Klingon Karoake

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I'm not much for karaoke but I'd like to visit this place

 

The Oregonian

[Riaan 0]

This place sounds interesting. Too bad I live so far away. And my starship would be in the shop having it warp core overhauled!

[master_q 0]

Let’s just see what we learned about the language

 

Da wIj = My Way

VeqlarghDaq yIjach = Shout at the Devil

 

 

Click for Spoiler:

It's just another Thursday night at Bodacious Classics, a dance club in Southeast Portland.

    

A couple of Imperial storm troopers are chatting with a galactic bounty hunter and a Jedi knight. Waitresses in Federation Starfleet uniforms take drink orders. Five Klingon warriors are mixing with the crowd.

 

Then, suddenly, the roughest, toughest Klingon in the room lets loose.

 

"qqqqab,HomDaq jIqab!"

 

To Earthlings, that translates roughly as "B-B-B-B-Bad to the bone!"

 

It's George Thorogood and the Destroyers, rendered in the mythical Klingon language created for "Star Trek" movies and TV shows.

 

It's your weirdest dream: Klingon karaoke.

 

But it's no dream. It's Jim Colvill -- retirement home cook, erstwhile art student and science fiction fan -- doing what he loves most: transforming himself into Qaolin, a dark-faced, wrinkle-headed, bushy-haired, cloak-wearing, knife-wielding Klingon alter ego with a bad attitude.

 

The best thing about being a Klingon, the enemy of the Federation?

 

"That you can act rude, weird, crude and socially unacceptable," Colvill says, "and people expect it."

 

Colvill is the main event for Klingon Karaoke every Thursday at Bodacious Classics, which is gaining currency as a watering hole for Portland-area aliens. The nightclub also sponsors Bar Wars, a "Star Wars" takeoff, every Tuesday.

 

Colvill sang his first Klingon karaoke two years ago at the Norwescon science fiction convention in Seattle. He sat down with his Klingon language books and translated "My Way," a karaoke favorite.

 

"I went up there and floored everybody," he says.

 

For the past year, Colvill has brought his act to Bodacious Classics, singing not only "Da wIj" ("My Way"), but also such Klingon classics as "VeqlarghDaq yIjach" ("Shout at the Devil").

 

How Colvill ended up behind the microphone is a tale of coincidences involving two Portland men, Clyde Lewis and Ralph McKee.

 

Lewis hosts a weekend talk show on KOTK radio, called "Ground Zero," which focuses on all things bizarre, from the paranormal to conspiracy theories. He's also appeared on the TV shows "Sightings" and "Strange Universe" and played the voice of Toxie in the 1999 sci-fi film "Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part 4."

 

McKee owns Bodacious Classics, a club that featured an oldies theme until repair work on the Ross Island Bridge in 2000 and 2001 began to hurt the Southeast Powell Boulevard business. Since then, McKee has been taking his son's advice to convert the dance club to a "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" theme to draw a younger crowd and replace his lost business.

 

Lewis and McKee were introduced to each other by an advertising salesperson for KOTK.

 

"What if I was to tell you I could bring a Klingon here, and he could sing standard karaoke songs in Klingon?" Lewis says he asked McKee.

 

McKee couldn't resist.

 

Neither could Colvill.

 

Lewis had known Colvill from bumping into him at the Ross Island Grocery & Cafe in Southwest Portland's Corbett neighborhood, where both men live. They both turned out to be "Star Trek" fans.

 

"This is your quest," Lewis told him. "You are to be the next Klingon rock star."

 

Lewis also slapped on a latex forehead, took the Klingon identity K'tok and agreed to host the Thursday night events.

 

With Colvill, aka Qaolin, on center stage, Bodacious Classics' 1950s memorabilia is gradually disappearing, replaced by big-eyed, big-headed aliens, R2-D2 units and autographed pictures of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. The building itself has begun to bristle with jutting, odd-shaped black fixtures, giving it the look of a Borg spaceship.

 

In between Qaolin's numbers, storm trooper Jerry Gordon sings karaoke in English, and McKee plays dance music.

 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, customers often show up not only as "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" characters, but also as knights, fairies, werewolves and vampires, among others. An imposingly tall Darth Vader roams the scene, chatting with Princess Leia and Chewbacca the Wookiee. Occasionally, a set of twins dressed as Borgs shows up. The bar once attracted a full crew wearing space shuttle gear.

 

Every Thursday features a science fiction movie at 7 p.m., with Klingon karaoke beginning after 9 p.m. The second Thursday of every month features not only Klingon karaoke, but also a UFO discussion group that addresses such topics as alien sex.

 

"These people didn't have any place they could go to," McKee says. "It's interesting. It's an underground society that I didn't know was there."

 

Colvill has loved the Klingon characters best of all since encountering them in 1995 at a "Star Trek" convention.

 

"I think it was probably the amalgamation of Viking, samurai and biker," Colvill says. "It appealed to my playful side."

 

Playful indeed. In 1999, shortly after he lost a job, he dressed in full costume, stood at the west end of the Ross Island Bridge and held a sign that said, "Will Work for Gagh." Gagh is serpent worms, a popular Klingon food.

 

Colvill has spoken Klingon for about five years but doesn't consider himself fluent.

 

"I still have to go back to the Klingon dictionary," he says.

 

The Klingon language, invented by linguist Marc Okrand for "Star Trek" movies and TV shows, is said to be among the fastest-growing languages on the planet. Klingon translations are under way on the Bible, the Book of Mormon and Shakespeare, among others.

 

On a recent Thursday night, however, there is no Shakespeare in evidence. Instead, Qaolin the Klingon belts out "Indian Reservation," "Born to Be Wild," "Shout at the Devil," "Over the Rainbow" and, of course, "My Way."

 

"I'm here," he says, "to make your day a little more surreal."

 

 

 

 

Master Q

StarTrek_Master_Q@yahoo.com

[roguedawg 0]

Let’s just see what we learned about the language

 

Da wIj = My Way

VeqlarghDaq yIjach = Shout at the Devil

 

 

Click for Spoiler:

It's just another Thursday night at Bodacious Classics, a dance club in Southeast Portland.

    

A couple of Imperial storm troopers are chatting with a galactic bounty hunter and a Jedi knight. Waitresses in Federation Starfleet uniforms take drink orders. Five Klingon warriors are mixing with the crowd.

 

Then, suddenly, the roughest, toughest Klingon in the room lets loose.

 

"qqqqab,HomDaq jIqab!"

 

To Earthlings, that translates roughly as "B-B-B-B-Bad to the bone!"

 

It's George Thorogood and the Destroyers, rendered in the mythical Klingon language created for "Star Trek" movies and TV shows.

 

It's your weirdest dream: Klingon karaoke.

 

But it's no dream. It's Jim Colvill -- retirement home cook, erstwhile art student and science fiction fan -- doing what he loves most: transforming himself into Qaolin, a dark-faced, wrinkle-headed, bushy-haired, cloak-wearing, knife-wielding Klingon alter ego with a bad attitude.

 

The best thing about being a Klingon, the enemy of the Federation?

 

"That you can act rude, weird, crude and socially unacceptable," Colvill says, "and people expect it."

 

Colvill is the main event for Klingon Karaoke every Thursday at Bodacious Classics, which is gaining currency as a watering hole for Portland-area aliens. The nightclub also sponsors Bar Wars, a "Star Wars" takeoff, every Tuesday.

 

Colvill sang his first Klingon karaoke two years ago at the Norwescon science fiction convention in Seattle. He sat down with his Klingon language books and translated "My Way," a karaoke favorite.

 

"I went up there and floored everybody," he says.

 

For the past year, Colvill has brought his act to Bodacious Classics, singing not only "Da wIj" ("My Way"), but also such Klingon classics as "VeqlarghDaq yIjach" ("Shout at the Devil").

 

How Colvill ended up behind the microphone is a tale of coincidences involving two Portland men, Clyde Lewis and Ralph McKee.

