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If somebody was in from out of state I have been known to give directions to the local Wallys or Office depot is a few blocks away to get a flash drive. Then with the laptop (not the show computer) put the songs of your choice on the flash drive. We wouldnt leave you high and dry. It's just something I dont advertise for certain folks would abuse it.

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[/quote]And remember-----ITS ALL ABOUT BUILDING A FOLLOWING!!!!! AND LIKE ANY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS-----SERVING YOUR CUSTOMERS NEEDS.

AND NOT PLAYING TO YOUR OWN EGO!!

FINALLY CONSIDER THIS:
The bottom line of the bar/venue:
The KJ may not be concerned with or care about turning customers and repeat business away becuase he wont play someones disc----but what he's really doing is turning BAR SALES AWAY AND CAUSING LOST REVENUE by driving off those custies who otherwise would come, stay and visit REPEATEDLY and LOYALLY LONG-TERM  along with bringing THIER FREINDS for parties, group meetings, nights out, etc etc. Something Im sure the bar owner wouldnt be too happy about.[/quote]

And just how fair is your evaluation of a KJ based on having some obscure songs?  Other people may like the idea that i don't play your songs.   Have seen it before.  What about the quality of the show, the equipment, the KJs personality, the song selection and the way the system sounds?    I, nor any other KJ can ever expect to have every song that someone will request.  Especially if it's not one that has ever been requested.   And basing your go no go decision on whether a KJ can play your disc isn't very fair either.   Most "play my disc" requests are accompanied with a very scratched up disc.  And the old, "well it played OK at my house this morning."    Must be your equipment.  No it's the Shi**ty way you take care of your discs.     Am i or you as a KJ ever going to make every single person happy?  No way and i don't expect to.   You can try but all you will get is frustrated by it.   Someone always has to act like a jerk and they want to make you look bad.   I have heard some very bad sounding versions of songs brought in by singers.   Playing an inferior sounding version, is just as embarrassing to me as a disc that skips.   It still reflects on ME and my show.    "Listen to the sucky version of that song."   What about song versions that are full of "F" bombs?  Should i be expected to play it just because you bring it?   I don't think so.

There is a double edged sword about playing OPDiscs.    If i have removed songs because of extensive language infractions, i'm not going to play your disc with that song.   What about other questionable songs?    If i don't have the 'F" bomb song you want, you don't need to bring it either.   I had to tell some people i couldn't play their discs because i knew what they wanted to inject.   Once you get one doing it then you have opened a can of worms you can't close.   You played his discs why won't you play mine?    Are you discrimintating against me?    Could put the bar owner in a jam, if they really wanted to pursue it.   So just because i won't play your disc doesn't mean i don't like you.  It may mean i don't like your taste in music and i don't want it in my show.   I will buy songs people request if it's a song that won't hurt the integrety of my show.    I will not buy your request for "F" bomb subject matter.   That is my right and my decision.   You have every right to come to my show or not.    I have every right to decide what will be played.   I want to build and maintain every possible singer the bar can hold.   I do not intentionally chase anyone away unless, you are trying to ruin my show with subject matter or behavior that doesn't fit in.    I don't need you but the KJ down the street does.

It could be the player you have if a scratched disc doesn't play.  My Pioneer laser player will play 98% of everything I throw at it, my Pioneer dual tray maybe 90%, my JVC/RSQ only plays maybe 80%, and has a hard time reading burns sometimes.  Just because a disc is scratched doesn't mean it won't play properly in the right equipment.  But then again, if one is so far gone that it doesn't read in my best player, then it is truly the custies fault & I make a quick notation over the mic that it was the customers disc & not mine.

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No for that you'd need MTU KHPro or something equivalent.

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A few KJs have mentioned that they don't want the image of their show tarnished by playing poor quality customer's CDs.  There is a flip-side to that... a customer who brings their own CD because they want to be able to sing the arrangement they know and are familiar/practised with.  Why do they go to this trouble?  Maybe they want to be able to do their best performance and not be seen bumbling around with some unfamiliar arrangement that the the KJ has managed to drag up from the depths of God-knows-where!  When a singer has to wait two hours or more for their turn in the rotation, it's not gonna go down well with them when they get a horrid track to sing to....  and I have seen that happen many times!

