Downtown Albany staple dishes out family fun with 'Wednesday Live'

By Heather Crabtree

The Entertainer

ALBANY - Good, clean family fun is what Ruby Lewis was looking for when she decided to add family karaoke from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays at Pizza King in downtown Albany nine years ago.

For years, karaoke was the staple entertainment for the family-oriented restaurant. However, this last spring, Lewis, who has owned Pizza King for more than 20 years, decided to add live bands to the venue.

"I wanted to bring more things into the restaurant that are for the whole family. Not just one age group but all age groups," Lewis said.

What started out as "Music Mondays" last May has changed to "Wednesday Live" beginning at 6 p.m. Aug. 2.

The first Wednesday of the month, Tom LePage, of the mid-valley band Bob Dylan's Grandmother, hosts a blues jam between 6 and 8 p.m.

Musicians are welcome to bring an instrument and join in.

The jams are meant to do a couple of things, LePage said: first, to allow newer musicians to play a couple songs and learn from veterans; and second, for the veterans to play with their "buddies."

The jam isn't limited to acoustic instruments. Any instrument is welcome as long as the volume remains at a lower level.

It's Lewis' goal to offer the entertainment to create an atmosphere but not have it be overwhelming. The music will be kept low so customers can still have conversations.

The rest of the month, LePage books bands to perform on the three-person stage.

"We look for musicians who have been around enough that a half-dozen people would come just to see them; they have their own following," LePage said. "I also look for people who understand what 'family establishment' means."

People who are interested in having LePage book them at Pizza King can contact him at: http://home.comcast.

net/~midvalleyblues/.

He asks artists who are interested to send him demos, MP3 files, SonicBids or MySpace links so he can sample the music.

"There is a lot of talent in the area," LePage said. "People want to play, and I know 20 to 30 acts at any given time (that I can book)."

The decision to change the series from Monday to Wednesday came earlier this week.

Mondays don't have a large turnout for some reason, Lewis said, and she believes the fledgling series will do better on "Hump Day."

"It takes time to get anything going with karaoke and live music," she said. "(However,) the entertainment just makes it fun for everyone."

Pizza King will still offer karaoke from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays and family fun night with a clown and face painting from 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays. The karaoke library has been recently updated, she said.

"I'm open to different possibilities. I never knew I'd be doing karaoke (when I opened Pizza King)," she said. "We'll see what (the future) brings."

If you go

Entertainment offered at Pizza King, 231 Lyon St. S.E., downtown Albany.

WEDNESDAYS: 6 to 8 p.m., live music. Bands vary.

THURSDAYS: 6 to 9 p.m., karaoke.

FRIDAYS: 6 to 8 p.m., family fun night. Clown and face painting.

SATURDAYS: 6 to 9 p.m. karaoke.