Karaoke/14″/dt1st/mark2nd

By NOLA L. SARKISIAN

Staff Reporter

Sporting a black Daniel Boone cap with a white stripe down the middle and matching fur attire, a man strums his guitar on a recent Saturday afternoon and croons the “Skunkin’ Blues.”

Another singer’s rousing rendition of “Hot, Hot, Hot” by Buster Poindexter prompts a group of about 25 people to clasp each other at the waist and conga their way around the courtyard.

Many of the onlookers have spiked blond hair, while most are sitting at tables pushed together, topped with half-empty pitchers of beer.

Farmers Market is seldom thought of as an L.A. hotspot, but times have changed. Saturday karaoke has grown over the past four years from a small weekly gathering to an enormous sometimes dangerously large crowd of young locals, tourists and others out for a good time.

Three weeks ago, the county Fire Marshall shut down the event after 2,000 people packed the western portion of the market, far beyond its capacity. To discourage such crowds, market operators changed the starting time last week from 7 p.m. to 4 p.m., hoping less people would be interested. Attendance was lower, but some 300 people flocked there just the same, many arriving an hour or two early to stake a good seat.

“In the last year, it’s just exploded,” said Emy Frasca, manager of E.B.’s bar, who originally proposed the karaoke concept. “People love the atmosphere it’s clean, relaxed. There are fun characters to see, and once people see them, they keep coming back.”

The extra patrons are a boon to sales, considering that business tends to drop off in the later afternoons. “This helps bring people here,” said Jesus Rivera, manager at Lulu Panini. “They get hungry when they’re sitting there surrounded by all this food.”

One attendee, Park La Brea resident Therese Senasac, says, “It’s the best free entertainment in Los Angeles. It’s good music and if it’s not good, it’s funny.”

Every week, some 50 people sign up to perform their favorite songs, and often are put on a waiting list. It used to be that they could sing more than one tune, but the stage has filled up in past months. An event organizer brings the four speakers, the television monitor and the microphone.

Clearly, it’s not a bashful group. Many of the performers are hoping to boost their musical careers, including an older woman named Diana (she doesn’t use her last name she says it’s like Cher) who has a half-hour show on public-access cable TV.

“I’ve been coming here for four years,” said Diana, after working the crowd to hoots and hollers with her version of Donna Summer’s “Last Dance.” “I just love music and the crowd is so responsive. They make you feel good.”

Fellow participant Tim James, 39, who entertained the audience to “Love Train” by the O’Jays, agrees that it’s easier to let loose here than in other karaoke places.

“I work 18 hours a week as a set dresser, and this is a release. I’m addicted to this,” said James, who also moonlights with singing gigs at the Dresden Room and the Cinegrill in Hollywood. “There’s a lot of love here and a lot of talent.”

But it’s the eclectic mix that draws people back, says LeRoy Denny, 37, a Park La Brea resident.

“These people are more proficient than the average karaoke performer. They don’t even look at the prompter. They just know their stuff,” he said.