the experience.

“There’s something about humiliating yourself in front of a large group of people,” Sponberg explained. “There’s an inherent need and urge in some people to do it, and I guess I’m just one of those people.”

Discovering which songs he can’t sing well is part of the experience.

“Some songs don’t work,” he said. “It’s a tragedy because once you start, you’ve got to finish. It’s a life lesson, I think,” he added philosophically.

Contributing to his enjoyment was the man in charge, who now oversees karaoke at the Rail Pub, 405 W. Congress St., every Thursday night, starting around 10 p.m. Calling himself Wrath Nasty, he wears assorted pajama pants and conducts the weekly events with a large spoon.

“He does have a given name that we don’t know,” said Sponberg. “It’s ‘Fear the Spoon’ karaoke. The spoon encourages even more group participation.”

He and Jackson attend karaoke regularly now.

“Wrath is so good at making sure you get attention, getting you up there in the right order and getting the crowd involved,” he said. “It’s a lot more fun than just seeing your name on a screen when it’s your turn to go.”

The audience, which usually numbers 30-40 people, expresses appreciation for everyone’s efforts, he said.

“We don’t boo anyone. We give a good round of applause because you deserve it for just getting up there,” he explained. “You have to face the fear. The first time I did it, I had a whole beehive in my stomach. Now it’s just a small hornet’s nest.”

Another unique facet of karaoke at the Rail Pub is a helium machine, from which participants can inhale to raise their vocal range. Sponberg tried it for the first time recently, when he sang The Darkness’ song “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.”

“It was a new experience with the helium. When you sing along in your head and know the notes, you’re trying to sing really high,” he said. “When you take that helium, your voice rises three octaves but you’re still trying to sing high, rather than normally” — hence his metaphor of the skiing mongoose.

Sponberg also administers the Facebook group Karaoke Explosion, which has 16 members.

“We’ve come together as a community,” he said.

He encourages other people to attend a karaoke event, whether or not they perform.

“You always get a lot of people who come out to karaoke but they don’t sing,” he said. “You don’t have to sing, but we would like to see you get up on stage and rock it as hard as you can.”