With an empire of cataloged songs, a determined attitude, and a microphone, host Reba Gray is ready to take your karaoke song request.
Originally from Johnson City, Tenn., Gray has been a part of Chico’s event scene for nearly two decades.
“If you've heard [the song] “Wagon Wheel,” you've heard of my town, but that's pretty much the only reason you would have,” Gray said.
Gray has made a career by hosting fun events in the area. From drunk spelling bees to trivia nights, chances are she’s been your master of ceremonies.
For the last decade, she’s been holding karaoke nights in the city, allowing people to belt their hearts out.
“I just wound up picking it up kind of out of necessity, out of something that the Maltese needed, and then I've just continued to host it for about 10 years,” Gray said.
‘Misery Business’ for first time karaoke
Before fully committing to letting others become Whitney Houston or Prince on stage for five minutes, Gray had to test the waters.
Her first bout with karaoke was during a visit to her home state. At the time, she had never dared to sing karaoke in front of an audience.
“I’m actually very introverted, and getting up on stage and singing in front of people sounded horrifying to me,” Gray said.
But it happened to be karaoke night while she was out with friends. The bar wasn't crowded, and she didn't recognize anyone there. She decided to take a chance and sang "Misery Business" by Paramore.
“My voice shook the entire time. I was absolutely terrified,” she said. “And I got off the stage, and a couple people came up to me, and they were like, you'd be fine if you'd just calm down.”
When she returned to Chico, she began hosting karaoke at the Maltese, which closed in 2022.
“I’m still devastated. I still have times when I think and wish that I could go there,” Gray said.
It was the place that helped Gray lose her shyness.
“I was getting more and more comfortable being on a microphone and having that kind of persona come through, instead of just being scared every time,” Gray said.
Dedication to the craft
When someone discovers that Gray is a karaoke host, they often exclaim that it sounds incredibly fun. But she said it’s not easy.
“It's also the most draining thing, putting yourself out there in that way and trying to make sure that everybody is having a good time and making sure that everybody feels hyped up,” Gray said. “There's so much more to actually hosting karaoke than I think people know.”
Karaoke hosts typically supply most of their own equipment, including the soundboard, microphones, laptop setup, catalog of karaoke songs with lyrics, and a method for song selection.
Along with having good people skills, a sense of humor and knowing the technical side of the karaoke system, Gray said you have to be prepared for anything.
“Somebody came up to my table where I had everything set up, and they turned around to walk away, and their foot grabbed a cord and yanked everything apart and broke so much of my equipment,” she said.
A challenge is keeping things flowing and gauging the atmosphere and enthusiasm of the crowd.
“Any kind of break is terrifying. If I need to go to the bathroom, I try to pick a longer song that I know very well,” Gray said. “So that I can hear from the bathroom, and know, okay, like, All right, I've got enough time.”
A reward is having people reminisce about events she’s hosted.
“I love the community aspect of it, really bringing people together to do a thing that we all enjoy,” Gray said. “Essentially, egotistically, I get to sit there and bask in that because that’s something that essentially I created.”
She’s a pro at handling just about any song, but there is one she asks that you leave off the list — “Love Shack” by The B-52s.
“I just don’t like 'Love Shack,' she said, “sorry to everybody out there.”
Gray currently hosts karaoke at The Chico Taproom at 9 p.m. on Saturdays.
