Contact us
Back to All Posts

Shake, shake, skake. Shake with Davey, even though he’s (mostly) behind the booth. Yes, both of you can strut. But I bet your hat doesn’t grab as much attention as that on this karaoke deejay, especially when he’s out in the crowd. So Shakin’ Dave does his take on Buffett, Jimmy not Warren, and you too can do your outrageous take on songs. Host venue Bobcat’s doesn’t mind.

(Note: This is the first of an occasional series on super-cool-but-still-smokin’ area deejays, karaoke and otherwise, and charismatic bartenders.)

The longtime karaoke deejay (doing both) at Bobcat’s in downtown New Richmond and other venues, who goes by the stage name Shakin’ Dave because of his jiggly dance moves that evoke Jimmy Buffett and his lowkey shorts and floppy shirt, often shifts and shimmies left and right and does a dip of his shoulders like a Drop C chord, when in action. Dave when at Bobcat’s in the back — which is more central then you might at first note — by the karaoke booth, or when out mingling with the crowd with swagger and moves like Jagger, making me think samba or salsa, while the songs are spinning. The decorative dice are indicative of someone who can roll, and rock, as are displayed on his business card.
He has over years honed his act, where like many deejays, he has some themed music ready to go. Dave’s just-getting-the-party-started early choice when buses of bachelorettes come in to let loose, is generally to instruct the groom, who likely is not in attendance, on just how to treat a lady — and show just what he might be in for. The brief monologue is followed by a song by Shania Twain, “any man of mine better walk the line.” And that’s only the start of such musical comedy. You can add in as foils the likes of Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, and all three are experienced country music singers — and female. Their target audience with these songs, often grouped in threes by genre, leave only one question on the table, or dance floor: Who will whoop it up most, to follow The Shaker’s suggestion, the bride or a member of her party. Mom too.
But Dave’s got other genres going too — especially anything requiring a hat, maybe a floppy or even frilly one. Dave has plenty of them as part of his costume schtick, and a main one is more like a sombrero, not somber, complete with killer bright colors and numerous strings with small attachments at the edge of the brim. They are not quite to the point of being frayed, just jangle while he jiggles, in a way that can be uniquely lowkey and also remind one of actor Bill Murray’s deadpan demeanor. Put all this together and it works. Or Dave will play a fave song for you just for your listening to it, with the only vocals being those from the original singers, and not your friends acting as backup vocalists. As Dave — who has his presence felt across several endeavors and brings that experience and its banter to this as his night gig — will also spin it that way for you.
The bridal parties usually eat it up, just like wedding cake. Dave is also a main force in bringing in a crowd of regulars singing unusually creative tunes, across genres but not straying too much from them, who have also now started going to the Wild Badger for more of the same.
More recently, Dave pointed out the derivative nature of a band that essentially covered a song by Dobie Grey and played those numbers back to back, then talked up Beyonce covering the classic song Jolene by Dolly Parton and followed it with another remake done by Miley Cyrus. Good commentary, all around.
Dave has gotten behind some of my ragers, welcoming me to the spotlight in front of the stage with screen set at 90 degrees, and expertly prepping the crowd to best enjoy my rather far-reaching takes on these tunes. To wit: Hocus Pocus by Focus that approaches the heights of wild crescendo, You Got Another Thing coming with wailing by Judas Priest, and of course Stairway to Heaven as I try my hand at introducing vocal fills as per Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Dave doesn’t mind if I and others get a little outrageous; that’s his stock and trade when kept at controlled chaos.
But Dave is about more than just Bobcat’s. By the numbers, or the phrases, his business is called Dave’s PC and DJ, specializing in weddings, birthdays, graduations (like soon coming), anniversaries (the grandfolks love to rock too and sing more than just classic rock and country), reunions, parties and corporate events too … even maybe Martian Space Schuttle launchings?!? Featuring interactive karaoke and a sound and light show to fit any venue. Indoor or Outdoor.
New Richmond next to only Hudson is a destination place for bachelorette parties in far western Wisconsin. The pattern is for these crews that basically consist of the bridal parties and a few friends, to start at Bobcat’s, maybe even a bit before most local music typically starts, and around the time Bobcat’s weekend karaoke begins, then cross the main street over to the Wild Badger and other venues to the immediate north. Most of the nightspots are quite long and narrow, and people will filter through the venues and then go out to use the back alleys running parallel to the north-south main street, on either of the stretches to be found west and east.
You can find Dave at Bobcat’s every Friday and Saturday night from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Then back there on Sunday with a somewhat quieter and maybe folkier gig in the afternoon, from 2-6 p.m. and constitutes what usually is a rare time for karaoke. His email is a dead giveaway, see ShakinDave@Buddy-Technology.com.

Share the Post:

Related Posts

  • I’ll be brief and punchy with this headline notation, as we transition to giving you more and sometimes shorter choices. And you may notice some of that as you beckon forward. It’s circular. Like a flush. Be careful what you mix, heads vs. text, drinks vs. food, and all kinds of potions — that may go bump in the night. —– Punchy, potentially, but I digress or progress with a new patriotic addition.
My mom has told me not to be a potty mouth when I write, as she certainly would not appreciate hardly any of the standup humor on say, Comedy Central Radio. SNL maybe. But after 11:30 p.m. … But there comes a time where a man must make a stand. And for this jokester, it was now when he had to choose whether to pass on the opportunity that would otherwise bite him in the butt, for in front of and behind him is the Mother Lode. Or should I say load. Or “Mothers” of Invention. Heh heh, heh heh, Butthead, look...
Read More
  • This coulda been Vanna White’s next Big gig In The Sky, if the scaffolding was not so high. So this is how the project went, by the letters and numbers, of get Trump’s name erased from the Kennedy Center. The $250 bill might be tougher. Sad but true. So, What are there more of going on right now, wars or Trump pet construction projects?
So the wall is down. Of letters, that is. Not down by Mexico. Cemented into the concrete. Of the Kennedy Center. Where music has sat. (Near where a now defunct wrestling arena rusts in peace. Or a bloodied White House lawn. With leftover paper cups and plates, more likely bowls and small utensils, anyone?) Or more ornate than inside? A tarp the size of Pennsylvania, the predominant battle state, covers workers as they chip. So geez, how big are the letters? Four times 50 living workers high? But now none remain, or so we are told by flunkies. Or is...
Read More
  • Stressed out as a caregiver? She’s back at yah. This is a rare case of a husband and wife being joint caregivers — for each other — aided and abbetted by the fact that they have a lot of the same disabling conditions. So she shovels snow using a walker/scooter, while he cooks gingerly using a microwave and offers her a plate when she sits down, in an easy chair, in a reversal and new take on traditional roles. Whatever it takes. Necessity is the mother of invention. —– In a new add, Towns and the champion Knicks got kicked around but still got their kicks in the long run … As do Norwegian dancers.
A few years back, I wrote an article about Hudson Deacon Tom Kroll and how he did so many extra dutiful tasks, his living out the Gospels tirelessly, when his wife was ill, in addition to his regular job. I was inspired at the time to pen this, about my own lovely, disabled wife — we were separated briefly but now back together with our 40th anniversary this month, as wholehearted caregiving has many strains — and how an atypical view of standard roles, out of necessity, made things work, as far as our approach to work and home that’s...
Read More
  • He says, and goes fishing with the boys. She says, then goes to the middle of Texas, inviting her mates to a ranch/villa built for the ages. The bachelor and bachelorette parties were on the same night, but though very different, they had some things in common … like the snakes, at least three kinds, to avoid. (None with exotic dancer.) But while away, they did not avoid each other, completely. He made a phone call. —– Just added, last call included a Carolina cowpoke.
What do fishing, maybe in the dark, thus a Texas ranch, snakes of various types and do they come or stay out after dusk, eating either and only fine food or snacks, and a game of cards — likely just one each — have in common. And no strippers or Chippendales. And an only half or quarter, not full Monty. (Who is Monty anyway?) Or cowboy or cowgirl hats. Although there was some dress-up. More Barbie than boots on, I think. It’s an easy answer, connected and conflicting, but not in all or dirty ways, bachelor and bachelorette parties. One of each...
Read More
  • Full metal jacket? Hey, I wasn’t exactly to the point of going Rob Halford. But tastes aside, there must be some reason why after 26 years I was shunned, like going Bob Daisley by Ozzy at his reunion? OK, I know, my style may not have fit with the packed crowd. And the last couple of times for this, I tried to do too much with ad-libbing. So yeah, I get that this time around, I was the somewhat unusual choice to be the one left off the set list, with singers clamoring to get up there. But seriously, just being analytical of strengths and weaknesses as a singer here, no hard feelings. I’m not Dio. (Or Traveling Wilburys, a when jumping inside, inside joke.)
It was clear to me at the most recent Jeff Loven music show in Hudson, for Memorial Day weekend, that there has been a changing of the guard. The sword has been passed. New blood, like Yungblud, has been brought in. And, I must say, loyalty — amongst the devotees who travel frequently and all across the two-state area to virtually all of Jeff’s shows — has been rewarded. They are the royalty, in what just makes good business sense that I can appreciate. In a significant but not unprecedented altering of course, I was not one of those asked...
Read More
  • Songs by Napalm Death? A fire swept down my very street today, where the babies were burned. (But alas, a new A/C unit is on its way up the freeway.) The Stones did not leave these themes unturned, either, or should I say unrolled. Oh wait, this all was my cooker of an apartment, and we are not talking the kitchen. But all these matters will become more pressing, a pressure point, as the new normal especially in southern climes is temp well into the triple digits. It is these people, the third world, and their heat stroke not mine, that most concern me. (Another example of hellfire temps just added. Sin after Sin.)
Trial by fire. My broiling heart in my efficiency flat still beats a bit, in concern over those boiling over in worse apartments in a Chicago tenancy, or on an ocean island instantly-burn-your-feet beach or dessert, or forced to endure ice baths just to keep cool — or simply be offered no way to maintain an ice-dripping body other than also read a non-cookbook at the library, or select not a big steak you can’t afford but a 73/27 burger from a freezer and slap it on your forehead. Just not too hard. All these things are ones where you especially today either burn or...
Read More
Scroll to Top