Karaoke Forums

Venting 101

I had a new guy come in Friday night. He hands me a disc and I put him into rotation. I only have about 10 singers at the time, so his wait is only about 30 minutes or so. He comes up to the stage and asks when am I up. I smile and say your next. He starts yelling at me saying people have sung 2 or 3 times before him and this is the worst karaoke show he has ever been too and he's been to a lot. He doesn't even let me explain that it is impossible that people have sung 2 or 3 times before him and how my rotation works. I'm literally in shock because I run a fair rotation. I don't take bribes, so there would be no reason to put someone before him.

He is so busy telling me off I stop even trying to get a word in. He asks for his disc. Then he rips it out of my hands and says he's calling the owner the next day as he's walking away. I say, good luck with that. He says, it's probably your father.

He runs into the owner outside and starts in on him. The owner backed me up thank goodness. I make the owner wait his turn like everyone else, so he knows darn well I don't play favorites.

It really bothered me. Probably because I never even had the chance to state my case. Not to mention I've never had someone be so extremely unreasonable for no reason.

I just keep telling myself. You can't make everyone happy no matter how hard you try.

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

I try and remember that there are sick people out there. It isn't about what you did, it is about who he is. You could have been anyone -- he was just ready to go off.

You also learned one valuable thing -- your owner, who you aren't always sure of, will back you up at some level.

_________________
[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Ohh Ohh Ohh! Me next! Me next!

This was a few weeks ago. A former regular stops in, a guy in his 40s. In the past he was always a pain in the butt. He would expect me to wait on him hand and foot. Get this - I would actually go over to his table with a pad and pencil and ask him "OK Gary what would you like to sing tonight?" "Is there anything else?" "Is that it?" and write it all down. Or I would get off the stage and take his old slips over to him with pad and pencil in tow. He would refuse to fill out his own slips or even come up to my station.

Anyway this night he does approach me at the beginning of the night, says "Hi" and shakes my hand. I ask him if he wants to sing, and he replies that he's not singing just hanging out.

A couple of hours later he comes up again and says "OK I'm ready to sing now." Well by then rotation was an hour and a half. I didn't put him at the end of the line, but I didn't give him an especially favorable insertion either. It was about halfway into the mix. A good 45 minute wait.

About a half hour later just as I call out another singer that's not him, he storms across the dance floor, yells "F**k You!" loud enough for the whole bar to hear, and walks out with the bird high in the air.

The rest of the night was filled with the regulars making jokes about him. "If I yell obscenities at you do I get to sing more?" Things like that. Actually it perked up the night in a weird way and definitely gave everyone something to talk about.

So no Babs you can't please everyone.

Next!

Sorry Babsy.........I got a hold of some bad Crack Friday......
I think my memory merged Friday, and my previous few nights together...my bad

Bill my regulars do the same thing. They were making fun of the guy after he left. Asking if they had to ask my Dads permission to sing. Stuff like that. Quite a few people witnessed this guys tirade. When he yelled your father's probably the owner, he did it at the top of his lungs as he was walking away. That part is commical since I'm 44 yrs old ! It was kind of a compliment. I think he needs glasses to add to a personality.

It always seems like the people you do the most for are the least appreciative. Not to mention they are the people who usually never tip. Not that I expect it.

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Johnny you could never be like that even on crack !

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

You don't look 44! I can say that Babs runs a fair rotation. I saw no hinkyness in it. It works, it moves quickly and the patrons are nice...well, except for that guy.

Babs sweetheart, those are the folks you just blow off. Their life sucks... so they're only source of satisfaction is to try and make other people's life suck too.

I smile at them, because of my many many years of retail i recognize them right away (the situation defies all logic). Don't let them suck you into their skewed reality. Smile, nod your head, say, "have a nice day" and click them out of the rotation.

_________________
Good music, good friends, howling good times!

The guy should have told you when he came in to put his name in the rotation and then he might have asked nicey to be skipped until he felt like singing. The guy obviously felt that you should have let him sing as soon as he notified you that he felt like singing because in his mind, he had already waited quite a while. If he was truly a good regular customer, no one would have known when he had handed in his song sllip so if you wanted to accomodate him, you could have done so without people really noticing a rotation malfunction. I've been seeing so many bad rotations lately that I've been starting to bounce from one bar to another and just singing one song at each place. I don't mind waiting for an entire rotation to sing as long as I don't see the same people singing twice. I was at one place last week where the same girl was up with different duet partners for 3 songs in a row and one of the songs was Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Same girl on stage doing 95% of the singing for 20 minutes. I didn't stick around long enough to see if she sang a fourth song with another one of her friends but I did give the KJ a piece of my mind before I left. All the KJ said when I pointed out the the same person had sung the last 3 songs in a row was "SO WHAT" !!!

I racked my brain trying to figure out why this guy thought people were up twice before him. All I could come up with is that when a newbie came up to sing for the first time a friend went up to back him up. The helper sang a solo about 5 songs before that. But the helper really didn't sing. He kind of stood there with the mic, only helping the newbie when his timing got off. Aaarg ! I have to stop letting this bug me.

Bruce I think you may have hit on something. I believe this man was in the bar for a long time before he put a song in. He may have gotten confused thinking he saw more than one rotation go by because of this.

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Some people are just kind of paranoid. They think everyone is trying to screw them over somehow. They go into a situation expecting to get screwed over, and come up with a reason in their own mind. Or the guy could have just been drunk and had no sense of time and space.

Babs - Yes your absolutely right there. This type of thing happens regularly.They come in later to start with then sit there drinking and listening and watching the other singers for ages before actually putting their songs in then wonder why they've only sung 1 or 2 songs by the end of the night when everyone else has sung 4 or 5. (Alcohol doesn't help the confusion either)

Your not alone when you say it sometimes gets to you - it gets to me sometimes especially if it's a regular who's had a bit of a moan. You start to question your own rotation methods sometimes. It's a tough job sometimes but your success speaks for itself at the end of the day.

_________________
[font=Fantasy][/font] "Travellin' at the speed of light"

My wife and I have a deal with our regular karaoke gigs. She always sings right before or right after me. If we are eating, she will skip the first song or two. But when she decides to sing, she goes in right next to me. After all, she was there early and should be able to get in the rotation.

_________________
[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Play some fill songs all the way. Then those types get all huffy leave and go pester somebody else.

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

Some of the shows I go to have Hollywood types show up to sing..

They wait just like the common people.. and they never complain..

I never complain about a busy night, because the club is making money..

You are so right. The people you do the most for, don't appreciate it. And they don't tip. Even when they get on the microphone and encourage everyone else to. That always irritates me. I had a guy come in last week-end, and he thinks so much of himself. He always tries to buy favors, which doesn't work well with me. He came up and asked me how many songs until his turn, and I told him 2 more after the person singing. He had tipped me a couple bucks when he put his song in. When the second person was singing (it was his turn next) he came up and said, "You told me it was only two people, and four have already sung. And I tipped you too". He said it really crappy and walked away. So I took his money out of the jar, took it back to him and told him he was wrong; to take his money back, I didn't want it. So then, he says, "No, just keep it because I like that other girl that works in here." I said, "Oh, you mean my mother. (She had ran the show the previous night for me.)" He said, "Oh yeah, she's the best." It irked me to death, and I told him I would let her help him then.

After that, he started the "Oh no, it's okay" crap with me. We do let people get to us sometimes. Some nights I have more tolerance than others. We just have to accept that you can never please some people. There is another man that has been coming to my show for 3 or more years now, and still declares that I skip him all the time and that I have favorites. It's all crap, though, because I run a fair rotation. He just hasn't figured out how it works yet, after 3 years. Go figure!!

There are people in this world who because of intoxication, or just mental deficiencies, who's thinking you should not even try to understand. If their words or actions start making sense to you, you are starting to have problems. Just like there are some places in this world, that no matter how much we know how they should change their lives, we can never make them.

God Bless A Free world, and the men and women who make it possible.

Felix the KJ

There have been a few times I've gotten ticked off (it does happen) and I've stopped the show dead in its tracks to explain over the mic how I run the rotation, and that if there are any questions, how it is clearly printed on the front cover of the songbooks!
I also repeat that I do NOT accept tips, I will NOT alter the rotation (unless there is some overwhelming circumstance), and that not even the bar owner or my own wife will get better treatment in the rotation than any other singer.
Then, should anyone have any further complaints, I direct them to our complaint desk, which is located out the side door, across the street and into the woods, a half-mile to a creek and over to a dark parking lot, where the complainers may then howl at the moon to their heart's content.


I always have a group of regulars. For a joke last week, instead of calling the next singer's name, I just asked, "Who's next?" The regulars got the next singer right every time.

How I handle idiots like that guy, Babs:

((course I'm a guy and pretty big))

"Name ONE time when someone has gotten up twice since you got here, other than a duet ((which is why I hate them, they're easy to misinterpret)). So either sit down and wait your turn like even the owner is doing, or do us all a favor and get out!"

If he won't let you get a word in edgewise, I'd honestly ignore him. Seriously! There's NOTHING you can do with the short bus folks! They're out there, and the best you can do is NOT lower yourself to get involved. You might have to eventually, but always take the high road, unless they give you no room to maneuver.

Like you I freak out a bit that I can't make everyone happy. I really don't have a problem with the bribers... I just shake my head and say wait like everyone else. Say things similar to ... Nope, that's not how I roll, sorry, this show down the road does the bribe thing... Me, I gotta live with these folks if I favor YOU!...

and if all else fails:

Shut the power off after the current singer finishes, and address the issue so EVERYONE can see what a jerk this guy is being.. Shout LOUDLY "Name ONE person that's sang here twice since you got here 30 mins ago??!! You've now interrupted my show, and I honestly don't need you here! Get OUT"

Last night I had a packed house. People were lucky if they sung twice all night. Can you believe not one complainer! I had pretty much all regulars though. Only 2 people actually filled out slips. The complainers always seem to be the new people that don't understand a fair rotation and the fact that just about everyone in the bar sings.

I mean this in the nicest way. I'd rather have more regulars that are trained than newbies. It just makes my life easier.

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]