The Karaoke Experience At Del’s Italian Restaurant In Pittsburgh

Del’s Bar and Italian Restaurant is located in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh which is known as “Little Italy.”  I live in Oakland near the University of Pittsburgh.  Del’s is about a 15-minute walk from my apartment.

Those of you who are regular readers of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette know that the Old Soldier loves his karaoke.  He considers karaoke, at its best, performance art.  Karaoke is one reason why the Old Soldier does all those breathing and stretching exercises from Monday through Friday, twice on Friday so that he can be at his best on Friday nights at Del’s.

Winner of season 3 of American Idol, Fantasia ...

Winner of season 3 of American Idol, Fantasia Barrino. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lately, Del’s has been packed on Friday nights; but it doesn’t take much to pack the bar at Del’s where the karaoke DJ sets up.  The bar might seat 30 people.  Sixty people pack the place out.  Del’s has four dinning rooms.

But it’s a friendly crowd.  A happy crowd.  And for the most part, a young crowd.  But you will find several old timers like me in the crowd.  And if you can bring it, you are appreciated by the crowd.  This is the age of American Idol.

Del’s has had karaoke on Friday nights now for around 15 years and the Old Soldier has been there for most of those years.  I’ll be there this Friday night.  And here’s a special shout-out to all the fans of this magazine who live in Japan, the home of karaoke.

When karaoke is good enough, it is performance art.

*****

Welcome to Bloomfield!

Welcome to Bloomfield! (Photo credit: paperbackwriter)

It is around 5:00 in the afternoon.  It’s around 85 degrees and it has turned out to be a lovely, sunny day.

The Pittsburgh Great Race takes place this Sunday May, 6th.  Over 25,000 runners are registered to run.  The race goes through Bloomfield.  The Old Soldier will be there to blog about it.

*****

Keep reading and keep writing that flash fiction.

rachel excels at karaoke performance of obscur...

rachel excels at karaoke performance of obscure david bowie ballads – _MG_0084 (Photo credit: sean dreilinger)

Read.  Study.  Write.  Submit.

No Karaoke This Friday Night March 30, 2012

What a pity.  It’s 3:30 pm and no snail mail.  My pension check from Giant Eagle did not arrive today.  It’s really not due until April 1, but it often arrives sooner than the first of the month.  So, no karaoke tonight.

I’m jotting this in my little pocket notebook as I sit in the lobby of my apartment building in Oakland in Pittsburgh as I watch the foot and motor traffic beyond the big window that looks out onto the avenue while I sip on a bottle of Coca-Cola.

It’s moments like these that constantly make me aware of how much life there is beyond the walls of my little apartment.

It’s a sunny, mild (60s) day.  When you live alone for as long as I have, I’m a life-long bachelor with no children, you kind of lose touch with the complexities of life.

Oakland from air Pittsburgh

Oakland from air Pittsburgh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A writer needs these quiet moments for reflection.

*****

Read.  Study.  Write.  Submit.

*****

Make the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette your home for flash fiction entertainment at its finest.

Karaoke Friday Night March 2, 2012

The Old Soldier will be at Del’s in Bloomfield tonight for karaoke.  I’ve already got the songs picked out: Send Me An Angel by Real Life, Sister Christine by Night Ranger, Here I Go Again by Whitesnake and It’s My Life by The Animals.

Now of course if there’s a crowd I may not get to sing all the songs but I’d rather for the place to be crowded.

*****

Hello hello hello, everyone.  This may be the only post I get up today.  I’ve done my breathing and stretching exercises and now I’m doing laundry.  I’m still waiting for someone to submit a publishable flash fiction story so that I can prove that the PFF Gazette is now a paying market.

Whitesnake Hammersmith Odeon 1981

Image via Wikipedia

Beyond that the Old Soldier is just chillin’, stretched out on the sofa with two fat pillows under his weary head, drinking beer and reading his history of Christopher Columbus.

It’s around 4:00 pm on an overcast but mild (40s) day in Pittsburgh.

Karaoke, Occupy Pittsburgh And Snow

I’m writing this at the bar in Del’s on Friday (yesterday) around 9:00 PM, a karaoke night.  Outside snow is falling but not sticking to the ground.

When I walked in I got to say a few words to Marianne, one of the owners.  She doesn’t think karaoke on Wednesday nights is going to make it.  I agreed.

Already there are several people at the bar.  I have a good feeling about tonight.

*****

Occupy Pittsburgh

Image via Wikipedia

I’m writing this part of the post in my apartment on Saturday morning.  Snow is constantly falling outside.

Last night karaoke at Del’s was a blast.  The place was packed out and the crowd was in to it.  There were a lot of good singers, too.  I had a good time.

*****

The stand-off between Occupy Pittsburgh and the city ended peacefully Wednesday.

*****

Well, I’ll be back at Del’s today around 4:00 to see my peeps (Rick and Di who are baby boomers) and then I’ll be at Sonny’s Tavern to check out some of the local music scene.

Elliott Sussman will be opening for The Beagle Brothers.

*****

Read.  Study.  Write.

*****

If you would like to submit a short story to this publication the Submissions tab is at the top of the page.

*****

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a news magazine about creative writing and sexuality.

Sonny’s Tavern: Checking Out The Pittsburgh Music Scene

Tomorrow (Saturday) at 9:30 PM The Beagle Brothers and Elliott Sussman will be playing at Sonny’s Tavern in Bloomfield (Little Italy) and the Old Soldier will be there.  Sonny’s Tavern is about a five-minute walk from my apartment.  Sussman is a solo act and he will be opening for The Beagle Brothers.  Sussman recently signed a record deal.

