Karaoke Forums

Well said......"we supply the entertainment for the demand"

Personally speaking, I would fine a karaoke only (everything has to be perfect, world class singer after singer) boring.  I want a fun night out, sing a few songs, have a few cocktails, a good time had by all......NOT a practice session for star search!  That kind of place would be best suited for a karaoke jukebox...put in your $1, get into your sound proof box, belt out your song...next....ugh, don't sound like much enjoyment to me???  Maybe I'm all wet...

Now, if I was hired in this kind of place....then that is what I would provide.  I've been hired in bars, that care about one thing.....$  Some don't even like Karaoke, at all...but if it brings in a couple more handfuls of people, what can I do to help?!?!

MrD

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[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
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Yeah me too. If I get a request for a line dance I'll put myself in rotation and sing one. But we're all on the same page actually. We're all trying to do what's best for our specific rooms. In my case, if I throw a couple of DJ cuts in the middle of karaoke it upsets my singers too much. They do not cheerfully delay their spot onstage for anything. But it doesn't bother them if I decide to sing in the round.  Far from it. Because I don't sing very much.

This is totally room dependent. In several places I've done shows at there has been a large percentage of non-singers (perfect for singers!)  I've been very blessed with a following of pro caliber singers who really entertain well and hear comments like "this karaoke is like a free concert!" In this case, after about two hours, especially for nonsmokers who don't jump up and run outside and smoke, most people need a reason to get up and move around. In that particular environment I would play some dance music. Again, TOTALLY DEPENDS ON WHO IS SINGING THAT NIGHT AND THE SIZE OF THE ROTATION. I would NEVER deprive the singers and when I say I would put on dance music, it may be when everyone has sung four songs already. No one seems to mind at that point because they're way ahead of where they would have been at another show.

We're all pretty knowledgeable about our singers and their likes and dislikes. Serious singers won't dance; weekend singers will get up and dance and enjoy it just as much as singing. In our area a lot of serious singers sing on the week nights because there isn't competition for rotation time with the weekend singers (less serious singers).

If your specialty and love is fixing motorcycles, are you going to listen to people that say you should work on big rigs?   Both are vehicles but there is a major difference.    

Once you compromise your principals you're done.   They run you, you don't run the show anymore.    You're taking orders from the listeners, pacifing the listeners, at the beck and call of the listeners.    Singers get in the back of the bus, the listeners are driving, it's their show.

My specialty is karaoke, it's my business.    I cater to singers.    I run my show for them.   I totally control the rooms dependance by the way i run my show.    The room takes my lead.    And the lead is singing karaoke.    If you are not singing, shut up and have fun listening.  You have no say in the direction of anything to do with the selection of music played tonight.    I don't know if you have an ulterior motive for suggesting certain songs.    You could be trying to undermine the quality of my show.    You are more than welcome to listen, if you want to hear something different, then you change the mood with the song "you" are going to sing.    But i and everyone hear will be doing karaoke tonight.   If you want to dance or you are bored, find a bar that has a DJ playing.     They can take your requests, that's what they get paid to do.

 Well we reached the conclusion and the same results as last year and the year before. But one thing is obvious. The percentage of Kj/DJ is now larger than KJ only and is growing as more realize what is going on.

In conclusion:  If you are not making at least $200/night and quoting party  and wedding recession rates then you are not realizing your full potential....

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I hardly consider playing the odd dance tune "compromising my principles."  Phew, and I consider myself quite a principalist!

The rigidity you display, SW, is really interesting. In the years I've been doing this business, I have enjoyed incredible success, and that comes from identifying what the customer/consumer wants and providing it. If I went into a gig and laid down the ironclad rules and refused to be moved from them, in all likelihood some conflict would develop as a direct result of that, and I'd be forced to move on.

I do this for fun - I share that fun with my singers. We all have an incredibly good time, and in 12 years or so, I can count on one hand the number of complaints anyone has presented to me, and that includes hushed whispers by disgruntled singers to the management.  I'm serious. No principles are being compromised at all.

Oh, that is one stiff wind and I will discontinue spitting into it right now.

k

Testosterone poisoning perhaps???  

--Tad

For 15 years i have dominated the area with my rigid format show.    I know of many around here that have used the open format and they work a lot less and lose more jobs.    I refuse to let listeners dictate how my "karaoke" night will be run.   They can go wherever they like.    But i will steadfastly stand behind my singers, which is the reason for karaoke and the reason i am in business.

I am not in the Listener entertainment field.   I chose a KARAOKE business.

Dance to a karaoke song.  Last time i looked it was the exact same music as karaoke songs.    If they can't dance to a karaoke song, then shut up and listen or take a walk.

DOH!  Of course it is! Testosterone overload. Geesh, I can't believe I didn't think of that.



k

Audience Participation is the name of the thread.   Do you mean singers or listeners?

If you are doing a karaoke show then i would think you mean the singers.    Without their participation you have no karaoke show.    So the first thing you have to do is karaoke.    That tends to get the singers to participate more.    The sign out front doesn't say KARAOKE UNLESS...

My sign says KARAOKE because that's what attracts the singers.   Then they can start to participate.  The more people you get singing the more participation you will have.    If the singers are having fun it should be contagious for the listeners.

There could be a lack of participation if the majority of the singers are drunk and goofing off too much.    Then the songs get butchered and the listeners don't want to be there and many of the good singers are thinking the same thing.   I'm not sticking around for a bunch of clowning around, song butchering and screaming out  swear words all night.    I'd rather take my chances sitting unarmed under a bridge watching  the homeless drug addicts shoot up.

I really shouln't waste the time it takes typing this, because it really exemplifies the dead horse theory with sw/bd, but I neve got a good answer to it last year- only avoidance....

SW- a few questions if you do not mind (assuming we are in different areas and I am no threat to stealing one of your shows):

1. If you are wall to wall non- stop karaoke where one song starts as soon as the last ends, how do you deal with last scond changes of a singers mind? Dead air or letting the faulty song play?

2. If your shows are so well attended by singers, why is there such a need for you to sing so often and direct the flow of a night? I know with 10-15 singers I am full not empty.

3. In a BAR where people under 21 are not allowed, do you really believe censoring is the answer to keeping control? I have ran and attended many shows, and can tell you that many of the people that sing offnsive songs do it for the fun of a reaction or just fun, and they tend to be an exception- not rule. Hardly worth it to cennsor for adults.

I look forward to your direct responses.

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I will be happy to answer these questions.   Understand the i'm not lying or making up stuff.  I'm being honest.   These are good questions and my answers are not an attack on anyone.  Just the facts.   If you were my next door neighbor you would not be a threat.  I fear no KJ.    Nothing personal.

These are some of my best secrets for a successful show.  :O

1. If you are wall to wall non- stop karaoke where one song starts as soon as the last ends, how do you deal with last scond changes of a singers mind? Dead air or letting the faulty song play?

I just so happens that tonight i mistakenly played a song the singer already sang.   I had 20 singers (1 1/2 hour rotation) so i didn't remember playing it.    So i asked her what she wanted to sing and i typed it in while the bo-bo song played.   It played maybe 60 seconds.  Then i played her song.   A few people boo-ed when i shut it off.  LMAO   It didn't kill my "high" energy show.   It was a 60 second musical interlude.  Like being in an elevator, music without singers.      Didn't really waste any singing time as many KJs do with "other" stuff.   I didn't get fired.   Nobody got mad and left and i got full money.      It's very rare but even if there was say 30 seconds of dead air in the entire 4 hours, i hardly call that a dead air catastrophy.   That breaks down to 1/2 second per song.  :O  I'm human and it won't be the last mistake.   5-10 seconds of silence doesn't hurt a thing.  :no:  But this is rare except for the songs that have a long silence in the beginning.   This is totally out of my control.

Normally the next singer would have the microphone so i would have skipped the #1 song and played the #2 song for the next singer.   Then i would have typed in her new request and it would be played next.

This bar is long and skinny so getting from one end to the other can be a chore.  Sometimes i use the "expressway" and run behind the bar.

2. If your shows are so well attended by singers, why is there such a need for you to sing so often and direct the flow of a night? I know with 10-15 singers I am full not empty.

I never said i sing all night.  I sang 2 songs tonight.   If it's time to start the show and i have ZIP for singers, i will sing.    If i have to sing for the entire 1st hour, i will.  I consider the first hour critical for the listeners that are there.  It's the time they are making up their minds about whether they are staying or leaving.     So i will sing up beat rock songs.    Depending on how long i sing and what the crowd reaction is, i may throw in a fast country song.   I can change the song selection while i sing based on what i see the crowd doing.   The first 8 songs i load in for the  beginning of the night is a big decision.  I look at the crowd and check the average age.  And i select songs i think would get a favorable reaction from the majority.    But the list remains fluid and i have often changed the next song i do.    But i try to mix them with a rock song, oldie, 80s.     To show them that it will be something different all night long.  Not just all this or all that.   I might even open the dance floor with a slow song.  :shock:

Once i start the show the music doesn't stop for 4 hours.     I have no regular music or bumper songs loaded in my computer and i don't carry any discs.    Doesn't matter if it's me singing 4 hours or if a have other singers.   I sing a big variety of songs and i am very entertaining.   Not my words (others.)    Also told i could do a one man show.     So it's not a problem for me.  The biggest problem is reading the crowd accurately so they don't get bored with me.     As the singers come in, they sing as soon as they put in a song.   Now depending on the songs they pick to sing depends on how long i stay in the rotation.   If i get 10 singers fast then i start looking at the songs they pick to sing in the next rotation.  If it's going to be too boring or too head banging then, i'm staying in to even out the flow.   I'm not the star of the show, but i totally try to control the flow.   I'm won't stand back and say KJs shouldn't sing, so if the listeners get bored and leave,... oh well.     I'm a hands on KJ.    I don't have to sing but i like to.  I only sing when it's my turn.   And only if it's needed.  And what is needed.     Not normally what i wanted to sing.

