Karaoke Forums

In an effort to help get closer to the crux of the matter for the question Jam's thread "Karaoke Hosts and Show Descriptions" presented, I have to refer to KaraokeJerry statement that he's never been invited to sing at dance club. That statement help me to clarify my thinking regarding Jam's thread.

BTW, I did make a feeble attempt at something similar to this on that thread, but this maybe more helpful., so here it goes....

How many nights a week does your venue have entertainment?
Does your venue have entertainment other than karaoke?
Do the people who show for karaoke, but don't sing, also attend on other nights when there is other entertainment?
Do the people who show when there's entertainment also attend the venue when there's no entertainment?
Does management consider karaoke to be entertainment no different than having a band, or is the karaoke expected to attract lots of singers and their friends?
Is there much of an attendance for karaoke in addition to those who have come to sing along with those who accompany them?

When you have the answers to these questions you know who you are serving and how to conduct your show. Obviously, if you have constant rotation of 50 singers, you don't have much time to do much else than keep the singers coming up, one after the other.

However, if you have an audience of fifty, or more, and only 15 singers, you may want to pay attention to your non-singing audience as well as your singers. And, clearly, that requires more than seeing how quickly you can get the next singer up! IMHO

The restaurant where my show was at on Friday of Halloween had a total of 12 singers over the course of three hours. With that in mind and the fact that the venue normal has a singer/guitar player on Fridays (Karaoke every Sat), it was my evaluation that the owner expected me to be the entertainment.

I believe my evaluation was correct based upon the crowds reaction. Nonetheless, the singers had a great time. Meanwhile, the The first table to leave after I started the show (non-singers all) left a $5 tip. I was left $27 in tips altogether; half from singers half from other tables. Oh, and I only sang once, the first song! But... I kept them entertained!

How many nights a week does your venue have entertainment?
3 nights

Does your venue have entertainment other than karaoke?
The owner brings in a band once in a while. At most once a month on a regularly scheduled karaoke night.

Do the people who show for karaoke, but don't sing, also attend on other nights when there is other entertainment?
The only people who would show up that don't sing are the people who would be sitting at the bar rain or shine. If there is a band, karaoke or nothing.

Do the people who show when there's entertainment also attend the venue when there's no entertainment?
Yes

Does management consider karaoke to be entertainment no different than having a band, or is the karaoke expected to attract lots of singers and their friends?
Karaoke brings in the biggest crowd on a steady basis that is why it is 3 times a week. Bands bring in their own regulars. Sometimes the place is empty.

Is there much of an attendance for karaoke in addition to those who have come to sing along with those who accompany them?
The majority of my crowd are singers and friends

This is why I am all karaoke all the time

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50 singers, no. I avg about 20-30 on any given night, unless it's just absolutely dead. Last night was a good example, didn't have anyone really singing until an hour after I started. A couple here & there. Then I got hit with 15 singers & topped at 23.


We are a 'karaoke' club. Again, the non-singers are generally with singers or there to watch the singers.


Halloween was a SRO night, well over 200 people & 45 singers total.

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IMO, from info in my post, Bab's and Lonman's, I believe some clarity is developing as to who we are looking to entertain/cater to with our shows.

Here's some additional interesting "food for thought". A close KJ acquaintance of mine was doing a show for quite awhile at a restaurant/bar that started at 7pm. The singers she attracts are older and lean towards, Sinatra, Elvis, some DooWop, show tunes and the like. Here rotation averaged between 12-15. After doing the show for most of the year, she was replaced in October by a show that draws a younger audience. That next showed bragged on its website that it had 27 singers the first week, and it did! However, it was canned after two weeks because the crowd was too young! Another acquaintance of mine has had the show since, and it seems to be going very well!

Why do I say this is "food for thought"? Well, I wonder who was and wasn't being entertained by the three different shows? I know the "karaoke" people who were attending the original host's show really enjoyed it; they follow that host from place to place! So, what happened?

