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Personally I consider myself more of a "laid back" type of Host. Always profesional , always pleasant and friendly etc etc. I DON"T consider myself an IN YOUR FACE type of HOST, one who is always PUMPED up and BARKING and JOKING on the mic and DRAWING attention to myself. I'm not the HOST running around the BAR with the wireless mic shoving it in peoples faces etc etc. YOU GET THE IDEA
I would rate my show HIGH on the SOUND and SELECTION scale but lower on the ENERGY SCALE. I'm not BORING and do "talk it up" etc etc just not OVER DONE


Is this BAD ????

I would like to hear from other HOSTS and SINGERS on WHAT TYPE of HOST is PREFERED

Jam,

I'm quite the opposite. And without getting into anybody's face at my shows who wants to be left alone, I have a high energy show!

In the short term, most anything might work at karaoke shows. Shows in Florida rarely make it to "long term"; rarely do they last longer than a year or so around here with the same host!

There are all types of approaches to hosting a show. To maximize my longevity at a gig, I want to do everything that I can to enhance my results. The following are things I've seen and learned from at the various shows that I've attended:

KJ's who put on a song and then go mingle with the crowd
KJ's who don't mingle at all
KJ's who work by themselves
KJ's who have a partner who helps with many aspects of enhancing the audience and singers experience (mingling with them, finding songs, answering questions, keeping the rotation under control, watching/listening for problems)
KJ's who adjust the mix and effects for every singer
KJ's who never adjust the mix or the effects.
KJ's who never "welcome" and encourage the next singer up with applause
KJ's who don't start the music for the next singer until the audience "gives it up for (him/her)"
KJ's who never react to or encourage the audience to acknowledge the efforts of the last singer (good, bad or indifferent)
KJ's who have no personality, but have good sound and selection
KJ's who have great personalities, not so great sound and a decent selection
kJ's who have mic skills and talk it up in an entertaining and engaging way
KJ's who can only announce the name of the next singer and that you shouldn't forget to take care of your bartender, who is the one providing you with all of the liquid courage you'll need to get up and sing!
KJ's who assure you that you are welcome to sing, without mentioning liquid courage, and encourages you to do so with the notion that it's all about having fun and enjoying yourself.
(btw: I DON'T EVER ENCOURAGE ANYONE TO DRINK ALCOHOL)
KJ's who are creative and design different "events" (like oldies nights)
KJ's who are good at getting virgins up
kJ's who can hear someone sing just once and recommend, when asked, other songs that would be a good choice for that singer
KJ's who maximize the number of TV screens in use at a venue
KJ's who use one monitor for the singer and no screen for the audience
KJ's who use wireless mics
KJ's who don't have wireless mics

I can go on. But simply, I try to maximize what I am capable of providing from the good attributes I am aware of, while avoiding those that I personally find to be undesirable.

I realize that all I can do is all I can do.... But, I always challenge myself as to whether I am, in fact, doing all that I can do?

Y did I read that and go into hysterics? I cat quit laughing!!!

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NOW, Ollie, what are you thinkin?

If you suggesting someone other than a "new" singer, let us know when that kind of person arrives at one of your venues

I'll be there to see if the person can get me ____; I meant if I can get the virgin up.

Sounds pretty much like me. I am not the entertainer, get the singers up & singing as much & as fast as possible.

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Don't feel bad, I thought the exact same thing......!

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Nah it just looked funny the way it was written. That's what we call them as well. Used to have have an actual certificate - all drwan up pretty on blue parchment & gold lace borders looking like a graduation certificate or something for a few years stating they broke their vocal cherry at {club name} dated & signed by me & the manager.
It was a pretty good tool for a while, but the crowds changed & it wasn't a big deal anymore as people would just jeave them on the table after they left.

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I call them karaoke virgins also. I usually make an announcement after saying, so & so has just popped their cherryoke.

Wow it's hard to describe yourself, but I'll try.

I work alone mostly in small venues. The main thing I try to do is run a fair rotation, but try to make everyone feel special.

I am on the stage right next to the singer, so I can't help but to be visible all the time. I have the music in me so to speak and am always moving (dancing). I used to drive my mother nuts finding the sound of music in everything from the sound of eating cereal for breakfast to the sound of the wind. I hear music in everything and move to it. I try never to distract from the singer though. It is there moment. If I have someone on stage who needs space or is totally commanding the stage I'll step down, so I don't distract from them. Especially if I have a girl singer who is bringing down the house. It's her moment, I need to get out of view. I try to make people feel comfortable and talk to them on long music breaks during their songs and help them when they struggle with a song.

I have a strong bond with my regulars, so out of this comes a fun interaction. We joke around, change words to songs, and have little dance routines to certain songs. It's hard to describe. All of the Kjs I've seen are either in a booth or off to the side. I'm right there next to them. I try to make it as fun and comfortable for them as I can.

I'll sing maybe the first song and then after that only sing if asked too. I do sing along with a lot of people which has come about over time. I never never sing with someone unless they insist. Usually just harmony or a silly bit we've made up.

I think about how to help my singers as much as possible. I've made cds of songs and printed out lyrics for my people that want to learn a song. I'll hear a song on the radio or in a department store and think that song would be great for so & so.

I guess to some it up my style is interactive with my concern for the singer not me.

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Lonman, I really like that "virgin certificate". You probably mentioned it before but I had lost track of the idea with all of the more important things I needed to do first.

Wow.. could you provide a copy of what it looked like. I'd like to make my humorous, like we just played around with. Anybody have any suggestions?

