Karaoke Forums

I used to bring my discs to Matts show in Portland and he ALWAYS played em' cause he didnt have my songs. He had a VERY STRONG assortment tho--something like 12K SEPARATE titles with few if any dupes. Like he said--cant have ALL thats out there. Not possible. And mine were some he didnt have. So he CATERED TO THE CUSTOMER and the crowd and I went away happy as clams.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I always carry my own discs I have 4 cusyoms from sc and those are what I carry if one gets messed up so what it's only money you can't take it with you. Or if I loose them my bad . these are what my wife and i sing ,I only use them if the show doesn't have these versions and i always ask if the host plays personal discs I have never been refused by any. just my 2 cents. Dave

When it comes down to it, who really cares? If they want to lug around a couple hundred discs, then so what? They are the ones lugging around dead weight. Serves them right too.
But I wouldn't give it the time of day, myself. I am secure enough to know I have a good collection and I have better things to do with my time than worry about someone lugging a bunch of discs around. To even acknowledge it, to me, is immature.
Why get into a "my set is bigger and better than your set" contest? Because you know what?
My dad can beat up your dad!
Yeah, it's about as mature as that!

For Diafel:

Actually it does create a disruption when the people then start enviting the entire room to use thiers(which is what they were doing-they even came equipped with a songbook with thier own brand name on it). This actually took place one evening when I was filling in for a guy.

Made for alot of wasted time and disrupted the flow having to deal with constantly handling their discs, taking questions about WHY DONT YOU HAVE THIS AND THAT----THEY DO! and so forth. So it was neccessary to take some action.

And that was the quietest way to do it.

As a result the next time I filled in and they were there they didn't try the same stunt. These people actually were trying to take the gig and undermine me doing my job at the show. We had never met prior to this evening. They apparently had some trouble with the other KJ too. But on MY NIGHT I wasn't willing to play their game so I put a stop to it.

Sorry. Wont apologize for that.

HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING INSECURE. HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH NOT TOLERATING INTENTIONAL DISRUPTIONS AT MY SHOW.

Just as you wouldn't at yours.

Still think its silly to haul around 4-500 discs and a SONGBOOK to someone elses show. When all you're ever really going to sing is 4-5 songs and can plan ahead and take what you need with you.

Sorry. Wont apologize for that either.

But........there is JUSTICE IN THIS WORLD!!.

Apparently later they DID GET THE GIG. But lost it shortly thereafter. Then not too long after that LOST THEIR OTHER GIG across town. Havent heard SQUAT about them gigging since(over 2 years later).

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

The show that I frequent has a fairly limited quantity of songs. When I went the first time I sang what was in the book. Since then I bring my own discs. I have 5 at present and they are compilations that I have burned from my collection. The KJ has been great about playing my discs.

At my show, singers are free to bring whatever they want and I will play it, even if I have the same version. I use a CAVS player with a 500 gigabyte hard drive attached to the USB port. But I can play CDGs or SCDGs. It really doesn't matter to me and I would rather that the singers be comfortable with what they are singing.

Not too many of my singers bring their own discs. I figure that someone that brings a disc brings it because it's important to that person. I want to accommodate that. I have the ability to do it and it doesn't cost me anything. I don't think someone with a disc is a diva. I just think it's someone who is out to have a good time and I see it as my job to make that possible.

Those who have talked about being comfortable with a certain version of a song make a valid point. For many people, getting up to sing in front of an audience is difficult. Trying to sing in an unfamiliar key or to an arrangement that is totally different from what one is used to can be very uncomfortable and can ruin an otherwise enjoyable experience.

Awhile back I went to a show that used a PC. She couldn't play discs, she had no key control and she didn't even have a book. You had to fill out a slip of paper, give it to her, let her search her hard drive for the song and then she would tell you if she had it or not. She didn't have many of the songs I like to sing. She couldn't play my discs so rather than play guessing games with her I stopped going.

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

[/quote]

Quick Hijack:

1) Would your favorite version of All That Jazz be Stage Stars, per chance? I get raves for that whole disc!


2) I have Cabaret on Karaoke Hits, Music Maestro, SC, and SGB. Would you believe that the most popular- and complete- version is SGB?


OK, back to the regularly scheduled thread.....[/quote]

No, my favourite version of All That Jazz is actually put out by Pocket Songs on a disc called "Broadway Gems." I haven't heard the Stage Stars version. The only Stage Stars disc I've heard is Wicked - and the tempos are so off and the music so synthesized sounding that I haven't bothered with anything else they've put out - although I have been hearing some of their newer stuff is better, so I may check them out again.

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"I hold the key to an open door....will I ever be free...?"