How many nights a week does your venue have entertainment?

Fri & Sat (WE do Sat)
Does your venue have entertainment other than karaoke?
Fri is band night once in awhile DJ

Do the people who show for karaoke, but don't sing, also attend on other nights when there is other entertainment?
Yes

Do the people who show when there's entertainment also attend the venue when there's no entertainment?

YES Sometimes to eat.
Does management consider karaoke to be entertainment no different than having a band, or is the karaoke expected to attract lots of singers and their friends?
We compete with bands and usually have a bigger till. We have a high energy show . If the singers are dead my host or I will sing to get the energy back. We interact with the audience For example if somebody is having a birthday party they are acknowledged and the bar sings them happy birthday. Reg audience members are friends and interact just as much as the singers. If all want to dance and the rotation short we dance.
Is there much of an attendance for karaoke in addition to those who have come to sing along with those who accompany them?

The ratio of non-singer to singer is 10 to 1 or larger. We seldom have a rotation of more than 15.. We attract partyers.

this is a video to show the energy. Sound sucks it is camcorder mic but shows the energy of the crowd First is the owners, then Patti who we have known 10 years or more and a short few seconds of my host.

[youtube]BEYvI5v_Ilw[/youtube]

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I believe we can see somewhat of a pattern emerging from just the few descriptions provided. One KJ could be working in completely different environment that another. Those distinct environments are, IMO, reason enough for running one show completely different from another. And those differences are what causes some of us to try to be more engaging or entertaining at one show than at others.

BINGO!!! I have tried to make that point for years but there are those that will argue until the cows come home and want to apply their limited format to everybody else. The secret is being dynamic and switching on a dime what is necessary for the crowd at that time. Different rules apply to different situations and if you apply rules to all hours or all gigs you have a boring show. I know because thats what burned me out after years and totlally retired. I am there to provide entertainment. We are fortunate to have some very good singers but if it takes the waitresses dancing on the bar then we will play YMCA. If the energy is dying and I have to get up and sing and put energy back in the crowd then I will. Does that make an entertainer? Perhaps but I am just doing my job.

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I think you guys are right on..I myself try to find places where the higher energy type show is prefered over straight karaoke. im more a younger party crowd karaoke.


Karyoker , I can not believe how bad the acoustics in that place must be.concrete on concrete with a high celing. dont the people who build these places think? a new place just opened here like that. I hate to eat there cause the noise of everything echos so bad you cant talk to the person across the table without raising your voice. guess theres no need for vocal effects in that room.

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the voices arent real, but they have some good ideas

I'm in an old historic 4 story building with a low tin ceiling. Aaarg ! The building is like 200 yrs old. It once was a brothel and before that some kind of cow building.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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The acoustics in my home room are awful also. There is so much painted board and sheet rock that it's like a gigantic ringing bathroom in there! It's not a natural ambiance but a horrible ping type of sound. The worst acoustics of any bar I've been associated with... maybe forever. And I call it home.

To try to answer Eric's questions on top, the only entertainment in my home room is usually me providing karaoke, which I do twice a week. There are bands once in a while though. There is one next Friday. And I have to bust everything down... !

They have tried DJs but it didn't work. There are very successful DJ rooms already established all over this area. When I have tried mixing karaoke with DJ it didn't work. The clientele is either there for karaoke, or pool and the poker and slot machines. The typical table is a singer or two and a few of their friends or roomates.

So, Bill

Then you're probably focusing on the singers and maximizing how many get to sing each show? Right?

Affirmative. But...

This is my situation. My room. And my response to it's clientele and it's competition in the area. Every situation is different and there is no one definitive solution for all.

Right On Eric....it's nice to see a few of us here can view the outside world as possibly different than our own. I have worked many venues and had to adjust entertainment for each one of them. I am paid to entertain when needed, but LET the customers entertain First- THAT should be the meaning of the word karaoke- "THEY SING & ENTERTAIN"...IMHO.