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I had been a KJ for several years by 1993 and had some large shows. One of them was a late night show that was always packed because it was open after all the other bars closed..I'm pretty sure the local police were paid off because they sold alcohol until 4 am(bars were supposed to stop at 2am) I was running a show at this place and it was known for being a little rowdy. It was normally just annoying because the show ran so late(11pm-3am) But this was the friday night before the superbowl in 93- tempers were running high as the drinks flowed and we had a pretty large representation of both the cowboys fans and the bills fans present in the bar. It was pretty volatile and I had repeatedly warned that the mics were for singing- not to state support for EITHER team because I knew a fight would ensue. I was successful until around 2:30 am and some AZZhole got up on stage. His song had already started but just before he was supposed to sing- he yelled out "Go Cowboys!- the Bills SUCK!" that was all it took. There was just too much testosterone and alcohol flowing. It started like wave in the back of the room- punches flying...as it rolled towards the front of the room my equipment was dead in the path of destruction. I literally KICKED the guy singing out of my way with a foot in the azz and I threw the little Tv monitor out of the way(better to lose a cheap TV than the speakers, amp/mixer,wedge monitors mics and disks. There was an iron post that held the top of the monitor stand inplace and I grabbed it and made the mic feed back like CRAZY...they paused for just a second because it was SOO LOUD!(y'all know how feedback can make you cringe involuntarily) I yelled into the mic..."The first dickhead that touches my equipment is gonna LOSE his F#@KIN SKULL!!! " It shocked the brawlers enough to see little old me( Oh yeah forgot to mention I was a prissy pageant girl) standing there with this iron bar ready to start bashing heads(guess it's pretty hilarious in hindsight-LAMO!)...and I guess that shocked them enough that they stopped. I didn't even ask the bar manager. I said "Go home- the night is OVER no more drinks- no more music-get your azzes out of here! " and I started breaking down the equipment. Actually the manager (also a woman) turned out to be grateful I had ended it when I did because they would have trashed her place as well as my equipment had the brawl continued.


I had to drop off the equipment to the guy I was working for and bawled him out for for allowing me to be in such a volatile situation with no bouncers in site...we got into a huge argument(he said that was part of the job- controlling your crowd) I disagreed and said a KJ shouldn't have to do a bouncers job... and I quit because frankly I was just tired of the late hours, tired of the same singers, tired of the smokey bars...and bored- I'd just stopped having fun somewhere along the way and it was time to move on. I wanted to be a singer- not a KJ...It was divine intervention that literally the next morning(after I only had 4 hours of sleep) one of the Mucisal Theatres had to have a fill-in for their female singer who had quit that morning(and opening was that evening-saturday) The owner knew I already had the evening gowns needed for the show and he also knew I could come in with basically no rehearsal and sing enough songs to get through the show because he'd seen me running karaoke shows(the cast of the theatre were regulars at one of my shows). Funny how things work out isn't it?


Karaoke, ironically enough, got me my first real job singing, it made me tough-(Though I shudder to think about the lawsuits that would have happened if I actually HAD bashed a few skulls like I wanted to! )...it taught me a gazillion songs that I could sing at a moments notice....and it gave me big brass kahoonas when it comes to getting on a stage. So I can safely say I would never have had that first job singing...or be a professional vocalist had it not been for karaoke. Oh- My boss and I made up shortly after that and he's like a father to me even though I don't work for him anymore.



But I have to give it to you professional KJ's I am amazed at the love and effort you put into the craft of KJing. My hat is off to you for your patience, knowledge, skill and commitment that you all show towards karaoke. I wasn't cut out for it...but I give kudos to all of you that are. It's alot harder than most people give credit for. It's WAAAAY more than playing some music. And if truth be told...you are also responsible for giving almost every single budding singer out there a place to "start" I read how seriously you take all the little details being a KJ requires- like rotation, technical issues, interaction with the management, interaction with the patrons, marketing shows,getting good equipment and learning how to use it, putting on a good show for the non-singers as well as the singers, sound set up and maintenance as well as **most** of you are actually pretty good singers in your own right. Like I said...I wasn't cut out for it...but hats off to those of you that are! just felt like getting that off my chest!

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Thanks for the kudos you offer professional KJs. I think many of us have survived in this business, because we know up front what we are being hired FOR.From what I've seen, it's not unusual to come across KJ's who are really frustrated singers. They believe their shortcut to sing in front of an audience is to become a karaoke host. IMHO they couldn't be more wrong.

These are the stories you see here about hosts who keep themselves in the rotation, even though there might be 20-30 people in it, or who start the show by singing 2-3 songs. In my years in this business, I've learned very few who attend karaoke shows do so to hear the host sing. People attend mostly because THEY want to sing, or they are there with FRIENDS who sing. If I want to go somewhere to see a vocalist, I'll go see a band or hang out in a piano lounge.

Hopefully your story will let some "hosts" examine their motivation for taking that job. I love to sing, but when that's my goal I will go to someone ELSE'S show. For MY show, I'm there to lend my skills and talent to making the singers sound great and get them pumped up on stage.

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[font=Lucida Console]DangerousKaraoke.com[/font]
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anybody that thinks of themselves as a pro will very shortly realize you don't get to sing as much as your customers. Slow nights, sure. Some duets, sure... but overall, you're just supposed to be working!

As for the Cowboy's Bill's comment, you as the KJ CAN exercise MICROPHONE control. I've had to turn the mic down on customers that want to have dedication seances or do the football/baseball thing... or worse yet, to even insult previous singers. *that got that singer booted out for the duration of the time I was there... I shut down the power and grabbed the microphone away from the dude. Then I told him as he was being escorted out by the customers that he wasn't as good as he thought he was anyway!

I won't stand for heckling, abuse, or anything that makes my customers feel less than wonderful. I mean, they PAY to come in there and have a good time. But this is where rules HAVE to be enforced. Adding alcohol to the minds of those that need to be watched ANYWAY just makes a bad situation worse.

No matter what some of the prima donas think on this site, you as the KJ DO have to act as a bouncer... or at the very least know how to control your crowd. If it's getting too rowdy, then do some mix music inbetween the singers to lower the testosterone. If it's all head banging or serious rock, play some country. Do some comedy... find a way to keep control of the room. Even if it IS playing a dance song, which I HATE to do.

Wish you the best in your efforts oneofakind!

Wow What a story ! I think you handled yourself very well.

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I think you're right Dangerous...I hate when KJ's put themselves in rotattion...and to be honest- even tho I "wanted" to be a singer-I never..and I mean seriously NEVER sang unless they "bribed me" People would come up all the time and ask for duets with mw...or request a song...I said no every single time...until one night the audience took up a collection and came up there with 88 dollars and a request signed by almost the entire bar to sing a Taylor Dayne song. That was the only time I caved in and sang on a busy night...but that was also because the majority of the bar made it known that was what they wanted.( I think the fact that I WOULDN'T sing made them want me to all the more-LOL)..But yeah- KJ's putting themselves in rotation isn't usually agood thing unless you only have 1 or 2 singers. The shows I ran always had 25 or up. So singing wasn't an option for me- I was trying to get as many singers up as I could in a 4 hour period. But let us hope a few KJ's guilty of doing that sneek a peek at this post and wise up(wink wink)


Knightshow- it's a sad day when a 120 pound foo foo beauty queen has to resort to threatening to bash some heads with an iron bar...I disagree about how much control a Kj is responsible for. Yeah anything on the mic is their responsibility...and I OFTEN had to police someone for saying innappropriate thing on the mic...but to have to double as a bouncer? Respectfully- I have to disagree. KJ's have enough on their plate without having THAt added to the burden. I think most of the lady KJ's would back me up on this...the BAR itselt has SOME responsibility towards maintaining the rowdies. As I said- I had REPEATEDLY announced that there was to be no "team spirit or support" announced over the mic. The guy did it after his song started playing..Had I chosen to cut his mic rather than kicking him offstage and grabbing the iron bar- it would have been too late for my equipment(and most of the bar) I caused the feedback by sticking MY mic into the wedge as I was pulling the Tv off the stand trying to protect myself....there was no time ot adjust sound in any way. You know a LOT more about running a show than i do...but after looking back on it from 15 years hindsight...I think the problem was first of all- there is a reason bars are required to close at 2am..not much "good" happens after that...and since this one was using payola to stay open illegally..that attracted all the good- for-nothings the OTHER bars had kicked out. My boss was guilty of putting me in a potentially explosive situation becaus he KNEW that a show that ran that late was going to have problems. The unbelieveable late hours were merely an annoyance until the testosterone surrounding the superbowl entered the mix...the show should never have been BOOKED from 11-3. It was a disaster in the making...Looking back the thing that scared me most is remembering how TICKED I was already at that crowd...had they not stopped...I seriously could and most likely WOULD have seriously hurt or possibly killed any of those patrons had i hit them with that iron bar...and the knowledge that I was 100% READY to do so was a scary reality check for me. I am a mild mannered lady and it takes a LOT to get me riled. I have only lost my temper 5 times in my life(normally it was my brother who got the crap kicked out of him-LOL) But this was a different situation and i didn't have the innate "love" for these jerks that I do for my brother- there was nothing to temper my willingness to hurt them.....had I lost it that night..I know in my heart that "someone" would have been in either the hospital(best case scenario) or the morgue. THAT was what made me quit. I don't think ANYONE should stay in a situation that brings out such an ugly side of their personality. And yeah- it's comforting to know that if someone broke in my house- I wouldn't be the girl hiding under the bed- I be the one bashing the intruder upside the head with the biggest cast iron pot I could find (wink)


Oh as an update...that job I got at that theatre opened up some big doors...I haven't stopped singing yet. If y'all are ever in San Francisco- I work at a big Jazz Club on Saturday...and possibly in the near future....Friday nights too. The rest of the time I'm doing corporate stuff. So it all turned out for the best...singing is definitely more suited to me..Oh BTW- the club I work at has several "bouncers" they all look like little FBI agents in their suits-LMAO! Nice to know I won't have to bash anyone's head open there! ( wink wink)

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I think you misunderstood my reference to the "bouncer".

