Since I’m on the subject of Korean things for the time being, my next two entries are going to be on two places I like to go to sing some karaoke.  Fans of Applebee’s karaoke night might enjoy this.  There are a few differences though.  For one thing, I think Applebee’s karaoke night is free and you sing out in public.  I’ve never tried it, so I can’t say for sure.  The two karaoke places I’m going to review today give customers private rooms to sing and charge a flat rate per hour.  The other difference is I think Applebee’s only offers karaoke one night a week.  FM Karaoke is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

The building itself might look small, and when you step inside, the set-up might seem narrow, but the rooms are actually quite spacious.  I believe they have three kinds of rooms; one for small groups of 1-5 people, rooms for medium sized groups (I think 5-8 or 9) and then rooms for large parties of 10+.  I’ve only been in one of the larger rooms once, but it’s pretty spacious in there.

Their busiest nights are Friday and Saturday, unsurprisingly.  They’re open from 5pm – 2am Monday through Thursday, and until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays.

The place can get a little pricey if you don’t go with a solid group of people, though at least unlike other karaoke bars that usually charge $30/hr., if you get a small room you get charged a slightly discounted rate of $24/hr. I think.  It’s definitely better to go in a group though, because an hour goes by fast and the $24-$30/hr. seems less expensive when you have more people to split the cost with.  They accept both credit and cash.

I’m not entirely sure if they charge more than $30 for the largest room, but they might.  If you’d like to ask, you can give them a call at (301) 545-1191.  For those of you who just want their address, it’s 2131 Veirs Mill Road, Rockville, MD 20851.

The owners are pretty friendly and courteous, and the inside has always been clean every time I’ve gone there.  You cannot smoke inside the rooms, but they do allow patrons to buy drinks so long as they have a valid ID handy.  It can get pretty loud in there, but usually the singing in other rooms doesn’t really impact the sound quality of the room you’re in.  Parking is pretty hassle free since they have their own private lot, but it’s also small, so it can get overcrowded easily on a busy night.  That’s all right though because you can always park in the McDonald’s lot, which is right next to it.

So if you’re looking for a place to sing and you’re in the area, I’d definitely recommend giving this place a try.