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Ageless in harmony

She's 80. He's 79. But that doesn't keep them from singing karaoke most Saturday nights at the Friendly Tavern.

By ROBBYN MITCHELL
Published July 16, 2006

SEMINOLE - "Go get 'em, Maxi," a member of the rowdy crowd yelled as she sashayed up to the singer, folded dollar in hand. She leaned in for a kiss as she tucked the dollar in his collar for a song well sung.

Her date sat at a table nearby, feigning jealousy for the crowd.

"Oh, Maxi," the singer sighed to the woman in the pink knitted sweater and pearls.

For him and many other patrons of the Friendly Tavern in Redington Shores, this is a normal Saturday night with the spunky, karaoke duo, Maxi Roberts, 80, and Dan Brost, 79.

The two travel from their Seminole apartment to the night spot on Gulf Boulevard every week to sing some of their favorite songs for crowds that range in age from just bar age to 80s.

"It's just a joy for us," Roberts said . "We get a kick out of making people happy and that's why we love to sing."

Roberts and Brost perform standards such as Donna Summer's Last Dance and The Way You Look Tonight, but their signature song is anything but convention for a pair of senior citizens.

"I be strokin'," the couple harmonized to the Clarence Carter song of the same title, bringing the crowd to its feet. Roberts poked out her tongue and gyrated her pelvis to the music as Brost looked on in faux amazement.

They have performed the number 110 times at the tavern.

"People love it," Brost said. "Some people who even come and visit for vacation will come back looking for us next year hoping we'll do it."

But the raunchy song selection isn't quite as dirty as the original when the duo performs.

"I cut out some of the parts because I just won't say some of that stuff," Roberts said.

Rich Ruddick, also a karaoke regular, said that part of the thrill of karaoke is the audience reaction to your voice.

"Most people, when they hear us, are surprised at how we sound," Brost said.

"They think that we're a couple of old people but then they hear us and love us."

The widow and the widower met in 2002 at a singles dance at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Clearwater.

Both taken to the event by friends, the two danced and Brost boldly asked Roberts if she'd like to go out to dinner sometime.

"I said dinner, but that's it," Roberts recalled.

Dinner progressed into shopping trips to Wal-Mart and the grocery together and eventually the two decided to move in together.

Brost lived upstairs in the same building of their apartment complex and because of Roberts' failing health, he decided to spare her the stairs.

"I've had pneumonia, double pneumonia and heart problems," Roberts said. "I also have this box in my chest too. My grandson calls me the bionic lady."

As far as apartments go, the couple's home is a mix of their personalities.

The furniture is littered with playthings of Roberts' cat and the walls are covered in Brost's paintings of children and land- and seascapes.

In the center of the homey charm stands a gigantic 48-inch big screen television and a Memorex karaoke machine with two microphones.

The couple found the machine on a trip to Wal-Mart.

They weren't looking for it. They had just recently found out what karaoke was. They bought it because it looked like fun.

"We got the TV because I couldn't read the little one on the machine," Roberts said as the CD loaded to play one of their favorite songs, Unforgettable.

As they swayed and looked into each other's eyes occasionally glancing at the words on the screen, Brost ad-libbed in some parts, making Roberts blush uncontrollably.

Mid number, there was a knock at the door.

"I heard you guys singing and I thought I'd drop by to hear this time," said apartment manager Fran Ross.

Brost and Roberts graciously welcomed her in and began the song again, this time focusing more on their new audience member than one another.

This wasn't their first command performance.

The couple took a Carnival Cruise Line vacation from Tampa to Cozumel, Mexico, in 2003.

During the trip, the couple performed several times in the ship's karaoke lounge and were spotted by a young gentleman and his girlfriend, who were staying in the neighboring stateroom.

"He asked us to sing Strokin' for him again because he loved it so much," Roberts said.

Unbeknown to them, they said they later found out that their doting neighbors were actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, who were on vacation as well.

"He was such a nice guy, and when we found out who he was on the last day, we were so flattered he'd liked our music," Brost said.

They love performing, and have continued even through hardships.

Roberts tore her hamstring last year when she slipped and fell coming out of the bathroom at the Friendly Tavern.

She and Brost, however, continued to come to karaoke every Saturday night despite her limited mobility.

"The first week back, I was in a wheelchair. The second week, I had a walker. The third week, I was using a cane and then finally everyone cheered when I was walking again," Roberts said.

And their dedication to performing spills over into other venues.

Roberts and Brost sometimes still perform at their first stages, American Legion 252 and the Elks, despite Roberts' problem with the smoke.

"We can do about an hour before I start to cough," she said.

The smoke-free Tavern is now their main lounge, where the couple said there are plenty of good times to be had.

"We sing because we don't want to be 80-year-old couch potatoes," Brost said. "Being 80 doesn't mean you have to stop having fun. If you're not having a fun, what are you living for?"

[Last modified July 15, 2006, 23:46:15]