Sing-Along Tape Players Let Singers Try a Few Bars--and Restaurants : Performing: <i> Karaokes </i> are giving people the chance to share their talents without the necessity of a traditional piano bar.

Mary Lou Leggett, a youthful-looking grandmother, started pursuing her goal of becoming a professional singer about six months ago.

With a karaoke, a Japanese tape machine that supplies backup music for vocalists, Leggett practices favorite tunes at home. Then, two or three times a week, she makes the rounds of the local bars and restaurants that feature open sing-alongs.

Almost every Tuesday evening, Leggett, who owns and operates a mirror business, heads over to Skoby’s Country Inn in Chatsworth and sings popular tunes made famous by the likes of Gloria Estefan, Anne Murray and Doris Day, among others.

She says of her singing: “I live for it. . . . When I’m on stage singing, I feel like my dream came true--that I’m a star.”

Leggett has gotten an agent--he had seen her perform one night at Skoby’s--and she has been asked to perform at two charity events.

The karaoke , with one or two cassette decks, provides accompaniment for a singer whose voice is amplified through speakers. The device has multiplied the opportunities for people--such as Leggett--who until recently relied on the piano bars to be heard.

And some still prefer the traditional piano bars.

At both styles of club these days, patrons of local sing-alongs come from all walks of life and range in age from their late teens to their early 80s.

Men slightly outnumber women among the singers at most clubs, and there are often a couple of dozen singers a night at the bigger clubs.

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For Ernie Taylor, 42, owner of the Singing Store in Van Nuys, karaokes mean big business.

About five years ago, Taylor’s piano shop on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks sold one or two karaokes a month.

In his new store, Taylor stocks no more pianos. It is the only one in the Los Angeles area that carries only karaokes and related paraphernalia, such as microphones and singing tracks. Taylor said he now sells 200 karaokes a month, including his mail orders.

Karaokes have been imported since about 1981, but the Japanese were slow to promote them, Taylor said. The devices began to take off last year, when Pioneer began to promote the laser karaoke .

In some cases, restaurants and clubs own their equipment; in others, individuals eager to profit from the trend not only bring their own equipment but act as emcees for the evening.

According to Rick Alonso, 33, general manager of Maiyo, a Japanese restaurant that features sing-alongs seven nights a week, karaokes came into fashion in Japan more than 20 years ago among Japanese businessmen.

“Businessmen would go in their suits to these places and sing. It was a way to relieve stress,” he said. Alonso moved here from Yokohama when he was 11.

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Major U.S. electronics firms--Pioneer, Panasonic and JVC among them--are now manufacturing a variety of karaokes.

Models at the Singing Store range in price from $300 to $1,000. The more elaborate systems feature pitch, key and speed control, digital echo, and vocal suppressors for use with tracks that have existing vocals.

The selection of singing tracks also has been widely expanded. Whereas three companies in 1985 were manufacturing tapes for the karaoke, now more than 20 U.S. companies produce tapes, Taylor said.

His store has more than 22,000 of them, although some are different versions of the same tune, he said. His shop also offers a six-week performance workshop and home courses in singing, some of which are on videotape.

The laser karaoke, using laser discs for the singing tracks, are somewhat similar to rock videos and offer superior sound quality. They also make it easier for the singer, since the words of the songs are highlighted across the videos as they’re shown on in-house monitors, he said.

Sal Ferraro, owner of Dimples restaurant in Burbank, which has featured sing-alongs for the past six years, said the laser discs never quite caught on at his Burbank restaurant. His clientele seems to prefer standard singing tracks.

Dimples was the first to capitalize on the sing-along trend in the Los Angeles area, and with each year, his recording and sound system has been expanding.

About 1,500 singing tracks, three video cameras, 10 screens and a special-effects generator are among the high-tech equipment that sets Dimples apart from other clubs.

First-time patrons can get a free audiocassette of their performance and have a videotape made of their debut for $20. About 20% of the patrons buy the videotape, Ferraro said. A more elaborate music video costs $75 and is produced during a scheduled appointment.

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Karaokes, nevertheless, have supplemented rather than supplanted traditional sing-alongs. Live music still has a loyal following among people who like to sing.

At Old Heidelberg, for instance, in Van Nuys, patrons can feast on a variety of German dishes--and beers--while enjoying the music.

Fritz Eisenreich, 46, originally from Vienna, sings and plays not only piano but synthesizer and cordovox, a combination organ and accordion. A mechanical engineer by day, Eisenreich entertains at Old Heidelberg every Friday and Saturday night.

