Dress 12 : This is for Steve!

When you relocate to another country there is one thing you can’t take with you: All of your friends!!

As I mentioned before when I moved to New York I knew only a few people.  Making friends in a big city can be hard.  On a whim instead of staying in town for my first Thanksgiving I went to London.  Catching the Manhattan Express bus to the airport can always be an interesting experience.  The bus driver we had this night was Russian and swearing loudly at passing cars and weaving in and out of the city traffic.  All of the passengers on the bus gave each other cautious looks and held on tight to the seat in case he weaved into something.

Making it in one piece I hopped off the bus and headed to my terminal.  Once lined up to check in I recognised a girl from the bus and made a comment to her about the bus driver.  It turned out she was from the UK and was the same age as me.  We both had similar stories for moving to NYC and by the time I landed in London I had made my first NYC friend.  She was also just heading over for the Thanksgiving holiday and would be back in NY the same time as me.  We switched numbers and promised to meet for a drink one day.

Back in New York we kept that promise and after finding we both needed somewhere to stay we eventually decided to rent an apartment together on the Upper East Side.  Now when you move to a new neighbourhood one of the first things you need to find is where you can buy beer or where you can go to a bar to get beer.  It wasn’t hard to figure out which bar would be my local of choice.  Walking up York Avenue on our first day in the apartment there was a bar called Cabin Fever with a sandwich board out the front with a sign that read KARAOKE TONIGHT!

For those who know me know I sing in the shower, sing in my car, sing in my sleep .. I SING!!!  One old boss was always yelling at meat work “this isn’t American idol Skye”.   So that night we headed down to Cabin Fever.  I raced to the Karaoke DJ or KJ as I now know they are called and signed up to sing.  The first ever karaoke song I sang in America was I’m Outta Love by Anastasia.  Singing is such a release; it can release anger, happiness, hopefulness …  all in 3 minutes and 53 seconds.  I was in heaven up on that stage!!  After meeting the bar staff and a few more songs down I knew this would be my place.  After the show finished the KJ came over and gave me a card and told me he thought I was good and I should come back.  At this moment I thought ‘wow I’m going to be a star!!!’

Well .. in the months and weeks that I came to be a part of the karaoke crowd I saw many other people get those cards too!  Steve aka the KJ was building himself a little group of good karaoke singers!  Steve played about four nights a week at bars dotted around Manhattan and I generally could be found at them Tuesday and Thursdays and sometimes Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and wherever he played on Saturday nights.  Of course what I loved was getting the chance to sing and meet people but also I was making a new friend in Steve.    I think at first he really liked having me around because I would be able to sing all the songs he had and never heard before like Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia and Delta Goodrem!!  

As the years went by I learnt a lot about the world of karaoke and as the regulars continued to go to the same shows we formed a sort of karaoke family.  You knew what songs the other people were good at, could tell if someone was having a bad day by not hitting a note they always would and worry when someone didn’t show up for the night.  You also knew what songs not to sing as we all had our own artists and specialities.  We supported each other in trying new songs, singing in new locations like the Boardwalk on Coney Island and congratulated each other when we heard where another had sung, I once sang in front of a few hundred people in a karaoke competition at Grand Central Station.

Through karaoke I made connections with bands to sing with, met producers and also connections for work meeting people from all over NY and who were in all types of fields.  Steve and I became great friends and remain so to this day.  When I left I was so sad that I wouldn’t be able to sing with him anymore I even suggested Skype karaoke – which we did try!  Music is the international language and it has brought so many wonderful people like Steve into my life.

I know he is wonderful because even though he would say ‘Not Evanescence again’ or ‘I’ve only got time for one last song’ or ‘no I will not drive you to White Castle’ at the end of the day I know he would be there for me anytime I needed him.  He was my friend when I cried, would go along with silly things that made me laugh and surprise me with a song that I had been dying to sing when I least expected it after pretending for weeks he didn’t have it.

The dress I’m wearing today I wore the first time to karaoke after work one day where I had taken a sneaky lunch time trip to Dejanerio.  I miss singing and I miss the karaoke crowd but more than anything I miss knowing of a place any time during the week where I can go and sing a song and know one of my favourite people in the world is always going to be there!  Once a year visiting New York isn’t enough Steve – we have to get that karaoke Skype thing happening now (or you could just come to Australia!).  When I would sing a song I knew he liked I would say ‘This is for Steve’(even though he hated it when I talked in the microphone!) … but anyway ‘This is for Steve!!!’

Thank you also to Sugar Station in the city for allowing us to take these sweet pictures in the store today!

Day 12 : This is for Steve
Bought: 5 years ago
Price Range: 29.95
From: DeJaniero New York
What I like about it: I LOVE the colour and the sweetheart neckline and the three cute buttons!
Tag Info: Made in China, Aziz, 95% Rayon 5% Spandex
Photo Credit: KMcKinnon