Karaoke Forums

Hi guys im so devastated, i thought i would turn here for some comfort.

I got an agent to get me gigs via a site called Gumtree.
On my ad i stated strictly Karaoke with music in between for breaks.

Anyways he called the night before a gig asking me if i would do it and i gave an emphatic yes!

This was my first entirely solo gig with my new equipment and i was amped up.

It was actually during a severe hail storm with flooding this Saturday, but i wasn't fazed.

I asked about payment and he told me not to worry he would sort me out and gave me the address.

I double checked to be sure i had the right address and he said yes by the golf club.

We got there 2 hours before the gig and the venue looked lovely, they even had an indoor fireplace, i was ready for this....

The gig was due to start at 7PM and at 6:15PM the first person to the event walked in and said, 'What are you doing here, this is a private function for a birthday party'.

We were playing at a Netball fund-raiser, and i turned as white as a ghost thinking im screwed!

My hired assistant packed the equipment up as quick as possible, and we bolted to all the sports clubs in the area, at 7:00pm, I thought i was scammed as that was the address given, and we went to 5 other sport clubs in the roads nearby.

I called this guy 5 times and he would not answer his phone, so i texted him as well.

Bear in mind it was storming and the rain and hail was coming down in buckets, i was prepared to my my assistant for his troubles when i get the call...

'This is the lady for the netball function, where are you?'

(She was calling from the club that was in darkness next to the original venue and we didn't a soul in there from the outside, and it looked pretty locked up!)

We were a third of the way home and turned the car around at light speed, and arrived at the gig at 7:20PM.

Needless to say they were livid but i explained the story and they understood.
We packed out so quickly we were both out of breath and dehydrated in the heavy rain!

They were upset i didn't bring my big screen TV with so i plugged into the clubs TV.

I plugged in my new external sound card and no sound came out.

I forgot i had installed breakaway audio and it suddenly wasn't recognising the sound card.

The people started to arrive in droves and they got impatient so i didn't worry trying to sort that out i did an emergency internal sound card jack to RCA manoeuvre.

The plug setup was a nightmare, they had no power source nearby so i ran so many devices into a multi bank i went as white as a sheet.

I left out my disco light, and booted up Compuhost V2 in a hurry.
On loading and getting some filler music ready the software froze!

So i booted into cold silence for 25 seconds, whist announcing the beginning of Karaoke.

I did not have another free plug to boot my backup laptop, so after a restart Compuhost fired up with the screen in cut off mode on my laptop and lower res then usual on the big screen.
I sorted that out but the software stayed low res on my laptop, but i got the show started.
The singers were all in teams of 5 of they shouted through the songs whist utter chaos ensued.
They demanded specific local karaoke that i did not have as my region is English whist these people were Afrikaans.
Bear in mind i did ask for the age group prior and i had a mixed age crowed with nobody liking my English music.

Halfway through the show i was gutted, people were not singing despite my interactions with the crowed and i did dance with the people and they enjoyed that, but the majority of the non singers hated it.

They were there for Afrikaans dance and Afrikaans Karaoke, which i had in limited supply.
The show was 65% disco and 35% karaoke which i hated!

Later they got drunk and reckless and a group of people fell into tables and glasses were tumbling down and braking on the floor.

The showstopper was when a drunken idiot danced into my speaker on a stand and it came crashing down, thus destroying the speakon cable.
Fortunately the speaker still works fine.

I played an extra hour to make up for the mistake and when the patrons wanted there final songs Compuhost started producing exception errors on all their requests!

The host organiser gave me a hug and a free shot of tequila as i did my best but the odds were just stacked up against me from the get go, and on the first day of winter ironically.

My assistant packed some of the equipment and he packed her wine and wine cooler bag as well.
The lady, drunk and rude accused, him of stealing, even though he did not know she put her stuff on our pack up table.

He gave it back and the show was over but when i asked about payment i was told that she already paid the agent for this gig and i was less then the amount i negotiated.
One fifth of the total gig cost was petrol and he lied to me about the amount i agreed to settle on.
Prior to this gig he said he gets 14 gigs a week and he needs us etc....

The next day i wake up to a call very early, and the lady said her wine cooler with the keys were missing, and i agreed to check for it.

I found it in the back seat of my car!

I called my assistant and we drove another chunk of the profits in petrol to return the keys.

Yesterday i called about payment, and he asked me to email the banking details, and i have not heard from him since, i even called and texted, which comes back unanswered...

Anyways im sorry for the long rant, im just so upset about all of this, and Compuhost V2 which during my trials never failed.

A refund aint gonna happen, and i wonder if i can swop this license for a new Latshaw Karma as a second backup?
Is that allowed or not?

