A highlight of my week...
For those who don't already know, a bit of background. I play a weekly gig in NYC with a band called Arlene's World Famous Live Rock Karaoke Band. We work from a list of over 200 songs, and audience members sign up and choose a song and we play it while they sing it. It's one of the most fun gigs I've ever had, and every gig has its share of surprises.
But nothing like what happened on Friday night.
Early last week, I got an email from the band leader instructing me to learn a song called 'I Started A Joke' by the Bee Gees. It was no big deal - I already knew the song, but I was left wondering why a rock band would be learning one of the Bee Gees' sappiest ballads. The bass player had the same thought - here's his comment to me in an email:
Great. Can't wait to play this one. The crowd on a Friday night always goes wild for sleepy ballads sung in a whiny falsetto.
So, Friday rolls around and I get to the club. It was obvious that something was up - there was a camera crew set up in the club and a lot of guys in suits coming in. I was wondering what was up until the moment we took the stage, and a tall dude jumped up out of the crowd...
Yup. Jim Carrey. Or as he introduced himself, 'Jim Carrey-oke.' He started with the aforementioned Bee Gees song, then did 'Creep' by Radiohead and 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' by Smashing Pumpkins.
Needless to say, the video has gone viral - among the news outlets reporting it were Billboard, NME, Huffington Post, ABC News, and TMZ, among others.
And here I thought I was just going to my normal ol' job on Friday. Proof positive that anything can happen when you're me.