Wild Wing Café displays their drink specials. (Photo/ Marcus Crawford)
DJ Dime performs “Hey Man Nice Shot” by Filter. (Photo/ Marcus Crawford)
Chris Anderson drinks his beer after performing “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang. (Photo/ Marcus Crawford)By Marcus Crawford
The Cleveland Cavaliers are down by three when a man clad in a blue Polo and khaki shorts takes the stage. About half the crowd at Wild Wing Café cringes, bracing themselves for yet another country ballad. And then the magic happens. The facial expressions of the audience shift from grim anticipation to surprise as Chris Anderson launches into a spirited rendition of “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang.
Anderson, a University of Georgia alumnus with a degree in environmental economics, is a regular at Wild Wing’s karaoke night. He goes to the restaurant about three to four times a month, giving him plenty of opportunities to perfect his performance of “Rapper’s Delight.”
“I almost have the whole thing memorized and it’s like a seven minute song,” said Anderson.
Anderson pauses to take a swig from his Yuengling lager, breathless from his epic feat. For him, the wide selection of music and quality sound system make Wild Wing Café an “above average” karaoke venue.
Wild Wing Café hosts karaoke night every Tuesday from 10 p.m. until around midnight. The event coincides with the “Two for Tuesday” wing special, a deal which allows customers to purchase two orders of chicken wings for the price of one. The karaoke night drink specials are a major draw for patrons.
Marlyce Stein, a bartender at Wild Wing and a UGA alumna, has noticed the effectiveness of linking vocals with value.
“We used to have karaoke on Thursdays,” Stein said “But when you give people both, it works better.”
The combination of wings and karaoke has served as a powerful one-two punch in Wild Wing’s battle for survival in a struggling U.S. economy. David Heenan, a manager at Wild Wing, noted that business was booming despite the lower demand for top-shelf liquor.
“Since Jan. 2009 we’ve been at 99.8 percent of our sales from last year. We’re a recession niche,” said Heenan.
Even the mass exodus of UGA students for summer vacation fails to discourage employees. Tilmon C. Greene, III better known as DJ III, has been working at Wild Wing for four years. Although he is an Augusta native, Greene mentioned that karaoke night at Wild Wing is well-worth the drive to 312 E.Washington St.
“You never know what to expect,” Greene said. “It’s always different.”
William “Brooks” Brown, also known as DJ Dime, is Greene’s business partner. Brown compared the club-like ambiance of Wild Wing’s karaoke night to the atmosphere of Level 131, an Athens nightclub where he also DJ’s.
Like Greene, Brown enjoys singing karaoke as much as he does watching it. On a night that has been dominated by country and R&B crooners, Brown rises from his seat onstage and belts out Filter’s “Hey Man, Nice Shot” – a fitting farewell as the audience’s attention shifts from the stage to the big screen TVs displaying the shooting prowess of LeBron James.
Edited by Marcie Opraseuth
The Cleveland Cavaliers are down by three when a man clad in a blue Polo and khaki shorts takes the stage. About half the crowd at Wild Wing Café cringes, bracing themselves for yet another country ballad. And then the magic happens. The facial expressions of the audience shift from grim anticipation to surprise as Chris Anderson launches into a spirited rendition of “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang.
Anderson, a University of Georgia alumnus with a degree in environmental economics, is a regular at Wild Wing’s karaoke night. He goes to the restaurant about three to four times a month, giving him plenty of opportunities to perfect his performance of “Rapper’s Delight.”
“I almost have the whole thing memorized and it’s like a seven minute song,” said Anderson.
Anderson pauses to take a swig from his Yuengling lager, breathless from his epic feat. For him, the wide selection of music and quality sound system make Wild Wing Café an “above average” karaoke venue.
Wild Wing Café hosts karaoke night every Tuesday from 10 p.m. until around midnight. The event coincides with the “Two for Tuesday” wing special, a deal which allows customers to purchase two orders of chicken wings for the price of one. The karaoke night drink specials are a major draw for patrons.
Marlyce Stein, a bartender at Wild Wing and a UGA alumna, has noticed the effectiveness of linking vocals with value.
“We used to have karaoke on Thursdays,” Stein said “But when you give people both, it works better.”
The combination of wings and karaoke has served as a powerful one-two punch in Wild Wing’s battle for survival in a struggling U.S. economy. David Heenan, a manager at Wild Wing, noted that business was booming despite the lower demand for top-shelf liquor.
“Since Jan. 2009 we’ve been at 99.8 percent of our sales from last year. We’re a recession niche,” said Heenan.
Even the mass exodus of UGA students for summer vacation fails to discourage employees. Tilmon C. Greene, III better known as DJ III, has been working at Wild Wing for four years. Although he is an Augusta native, Greene mentioned that karaoke night at Wild Wing is well-worth the drive to 312 E.Washington St.
“You never know what to expect,” Greene said. “It’s always different.”
William “Brooks” Brown, also known as DJ Dime, is Greene’s business partner. Brown compared the club-like ambiance of Wild Wing’s karaoke night to the atmosphere of Level 131, an Athens nightclub where he also DJ’s.
Like Greene, Brown enjoys singing karaoke as much as he does watching it. On a night that has been dominated by country and R&B crooners, Brown rises from his seat onstage and belts out Filter’s “Hey Man, Nice Shot” – a fitting farewell as the audience’s attention shifts from the stage to the big screen TVs displaying the shooting prowess of LeBron James.
Edited by Marcie Opraseuth
Marcus and Marcie,
ReplyDeleteNice work on observation and description in this story. The writing here, which was only possible because of the reporting, demonstrates how important being there is to the quality of the story.
I really like the imagery and the timing of this lead. The one thing I'd do at the top is break that first graph up a little -- paragraph after ballad, then paragraph after the "magic happens" sentence. Let that one stand alone for a little dramatic effect.
The rest of the story is effective. Marcus, you were concerned about being too promotional, and I think the best way out would be to name some other places that offer karaoke so Wild Wing isn't completely singled out. You mention Level 131, but I don't know if that has karaoke or not.