Since I’ve been hanging out at Sonny’s Tavern I’ve met several members of the band and I’ve met Elliott and I’m looking forward to seeing both acts perform.

*****

Tonight it’s karaoke at Del’s Bar and Italian Restaurant, which is about a fifteen-minute walk from my apartment.  I want to start taking a bus back from Del’s on Friday nights because I usually leave after midnight and I don’t like walking home that late at night.

I think I’ll perform Purple Rain by Prince and Send Me An Angel by Real Life.

*****

Cover of "Purple Rain"

Cover of Purple Rain

When I checked my stats page this morning I found out that this blog had gotten 2,001 hits so far this month.  6,000 hits for the month of February is a real possibility.

*****

Read.  Study.  Write.

*****

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a news magazine about creative writing and sexuality.

The Life: A Strange Night

I’m writing this in my small pocket notebook as I sit at the bar in Del’s Wednesday night.  It’s 8:40 PM.  Karaoke begins at 9:30 PM.  It feels strange to be here in the middle of the week.

No one knows if karaoke at Del’s on a Wednesday night will work.  Del’s has had karaoke on Friday night for around 15 years.  I’ll be here this Friday night.  Karaoke is my key to a better social life.  I meet women of all ages.  For me, karaoke is performance art.  I’m really good.  No one believes I’m 65.  I’m a freak.  65-year-old men are not supposed to have that powerful of a voice or sing that well and move that well.

I shaved my head and face and I have my black bandana in the inside pocket of my black leather jacket and I’ve been doing my breathing and stretching exercises during the week.

I’m ready.

*****

English: Karaoke stub icon

Image via Wikipedia

I’m writing this in my apartment Thursday morning.  Karaoke last night at Del’s was a bust.  No one showed up.  I left around 11:30 PM and walked to Sonny’s Tavern which is closer to my apartment.  Sonny’s Tavern was packed.  No karaoke.  Just a DJ playing music and running a contest of some kind.  A young crowd.  A young woman sitting at the bar next to me had a tattoo down her right arm.  The young female bartender had tattoos on her arms and chest.

I had one beer and then walked the three blocks to my apartment.

The Life: Walking Through Little Italy

I’m writing this in my pocket notebook in Armand’s in Bloomfield (Little Italy) which is next to the neighborhood (Oakland) that I live in.  Armand’s is known for its cheap beer and huge fish sandwich.  I’m drinking a draft beer at the bar, no sandwich today.  It’s around 11:00 AM.

There’s only one other customer in the bar.  He’s probably a retiree like me.  Outside it’s overcast but unseasonably warm, in the high 40s to low 50s.

I got my pension check from Giant Eagle by snail mail on Monday.  My military pension check was deposited in my account electronically this morning and my Social Security check will be deposited in my account on Friday.

English: Giant Eagle in Stow, Ohio

Image via Wikipedia

For the first time in years I can pay my bills and have enough money left over to socialize.  I must not squander this opportunity.  Life is short.  I’m 65.

This blog is now the focus of my attention.  I may be retired but I want to be a successful full-time blogger.  I have work to do.

Karaoke at Del’s tonight.

*****

Read.  Study.  Write.

*****

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a news magazine about writing and sexuality. 

Living In A Constant State Of Shock

Carousel at Shenley Plaza, University of Pitts...

Image via Wikipedia

I wrote this in my notepad while I sat at a small table under a big tent that was set up in Schenley Plaza.

Schenley Plaza is near the Cathedral of Learning of the University of Pittsburgh.  It’s around 5:30 PM and the blogging day is slowing coming to an end.

But what my walk on this gorgeous summer day has reminded me of is the multiplicity of life.  As a bachelor without children, and as a blogger, I spend a lot of time alone in my apartment.

Going out into the world is always a little shock to my system.  There is so much to see and hear and to take in.  It’s one of the pleasures of writing and being a writer.

The world seems to be born anew every day.

Pepsi Wild Cherry

Love that Pepsi Wild Cherry while I’m blogging.  It’s around 70 degrees here in Pittsburgh.  I shaved my head this morning in the shower so now’s the time to get a newspaper across the street and for my walk to Bloomfield.  I’ll probably pick up a few things for the crock pot and a 40 oz bottle of beer.  Money’s getting short.  The boneless beef chuck rib soup turned out beautifully.  I’ll try to pick up some more beef soup stock…

Obama got the insurance companies to agree to charge men and women the same rates.  The insurance companies were charging women more.  Good for him…

 The sun is trying to come out.  It’s time to go.

Sex, Booze and a Short Memory (A Short Story)

Vietnam in the Mist (A Short Story)

Cooking With Beef Stock

When you’re a writer in Pittsburgh on Social Security like I am you want to cook food that’s easy, that’s nutritious and not too expensive.  Let me suggest using store bought soup stock and your crock pot to make soup.  Soup is the easiest meal to make this side of cold cereal. 

This morning I threw 64 oz of beef stock, dice onions and six meaty chunks of boneless beef ribs into my crock pot.  I put in seasoning.  I turned the dial to high.  About three hours later I added a can of diced carrots and half an hour later lunch was ready.  Cold beer and hot soup go well together.  This soup will last me for a week.

Here’s a story that involves beer and hot wings.  Woman, Wife and Lover (A Short Story) www.authspot.com/Short-Stories/Woman-Wife-and-Lover-fiction.622331

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 926 other followers