By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A karaoke performance took a dangerous turn in a Florida bar, when the singer whipped out a machete and demanded an encore, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
It happened Sunday, April 2, at Kennedy’s Lamp Post Tavern in Cape Canaveral, and the machete had an 18-inch blade, WKMG reports. Cape Canaveral is about 55 miles southeast of Orlando.
“While karaoke is a fun time for everyone, even those that can’t sing, when your turn is done, you can’t whip out a machete in order to get one more song!” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
“Apparently (the suspect) didn’t fully understand the rules of karaoke, as when the stage lights turned off, he tried to force them back on by pulling out a machete he had concealed on him, and demanding to do an encore!”
The singer was identified as a 39-year-old Cape Canaveral resident and he was “extremely intoxicated,” deputies say.
“(His) actions didn’t earn him another song on stage,” the sheriff’s office said. “Thankfully the employees of the bar were able to quickly convince him to give them the machete so they could calm everyone down.”
Investigators did not reveal what the man intended to sing if given a second chance.
The singer was arrested and charged with breach of peace-disorderly conduct, jail records show. He told deputies he carries the machete because he needs “to stay alert,” officials said.
Karaoke at Kennedy’s Lamp Post Tavern is popular enough to get it listed as a destination on Karaoke Across America. The club calls itself a family-owned “diamond in the rough.”
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