He plays everything from traditional European music and American pop tunes from the 1950s to the current Top 40. Occasionally, restaurant patrons sing opera, and there’s also a dance floor.

“In all my years in the piano bar business, it’s the people that really make it happen,” Eisenreich said. “If you don’t have people participating, it won’t work.”

On Friday evenings, the Epicure Inn draws a gathering of about 30 patrons, most of whom are well over 40. For the past seven years, many of the same singers have been meeting there regularly.

Dave Sutherland, a Canoga Park salesman who comes to sing Scottish tunes and other songs, is attracted to the dinner house’s “intimacy and the friendliness of the people. I know everybody in the place.”

For Barbara Driscoll, who recently relocated to Reseda from Boston, the Epicure Inn provides her with a place to meet new people and a way to stave off homesickness. Although she prefers not to sing, the weekly sing-alongs comfort her because they remind her of the many sing-along bars on Cape Cod.

Sing-alongs can help build self-esteem and confidence, keyboardist Paul Mitchell believes. Originally from Kauai, Hawaii, Mitchell is the emcee at Grandview Restaurant in Northridge.

“There’s a self-satisfaction in those who sing,” he said. “The applause and encouragement of the audience--it builds a singer’s excitement in himself. He finds a new courage in himself because the listening audience is in the same category. They know what it takes to get up there and sing. They respect that.”

Where to sing along, in traditional clubs and ones with the new technology:

Adam’s Restaurant, 17500 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 990-7427. Guitarist Gary Ballin sings and invites patrons to sing along with him from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. every Friday.

Bombay Bicycle Club, 321 S. First St., Burbank, (818) 846-8711. Restaurant features karaoke sing-alongs from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Thursdays and Saturdays.

Dimples, 3413 W. Olive Ave., Burbank, (818) 842-2336. A different emcee each night kicks off the nightly evening sing-along at 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Closed Sundays.

Epicure Inn, 7625 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park, (818) 888-3300. Irene Dalton’s repertoire ranges from Cole Porter to the Beatles to old Scottish lullabies. She accompanies sing-alongs on the piano from about 9:30 p.m. till midnight Fridays.

Grandview Restaurant, 8525 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, (818) 993-9922. The family restaurant, which serves Cantonese-style food, features karaoke sing-alongs beginning at 8 p.m. till 11 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays. Paul Mitchell is emcee. On Friday and Saturday evenings from 8 till midnight, Tom Tonyan plays the piano and invites restaurant patrons to sing along with him.

Leon’s Steak House, 10945 Victory Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 762-1958. Buddy Worth plays piano and synthesizer and sings from 7:30 to midnight Tuesdays through Thursdays and from 9 p.m. till 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Professional musicians regularly stop in and jam. Patrons who don’t want to sing can join in by shaking a tambourine or other small instrument.

Maiyo, 17167 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 789-8287. Laser karaoke sing-alongs on Friday and Saturday from 9:30 p.m. till midnight in the main dining room.

Mel Oshin’s Cellar Club, 146 1/2 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale (818) 246-2788. Charles Alvin Bell, 80, is a regular at this club, which features piano bar sing-alongs seven nights a week, from 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Miceli’s, 3655 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles, (213) 851-3344. Although this restaurant is best known for its singing waiters and waitresses, there’s a limited open mike for restaurant patrons, seven nights a week, starting around 6 p.m. and continuing until 11 p.m, Sunday through Thursday and till 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Jeff Urband and Emilio Fuchs are the piano accompanists.

Old Heidelberg, 13726 Oxnard St., Van Nuys, (818) 997-9396. Fritz Eisenreich accompanies singers on the cordovox and synthesizer from 10 p.m. till 12:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday evenings.

Paoli’s Pizzeria & Pasta House, 21020 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, (818) 883-4136. Owner Chairon has piano bar entertainment from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays through Fridays; 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. weekends.

Skoby’s Country Inn, 20419 Devonshire St., Chatsworth, (818) 718-0433. Evelyn Fiorani emcees the karaoke sing-alongs Tuesdays from 8 till 11:30 p.m.

Tempo Restaurant, 16610 Ventura Blvd., Encino (818) 905-5855. Nightly piano bar entertainment, with a limited open mike, daily. Times vary, and Israeli popular music is featured.

Tony Roma’s-Universal, 666 Universal Terrace Parkway, Universal City, (818) 777-3939. Karaoke sing-alongs are Tuesday evenings from about 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Black Angus, 9145 Corbin Ave., Northridge, (818) 701-1600. Laser karaoke every Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. The sing-alongs from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. will be interspersed with regular entertainment.