When he was just a kid, Randy Lira scraped together every last
penny he could find and bought his first set of giant speakers,
turntable, and vinyl record collection from a neighbor’s garage
sale for the then-astronomical sum of $214.
When he was just a kid, Randy Lira scraped together every last penny he could find and bought his first set of giant speakers, turntable, and vinyl record collection from a neighbor’s garage sale for the then-astronomical sum of $214. His mother was furious, thinking he had just wasted money the family needed. Little did she know that one day her son would become an award-winning DJ and the best karaoke jockey in town.
“I have worked hard to make my show the best experience in Gilroy for singers of all ages and all styles,” Randy Lira said. His Tuesday night karaoke show at Chevy’s Restaurant had just won the Best of Gilroy Karaoke award. Lira’s mobile entertainment company, cleverly named RPM, for “Randy’s Party Music,” harks back to the days of vinyl records when “RPM” stood for “revolutions per minute.”
Gabriel Rodriguez, general manager for Chevy’s, brought Lira’s karaoke show to the restaurant two years ago. Since then, business has steadily increased, in spite of difficult economic times. “People in general value their dollar more now than ever, and for them to appreciate the entertainment that RPM serves is testament to his energy,” Rodriquez said.
Until I met the enthusiasts at the Tuesday night show, I had no idea that Gilroy has such an active karaoke subculture. The Gilroy Bowl, the Longhouse, Dutchman’s Pizza, and the Firehouse Bar & Grill all have karaoke shows, just to name a few. But Randy’s show stands out.
Lira trained in broadcasting at San Jose City College, and then struck out 29 years ago to learn on the job. For his first school dance, he had to rent equipment and convince a friend to come along to help with sound.
“I was so nervous,” he said. It turned out that he knew most of the people who showed up for the dance, the night went well, and he had a realization.
“The key to success is just knowing people.”
That is the heart of his show. Because he was raised in a home with a special needs brother, he grew up volunteering with the Special Olympics. His family also took in foster children, and he got to know kids who had lived in all kinds of different family situations. All his experience comes into play in the way he interacts with singers from young to old, from all different backgrounds, and who request everything from heavy metal to pop to country. He skillfully mediates the crowd, making sure each person gets their chance to sing, that no one dominates, and that no one is left out.
“In 2000, I took it to the next level,” Lira said. “The Internet opened up a whole world of possibilities.”
Lira began getting information about an international DJ conference held annually in Las Vegas. There he made connections with other DJs as they attended workshops in marketing, master of ceremonies training, lighting and dance moves. Just a year later, he had progressed so much that he received an invitation to perform as the opening act in the Las Vegas All Star Show, which features the 20 best DJs from around the country.
Learning the value of being collaborative, rather than just competitive, led him to become a founder of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Disc Jockey Association. Their goal is to unite the industry, to learn from each other, and to create a better working environment for DJs overall.
Lira takes his show to schools for kids with special needs. Varda Lavry of the Orion Academy (for students with neurocognitive disabilities) gave this tribute:
“Your understanding of the students’ needs makes a huge difference. Incorporating your expertise helps them feel comfortable, participate in the activities and dance, dance, dance!”
He is in demand for golden wedding anniversaries, private house parties, 16th and 90th birthday parties, class reunions, the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, and corporate holiday parties held by companies like Chevron and Google. His high school friend Eric Lau and his 16-year-old son Cameron help out with setting up lights and equipment. He brings more than 5,000 songs from which to choose.
The great thing about the Chevy’s karaoke show is that even though the singers are diverse, from an older country music fan singing George Strait’s “Troubadour,” to a Hispanic woman working the audience in Spanish with, “Mucho Corazon,” to a shy teenage girl singing Janet Jackson’s “I Get Lonely,” they all accept, support, and applaud each other. Everyone cheers everyone else on.
It’s a way to step outside one’s comfort zone to become less self-conscious and more able to express oneself.
“I used to get sweaty palms and feel like I was going to faint,” Dolores Kirchner (a mom of three boys) said after singing, “The wind beneath my wings.” “But now I have more self-confidence.”
