The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 7

Cos Anflclcs Sunea Wednesday, September 2a 1989 Part II 9 VALLEY NEWS Around Ah VaDDey By GREG BRAXTON 'No stars will ever be found here, but it's not about that at vr to be delighted with their out-of-tune, almost incoherent versions of the Police's "Roxanne" and "Happy Birthday." Lyrics were often replaced by deep grunts and high squeals. Roberts, Kreker and Mittelmark nudged each other and engaged in jocular machismo behavior right out of "National Lampoon's Animal House," provoking forced smiles from spectators. The trio's excitement increased as they realized, seemingly for the first time, that microphones can lead to amplified voices. Their piece de resistance was an incomprehensible rendition of "I Am Woman." Huffing and puffing, they sung so loudly that some sought refuge from the ear-piercing tones by exiting the restaurant A group of seven Birmingham High School co-eds giggled through "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Burton Kakehashi, a sales representative in green shorts and orange shirt who was celebrating his 31st birthday, stomped through "Addicted to Love." San Juan, who works in an advertising agency and has no serious musical aspirations, was the most serious and accomplished of the amateurs. She put in several requests to sing.

"No stars will ever be found here, that's for sure, but it's not about that at all," she said. "I just love to sing, and this gives me the chance. That's the beauty of the place." She had to stop because she was being called to the stage. It was her turn to sing "The Rose." "Here's one that may put you to sleep," she said to the noisy crowd. She stood alone on the platform and swayed gently as the familiar first strains of "SitthV on the Dock of the Bay" floated in the air and an image of a solitary man walking on a pier appeared on the 60-inch video monitor behind her.

"I'd say it's good to be back in San Francisco, but that would be the wrong city," Suzanne San Juan quipped to the audience in front of her. "Anyway, that is my hometown." Her stage presence was comfortably unpolished. She wore an attractive black pants outfit that tastefully revealed glimpses of her slender light-brown frame. Then the music softly kicked in, and San Juan, 26, began singing confidently in a throaty voice, the tone landing somewhere on the scale between pleasant and passable: "Sittin' in the morning sun, I'll be sittin' when the evening comesWatchin' the ships roll in, then I'll watch 'em roll away again. But not many people in the packed Maiyo restaurant in Encino were watching or listening to San Juan.

In fact, the noise in the establishment almost drowned her out When she finished, two people clapped. Waitresses in red and white Japanese robes buzzed in front of her, carrying trays of sushi. Customers at the octagonal sushi bar shouted out orders to the two frantic chefs behind it Host of the tables in the second-floor restaurant were occupied by large groups of people more preoccupied with noisy birthday celebrations than a stranger's singing. The proceedings were brightly lit with lanterns which hung from the ceiling. equivalent of singing along with the bouncing ball.

Custom-made videos accompany each song to provide more visual diversion. Even more importantly, there is no qualitative meter. The karaoke bar at Maiyo is a live Gong Show without the gong. Even though observers may find some of the vocals agonizing to listen to, they can take some relief in silent congratulations of their own ability, knowing their voices aren't that bad. Naylor, the emcee, did his best to channel the individual cliques into a unifed party.

An artist who works by day at an advertising agency, he bounced on the platform and begged for the diners to come up and sing. At times he grabbed the mike and launched into "Jailhouse Rock" and "On the Road Again," dancing around in his white cowboy shirt and blue jeans. "It's fun doing this," Naylor said during a break. "I love to sing." He said he's sung professionally with groups such as the Stone Canyon Band, Rick Nelson's back-up band. He downplayed the crowd's indifference.

"People just want to have a good time. Fridays are often like this." Having loud and off-key fun seemed to be the order of the day on this night And even the inattentiveness of the spectators did not seem to bother the performers as they stepped into the spotlight Fueled by several rounds of Japanese beer, Greg Roberts, 22, from Cal State Northridge, and his buddies Kent Kreker and Tony Mittelmark, also 22, returned time and again to the platform, appearing "Hey, c'mon, let's hear it for Suzanne," said emcee Randy Naylor, exhorting the crowd. It was just another night at the Maiyo karaoke bar. Karaoke is a Japanese term for publicly singing songs with the backing of a music machine that plays instrumental tracks almost identical to the original recordings. For $1 a song, anyone can be a karaoke star and have three or four minutes in the spotlight, fulfilling a fantasy of entertaining a whole audience of admirers while belting out a favorite song, no matter how bad the voice.

For slightly more, they can receive an audio tape of their performance. Or, as San Juan puts it, "It's a place for people who love to sing in the shower to dry off." While on stage, the performer looks at a small video monitor where the lyrics of the desired tune are displayed. A gliding device puts different colors on the words at the appropriate note a modern Digest Local News in Brief Avenue and Vanowen Street, just south of the Burbank Airport It was built in 1983 by Caltrans, which operated a commuter rail line for a brief period. Helene Buchman, Burbank transportation planning manager, said that as part of its lease agreement with Lockheed the city also must arrange for shuttle bus service between the rail stop and the airport She said that rail service could begin by the end of the year, depending on parking and Amtrak and Caltrans scheduling approval. Amtrak now runs one round trip a day between Santa Barbara and San Diego.

Stops include Los Angeles, Glendale, Van Nuys, Chats-worth and Simi Valley. Amtrak spokesman Arthur Pierce said that a one-way ticket from Burbank to San Diego will likely run about $26 with a round-trip fare of $30. United Cable Fined $300,000 Over Delays in Construction widen and improve San Fernando Road in Newhall and Valencia. Officials from the California Department of Transportation will discuss the proposal during an informal open house to begin at 6 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center, 22900 Market Street, Newhall.

A hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. to take public testimony on the proposed project BurbankOKs Plan for Parking Near Rail line The Burbank City Council on Tuesday night approved plans to lease a parking lot adjacent to an unused railroad platform near Bur-bank airport, clearing the way for the city to become a regular stop on Amtrak's Santa Barbara -to -San Diego line. The council voted 5 to 0 to lease the parking lot owned by Lockheed Aircraft Corp. for $2,100 a month for 24 months. The council also approved allocating 112,000 to paint parking stalls and to fence the.

lot, which has room for 70 vehicles. The state Department of Transportation has said it would approve an Amtrak stop in Burbank if the city could provide a parking tot near the railroad platform for commuters. The platform is between Empire LNHMMHHMHUllllMaaMM at Simi Valley Adventist Hospital, where he was being treated for a broken foot cracked ribs and multiple scrapes and bruises suffered in the 11:30 p.m. accident a Highway Patrol spokeswoman said. Jerry Dean Jackson, 24, of Moorpark was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving after being examined and released at the same hospital, the spokeswoman said.

A passenger in the car was not injured, she said. Jackson had just entered the freeway from the westbound Stearns Street on -ramp when he lost control on rain-slick pavement and came to a stop in the path of Kaai's motorcycle, which struck the right front of the car. authorities said. Kaai was thrown about 60 feet the spokeswoman said. Kaai is assigned to the Highway Patrol's Central office near downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.

Man Hurt in Drive-By N.Hollywood Shooting A 19-year-old man was shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting in North Hollywood, Los Angeles police said Tuesday. Hugo Enriquea, of North Hollywood, was walking on Radford Avenue near Sherman Way about 9:45 p.m. Monday when a car drove by and shots were fired, Sgt Ray Da vies said. Enriques was hit in the lower abdomen and was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was in stable condition. No arrests have been made.

Because Enriques was injured in a drive-by shooting, Da vies said, the North Hollywood Division gang unit is investigating the incident He said investigators did not know if Enriques is a gang member. San Fernando Road Project to Be Discussed Cal trans will hold an open house and public hearing tonight to explain the possible environmental impact of a 120-million project to For home delivery, call 1-800-LA TIMES. Dos Angeles Simes said. LeMay said Fields is a property manager for about 12 homeowner associations from Ojai to the San Fernando Valley. Her responsibilities include handling the groups' bills, submitting them each month for approval and signature.

She was not authorized to sign checks, LeMay said. An investigation began early last month when the Tuolumne Oaks homeowner association of Thousand Oaks spoke to the Sheriffs Department after discovering irregularities in financial statements, LeMay said. "They rang the fire alarm and when we got there, we realized there were fires all over." he said. Other reported victims include homeowner associations at Euclid Estates in Camarillo and Marlborough Seaside Estates in Oxnard, and the Westlake branch of Ventura County National Bank, where the forged checks were deposited, according to LeMay. Fields, whom police said worked out of her home, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The names of the other associations that Fields worked for were not available. Motorcycle Officer Hurt in Freeway Crash An off-duty California Highway Patrol officer returning home on his motorcycle was seriously injured in an accident with a suspected drunk driver on the Simi Valley Freeway, authorities said Tuesday. Robert James Kaai, 32, of Simi Valley was in an intensive care unit The Los Angeles City Council fined United Cable Television $300,000 Tuesday for failing to meet past construction schedules. When United Cable won the east San Fernando Valley franchise in 1983, it promised to complete the system within two years. But lines were not strung into all of the East Valley until May, said the company's attorney.

Scott Adler. The fine covers delays between January. 1988, and June, 1989. Adler blamed the delays on unrealistic deadlines, many of which were set by company itself. "United has been guilty of one thing, that is being overly optimistic about how fast we could build," he said.

The council also agreed to a provision, suggested by its Industry and Economic Development Committee, under which money collected from United Cable will go toward improving East Valley cable service. Council members asked the city Department of Telecommunications to return to the council Oct 20 with a specific recommendation of how best to use the money. Susan Herman, general manager of the department said United Cable has been fined more than II million for delays, nearly half of which was waived after the company persuaded council members that they had not understood some of the regulations regarding the stringing of lines on Department of Water and Power poles. Herman said the company has already paid $236,200. Woman, S3, Arrested on Forgery Charges A Newbury Park woman who represents about a dozen homeowners associations in Los Angeles and Ventura counties has been arrested on charges that she forged an estimated $20,000 in association checks for personal use, Ventura County Sheriffs Detective Bob LeMay said Tuesday.

Sheriffs deputies arrested Ann Dixa Fields, 53, on Monday after searching her home in the 100 block of Maynard Avenue. Fields was booked on felony forgery charges and released on her own recognizance. She is to be arraigned Monday in Ventura County Municipal Court. An estimated $20,000 in forged checks have been documented so far, and more are expected as an investigation continues, LeMay Annual Yield THE COMPLETE KITCHEN CENTER TRADITIONAL EUROPEAN CONTEMPORARY One of The Largest Showrooms In The Southland 11 Comptof Kltchnt On Pltplay A Total DwIfjR A OoMfsHoii Iwloi Wf Omt PMR TIrm 8taN nnuni rrr nninnri i ali ri Open frOO to 5:30 7 days, 10am to 7pm, Sat 10-5, Sun. 11-4 Kitchen Foohkmo (818) 761-7441 Ut571M( 4850 Vlneland, No.

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