 

Lewis hosts a weekend talk show on KOTK radio, called "Ground Zero," which focuses on all things bizarre, from the paranormal to conspiracy theories. He's also appeared on the TV shows "Sightings" and "Strange Universe" and played the voice of Toxie in the 1999 sci-fi film "Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part 4."

 

McKee owns Bodacious Classics, a club that featured an oldies theme until repair work on the Ross Island Bridge in 2000 and 2001 began to hurt the Southeast Powell Boulevard business. Since then, McKee has been taking his son's advice to convert the dance club to a "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" theme to draw a younger crowd and replace his lost business.

 

Lewis and McKee were introduced to each other by an advertising salesperson for KOTK.

 

"What if I was to tell you I could bring a Klingon here, and he could sing standard karaoke songs in Klingon?" Lewis says he asked McKee.

 

McKee couldn't resist.

 

Neither could Colvill.

 

Lewis had known Colvill from bumping into him at the Ross Island Grocery & Cafe in Southwest Portland's Corbett neighborhood, where both men live. They both turned out to be "Star Trek" fans.

 

"This is your quest," Lewis told him. "You are to be the next Klingon rock star."

 

Lewis also slapped on a latex forehead, took the Klingon identity K'tok and agreed to host the Thursday night events.

 

With Colvill, aka Qaolin, on center stage, Bodacious Classics' 1950s memorabilia is gradually disappearing, replaced by big-eyed, big-headed aliens, R2-D2 units and autographed pictures of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. The building itself has begun to bristle with jutting, odd-shaped black fixtures, giving it the look of a Borg spaceship.

 

In between Qaolin's numbers, storm trooper Jerry Gordon sings karaoke in English, and McKee plays dance music.

 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, customers often show up not only as "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" characters, but also as knights, fairies, werewolves and vampires, among others. An imposingly tall Darth Vader roams the scene, chatting with Princess Leia and Chewbacca the Wookiee. Occasionally, a set of twins dressed as Borgs shows up. The bar once attracted a full crew wearing space shuttle gear.

 

Every Thursday features a science fiction movie at 7 p.m., with Klingon karaoke beginning after 9 p.m. The second Thursday of every month features not only Klingon karaoke, but also a UFO discussion group that addresses such topics as alien sex.

 

"These people didn't have any place they could go to," McKee says. "It's interesting. It's an underground society that I didn't know was there."

 

Colvill has loved the Klingon characters best of all since encountering them in 1995 at a "Star Trek" convention.

 

"I think it was probably the amalgamation of Viking, samurai and biker," Colvill says. "It appealed to my playful side."

 

Playful indeed. In 1999, shortly after he lost a job, he dressed in full costume, stood at the west end of the Ross Island Bridge and held a sign that said, "Will Work for Gagh." Gagh is serpent worms, a popular Klingon food.

 

Colvill has spoken Klingon for about five years but doesn't consider himself fluent.

 

"I still have to go back to the Klingon dictionary," he says.

 

The Klingon language, invented by linguist Marc Okrand for "Star Trek" movies and TV shows, is said to be among the fastest-growing languages on the planet. Klingon translations are under way on the Bible, the Book of Mormon and Shakespeare, among others.

 

On a recent Thursday night, however, there is no Shakespeare in evidence. Instead, Qaolin the Klingon belts out "Indian Reservation," "Born to Be Wild," "Shout at the Devil," "Over the Rainbow" and, of course, "My Way."

 

"I'm here," he says, "to make your day a little more surreal."

 

 

 

 

 

Master Q

StarTrek_Master_Q@yahoo.com

If Klingons have no devil in their culture,how can they have a word for Devil?This Breen is confused....

[qurgh 0]

The version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" (or "bIQ'otlh wov DungDaq vegh 'oH") that Jim sings was translated by me.. he's been promising me a copy of it on CD for a while now.. I need to get back to him :lol:

 

You can see the lyrics at http://www.wizage.net:81/klingsongs/beta/ where I have a bunch of songs. Unfortunatly I don't have a good singing voice so I translate and someone else sings :lol:

[bevfanK 0]

I read about this in my paper..

 

I'm going to try and get my parents to take me sometime..

 

<------- bevfanK a proud Oregonian :lol: