Karaoke Forums

I have a Sunday booked in a few weeks on the holiday weekend, and I am thinking it will be a waste of the bar's money if I don't think of a good idea to draw people there that day. Everyone will be at the lake or a family barbecue or whatever, and there has never been entertainment of any kind on Sunday at this venue.

I mentioned to my partner that all the employees from a nearby Mexican restaurant come out every Sunday to drink buckets of beer for $10, and he asked if they need Spanish karaoke. I never even thought of that, but I bet there are tons of Mexican people in my area that might come sing if they were made to feel welcome and we had some popular Spanish-language songs for them, along with a good selection of music.

I have found some Spanish karaoke discs with just a few minutes using "the Google," but I have no clue what they might sing or where to start. I will ask the manager of the Mexican restaurant when he comes into the bar next, but .. does anyone here have experience with this? Anyone know a good starter pack like the SC Foundation & Bricks that I could get for maybe a few hundred bucks, just to give it a try? I am not afraid to end up with some music I won't use otherwise. I think there is potential here in my area. I wish I could speak Spanish. If it turned into something bigger than just a one-night-draw at the bar, I could always buy beer for one of the Mexican customers in exchange for them helping me with the show.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Get SCL2048 SCL 7102

Como La Flur Tu Solo Tu & Volvare are absolute musts. Find out if they like Tejano, Newmexico or Maraiachi...

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My suggestion is, if you have a cdg player, bring it and let all of the spanish speaking people bring their favorite cd's. There are so many different types of spanish music, that unless you have time to take requests, and then time to find the cdg's, it probably won't be worth it. My venue is in a Mexican restaurant, and that's what I do if someone wants to sing. I have some spanish cdg's, but the people I've met, know their favorite songs by heart, and don't need the lyrics on the monitor. Some also prefer not to have the lyrics on the screen, because they can't read fast enough to keep up with the lyrics. Just adjust the mix so that their vocals are above the music, and they'll be happy. This is all new to most Mexican immigrants, and they really have fun being a star for the night. Good luck!

Rosario
Serenity Now Karaoke

First of all, I haven't actually done it but have been looking into it for some time. The spanish karaoke discs at our local Wal Mart are starting to outnumber the English ones so I know there must be a market for it but just haven't found a restaurant brave enough to give it a go yet. We are in an area with some gang activity so that may be ruining it for the good guys.

Express Karaoke has a lot of Latin Stars discs on close-out for $5 at the moment but you would want to wait until you get requests for certain songs before you buy. They have also had some 100 song sets on sale for $29 but again you would want to find out just what to get. A KJ who comes to our show says he used to do Latin shows and if he filled requests he got big tips and a lot of loyalty.

That KJ also mentioned Como La Flor by Selena as a must have. I preveiwed a lot of different brands on that one and ended up getting Sound Choice for myself. Latin Stars seems to be the brand to get but they can be a bit MIDI-ish and the Sound Choice version was right on. Also found it very necessary to preview any Mariachi songs as those just don't sound right if not done with real instruments. I am not hispanic but I like the beat and the challenge of singing in Spanish so sometimes I do a song or two myself.

Oh--and you probably already have some Shakira/Enrique Iglesias/Ricky Martin, etc. in your library so that's a start.

I live in Laredo, TX and I mostly do private karaoke parties. Laredo is about 90% hispanic so all karaoke shows, whether in a bar/restaurant or private party, have at least 60% spanish and 40% english karaoke songs.

These are a few artist suggestions for you to start a good spanish CDG collection:

Vicente Fernandez
Paquita La Del Barrio
Shakira
Jose Jose
Selena
Los Tigres Del Norte
Los Cadetes De Linares
Joan Sabastian
Javier Solis
Marco Antonio Solis
Rocio Durcal
Juan Gabriel
Alejandra Guzman
Ana Gabriel
Alejandro Fernandez
Alicia Villarreal
Pedro Infante
Jose Alfredo Jimenez
Armando Manzanero
La 5a Estacion
Ramon Ayala
Fito Olivares
Roberto Carlos
Chayanne
Cuco Sanchez
Juanes
Julio Iglesias
Any CDG set with the word Mariachi on it
Gloria Estefan
Bobby Pulido


As you can see, this will take some time to gather and it will be a big investment on your part. However, your spanish speaking audience will greatly appreciate it and you might be tapping into an audience that is largely ignored in your area.

Also, I am sure I am missing alot of other artist that perhaps others can fill in.

I wish you luck and I hope this helps.