Everyone has equipment and a music selection so you can safely factor that out when assessing your hosting skills. So, with the PA and the music gone do you still have any sort of show? If "yes," those are your hosting skills. If "No"....

But if the house is full and the Z tape makes the owner happy, who needs hosting skills????

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Okay, who took my pants?

Sorry I have to disagree with lonmans statement..the KJ are the entertainers as well as the singers...

Eric a present for you -

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r113 ... cation.jpg

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Babs, your show and mine sound very, very similar. I have singers who've been with me for 11 years already. Those people seem to enjoy the interaction and "inside jokes" they share with me. There are people who always ask me to sing with them and I do. I don't drive people nuts trying to get them to sing for the first time, but I must have a reassuring approach because I've been successful any number of times bringing those new singers up for the very first time. I attempt to make the environment as non-threatening and non-intimidating as possible for singers new to my venue...nothing worse than walking into a place where you feel everybody already knows everybody and you just won't be able to 'break through.' I will make side jokes about certain people (the regulars) and get everybody laughing. I do NOT, however, jump up and down like a clown, do that nonstop nattering on the mic, etc. I am next to the singers but will wander away with the experienced singers and hang close with neophyte singers. Hubby, on the other hand, is very quiet at the board and people respond to that as well. Part of it comes from the fact that he is really pretty deaf and avoids a lot of personal interaction for fear of not hearing someone right.

As a singer new to a place, I appreciate the extra effort a host goes to to come and greet me, introduce themselves, ask me what I like to sing, where I usually sing, etc., so I do that as well. Doesn't take but a minute and the extra attention goes a long way with a lot of people. I try to remember names but am not always 100% at that...but have figured out a gazillion ways to get names out of people without appearing like a total fool.

No unfortunately those were on computer towers long gone so I don't even have a pic of them.
But they were just created in Publisher & printed on blue parchment paper with gold certificate inlay that you can get at alot of paper supply stores - i've seen them at like Staples & Office Max.

Similar to what Babs has created but they were a little more formal looking.

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The way I see it the KJ is there to facilitate the actual entertainemt - the singers. I am not there to be in the spotlight, I am there to keep a good rotation, mix a killer sound & keep the energy flowing. Maybe i'm lucky, but a KJ does NOT have to tell jokes or tell stories or try to be funny or whatever to run a successful show.
Like Karen, it's the way you interact in the audience itself, not on the mic.
I am also one that believes kj's should not sing or keep it very minimal. Sure you disagree with this as well!

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I'm with you, Lonman.
I too, am rather laid back in my approach, and it seems to work. My singers prefer the laid back attitude and I break a fair amount of "Cherryokes" in part, I think, because it's so laid back and pressure-less.
I don't believe I'm there to star in the show.
Karaoke is about the SINGERS and THEIR moment in the spotlight.
When it's slower, I will sing but take myself out as soon as it picks up.
When I used to go to karaoke shows, before I hosted, if the show was all about the host, I picked up and left.
If I want to watch one person be the star of the show, I'll head down the street and watch the band that's playing that week.
Karaoke is about the singers, not the host.

depends on your venue. i been with radio dj's on a variety of events and no two do their shows the same. depends on the night etc. i have ran shows in hotels where it can be different every night til 11pm when the hotel guest go to their rooms and the locals take over. i think you use ur best judgment and do what u think is right. be happy and enjoy yourself cause if you cant do that it will show. so whatever approach works just remember to enjoy!!!!

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:angel:

The bar owner/wife where we go really prefers the flamboyant, mugging type of host--thinks they are hilarious and keeps asking my boyfriend to show more personality and wear Hawaiian shirts or something more snazzy when he hosts. But the singers seem to resent those type of hosts. As a marginal singer, I get thrown off key if some guy is behind me asking questions the whole time that he knows will be answered by the next line in my song. Also another host used to make fun of a person who sang slow country songs and tried to liven things up by sobbing in the mic the entire time. The singer took it in good humor at first but eventually ended up not wanting to sing there anymore. But as I say, the non-singers found it quite entertaining. Until there were no more singers.

Being new in the business, we tend to be very low key as running the equipment takes concentration and is not second nature yet. But oddly enough, people are telling us that they are having a fun time. Possibly because THEY get to sing and be the show, as Lonman suggests?

I think you have to know the singers, as Babs says, before you interject yourself too much. If done correctly, it is an honor to have the host think you are worthy of a join-in. Otherwise, bye.

I agree very much with what Vamp has noticed. That being the case, it's up to the KJ to sense what the crowd wants/needs and to guide it in that direction.

We have had discussions about whether the host is an entertainer, should be an entertainer, etc. At one point some of us realized that any debate may actually arise because of our own definitions of what makes one an "entertainer".

Sometimes I look at things in the extreme to find the truth, even when said extreme has never existed in my world. So I ask, if I spend all night snoring between songs after setting up a fabulous mix for each singer, how long would I have singers or an audience? So, I leave it to you to decide, in the absence of snoring, how much of what you do is entertaining.

Ed Sullivan had one of the most successful TV shows of all time. Was he or wasn't he an entertainer. Probably, we'll never get any agreement on that question because of symantics. Again, what's an entertainer?

Per Dictionary.com
Synonyms: actor, actress, artist, comedian, contortionist, dancer, geek, host, hostess, juggler, magician, mime

I used the "she just poped her cherryoke", and her ignorant former gang member boyfriend wanted to start a fight with me. You never know when a low IQ person is going to be offended, by what he doesn't understand. Someone explained the whole thing to the guy, and after about 30 minutes he calmed down. Needless to say he didn't sing that night. I reserve the right to refuse service to those who threaten me with bodily harm.

Felix the KJ