A singer who has their own tracks is more than likely going to enhance rather than degenerate your show.  As for the arrogant and pompous "No it's the Shi**ty way you take care of your discs" comment.... in my experience it is the way the KJ handles my disks that is cause for their demise.  That is why I only take copied disks which are always carried in cases or sleeves.  I also always take care of all my disks, originals and copies, and the only scratches they ever receive are when they are in the KJ's possession.   But that is ok, as I will just create a new disk for next time.  I have learnt long ago that one cannot trust anyone else to take as good a care of one's property as one's self!  

Bottom line.... It is always the KJ's right to decide if they will play a customer's disk... their business, their decision.  But is also the customer's right to decide which show to go to.  Bars with arrogant and pompous KJs don't get my business!

THANK YOU SO KINDLY MURRILYNN!!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

The last thing I am worried about is reputation I have the best system and host, in fact we are probably in the upper 5%. I had three strangers non-singers come up last night to visit, compliment the show and marvel at the quality. By the time you have heard a few singers on my system the last thing on your mind is whether or not you will sound good. You might have to pack cd's for mediocre shows For mine you dont.

With 10-15 singers we pack out on a constant basis. You will rarely see drunks trying to sing or an over demanding singer that dont care about anybody else trying to take over the show. One of the owners is a regular singer and along with one of the other owners we have formed strong bonds with and have common goals. The crowds and our regulars have shall we say run off the drunks etc. Our goal is not to attract singers but put happy butts in all the seats. We got into our regular friendly battle with an owner to move the pool tables out sat nights because people were coming in and leaving due to lack of seating..

If a regular singer needs a certain version I'll buy the cd and present  it with a complimental cocktail.  And put it on a zip drive no charge. But if a stranger walks in and gets pissed because we dont play cd's CYA!!!

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The majority of singers that bring discs to shows are not KJs.  They don't have the technical knowledge to make copies.  So they bring in very old originals.  They are scratched up.    I take very good care of everyones discs.  But i have seen what has happend to them from other KJs shows.   It's not pretty.  It could have been done out of spite.   To teach you a lesson about bothering me with your disc.   Who knows why?

Usually i have a very good musical version of a song, if i have it.  There are times when i don't because if i have one version of it, i'm not going to keep buying every version that comes down the pike, just on the chance that you might like it better.

No KJ is going to intentionally keep buying different versions of the same song.  I have enough duplicate songs.   Some are very bad versions that should never be played.    So by you bringing in a crappy version, when i know without a doubt that my version is musically better, what do you want?   I have a reputation to maintain.    And it's not for bad song versions.    It still reflects on me.    You should be happy that i can provide good musical versions.    So you are use to singing a bad one.    Doesn't mean that everyone else will enjoy hearing your bad version.   I understand that it's the one you practiced to.    Do you practice to sound bad?     Do you think you will sound good singing to a bad version, just because it's the one you really know well?   9 times out of 10 the version they bought was the cheapest one they could find from some off the wall karaoke company.    I try my best not to buy the cheapest disc i can find.   I know how cheap discs usually sound and that's cheap.    And not musically very good.    Sounding good to me, means vocally and musically.   You can sound vocally good, but musically bad.

What do they want you ask, they want the version they are used to - crappy or not.  Good example I had Joan Jett - I Hate Myself For Loving You on a BMB/Nikkodo version before there was a good version out from Sound Choice (almost 2 years), people that sang it regularly got used to the version, when I got the SC version, it was much better musically, lyrically & fuller sounding overall - which version did the people that cut their teeth on it want?  The CRAP version it's because it's what they were used to.  Well I eventually changed the song listing in my book & the new people that come in want the new version, but I still get some older customers that want the crap version simply because it's the version they are used to.  A good kj should be able to even make most crappy versions sound ok musically.