I don't expect anyone, my size or otherwise, to "bounce" someone out of there, so my choice of words wasn't correct. The meaning I was intending is you have to watch EVERYTHING... at nearly EVERYTIME. Good bouncers/coolers do that. Most bouncers worth their weight in salt will tell someone "it's time to leave" and be polite about it. They have the law on their side, so only the most testosterone filled jerk is going to stand up to someone in authority. If it takes two people, then so be it.

That's what I meant. Now we as KJs rarely have the job responsibility of kicking people out. That's the bar management's job. BUT we do have the ability to control our show as we see fit. It's JUST karaoke. You sing into a mic, and say thanks when you're done. People clap or don't. Next singer is cueued up... that's karaoke in a nutshell. Anything else on the mic is asking for at the very least groaning and misbehavior (cat calling, heckling, "sing already" stuff like that.)

Sometimes we have to reiterate the rules when you see someone "bending" them. "Hey, a little reminder, just sing, dammit!"

I'm not kidding about the people that would want to dedicate songs. This one gal, bless her poor soul as she's gone now, was a fantastic singer, but karaoke was just not in her element. She didn't even need the microphone as she had such a powerful voice. But she would go into a dedication that would make your shoes unravell... it slowed time, swear to GOD!

I've actesd as bouncer on several occasions, breaking up fights when the actual on duty security wasn't there or was in volved in something else. Don't happen often, but there has been the rare occasions. It's not any hosts job to do so, and wouldn't expect it from any host - in most of my cases I knew the people causing problems and was able to calm them down - and or get them 86'd if needed be.

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My cut off point is 12-15 singers, then I'm out. I usually don't sing on the last rotation either... but I usually close the show with a group sing of "Goodnight Sweetheart".

One of the advantages of being a good singer is that you get asked to "fill in" that duet when a singer can't find someone to so the song with. Over time you're duet song list can get really large and varied... country, rock, hip hop.

Which is fun when you go to other KJ's shows. When I go out, I frequently see singers from my other shows, and invaribly get asked to do a duet or two. One of my regulars (John, a really good singer) and I do 'Sweet Home Chicago' by the Blues Brothers. Its a show stopper because we adlib throughout the entire song, and really just show off our vocal range. We did it on a lark on a slow Monday night (Not a lot of singers that night, but the bar was full), and it kicked. Now its a standard thing to do on Monday nights (you guys gonna do "chicago"?)

If you're a KJ, and you can sing, it can enhance your show if not overplayed... be a showman (or woman), not a song hog.

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yeah, I tend to agree... although the cutting off point for me singing in rotation has fluxuated anywhere from six singers to ten... It depends on the venue.

I USED to sing in rotation, as that was a very easy way for people to see the beginning of the rotation, but then once I just started saying, "Okay, now for the top of the rotation, we're back to John!"... yep, that did it just as easily as me singing. I've had a few disappointed customers that wanted me to sing more, but I just shook my head and pointed to the serious stack of slips I had... "If I sing more, that means less for you guys! I can only fit in about sixty songs a night!" Most of them nod along, do an "awwww, poor you!" thing, and then go back to their songbook and figure out what else they want to sing!

I'm with you on that "poor you" thing Let's face it karaoke is a "hey look at me" sport and everyone wants as much limelight as they can grab. Most of the shows I did had a line of regulars waiting when I got there to set up- by the time I was ready to start- I had 10"stacks" of requests in my hand. My regulars would give me stacks of their songs because they knew I tried to mix it up to keep from having a "ballad fest" which was really boring for the non singers in the place. They allowed me to choose whatever song I needed them to do that rotation...and they also knew that is they had a rocking dance song- and I had a stack of ballads- they would get to sing more often. This was a request the owner had of me"No more than 2 ballads in a row before I did something upbeat" Dance music breaks weren't an option since I only had time for about 60 singers a night...and at the end of the night i usually had over 100 requests. They got REALLY hostile if anything encroached on their singig time- so we had to get the dance stuff in there this way. I even had regulars learn fast stuff for me so they could get up more than once each night. It was such a busy show- you were really lucky if you got 2 songs in as a singer. The other time I messed with the rotation was I always got a first time singers up within 5 or 6 songs. Other than that- I stuck with the rotation strictly...and really never had a call to sing. They all knew I did because I was working with a few local bands at the time. I also nixed the duets because if i did it with one person- I had 20 more lined up behind them...then the not-so-good-singers wanted me to "sing backup" and fatre ending up pretty much singing the song for them- I stopped that too. It was just easier for me if I didn't "sing" at all.

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Yeah, that singing "back up" is for the birds... I explain, "This is YOUR song, if you don't sing there's going to be a LOT of dead air, Ok?"

This works. I've had a few tense moments where there was really dead air, but with patience the person will really be trying at about the second verse or so.... and then once that happens I don't "back up" at all, except maybe to lip sync for encouragement.

Got some really great regular singers into karaoke using this method.

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