I take my own discs, they are burned and are compilations of my favorite songs and are burned in the key I sing them in. I usually carry 3 discs with me which pretty much covers everything I would sing when out for the evening (about 45 songs)

Of course I would not get to sing that many but I have plenty to choose from. I try to sing songs that match the place I'm visiting, and other times I just want to have plenty available depending on what mood I'm in.

One thing I see that is really common here in Portland is that many of the KJ's have poor quality versions of songs that I want to sing. If they do have my version then I don't use my disc.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Usually im the same way as Scott---if they have it i use thier one on their puter--its easier for all---I think I did this last time I visited his show. Hey how is it there now that its all smoke-free??? Ill have to drop by and bring some Karaoke mags by and check it out.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Kurt's point about my collection is well taken. At the time, I had about 12K without dupes. 17K with them. The songbook for the singers only has the best versions (voted by my customers and myself)... I did have a couple of his requests, a Cherry Poppin' Daddies tune and another one I can't for the life of me remember. But the majority of his stuff, I was more than happy to play his discs.

I loved doing that.

It allows the customer to be happy to do the song they truly want, rather than settling for one they could "do" with, and secondly and most importantly... it allows the regs to hear things they normally wouldn't hear in my show.

Cueball does Broadway and often suggestive songs, a parody here or there... again, songs my customers wouldn't normally be entertained with.

This to me is the heart of karaoke: The ability to have songs or a genre that often belongs to the individual singers. So TRAVELING singers are VERY much welcomed. I've heard a huge selection of songs sang by travelers that normally aren't sang, even though they're in my collection! Nobody locally just sang them! But with someone that came in from Chicago and LOVES say Heart songs, and has the ability to sing them... why they're MORE than welcome in my show! I had a semi-regular that would drive from Vancouver,Washington to my gig because I had the Billy Joel tunes he adored!

Kay's Bar has been Smoke-Free for 2-1/2 years now. They were one of the first bars in the area to go non-smoking before the Jan 1st, 2009 ban.

They are doing well and since the changeover way back then.

I have been to several bars recently and they seem to be taking the smoking ban in stride and I'm amazed by everyone's positive attitude towards it. Sure some smokers are grumbling but most people are just fine with the change.

It sure was nice to go up the street to "Calamity Jane's" (a local sports bar) and have a smoke free meal! They have really great food and I wanted to go in there but the smoky environment kept me from it. I have a real problem eating a nice meal and then having to breathe the smoke. It made me sick.

Sorry didn't mean to hi-jack just answered Swincat's question.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

That's happened to me as well, didn't think anything of it. People that were singing off of the other peoples discs asked if I coulld get them, so I did, now they no longer need to sing off the others since I have them in my collection now as well.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I'm in agreement with Lonman. If the whole room wanted to use someone else's library, I would allow it, no problem, and it would also tell me something about my own library.

The quietest way would be to purchase the discs that people wanted to play so that next time, there would be no "issue" (if that's what you see it as).


Actually I would have no problem playing completely off of someone else's library if that's what my singers wanted. Then I would go home and re-evaluate my own library. It hasn't happened yet, so there's been no need. But it's what I would do, were I in your shoes.


I agree that it's silly to haul the whole thing around. But to each his own. If they want to lug it around and risk damage, loss, and theft, then that's their problem.
Again, I have no issues with it. They are the ones that have to lug it around and constantly watch for theft and damage. Guess that's the price they pay.
I wouldn't do it myself as I would rather enjoy myself. That's why I bring a compilation and or usb drive with the songs I might want to sing on it.

Well in this case going out and redoing my library doesnt make sense as it was a FILL-IN Gig. And again they were there with the specific purporse of trying to disrupt, undermine and ultimately take the gig.

Again wasnt going to play thier game ON MY WATCH.

Now if it were my PERMANENT gig and someone wanted a particular song then of course I would order and add it. Or if it were a "regular" who liked bringing thier own large assortment and everyone was in the habit of using thier stuff then that would be OK.

But again these particular people were attempting to undermine, cause a disruption and ultimately take the gig(from the regular guy I was filling in for)

So I put a stop to it ON MY WATCH.

That simple.

As to my own library Ive built it up to around 7500 SEPARATE TITLES approaching 500 discs with few duplicates over time. When using my own I get a few requests for things I dont have then order them to keep them on hand for next time. But thats MY OWN stuff which I DID have present IN ADDITION to the regular assortment.

These people had about a 2/3 of what I carry with me and all thier stuff was 8 song discs while mine is primarilyl 12-15 song discs. So do the math as far as the SELECTION not being competitive.

Much of these people stuff was the EXACT same stuff I have in my own assortment.

So there was no need to go back and reevaulate my own assortment.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT