max karaoke studio

formerly of yuu yuu fame, this karaoke joint is just what you need on a holiday monday when you're trying to escape the tediousness of grad school existence.

even though this place has been renamed max karaoke studio (for some reason that we didn't care to ask about), the interior hasn't changed at all. there's still the same dude on the left as you walk in, stuck inside a mini-room where you can check in and pick up some pocky and popcorn before being shown into your own private room.

while some folks may prefer singing to strangers, the majority of us (i think) would prefer singing in the shower, or at most to people who won't hate us for belting out britney spears in the wrong key. (FYI that i've been to those open room karaoke places before and i swear folks practice hardcore before showing up dressed like aretha franklin -- and sounding like her too!)

unfortunately, i must say that the walls in this place need some serious soundproofing, especially when you can hear everyone and their mother through them. of note is this one girl that we passed by on our way in. she was in a room by herself and staring at the screen quite intensely. while singing alone is certainly nothing to look down on, let's just say that her pitch needed some serious work. (granted, who are we to say? we could just as well have sounded that bad ourselves. but it's so much easier to criticize than be reflective, no?) however, i don't think any of us would've known that if the sound hadn't come right through the doors and windows. in case any of you are particularly shy, be forewarned that there ARE windows. thankfully, you can easily turn your backs and not notice people looking in. (which is probably what the lonely girl did.)

the great thing about max is their huge selection of songs, all organized by artist as well as by title. plus they have all the latest tunes sorted by month as well. so if you're a fan of ryan seacrest and the top 40, you shouldn't have much trouble locating your favorite song. (we even found "way back into love" from that cheesy hugh grant/drew barrymore movie "music and lyrics" -- um yeah, we sang it...TWICE.) in addition, max is owned by asians (i think), so you should be able to find popular asian tunes as well. (unfortunately, we weren't up for singing in chinese or japanese today, so i can't fully comment on their selection.)

and for all those poor (and cheap) grad students out there, max is totally affordable. only $4 per person per hour during their happy hours -- 1pm-8pm, monday-thursday. and just a little bit more the rest of the time. it's a great bang for the buck, plus you get to sing on gold microphones. how much more rock star can you get?!

for the foodies out there, nijiya market is right next door, and sweet beard papa is a few doors down. plus across the street (the famous sawtelle) you have another strip mall lined with yummy eateries (including little hong kong cafe and this adorable hole-in-the-wall crepe place) where you can grab a few delicious bites before or after losing your voice.

a quick piece of advice: make sure to have a few tunes in mind before you get there. that way, you can punch in a bunch and get started w/o losing precious minutes flipping through the billion songs you'd almost totally forgotten about.

check it: http://www.maxkaraokestudio.com/index.html

so apparently, there's more than one, but this is the one i frequent:

Max Karaoke Studio
2130 Sawtelle Blvd, #101
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310.479.1477