No offence to anybody that used Compuhost, it just did not play ball for me.

Finally has anybody else ever had a nightmare gig like this?

Yours faithfully a still passionate Karaoke KJ although disillusioned......

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LOVE YOU LOOOOONG TIME KARAOKE.

Is this all a new set up? I never played for money with a rig (especially the laptop) I had not run through a home deal a few times. It isn't as big of a deal if things go nuts when you are playing for free in someone's basement. Still, you must account for variances like power and acoustics keeping a power filter on hand (or in use) is usually a good plan to help get past venue issues.

Take it all down. Set it up in a basement or as large a room as you can find. Call some friends to come over and have a blast shaking things out.

What Mr. Boo said. You need some dry runs. Throw a free party at a friends house so you have to practice setup/teardown as well.

Also:

• Go buy a 100ft, industrial extension cord. You wont need it most of the time, but when you DO it's a lifesaver.
• ALWAYS insist on a deposit. Then if things go sour, at the very least you have gas/etc covered.
• I always make it point to explain very clearly that I am a Karaoke guy, not a club DJ. If they want to dance, find someone else. If you want the best Karaoke, you want me. Of course I have filler, but that's what it is. Filler.
• If going to a new venue, always ask where you can MEET them so they can show you where to setup. You shouldn't be expected to be psychic and know what room you are supposed to be in.

What are the specs of your computer?

I find that most CompuHost crashes are from lack of resources. Even though they state the minimum specs on the CompuHost site, I find that it is really very resource-intensive once you start using all of the bells and whistles, and it especially needs at least 4GB RAM (I think it states 2GB on their site), or a video card with a good bit of RAM of its own, like 512MB+ video card.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

@Mr Boo, it is all new equipment that i did a few dry runs in the garage albeit not loud for around 5 hours a session.
I used to KJ with my mentor professionally so this is was my first solo pro gig.

@Bazza
Top tips and i agree with them whole heartedly.
In this county, we called DJ's and the people expect a Dj to do the Karaoke and dance, never mind filler music, and i did state i was not a DJ.
Its just sad because i hate the dance i want all Karaoke!

@Topher, im running a clean Windows 8 install with the recommended codec packs.
I have a Fugitsu i5 Ivy bridge Laptop with 4gigs ram and 1GB dedicated graphics.

Im totally off Compuhost V2.
Besides the freezing/performance issues im not getting all my United/pioneer laser disc rips playing at all, and they run great on Karma.

I did use Karma before i went solo and never had an issues like this before.
Gonna flog the Comphost , especially if this software demands 8gigs of Ram!

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LOVE YOU LOOOOONG TIME KARAOKE.

I have CompuHost V1, and have been warned not to upgrade to V2 due to these types of issues. V1 still crashes here and there (I'm on Windows 8 as well), but I use Virtual DJ Pro for my HD Video filler, which also has karaoke capabilities, so whenever my CompuHost crashes, I can seemlessly jump right onto the alternate deck on Virtual DJ Pro while I reboot CompuHost.

A bit of redundancy has saved me quite a few nightmares

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Maybe I am just the lucky one because I run Compuhost V2 on Win 7 with no issues. The computer I run it on has only 4 gigs of ram. I have also added to another system that rund win 8 and 4 gigs of ram and again my kj does not seem to have issues with it as well.

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

I hope you get paid. I have very strict policies regarding payment. They are:

1) Only karaoke venues may pay at the end of the show. Any form (cash/check) is acceptable.

2) Wedding balances (after applying deposit) must be paid prior to the "First Dance". No checks are accepted for final payment unless submitted 10 days prior. (I send a reminder 2-3 days prior reminding those with a balance, in essence, "Don't even try to pay me with a check". (Had 3 bounce, only 1 was eventually collected.)

3) All private party balances (after applying deposit) must be paid prior to the show. We will set up, but will not play until payment has been made.

That's not how I word it, but that's the message I am trying to convey to my clients.

I don't even make exceptions for friends. One of my "friends" snuck out of his wedding and didn't pay me - I sent him reminder emails, called him and got the whole "Yeah, I'll take care of it when I am back from my honeymoon".

NOOOO EXCEPTIONS.

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I'm not a cheerleader, but I paid for my pom poms with my own money!

Hey Mark, sorry you had to go thru that kinda hell!

I got stressed just reading about it!

been there, done that, but it's never easy! Learn what you can from it then move on!

When one thing goes wrong it all seems to. Sounds like you had your baptism by fire. Hope things go better for your next shows.

