It’s not every day that you find yourself belting out the lyrics to Bad Operation’s “Perilous” on a Shure SM58 microphone doing karaoke at Cosimo’s at the corner of Burgundy and Governor Nichols in the Quarter. But it’s not every day that you get the chance to experience the phenomenon that is Funbox Karaoke.
Igor Alba, a New Orleans music lover, began his adventures in karaoke in 2018 at a Baton Rouge bar called the Spanish Moon that eventually closed for renovations and never re-opened. “I was really upset how many songs that I personally wanted to hear and perform that didn’t exist for karaoke,” he says. “I taught myself how to make those before starting at Register Bar later that year. I started making songs of all kinds by request and I even started taking requests on my YouTube channel as the comment section expanded organically.”
Alba has no qualms about describing himself as a music enthusiast. Although he has a mass communications degree from LSU, he’s an avid consumer and lover of all things indie, hip hop, metal and much more. His karaoke arsenal, which is not only available online via his megapopular YouTube channel, is a testament to how much he loves music and how committed he is to creating opportunities for people to sing to the music they genuinely love.
“This isn’t karaoke where you’ll just hear ‘Don’t Stop Believing!’” he declares proudly. He has rare B-sides and deep cuts from bands like Nirvana and T.S.O.L. If you want to sing along to your favorite Off-Broadway tunes, chances are he’s got them in his catalog.
“Since I was a kid, I loved curating music,” says Alba. “I loved burning CDs for friends or curating songs downloaded from Napster.”
Alba insists he’s not your average karaoke DJ, nor is his production company which boasts a catalog of almost 600,000 songs. Thanks to AI, the entrepreneur is able to glean vocalless music and add lyrics. Chances are if you are looking for something random like Hunnid-P’s song “Ghost Pumpkin Soup” from Sonic Adventure 2, Funbox Karaoke will have it. He is not upset by any comparisons to karaoke in Japan.
“Asian style box karaoke has influenced me because it’s very private versus community oriented. It parallels a lot of what is happening with Gen Z consuming karaoke who prefer to sing karaoke in a living room with friends instead of going to bars. I like bars like Cosimo’s that are intimate and close that make it kind of in the middle,” explains Alba. “I did a private party for an Argentine and Spanish family’s wedding [which was very different.] Every song had an average of eight people singing together. Karaoke really brings people together…in Asian cultures it is more private but in the west it turns into these big live shows.”
But before Alba was a successful YouTube presence and spinning karaoke sets at local haunts, he was just a Louisiana music fan in awe of his favorite bands.
“I knew from the start my passion wasn’t with creating music. It was promoting other people’s music that I really appreciated. Last FM used to have the coolest Pandora-esque radio function in the world…it would make a playlist of the most obscure garage bands you’ve never heard of which helped me discover the most underground music,” he says.
One day he saw an ad for the local 2010 Community Records block party with a lineup of some of his favorite bands. “It was my favorite day of music I attended in my entire life,” he declares. “It made me realize to what extent being around enthusiasts really makes the experience so much more memorable. I was really into Community [Records] in their early days, when I started making karaoke videos and I personally wanted to promote them.”
He says that in those days he spent close to 10,000 hours working on his YouTube channel, hoping that as his channel gained traction that he would be able to elevate smaller bands alongside bigger acts.
“I have a Google Drive where any karaoke DJ around the world can access my stuff for free. I’m against gatekeeping. I’m trying to promote a culture where you can sing anything you want. I want you to come and share your favorite band so I can discover them through you. In Baton Rouge, we cultivated a show where people get their Pierce the Veil followed by Aphex Twin and Morphine and Judas Priest. You could literally sing all of the Community Records songs!”
Alba is excited about the future of karaoke and says there is a community of online programmers who are creating niche song packages that anyone can enjoy from the comfort of their own home.
“Someone left a comment on a community post on YouTube saying, ‘I can’t believe I”m actually a fan of a karaoke channel because you are so down to earth and genuine.’ I respond to all positive comments. People will say they are having a really bad day and I’ll be on the fifth drink of the night and I make the song they say they’ve always wanted to sing. Doing that for people and touching them on a human level means so much to me.”
Alba spins various nights throughout the city, but hopes to open a brick and mortar karaoke bar one day.
“Gen Z doesn’t have the mall (a third place) anymore. My spirit is to try and promote the community family aspect of what karaoke can offer. I think the gateway is offering people everything they want to sing. So many people say karaoke sucks until I have their own proto-industrial band but they get FOMO and they become a regular. It only happens if you give people the opportunity to sing what they want!”
To catch Funbox karaoke live, check out Cosimos on Fridays at 8 p.m., Le Bon Temps Roulé on Wednesday starting on 12/4 at 10 p.m, and Moonshine Bar and Grill on Thursday at 9 p.m. starting on 12/5. You can access Funbox Karaoke at home via their YouTube channel.
