Karaoke Semi-Finals At East Hampton Bowl

It’s not about superstar looks or body type. It’s not about fame. It’s just about rocking the mic.

Welcome to the “Karaoke Semi-Finals” at East Hampton Bowl.

About 50 bar patrons packed into the bowling alley’s lounge on Saturday, May 14, and stayed into the early morning hours to hear their friends wow a panel of judges—musicians Tali “Icepack” Jackson, Patrick Hart and Key Fitz—and fight for their chance to compete in the karaoke finals this weekend.

“In this lounge, it’s just based on the voice,” said East Hampton Bowl’s Executive Manager Ian Grossman. “We don’t care about much else. Unfortunately, in the record business, they do. Not us.”

The karaoke contest has been long in the making. Starting last January, Mr. Grossman awarded one to four contestants with certificates at each of the alley’s bi-monthly karaoke shows to return for the semi-finals this past weekend. Of the 40 total winners awarded certificates, eight showed up and belted out their favorite tunes on Saturday night. The judges whittled the field down to just four to compete in the finals on Saturday, May 21.

The winner of the finals will fly out on June 27 to Gaylord, Texas to take a shot at the seventh annual “International Bowling Karaoke Superstar Contest,” Mr. Grossman said, with airfare and the three-day, two-night hotel stay paid in full by East Hampton Bowl.

“It’s run all over the United States. About 3,000 bowling centers are involved,” Mr. Grossman explained. “Basically, the

best singer is going to go represent us and compete for the $5,000 first place prize.”

The finals at East Hampton Bowl will be judged by a different panel, but going into the semi-finals, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Hart and Mr. Fitz said they knew what they were looking for in each of the contestants.

“I’ve played music for 45 years, I know good and bad,” Mr. Jackson said. “Once in a while I watch ‘American Idol.’ I thought this would be a kick.”

Mr. Hart said, “I’m looking for, first, can they sing? I want to see you do something cool with the song, I want you to sing from the heart, I guess you can say. Sing because you like it, because you love it.”

And Mr. Fitz’s criteria was different from those of his fellow judges.

“Sex appeal, big breasts, what do you want to hear?” Mr. Fitz said. “I’m kidding. I’m looking for being on tune, being on time, giving a feel to the song, feeling the emotion of the song. Those are the main things.”

The first contestant up—39-year-old David Gonzalez—did just that with his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me.”

“You are so damn close to Frank Sinatra that you’d make him proud,” Mr. Fitz said to a grinning Mr. Gonzalez.

Mr. Gonzalez stepped off the hot seat and breathed out, “Nerves always get in the way. Always. Always get jittery.”

Last year, Mr. Gonzalez won the finals at a local bowling alley in Buffalo, New York, and went on to Las Vegas for the big competition. But it didn’t go as smoothly as he’d hoped.

“Oh, I was absolutely destroyed in the first round,” he recalled. “But I enjoyed the rest of my free two days in Vegas,” he added, mischievously.

He moved to the Bronx in November and searched for a bowling alley that was participating this year. East Hampton was the closest event though it was two hours away from his home.

“I took a leap of faith, and hopefully it pays off,” he said.

So far, it has. Mr. Gonzalez, along with three other hopefuls—Ashley Reilly, Kristy LaMonda and Stephen Blanchard—will progress to the finals this coming Saturday.

Ms. Reilly’s powerful cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” floored the judges and even got some of the audience on the dance floor.

“You sang it like it hit you,” Mr. Hart said during his critique.

Mr. Fitz added, “You hit the notes dead on, and you got the girls up dancing so that means you have presence.”

The 22-year-old from East Hampton modestly thanked the judges and scooted out of the spotlight to rousing applause.

“I really enjoy Adele’s music, but I don’t sound anything like her, though,” she said following her performance, slightly flushed. “Karaoke’s a sport, and I’m not an athlete.”

Right on cue, a fan walked by and exclaimed, “You rock!”

Ms. Reilly giggled.

Not all of the contestants walked away with a shot at the big prize. Kerri Marsh, 37, of Shirley belted out Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.” Just as she was starting up, Mr. Gonzalez walked by and encouraged her with, “There you go girl, sing it!”

“I just broke up with my boyfriend, so I thought it would be a great song to sing,” she said afterward in the bowling alley.

And even though the audience burst into a loud cheer after Josh Davidson rocked out to “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” by AC/DC, the 33-year-old from Springs did not advance to the next round.

The judges criticized Mr. Davidson’s high notes, causing the crowd to boo their remarks.

But Mr. Hart added, “If this were Facebook, I would have ‘liked it’ at once. That was good shit, man.”

And even though he won’t be moving on to the finals in East Hampton next weekend, or to the big competition in Texas next month, Mr. Davidson said he wasn’t disheartened by the judges’s comments.

“I had fun doing it, and I won’t stop,” he said. “I’ll keep singing.”