Mark, very important document – Entertainment Contract, signed by you & the purchaser. Be specific. Stipulate that the purchaser by signing the contract acknowledge his/her obligation for the amount specified. I normally ask for at least 35% down, the remaining balance payable around the middle part of the performance. Payment in the form of cash, money order or cashier’s check. Never accept a personal check same day of the event. Not worth the hassle. I learned all these the hard way during my dj days.

In all fairness, you did mention you were called the night before the event – I wouldn’t take it unless the above stipulation has been agreed upon verbally/by phone. Day of the event I’ll take that contract with me, get it signed, take the deposit, & only then will I start setting up. I feel your pain, markstanlyons. It happened to me too more than once. I wish you well, better gig next time!

Lesson learned. As President Bush W. once said: “There’s an old saying in Tennessee that sez: ‘Fool me once, shame on………..(pause) shame on you! Fool me………... (pause) you can’t get fooled again!”

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

Side note: I also make it a point to find the venue first before the big day as Bazza stated, just to get familiarized; such as loading/unloading/parking/set-up area. Nothing worst than getting lost trying to find the place & you’re running out of time. That was many moons ago when old fa*ts like me rely on six-fold atlas maps to find the location. No need nowadays with the advent of gps, smart phones & google map apps.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

Good tips, but I think what the guy wants is sympathy. I'd imagine we've all had 'em mate, in the future you'll be able to look back and laugh, if a teeny bit manically, about this. Just think, it couldn't get any worse !!!!!!!!

My first gig, I worked for someone else at a show I booked. He was there that night, at my side - "training" me. It sounded terrible. (If I remember, the trim or something was too high on the mics and it came out as "muffled distortion".) That was a trial show, and I was never asked to come back. I still run into singers who won't come to my shows because of that night - 10 years ago almost to the day.

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I'm not a cheerleader, but I paid for my pom poms with my own money!

So Compuhost worked just fine for a few five hour sessions in a garage but caused all sorts of problems at the venue? I must say I did have an issue close to yours with Breakaway. It doesn't like my BOSE T1 USB interface, but it never liked it in six tries. I uninstalled it and haven't looked back.

There has got to be something different between the garage and the venue.

+1 on meeting someone at the venue well ahead of setup time and having that person's cell number. For one thing, there may be a special set up they want.

Some of my most disastrous times in my life, have now been the best laughs I have when I think back about them. Live , learn, laugh.

Since January 2012, when Karma's new CDG engine was added, I have not had a single crash of any kind. Karma has been flawless! I am running Karma on an old AMD machine and it has no issues doing it. It has been very quiet in the Latshaw camp so I bet they (he) is up to something.

Don't let the agent stiff you, you did the job, and he owes you the pay. Go get him!

WOW!

What a great response thank you all so much for the tips and inspiration!

Thanks guys for sharing your incidents, i appreciate it.

One poster mentioned i was looking for sympathy, not entirely true, i wanted to hear from my peers who have been in similar situations, after all it is only fellow KJ's who could put the wind back in my sails, and you all did!

I contacted this guy last night and he is 'allegedly' going to me for Saturday tonight via EFT but im not holding my breath.
I don't want to burn my bridges either so i will wait a tad longer and never gig without a deposit again!


As for Compuhost V2, since my sound test in the garage, i have encountered the fatal exception error again, but no freezing, this time.
Im still not gonna use it though, so i will archive it back to the Gen 2 vault.

But know this:

You have given me push i needed to get back up and do it again, and i will always be grateful to you guys.

I hope to hear more stories of karaoke horror, that you might wanna share.

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LOVE YOU LOOOOONG TIME KARAOKE.

Side note: I second that. It's been over a year since I switched from S&D to Karma & I've never had a single crash either.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

No way I would be living with crashes in a paid show, especially with a "finished" release. I think I had one in all the time I hosted in the bar. Even then the song kept playing and I rebooted after it finished.

I would be crawling all up in compuhost's bottom to get a resolution. My guess is they don't even generate crash reports to send in for analysis. If they list specs, then those specs should NOT cause issues even with all features on. No one here with knowledge of system specs would settle for "best case" specs on equipment we buy, why settle for it with software? If it takes an I5 or better and 6 gig then say so.. On the one crash I had, I knew what I did and what caused it (behind the scenes) and it was a simple one line code fix. Resource crashes within specs are pretty much an unforgivable offense in the programming world.

Software crashing & computer crashing. I rarely have any software crashes with Hoster, but have had my computer crash several times over the years, just did it Sunday night & somehow killed the video driver and/or codec that allowed my mpg files to play on the extended screen, so now I have to run all my laserdiscs from disc player again until I get it fixed.

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