Music, Music, Music...
(and my kingdom for a rubber chicken)
Story and photos by William Lannon
The world “just loves to sing in public,” according to Stan
The Music Man Winchenbach. He will admit that while some people, particularly
theater types, tend to shy away from Karaoke, but he still insists that
the large majority of the population “wants to share something.” Apparently,
as far as the Winchenbachs’ experience would suggest, what they want
to share is a love of life and camaraderie through song.
Katie Winchenbach provides moral support while,
in the background, Stan
mixes the sound. The disks on
the table in the foreground represent just
a few of the
5,000 songs available to the singers.
In
any case, Stan Winchenbach and his wife Katie have been making a living
providing Karaoke to the Midcoast and beyond for ten years now. Before
they went into Karaoke, they had been successful DJs for the preceding
five years, a calling they still pursue. The couple run their business
out of their Waldoboro home on Winslow Mills Road. Their home also contains
Winchenbach’s Psalms 150 Recording Studio. The facility employs
state-of-the-art digital equipment capable of producing compact discs
which range in sophistication
from demos to full productions for single artists and bands.
Winchenbach firmly believes that a good deal of the couple’s success
resides in his commitment to top of the line equipment. And top of the
line these days is pretty elevated and not just in audio. The visual aids
to the singer are extensive and Winchenbach mixes the music to augment
the singer’s performance. He also adjusts the microphone controls
to enhance the singer’s sound. He can’t keep a performer on
key, but he says that the day is coming (and soon) when he will be able
to help the pitch-challenged vocalist. All in all, he admits to providing
an “awesome sound.”
That sound has made the Winchenbach effort a resounding success and one
which is apparently known as far away as Oklahoma. A gentleman from the
Sooner State stays at Rockport’s renowned Samoset Resort each year.
A Karaoke fan, the traveler planned ahead and found the Winchenbachs through
the Jolt Forum on the web site karaoke.com where aficionados can find clubs
which feature the entertainment. He has faithfully returned to Rockland’s
Time Out Pub for three years now.
Jessie
Olson belts out a
Bonnie Raitt song at the
Time Out Pub at a Saturday
evening Karaoke session.
Another fan makes the long trip down from Lincoln, Maine, now and then
and stays over at the Trade Winds hotel next to the Pub. Another fan who
used to stay at the Trade Winds to sing was a long haul trucker from Pennsylvania.
A Portland man has made the trip up from that hub of culture to Rockland
four or five times according to Winchenbach.
The Winchenbachs play the Time Out Pub twice a week and have for four years.
They have played as far away as the ski resorts at Sugarloaf and Saddleback
as well as Howland, Maine. In general though, they are usually to be found
around Knox, Lincoln, and Waldo counties where they regularly play in Elks
and VFW halls. They have also appeared locally at Echo Hill and will be
playing the Blue Goose in Northport next month.
At the beginning of an evening, eager performers sign up for their turn
at the microphone and look through the 5,000 or so songs which Stan The
Music Man provides. The selections are divided 50-50 between rock and country
and the two styles share equal popularity. Over the course of an evening
some 15 singers will get to sing about four songs each.
Katie Winchenbach provides the organization necessary to keep the evening
running smoothly. She makes sure that prospective performers see the vast
number of choices available and prepares newcomers for their time in the
spotlight. One of the reasons that the singers return again and again is
that she saves the song request tickets that people fill out. She indexes
this information and carries it about with her to the gigs. The performers
appreciate this attention and the sense that they matter.
Katie keeps the party side of the operation going while Stan attends
to technical matters. She enforces the few necessary rules like “no
swinging the mic by the cable” and “no drinks at the mic.” She
also has a ball with a variety of toys. However, she laments, “I’m
still looking for a rubber chicken!”
Rubber chickens though are far from Katie Winchenbach’s mind when
the Waldoboro couple goes out to play a wedding. They do around 25 nuptial
gigs a year and take them very seriously indeed. Katie acts as a mistress
of protocol and oversees what she calls “the formalities,” those
traditional rituals such as the cutting of the cake and the throwing of
the bouquet. She says that the members of the wedding party shouldn’t
have to concern themselves with such details. If the bride and groom have
expressed a desire to do things in a certain way, Katie has to make sure
that others do not step in and subvert their wishes. She becomes, in effect,
the stage manager and keeps the event running smoothly. “The bride
shouldn’t have to worry about anything,” she says.
While Katie ensures the seamless panoply of the reception, Stan runs
the music. He usually acts as a traditional disc jockey, but when requested
he’ll bring the Karaoke equipment as well and switch into his KJ
role when the crowd desires.
In addition to the weddings, the Winchenbachs will play receptions, private
parties, class reunions, and business parties. They are popular because
they are responsible and professional, have first-rate equipment, and a
very extensive library of music. They also, after all these years, have
a feel for the rhythm of an evening or an event. They are masters of ceremony,
facilitators, ringmasters, and stage managers all rolled into one. And
perhaps most importantly, they know that they are not the show. They are
present to play music, and in the case of Karaoke, to play music so that
others may make music well. In an almost Miltonic sense, they must be visibly
invisible.
Once you get to know them, you find that there is a seeming paradox in
the couple’s life. Ultimately, the Winchenbachs don’t appear
to be the sort of people who would gravitate to the nightlife. They are
devout Christians whose perspective is that of faithful churchgoers. In
fact, at one point Stan refers to the size of an electronic component as
being “about the size of my Bible.” Many of their business
decisions are made on the basis of their beliefs. They will not play some
clubs because of what they call “rowdiness” and they shy
away from rap, hip-hop, and heavy metal when choosing their music.
Stan Winchenbach
at the audio mixing
board in his
Waldoboro
Psalms 150
Recording
Studio.
None
of which is to say that they are prudes or judgmental or self-righteous.
However, they do have standards which inform where and what they will
play. Finally though, the reason they bring music to people is because
they really
do like people and they like helping them have a good time. But there’s
another, transcendent reason as well.
For it becomes clear that the recording studio was named neither whimsically
nor idly. If you look up Psalm 150, you’ll understand the overarching
reason which motivates the Winchenbachs to bring music to people. Verses
4-6 of the Psalm read, “Praise him with the timbrel and dance;
praise him with stringed instruments and organs./Praise him upon the
loud cymbals;
praise him upon the high sounding cymbals/Let every thing that hath breath
praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.”
The Winchenbachs themselves pray both before and after each gig, giving
thanks for the opportunity they’ve been given to assist in “making
a joyful noise.” As entrepreneurs they certainly understand that
Caesar plays a large part in their lives and demands both their attention
and a cut. However, they also bear witness to the fact that for them there
is, in the long run, more that needs to be rendered to the Almighty. Music
is useful for a good deal more than “soothing a savage breast.”
FMI: Stan and Katie Winchenbach, 231 Winslow Mills Road, Waldoboro,
ME 04572. Telephone: 207.832.5131. e-mail: <musikman@dialmaine.com> A
web page at: StanTheMusicMan.net will be up and running by the middle of
March. You can also find them in the Mid Coast Regional Yellow Pages.