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Do you keep buying duplicate songs just to have more versions of it?

Nobody can make up for bad playing.  I have versions of songs that are not even close to what anyone remembers.  There is no way i'm gonna fix crappy instrumentation or bad timing or wrong words or just plain bad everything.   Singing to a bad version don't make anything right.    I am not offering 10 different versions of songs.  I may have them, but not for public viewing.  They will get the best version i pick for them and they need not know there are any other versions.  In a few attempts they can learn the one i play for them just as good as they learned their crappy one.   It's all about practice.

In case you dont understand english I stated if a regular needs a different version I buy the cd Give it to them with a drink and dont put it in my library. Do you people actually run shows? Or better yet are they successful? At present with food/bar tab we get $225/night How much do you make?

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The only reason I would buy a duplicate song on purpose is to replace a crappy version.  Come Sail Away - Styx Music Maestro version immediately comes to mind.

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Forget about food and bar tab -- What are you making to host your show ?

I would consider anybody who walks out of a show because the KJ won't play their own CDG's to be somewhat unreasonable. In my opinion that is no reason (assuming that it is a well run show and the books offer enough of a choice) to behave like a prima donna and walk out of a show.  The KJ is under no obligation to play anything on their equipment other than their own discs if they don't want to, whatever condiditon the disc is in. I sing karaoke for fun, if I can't use my own discs I'll sing out of the book, no big deal and if it's an arrangement I'm not familiar with and I mess up....again, no big deal.

$175 base And in the spring another 25 dollar raise...

I have made more in bigger clubs up to $500. bear in mind this is a little bar that hardly seats more than 150. Jam you are not talking to a newbie.  LMAO

And I do hide behind an avatar. You know exactly where my show is.

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I refuse to buy songs just to add to my dupe list.  That's not even close to being a good idea.   Yeah to try to get a better musical version of a song when you know it's out there, is a good move.  But not just to have a bigger song book full of dupes.

Dupes - one of those nasty side effects of purchasing CDGs (before being able to download one song at a time) for 20 years. Can't be helped in some cases - I realize as I am doing my computer conversion how many dupes I have... Have to balance the time it takes to go in and delete them out of the song book versus just leaving it.  Right now, after taking so long to upload all my songs, I'm leaning towards JUST LEAVING THEM IN THERE....

K

I'd leave them in the computer, never know when someone might ask for a different version (you could even put a little denotation in your book keying to other versions available, just ask), but wouldn't actually list them.  Just go through & rename each one with an astrisk at the begining & when the songbook opens up in Microsoft Word, you can just delete those as they will al be grouped with the star at the begining.

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KINDA SUCKS WHEN SOMEONE COMES UP AND SAYS """NUMBER 2""....THEY GET ON STAGE AND YOU SLAP IN THE DISC....WOW.....MAYBE THEY SHOULD CHECK OUT THE BOOK B4 THEY MAKE THEMSELVES LOOK LIKE ITS THE KJ'S FAULT......I DONT OFFER THIS TO ANYONE,I HAVE 5500 SONGS(IF YOUR SONGS NOT THERE,,SING SOMETHING ELSE)IF I KNOW THE PEOPLE THATS O.K......I KNOW WHERE THERE DISCS HAVE BEEN......

WE HAVE IT SET UP THAT WHEN YOUR ON STAGE(AT A BAR OR FUNCTION)YOUR THE CENTER OF ATTENTION.......WITH A LIGHT SHOWCASE AND 10000WATTS OF AMP POWER AND 15000 WATTS OF SPEAKER IN YOUR CONTROL.....YOU WANT NO SCREW-UPS

PLAY THE DISCS YOU KNOW.....THATS MY OPINION

GOOD LUCK

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WE GOT THE LIGHTS/MUSIC...ALL WE NEED IS YOU

PLEASE DON'T SHOUT!!!!!  It makes it harder to read!!  Thanks!

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