Chris has lived all his life in Irving, Texas on the skirts of Big D.  Growing up, he been involved in several school related events including: plays, choir, orchestra & musicals.  Though an A student, he left school before graduation due to the violence in his school at that time.  He immediately acquired his GED & has continued his education from there.  He is an avid reader.  This hopeless romantic has not yet found his kindred spirit, but hopes fate will smile soon.  He is very shy, but finds his alter ego when he is singing.  His personality and heart shine through when he sings.

Chris discovered karaoke in 1992 at a tent fair contest hosted by RAC, now RAVE Entertainment, in Irving.  This 1st experience hooked him for life.  He followed karaoke around Irving, where RAVE Ent. had/has several shows making new friends along the way.  One of which was Susan Werth St. Michaels.  They would car pool to different shows & enjoyed finding new ones in the karaoke scene.  He was able to experience many different shows with different companies all over the Metroplex.  His singing, confidence and production experience built and soon Susan began included him on several working projects with RAVE Ent, Dallas Karaoke, and then eventually bringing him on board to intern the Get Smashed Radio Broadcast Network.  He grew in the company to become a production assistant for The Karaoke PitStop show and the editor for The Game Corner.  However, GSRB Network disbanded in March of 2001.  Chris has now joined The Karaoke PitStop as an independent.

... ON LIFE              I was born in Albeur.. Albuer.. Albur.. (good grief!) Albuquerque New Mexico in 1973. Yes, that makes me OLD, so don't laugh when I answer questions in OLD ENGLISH, haha. Sorry. I moved to Dallas (actually Plano) in 1980 because of a career change my father made. My dad works for Thomas Y. Pickett as an oil appraiser, in which he has been doing SINCE 1980. My mother is now working at Neiman Marcus after spending a good 30 years as a dance teacher. Sadly, all the talent for dance went to my sister Jinger, I look like a boneless chicken having a seizure when I dance, don't ask. Jinger, as mentioned above, also works for Neiman Marcus. She went to SFA for 4 years to work as a 'Merchandise Director'. The job sucks, but the pay is good. I still wonder to this day though why anyone would WANT to work in retail like she does, I work in retail, and I would rather staple my foot to the floor and try to run than do THIS for the rest of my life.... Anyway, I am veering off the path of this whole Biography thing.. I do that from time to time.

 Let's see.. umm, born.. moved to Plano... Dad works, mom works, sister works.. Oh, okay, back on track now.. I treaded lightly through all the Plano ISD as the biggest geek known to man.. Jackson Elementary, Wilson Middle School, Vines Junior High School and then graduated from Plano Senior High School in 1991as the final cherry added to my remarkably odd tasting sundae of the Plano school experience offered to me. Needless to say, I was not impressed. Kids were cruel when I grew up, then again, now that I have a child, I see that same kind of crap now with kids in her school as well. It's sad to know that things like that don't change with all the improvements that this world tries to accomplish, only to fall short on something as easy as kindness, but that is a totally different story...

I got married right out of High School to my sweetheart Jeff Van Alstine, and moved to North Dakota for the military in which he joined to support me and our new life together, which only lasted for three years, ending in divorce, depression and his eventual suicide in 1995. There was a lot of abuse and horrific years involved there. The next mistake that I made was moving in with a guy named Norm, that I met when I was still in High School. I almost married him instead of Jeff.. I dated him the same time frame that I dated Jeff, but I fell in love with Jeff so I chose to go with him. Norm went into the Army the same time that Jeff went in and I always 'liked' him. We stayed in touch over the years and he was the only one that rescued me from the hands of my husband. I moved in with him in 1995.
He eventually turned into an abusive ass as well, but throughout the time there, I learned what NOT to do with idiots like Norm. The great part about all that was that I got pregnant, and he bolted out of fear or whatever else it was that got him to leave me alone. The pregnancy saved my life, and in June of 1997, Taylor Mackenzie was born. She was 10 lbs, 4oz.. which I found to be humorous since Norm was in the Military.. 10-4, get it?? Okay, must just be me. She is the light and love of my life besides my fiancée Christian. Yes boys, I am engaged, so put all those dirty thoughts away..

I believe that I am a better person, having learned from all the BS that I have had to live through. I have learned more in those few years than the average person learns their entire lives. I like to think that I have gained enough inner strength and power to survive anything that life or love can possibly throw at me.

I use this mantra as a powerful source of inner peace and serenity in which I hope to share with you sometime in the near future.

