<\/p>\n
Colton Andrade, an Austin resident, performs a song on karaoke night Aug. 2 at Ego\u2019s in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n
Photos by Spc. Patrick M. Connery, III Armored Corps Public Affairs<\/p>\n
AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Hidden beneath an office building and tucked behind a gas station, Ego\u2019s is the kind of place someone could easily drive past without ever realizing one of Austin\u2019s most recognizable karaoke bars is waiting underground.<\/p>\n
That hidden quality is part of its charm.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dean Mickel, an Austin resident, performs a song on karaoke night Aug. 2 at Ego\u2019s in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n
Established in 1979, Ego\u2019s has spent more than four decades building its reputation as a dive bar and karaoke institution. Visitors enter through the parking garage before stepping into a dimly lit room filled with neon beer signs, string lights and the kind of worn-in atmosphere that feels increasingly rare as Austin continues to change around it.<\/p>\n
I have made the trip to Ego\u2019s several times, and despite never knowing exactly who will take the microphone on a given night, there is usually one familiar face waiting behind the karaoke setup: DJ Kevin Lacey.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kevin Lacey, Ego\u2019s Karaoke DJ, works the karaoke station on karaoke nights Aug. 2 at Ego\u2019s in Austin, Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over time, our own tradition developed.<\/p>\n
Whenever I walk into Ego\u2019s and Lacey is working, there is a good chance the two of us will eventually end up singing \u201cDon\u2019t Trust Me\u201d by 3OH!3 together.<\/p>\n
That unpredictability is what makes Ego\u2019s worth the roughly hourlong drive from Fort Hood.<\/p>\n
Karaoke begins at 8 p.m. every night and continues until 2 a.m., giving everyone from experienced singers to people who probably should have left their performance in the shower a chance on the elevated stage beneath a hand-painted mural of the Texas State Capitol.<\/p>\n
The crowd is part of the experience. Ego\u2019s does not require someone to be a great singer. The room is at its best when everyone commits to the moment, whether that means delivering an impressive rendition of a favorite song or simply having enough confidence to grab the microphone.<\/p>\n
Ego\u2019s opens at 3 p.m. before karaoke begins and offers a much quieter version of itself. Pool tables, pinball machines, televisions and a digital jukebox provide entertainment alongside inexpensive beers, well drinks and daily specials.<\/p>\n
For Soldiers looking to experience Austin beyond Sixth Street and the city\u2019s better-known attractions, Ego\u2019s offers something different.<\/p>\n
It is dark, a little grungy and hidden in a place where a legendary karaoke bar seemingly has no business existing.<\/p>\n
Then the music starts.<\/p>\n
And before long, somebody is walking toward the microphone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Colton Andrade, an Austin resident, performs a song on karaoke night Aug. 2 at Ego\u2019s in Austin, Texas.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,43526],"class_list":["post-411955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-traveling_soldier"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}