You’ve been summoned

Heavy metal karaoke with Satanico and the Demon Seeds

Under the crimson glow of the 13th blood moon, Satanico Sr. composed a text message:

“We need to do live band karaoke.” 

“Cool,” Mitch Gillam said while shotgunning a beer. “I have a band called Dr. Rock Doctor and we cover gnarly hesh stuff like Omen and Manowar. Would that work?” 

“I kinda thought y’all would know more Miley, but okay,” Satanico Sr. replied.

Soon after, beneath the Soundpony Bar, the gates of hell opened and Satanico and the Demon Seeds emerged, riding a crest of battle jackets and empty cans of Hamm’s beer and carrying a binder full of song lyrics.

Their arrival on the music scene has been a reason for Tulsa’s metal heads and rock and rollers to celebrate. Often belonging to the crooners, showtuners, and balladeers, traditional karaoke nights tend to stick to the hits, or at least avoid songs with names like “Kill the Poor” or “Raining Blood.”

But that’s the thrash Satanico and the Demon Seeds live for.

Despite being the founding father of the group, Satanico Sr. (Josh Gifford) recently retired from his role as main demon and passed the torch to Jacob Fuller, or Satanico Jr., as he has been christened. 

Gifford still makes an occasional appearance, but now it is Fuller’s job to be the hype-man when he comes to the stage as Satanico in red body paint, a black-and-red cape, and a hat with horns made out of ice cream cones. He truly leaves it all on the stage, or all over the Pony, as he races from one end to the other, leaping off of walls and in and out the front door like a demonic rodeo clown.

“I’ll run around until I cannot breathe anymore,” Fuller said. “My whole thing is to be there to support the singers.”

The energy Fuller brings, along with the talent of the members of the band (Mitch Gilliam on drums, Russell Moore on guitar, Robert Gutierrez on guitar, Charles Hesting on bass), has made the monthly event a favorite for many metal heads who show up to participate and spectate. 

Garrett Schmigle has become a regular, both because of the band and because of the community that has sprung up around it.

“I’ve done karaoke at a couple of places around Tulsa, and what really sets this one apart is the audience,” Schmigle said. “There is a lot of interaction. People come up to help if you forget the lyrics and join in during choruses—they love the music as much as you do. There is also a lot more energy. We get some head-banging and there has even been mosh pits started. When was the last time you heard about a mosh pit at karaoke?”

It’s not just for the hardcore though. The band takes requests and will try to learn the song before the next outing. They have also been making an effort to learn songs outside of the metal genre.

“Now we are learning more karaoke stuff. We learned Heart, Pat Benatar, Blondie, Boston, Cheap Trick … but we still play it like rockers because we want to keep it in the theme of edgy, rock n’ roll karaoke,” Gilliam said.

Jessica Hermann, another regular, has taken advantage of the request option and asked for more songs originally performed by female leads, which the Demon Seeds have happily learned.

“I love metal karaoke. Singing with a live band gives me such a rush. It kind of makes me feel like my own version of Debbie Harry,” Hermann said. 

They may be demons, but they aim to make the experience of singing a metal or rock song with a live band the absolute most badass (and easy) thing you’ll do all month. All the song lyrics are organized in a binder at a table directly in front of the singer; Gilliam is at the ready, shouting vocal cues to keep you on track; Fuller bounces around the bar keeping the energy high and the audience engaged.

What was once a hellish fever dream is now an odd, lovely reality. 

“It blows my mind. It has to be the only place on the planet you can do karaoke with a band and do ‘The Axeman’ by Omen,” Gilliam said.

And for the non-metal heads?

“We’ve got Blondie.”

For more from Amanda, read her article on wedding officiator, Your Lord Dudeness.