...ON LOVE              I met Christian while I was dating a guy named Wess Petersdorf, who owned KARAOKE ANONYMOUS, a small karaoke company built by he and I in 1998. At the time that I met Chris, he was working as a karaoke DJ for Wess at Humperdinks, and then Wess and I were doing really strong, so I left Chris alone for the time being. Eventually, that relationship went downhill and FAST. Christian started dating some girl named Sherri despite the obvious attraction that we BOTH felt. I went a good 2 years not talking to Christian. Once I started talking to him again, I began to remember how close we really were at one point, and how much I truly missed him. We got engaged Valentine's day 2001, and we expect to be married in April of 2002.

...ON KARAOKE (My first time.)              I started out as a little nobody in 1995. I decided one night that I wanted to try karaoke, so I treaded out into the night, looking for somewhere to sing. I ended up at a little bar called Babes, which by the way, is no longer in existence. I walked up to the karaoke host and asked what all I needed to do to get up there and try my luck. I stood there looking into the face of Lee Van Steeter, the owner of Dallas Karaoke. He explained the whole kit and kaboodle. I found a book, found a song that I thought I could do, signed it up, ordered a stiff drink and sat down to await my destiny.
Two GOOD drinks down, I hear my name being called. I was with a girl named Michelle at the time and she looked at me and smiled, 'go on, he's calling you..'. I froze. My throat closed and I found my breathing shallow and hard to catch. I looked at Lee motioning me to the stage. I couldn't move. 'Sure, I said to myself, I was in choir, for TEN YEARS, I can DO THIS!!'
I felt my body float and I realized that I was walking up to the stage. I stood there and listened for the music. I heard something, but it seemed like it was way off in the distance. I heard Lee say something I couldn't make out and re-cue the music. I look down, start to sway... I throw up and pass out right there on the stage. Once I came to, Lee was there, starring me in the face.
Since that day, karaoke had become my child, I was obsessed. I wanted to conquer this part of my self and finally be something more than a scared little girl. The next time that I signed up, Lee was a little freaked out because of my last appearance two weeks prior. I got up there, sang my heart out and won quite a few applauds. Thus the karaoke bug had bit me, and HARD.
I went to as many shows as I could without seeming like an obsessed idiot, and was slowly befriended by the 'circle'. All of my social time was spent with my new friends and getting up on stage became a regular thing for me. I found it to be easier every time. I started going to different shows hosted by different companies, and gained friends in every circle.

Reason for leaving KPS: getting married and changing priorities in life

Being born and raised in California (45yrs) I moved to Carrollton, Texas a little over 2 months ago. I started singing Karaoke eight years ago in a bowling center lounge I bowled a league in. It took me about 3-4 weeks of watching and thinking I could do that along with countless alcoholic beverages before I got the nerve to actually get up and sing. For those of you who can remember way back when, you know that the song selection was very slim and basically dominated by Pioneer laser discs. About a year and a half of getting more courage to sing I finally bought my own system and started working hosting a show in the same bowling center I started to sing in.

Moving to a new state where I didn't know a soul, I figured the one sure fire way of meeting new friends was to find where the karaoke shows were. So thanks to Lisa Canterberry (owner of Little Sister Productions) and Susan Werth (owner of Karaoke Pit Stop) I have met a whole lot a great people.

For those who know me I love country music and try to learn all the new songs that come out. I am divorced and have 2 great boys (ages 14 and 10). I guess that covers myself in a nutshell, so I won't bore drag this out any farther.

Just remember that karaoke is great fun and as long as it stays fun the more great people you meet everywhere. Please keep supporting your local host so they can support you with ongoing new music.

Keep singing and keep smiling,

Reason for leaving KPS: moved back to California

About me...

To start this bio, I really need to start by saying I hate summarizing my life. When you pack over three decades of existence into a few brief paragraphs, it almost always comes across as bragging. I’ve accomplished quite a few things in life, but not all at once, so what follows is a summary of these things.

It all started in October of 1968… Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, I got to Texas as fast as I could. Every early memory I’ve had has been based on the Dallas area. It’s where I was raised and where I call home.

Music has always been a key part of my life. My earliest memories are listening to Tennessee Ernie Ford and the Jordanaires singing hymns on the stereo, Tom T. Hall and Charlie Pride on the radio, The Beatles and Jim Croce on the 8-track, and performing the lead and autoharp solos during a stage performance of The Littlest Angel back in the 70’s. Times were simpler then, but the fighting between my parents led to their divorce in 1979.

The eighties started with my joining the school choir and becoming the "fill" for their performances. I had, and to this day still do have, a higher range voice and a large enough scale to handle any part which was weaker in a performance. I was labeled a Tenor, but was filling in for Baritone, Alto and Soprano as needed… I have a three octave range, of which I feel two and a half are well supported.

Still, as a performer I was kept to the back of the group. I was a larger kid growing up… the only one in my high school weighing in at over 350, so I didn’t have a very large social group. It taught me social skills and negotiation tactics which to this day are also a big part of my psyche. I learned to appreciate everyone for their true worth, not their outward persona, which is why I may act as though I’ve known a person for a lifetime minutes after meeting them. I am very in tune with the inner person I see in others… or at least I’d like to think so.

