Ever since that crazy bastard, Wankus, began what is now the longest running adult industry weekly event, Porn Star Karaoke (PSK), others around the world, (and even a few locally), have tried to bandwagon the night, with their own renditions. There have been numerous attempts to ride the coat tails of this world famous party and most of the mimickers quickly found out that it takes a lot more then a press release or a few drink specials to pull it off.
With the help of Konnie from DVSX and former adult star, Aria Noir, Wankus and friends remained loyal to the PSK venue, Sardos’ Bar, for all these years, based on a variety of reasons. Mainly, Sardos head honcho, Seymour Satin, and his relentless support of the adult industry as well as all the players who work in it. From the stars to the crew to the lube boy, Satin has always made members of this controversial group of folks feel like family. In fact, he has been so accommodating over the past four and a half years, PSK and Sardos has been a leader in many charities, fundraisers and tributes honoring or assisting our blue screen comrades in a variety of situations.
But it’s not just about a supportive ringleader or a comfortable venue. PSK was driven by the strength of their hosts, special guests, unlimited music selections and tolerant club management who allow the adult peeps a little leeway in funny, yet perverse, lyric changes, controversial attire and Sardos provides an overall setting that rivals a typical holiday gathering with family. In other words, everyone might not all like each other. Everyone might not always get along. But for one night, in one place, for one reason, people who share a few common interests will find a way to celebrate it together where they are always welcome.
And unlike most other venues that have attempted to dupe this popular night, the staff at Sardos is always accommodating as well. Sure they have big, burly security dudes. Of course they have bar tenders and waitresses that know their jobs and won’t let ya walk all over ‘em. But the entire staff has grown to love the good folks of adult, even so much that they look forward to Tuesday nights.
Further, PSK has become a press paparazzi’s dream! Crediting much of it’s early success to Gene Ross of AdultFYI.com and Wankus (formerly with KSEXradio), over the years Luke Ford has enjoyed many nights of wild content at Sardos and even the mainstream press has picked up on the fun with PSK being featured on VH-1, E!, Showtime, HBO, Variety and the LA Times.
Combine all of that with the numerous, memorable weeks of the past and you will see why PSK is still going and known as a ‘winner’!
Need a few examples? How about when Wankus and Kristen performed hilarious, choreographed shows as Milli Vanilla? What about the excellent special guest host appearances by Tony Batman, Nikki Hunter, Jason Sechrest, Mofo and Flexx? Or the countless celebrity sightings, past and present, including Richard Dreyfuss, Mickey Rourke, members of Cypress Hill and D-12, Joey Fatone, Johnny Buss, Jeff Conaway and Tommy Lee—just to name a few. Not to leave out the abundance of adult stars over the years who faithfully attend, including Ginger Lynn, Ron Jeremy, Stormy Daniels, Tera Patrick, Jill Kelly, Tyler Faith, Mark Davis, Ashlynn Brooke, Jesse Jane, Felicia Fox, Julie Meadows, Mary Carey, Jenny Hendrix, T-Reel, Tommy Gunn, Chris Cannon, Craven Moorehead, Violet Blue and Monica Mayhem. That’s the short list. Hundreds of stars have been to PSK and many of them still attend.
It is for all of the aforementioned reasons that PSK and Sardos is still the original and the best place to enjoy Porn Star Karaoke. (And the food ain’t bad either)
But alas…as convinced as most who attend are of the elite, special night PSK has become, once in a great while, someone decides they’re going to make an attempt at their own version of this already thought of idea and proven model.
Most of the time, this copycat approach is used out of town, in fact, mostly out of state. In many cases, run by someone who experienced the greatness of PSK and frequently done with respect, either by asking permission to use the name (Tampa Show and Houston’s Pornotopia) or by crediting the original event as their inspiration. Yet there are times, like now, that someone actually sneaks in locally and not only tries to mimic the party, but actually purposely tries to compete with it.
It’s a free country. Business is business. But with the emergence of PVK, Porn Valley Karaoke, set to also be held also on Tuesday nights, also in the San Fernando Valley, it seems a bit tacky and rude. Especially, as it’s supposedly organized by a member of the adult industry that was always welcomed with open arms at PSK.
The lovely, mature performer, DeBella, along with her husband Mike are the rumored ring leaders of this new event. Both very nice people, who have themselves provided many positive contributions to this industry. Word on the street says that Mike had an incident at Sardos one night where he was asked numerous times by the security staff to clear a pathway to conform with the fire code and make way for the staff to do their jobs. Allegedly, Mike would not abide by the repeated safety requests and was finally asked to leave.
While it’s not exactly known if this incident inspired a Tuesday night competition to PSK, it appears as such and regardless of the reasoning, the creation of PVK by other members of the porn family is what my grandmother would call, “no cooth!”
Furthermore, the founders of PVK started a MySpace page, using ‘Porn Star Karaoke’ in the URL. In my opinion, that’s just a slap in the face (and I’m guessing raises possible legal ramifications).
In the grand scheme of things does any of this matter? Not really. PSK will always be the special place it has been for many years and other club nights of a similar or different nature may have their perks as well. It’s just that some of us have never wavered with our loyalty and since we have grown to be a family under that Burbank roof, we want it to be known that we’re sticking together.
I wish you luck PVK. It’s a shame PSK lost your support, but hopefully in short time, you’ll come back and visit again and get the reminder of why there’s only one Porn Star Karaoke…and it’s at Sardo’s Bar (www.SardosBar.com), every Tuesday night, nearing it’s FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY.