BIG RAPIDS — Karaoke fans at the Gypsy Nickel Lounge will surely recognize John Kelley’s friendly face as he sits behind an elaborate DJ set.
Born and raised in Grand Rapids and living nearby, Kelley got his musical inspiration from his band-working father and started out as a DJ before getting into karaoke.
“I think I’ve done pretty much every DJ job I can think of,” he says.
His father owned the large sound systems necessary for DJing or karaoke.
“Whenever my friends go to a party, they say, bring your stuff,” he said.
A few years later, business really took off and he took the name “Red Hot Karaoke” and has been in business for thirty years now.
“For a while, I was doing six shows a week. I did it every day except Monday, and I even performed for the kids on Sunday afternoons,” he said.
Kelley’s main source of income is usually weddings, but he DJs and karaokes at everything from board meetings to birthday parties. With the COVID-19 pandemic largely subsiding, Kelley has been surprised by the demand for his services.
“It was going 100 miles an hour. Everyone has been postponing all their weddings and stuff for the last two years. We’ve been crazy about weddings, one after the other. I’m back four nights a week now ,”He said.
Kelley now plays Wednesday nights at Gypsy Nickel, Thursday nights at Peyton’s Bar in Idlewild, Friday nights at the Sportsman’s Bar in Newaygo before returning to Gypsy on Saturdays.
“One of the best things is when you find someone who’s never sung in public and has a super nice voice but no confidence. They’ll climb on it and you can tell they’re just scared to death. They’d get up and sing, people would clap, the look on their faces was shock,” he said.
Kelly said the name of the game in karaoke is to have fun, not to be a good singer.
“Even if they can’t sing well, it doesn’t mean they can’t act well. Some people know they’re not good singers. But they will stand up and they will have a good time. Everyone likes it because they have a good time ,”He said.
Kelly made a habit of praising everyone who came forward to try singing because it takes courage to sing in public.
“Even if they didn’t do well, they got up and did it. They had the courage to get up and do it. It took a lot of time,” he said.
Singing karaoke is more important to some than many realize.
“For some, it’s like an emotional release. Some people come in every week, they sing the same song, and you can tell their whole mood changes after they finish their song, and it makes They’re happy, let them jump out of their shells,” he said.
Kelly loves making people happy and seeing their faces light up as the audience enjoys their performance.
“That’s what I do, to make people happy, to get them out of trouble. It’s fun. It’s really fun. You can see people evolve, especially in music, because some people, they’ll start singing a few song. Next thing you know they’re playing with a band,” he said.