In the late eighties, I began working with computers as a hobby and got interested in the emerging BBS community. I’ll even admit to being a member of Quantum Link, which later became what is now known as America Online. I was the lead writer for BBS Guide Magazine until it folded as well. It was also around that time that I became known as "The Paisley Turtle", a reflection of who I am in many ways.

This all came to a stop in 1990, when I wound up being homeless for a few months, and learned to appreciate how fragile life can be. After getting back on my feet, I started singing karaoke in the early 90’s at a Days Inn in Mesquite, where KJ Mark Adkins was playing his early shows. Proud to say, he’s still playing, and I’m still singing, even though for almost a decade, our paths never crossed. I also performed at the Backdoor Comedy Club on open mike night. During this time, I had also worked at Microsoft and became one of the most in-depth support technicians for Microsoft Excel in the US.

I joined the Internet community in 1994 and have been online ever since. The "Playground Of The Paisley Turtle" website has received a few awards and is still a fun place for me to just toss around odd thoughts. Thanks to all the readers who have made it a success! It was around that time that I joined Toastmasters Inc. as well, and had the opportunity to speak before live audiences. I was over 500 pounds at the time and people were listening to me instead of poking fun at me, which was a great testament to the power of sincerity in speaking. I had been able to transcend the physical, even if for five minutes, and reach the hearts of my audience. That is a feeling that has to be experienced to be understood. Words will always fail to convey how wonderful that feeling can be.

In 1995, I was able to take my massive collection of music and work as a DJ for Reed and Monica Driscoll, and their monthly social group "People of Size Social Club". In 1997, Reed sold the club and I was out socializing, but the music has always been a part of me. In 1998, I started what has become the largest free personals board specifically for larger people and their admirers in the world… "The Free BBW/BHM Personals" and to this date I have not collected a cent for anything going on there. Sometimes the greatest rewards are those you get knowing you’ve helped others.

In 1999, I went through gastric bypass surgery. Since that time, I’ve been steadily weighing less, but feeling better. I am now half the size I was at my peak, but I am the same person. I also started singing again at Spankee’s Club and got back in touch with the audience. For a brief period, I also spent time as assistant DJ at this same club and still make a few visits just to spin from time to time. I also started a site for my personal writing, poetry, stories, my children’s book, my screenplay, all of which can be found at a homepage for my creative side, whom I call "The Scribe".

All of this is just a tip of the iceburg I call a life, but hopefully enough to allow you to feel you know me. Any other questions are probably answered on my sites, but I’m willing to answer any question as long as you are unafraid of the answer… All that I am has evolved from the music in my heart, and sharing that song completes me.

Take care and I hope to see you on the stage soon, sharing a part of you with the world, and receiving the appreciation of those around you a hundred times over.  More info on Jack

"Don’t worry that it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear… Just sing… Sing a song…" – The Carpenters

Reason for leaving KPS: getting married and starting a family

Lori Larson grew up in Richardson, Texas.  An only child, she had a great imagination and she enjoyed acting and singing.  She was a natural child prodigy and all her teachers thought she should pursue further education in acting.  A family tragedy led her to give up acting and singing since, but on rare occasion she makes it up on the karaoke stage.  In 1994 the family moved to Cincinnati.  She was exposed to violence when a classmate came to school with a gun after murdering his entire family and held the class hostage.  This was before the Columbine tragedy.  But, it was enough for the family to up and move again, this time to New Knoxville, Ohio.  Lori graduated high school in 1997, ironically the same high school her Mother attended.  She began Ohio State University in the Fall of 1998.  She was intent on not following the majority of her classmates into Way International, a worldwide cult.  This troubled her and she missed the place of her birth, Dallas.  So, she packed her bags and headed home.  She roomed with a childhood friend and enrolled back into college leaving her evenings free to explore the Dallas area as an adult.  That is when she discovered karaoke.   

Reason for leaving KPS: moved back to Ohio

Hi my name is Shawn Messick (aka: SQUIRE). I was born in the small town of Vernon, Texas in 1963. My family was originally ranchers and farmers. Yes, we are talking cows, horses, chickens and the rest of the barn animals. I moved to Dallas (or "Big D" where we lived) in 1969 and settled in Garland in 1970. 

I attended all 12 years of school in the Garland School District and graduated from Garland High School in 1981. I married while still in high school and after graduation worked 9 years for the Garland Independent School District before becoming a Garland Police Officer. Five years of being an officer, 15 years of marriage and then divorce left me soul searching for a direction to express myself. 

Reason for leaving KPS: change of job situation and time schedules-Hoping to return soon