LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Local man Edward Berg brought his own microphone for last week’s noncompetitive “Tuesday Karaoke Night” at the Old Frog, setting off an immediate sense of dread and unease amongst fellow patrons, annoyed bar staff confirmed.
“Around 7:45 p.m., this guy came in with a shiny silver case and he placed it up on the bar… and inside was a microphone wrapped in a little towel. The guy seemed like trouble,” said bartender Chelsea Hayes. “When he complained that the DJ only had the Whitney Houston version of ‘I Will Always Love You’ and not Dolly Parton’s original, I knew we were in for it.”
Throughout the night, Berg allegedly also sent multiple pizza logs back to the kitchen, one because it was “too greasy and going to ruin his mic,” and another because it was too hot and could “oversaturate his vocal chords.”
Once Berg began heckling fellow competitors, however, venue management intervened.
“He claimed he was protecting the integrity of the ‘’oke.’ I’ve never heard it shortened like that, but it sure bummed a lot of people out,” said Marti Iannucci, the bar’s owner and manager. “But I can’t have people singing over other players, or warming up with lip trills and ‘ha-ha’ staccato on the mic. You’re going to need to do that outside, on your own time.”
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Karaoke DJ Tyrone Green of Little Rock’s Big Party Rental has reportedly “seen Berg around town a lot lately.”
“I know he hits at least five karaoke nights a week. He’s been bringing his own smoke machine and lighting rig to amp up his performance,” said Green during a cigarette break. “I heard he made it to the producer’s round of Canadian Idol and totally blew it. He’s had something to prove ever since that summer.”
Ultimately, Berg left in disgust when a bachelorette party drunkenly sang R. Kelly’s “Ignition” together.