Raul

renriq, thanks for your suggestions. Is there a brand of CDG your singers prefer? Almost all of mine who know the difference ask for Sound Choice. It will be a significant investment in CDGs, so if we go ahead with this, I want to buy a good brand that singers will enjoy.

I agree that these customers are being ignored in my area. I think if I make them feel welcome, I could probably add another karaoke night just for Spanish-speaking singers. If it works out it would be great for my partners, too, as we can all use it as an example of the efforts we go to in order to build a loyal crowd at each place we work.

I don't know how to speak Spanish, but I am going to talk the idea over with some of the Mexican customers who just come in and shoot pool. Half of them speak English, half don't. I bet I can still satisfy the ones who don't speak English if I make a special Spanish song book for them so they can quickly find a song and write down the correct information, so I do not have to guess at how to spell something unfamiliar to me.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

My Saturday gig gets about 10% spanish singers. I have a library of 2,000 spanish songs. If You have a Cavs player, the cheapest and easiest route is to by the Tropical Zone Super CD+G, the one with 1125 songs. You can pick it up for about $100. The Singers who bring their own disk seem to prefer the Multi-Karaoke brand, so if you don't have a Cavs, I would get a set of Multi-Karaoke. Their abbreviation in KJ Pro is "OKE".

As listed above, you have to have Vicente Fernandez. He is the mexican Elvis. most spanish songs sang at my gig are Vicente. Linda Ronstadts "Tu, Solo Tu" is neccessary.

Felix the KJ

Jeff,

As far as CDG brands, the local audience is pretty neutral as long as the song plays well.

I run everything from two notebook computers. The karaoke portion of the show is runned with CompuHost. Can't say enough good things about it. As soon as I get a new CDG, I rip it using a program called Power CD+G Burner and then I play it using CompuHost.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

Raul

I don't know anything about Cavs. Is it possible for me to buy that collection you mentioned and convert it into MP3+G? I don't want to buy another device or program, but if I can cater to an untapped group of customers for only a $100 investment in songs, that seems like it would be stupid to pass up!

I use RoxBox now and I have a license of the PowerKaraoke rip/burn program you mentioned. That is what I use when I buy discs also.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Cavs sells a program for $29 that can decode the Super CD+G into other formats.

I saw above that somebody said that the brand doesn't really matter for Spanish. Not True. My most serious spanish singers know what they prefer, and it is the Multi-Karaoke brand, secondly the Karaokanta brand. The regular spanish singers are just fine with my Tropical Zone Super CD+G's

Felix the KJ

The bar owner decided he does not want to cater to the hispanic crowd. There is prejudice everywhere, and by that I do not mean the owner, but I guess other customers might be less comfortable if there was a whole lot of mexican singers.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

I got that same thing when I approached a MEXICAN Restaurant about doing karaoke. I had read in the paper they hoped to add karaoke when they opened and went in to talk to them. I asked if there would be a demand for Latin songs and they were very adamant about having only "country and pop and just a few Latin artists that the Americans would know--maybe some Shakira and Ricky Martin." But no Latin. Then they went DJ.

I wish they'd let you give it a try. I bet if introduced in the right way it wouldn't be as much of a problem as people fear.

Today I book 3 times more Spanish Karaoke Gigs than English!
Living in So. California, booking Gigs from So. Central to East L.A.
These Cities rank among the Most Dangerous places in the country.

Those with Street Smarts... Spanish Karaoke is a little Gold Mine!

GOLDEN RULE: Only do shows where the FOOD IS EXCELLENT!
The Police Protects a place with Excellent Food!!!!!!!!!!

I rotate a Team of 5 Senoritas to Host the show.

* They will EAT, DRINK and SING for ever!

* You stay in business by giving the people what they like. Period!

I STOPPED trying to mix English and Spanish Long Ago. Too Many Race Issues!

BUSINESS IS BUSINESS! Step Out Of The Box and You'll See!



P.S. I don't do the Shows... I just Book 'Em! I'm not Crazy!

Kind Regards,
sw00000p

Alot of people here out of work. You'd be amazed how many Spanish ladies willing to learn how to push a few buttons and run a show. Yea... you lose a laptop or 2, but you write it off and make nearly twice as much next month.

With One Set of Music and Songbooks... each Lady KJ takes turns and return my equipment.

sw00000p

I understand your situation. Actually I sing in Spanish and English. The best thing I can recommend when someone needs Spanish Songs is to buy a set from Tropical Zone. I believe it's http://www.tropicalzone.tv .

I purchased a set that has 2500 songs for my Cavs. Check out the one that is the 5 Volume set. That one set has carried my shows with the Spanish crowds, along with my personal Spanish CDGs.

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Fly Girl Karaoke