I never play with the order of the rotation based on the type of song a singer has coming up.  What it is, it is.  If that happens to be 20 slow boring songs, oh well.  I won't like it but you can bet i'm singing at the end of the rotation and it's going to be an upbeat rock song.   The more singers you have the less chance for a string of slow songs.   Because of the bigger variety of singers.     I'm averaging 20-30 everywhere.   But they aren't all there at starting time.    Critical hour.  The make or break hour.

3. In a BAR where people under 21 are not allowed, do you really believe censoring is the answer to keeping control? I have ran and attended many shows, and can tell you that many of the people that sing offnsive songs do it for the fun of a reaction or just fun, and they tend to be an exception- not rule. Hardly worth it to cennsor for adults.

I have jobs that start at 9PM.  Under 21s are allowed to be there with a parent or guardian.  Some bars have restaurants that are separated from the bar, but stuff can still be heard.    Some bar owners want the business so they let it slide.   I always check for kids before i allow certain songs to be sung.  Yes i have 5, if i'm lucky, that do contain the F bomb.

My edited song book is to prevent potential problems.    I don't hang with the crowd that is listening to hip hop and rap and angry rock.  So i don't want to attract them to my show.    Call it what you want.  I call it good business sense.     There are many people that are offended by the actions and language of others.  It seems the under 35 KJs don't get it and don't care.    

What are you going to do some night when someone is belting out the F bomb song and there is a kid in ear shot and Dad decides he doesn't want his kid or wife or mother or Grandmother hearing that and he wants a piece of you?   Or he complains the bar owner and you're out of a job.   There are some bar owners that don't care.   There are still "ladies and gentlemen" around.    If you can act like a normal respectable adult you are welcome to stay and have fun.  If you want to be obnoxoius and fight or swear, see how fast you can get drunk and act like a child, see ya.  :wave:  :yes:  You can find a bar and a KJ that doesn't care about their reputations in the next block.  

If i had to do it all over again knowing then what i know now i would always edit my song book.    I want to attract a decent higher class crowd.   It doesn't mean they have to be rich.    Just not people that think swearing is a normal part of our language.

Not every comedian is a Richard Pryor.  He had a limited audience and limited venues.   He couldn't play prime time TV.     You can make money with a "clean" karaoke show.     I tell every new bar owner my book is edited and not one has ever said no, i want the hip hop and rap and angry rock F bomb songs.    I am a repectable business man and i run a respectable business.    As do most bar owners.    If i walk in to a bar and everyone is acting like the zoo, i'm leaving.

Anyone that wants to scream swear words on a microphone like a third grader, for a "reaction," gets it.    The "reaction" is they are "recognised" as immature punks.

With an edited book i can always count on the actions of the crowd.  Because they are doing exactly what i want them to do.    I control my crowd and they become what i want them to be.    Pretty hard to be a jerk without the songs to do it with.    I have been busy  5 nights week for the last 15 years.  If i wasn't doing something right i would be at home every night.    I am very popular and in demand.   It's a quality show from the beginning to the end.  From the equipment to me and all the people i attract.

Exception not the rule...it only took one gunman to kill 32 college students.     There are no exceptions at my show because i won't allow it to happen.   I always know what the next song will bring.   Because i removed the exceptions.    It only takes one exception acting like jerk fighting or seeing how fast he can get drunk or F bombing to ruin a crowd.    Seen it many times.

This concludes this lesson.  Ready for number #2?    :hug:

I am partially in shock....an almost completely coherent answer, but couldn't do it without personal attacks- guess I have to apologize for being 32 and in this business for over 5 years and not an over 35 KJ....

Anyway....



Isn't this the equivalent of filler music between singers? And now in your own words, it didn't harnm the show. That is all we have been trying to say to you for years...





OK, these statements confuse me.... Do you not have anyone there your first hour, and could that be part of the reason you are losing shows to Pirates and undercutters? Could starting an hour later maybe be a wise business decision, or do you enjoy hearing yourself that much that you insist on starting when no one else is there? Just things that make me wonder....

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Now i answered you and you are turning everything around and twisting what i said.  :yes:   Don't try to analyze everything to make it fit what you think i should have answered.   I said they were not to be taken personally and it was not an attack on anyone.      I have a kid your age and i know what's going on in his head so i'm making some assumtions.

The answers stand on their own merit.

1- 60 second "blunder" in 4 hours does not constitute being anything remotely like playing filler music between every song all night long, so don't get confused.   It was an accident and not an intentional act of time wasting.    60 seconds is a far cry from 18 minutes of filler.   Now add in the other waste activities.

If you call wasting 30 seconds between each song all night not hurting the show, i guess you have your opinion.    It is wasting valuable singing time and if given the choice the singers would probably tell you to stop doing it and get them singing faster.    JustMO   Try asking every singer what they think and want.

I don't sing all night long.  Repeat after me.   If you have a comprehension problem keep repeating it.

If i have to, i can and will.     To maintain the shows continuity without playing regular music.   And without other people singing.     Doesn't mean i want to just to sing all night long.     It's not for my ego, it's for the bar owners wallet and that's what pays me.

My starting times are dictated by the bar owner.      I can make suggestions but that doesn't mean they will take them.     If they pay for 9-1 that's what i give them.  What do you do start at 10PM, no matter what they want?

I lose jobs because #1. I quit because of situations that can not or will not be remedied to my satisfaction.  Or #2.  They think they can save money with a cheaper KJ.   Not a better one, a cheaper one, there is a BIG difference.      Has happened but it's a rare thing, mostly i quit.

The others explain themselves.     I will do whatever it takes to maintain the majority of the people in the bar happy and spending money.  Short of insulting my singers by wasting their singing time with non karaoke activities.

It was really cute in "Three Men and a Baby" where the three guys sing that to the baby to get her to go to sleep!  

Jreynolds, I haven't heard any Japanese songs sung for karaoke, but they might be interesting to hear, even tho' I wouldn't understand a word.  I have sung 2 Spanish songs:  "Eres Tu" and "La Bamba".  I'm not Hispanic myself, but studied Spanish in high school and college and did well in it, although nowadays I don't always remember everything I learned.  These days I do pretty well reading stuff in Spanish, but if I'm hearing someone talk in Spanish, they're usually 3 or 4 sentences ahead of me before I can figure out what they're saying.  It's a little easier to figure out song lyrics, because they repeat parts.   When I went on a trip to CA about 15 years ago, I took my little English-Spanish dictionary with me so I could figure out songs on the radio and signs on buildings.

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Laura, since when does one need an English-Spanish dictionary when travelling across country?  Oh, well, I always punch in the number 2 on my phone when they note that 2 is for Spanish.  Can't really speak a lick of Spanish after years of study.  I'll survive relying on English

Nonetheless, Eres Tu is one of my favorite songs.  Now what am I to think after you indicated you also do Town Without Pity?  I am the only person I know of that sings Eres Tu (an Edye Gorme  tune) or Town Without Pity.  

BTW, I know that I nail Eres Tu not only melodically but in regard to the words, as well, because I have performed it for my daugther-in-law's family who are all from Colombia.  They love it!  I also do the Cup Of Life (Ricky Martin) with the Spanish lyrics.  I first sang La Bamba as a teenager with my band.  And for Christmas, of course, I sing Feliz Navidad.  

But, once again, we're far from discussing audience participation.  So, let me add that Ghostbusters is a great audience participation song.

What are you to think?  That I like to do a wide variety of songs, that's what you are to think!    BTW, on "Eres Tu", I avoid the high notes.  I just keep singing the melody at that point.  The version I know is by the group Mocedades.  When I saw that the karaoke books had Eydie Gorme's version listed, I downloaded a few seconds of it on some website to see if it was in the same key.  It was.  When I sang it, it seemed like it was a little teeny weeny bit faster than the version I'm familiar with.  I don't know if her version has that high "oo-woo-oo-oo-oo" part in it or not, though.  That was another song that when I did it (I've only sung it once so far), the kj had never heard it.  




Shoot!  I forgot to mention "Feliz Navidad"!  I've sung that too.  What a fun song!  Of course that's not ALL in Spanish; that's why I didn't think of it at first.  I don't know the Ricky Martin one you mentioned.

...Oh.  Audience participation.  Well, as I said in another thread, last night I sang "On the Radio" by Donna Summer, and people were singing along.  *memo to self:  sing this again soon*  And I am a BIG audience participant myself--that is, if I know the song someone is singing, I'll sometimes find myself singing along.

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Well I guess I'm another one that sings Eres Tu.  We had to sing it in Spanish in highschool.  I sang a few Spanish songs at a Mexican bar I used to go to.  The owner would sometimes join in.  He always wanted  to sing Cielito Lindo which they had the LPK version of.  For some reason, the LPK is tricky (at least for me) to sing.  But it was fun singing with the Mexican owner.  We would also often get a few people singing  Guantanamera at this place too.   A few other Spanish songs I like: Desden (Fiesta Latina cdg), