Steel Horse caters to new breed of biker, features Karaoke on 42" HD screens
By Keith Cantrell
KJ RIck Lewendoski
Most baby boomers have a preconceived stereotype of biker bars. Thirty years ago, a biker bar was seen as seedy, dirty, full of crime, drugs and illicit sex. Bikers themselves were considered dangerous criminals full of evil intent. That image is a thing of the past.
While many bikers still wear the black leathers, tattoos and long beards, they usually have a regular, respectable job and it just so happens that their hobby and passion is riding motorcycles. The Steel Horse caters specifically to this type of new biker.
Located at 13405 S.W. Pacific Highway in Tigard, it opened a year ago and Karaoke is featured there every Friday and Saturday. Owner Johnny "Hollywood" and his wife Robin were bikers themselves and saw the potential for a new kind of biker bar when they first considered this formerly run down building on the highway.
With the help of family and friends, the couple acquired the facility and put in a lot of plain old hard work and sweat equity to get the place up and running. A kind soul gave them a very good deal on some diamond plate chrome and they used that as a garnish on the walls and across the bottom of the bar. With the addition of couches, new tables and chairs, a fireplace, Karaoke kiosk and other accessories, the remodel gave the old building a new ambience that quickly eases any apprehension you might have about hanging out with bikers.
In the main room, next to the Karaoke kiosk, sits a customized orange and chrome chopper proudly displayed as the unofficial mascot The Steel Horse. Its presence sets the overall tone of the bar as a biker-friendly establishment. Who else has a real chopper in their dining room? Johnny admits that it still needs a little work to be ready to ride.
The Karaoke jockey is Rick Lewendowski, who has been spinning CDs at the Steel Horse for a few weeks. He sings well himself and isn't above starting a show with his own renditions of popular songs. With a pre-recorded library of over 16,000 songs, any Karaoke singer can easily find something that will suit his or her voice and style.
The first two weekends of the Karaoke bar in October were full of fun-seekers and even pushed the limits of the legal capacity of the building. Crowds like that are what make nightclubs fun and interesting. On the Friday of the third weekend, the crowd was smaller than usual since it was long after payday and the recent turmoil in the financial markets had dampened people's spending habits.
However, this kind of setback doesn't stop the patrons of The Steel Horse from performing their civic duty in efforts to change the image of bikers. A lot of the members of this club are highly involved in charity runs of various types, including poker runs that raise money for needy children. Additionally, they fuel their passion for motorcycles and things that go fast by participating in motorcycle shows, gatherings such as the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota, as well as racing high-powered speed boats.
Jason, the in-house photographer, uses Designer Wi-Fi to manage the photos he takes of all the revelers on Karaoke nights. This allows him to not only show the pictures immediately on the screens scattered around the room, but to post them within seconds to the website for later viewing by fans of the bar. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, you can view these photos from the last three weeks of karaoke by going to www.steelhorsekaraoke.com.
In summary, the Karaoke nights are every Friday and Saturday starting at 9 p.m. They provide wireless microphones and four 42' screens that display the words to the songs to keep singers on track. So, if you are a Karaoke lover, as well as an aficionado of motorcycles, you will be welcomed and made comfortable at The Steel Horse. For further information call 503-639-3959. (Also, see ad this issue.)
Ride on and keep the bugs outta yer teeth!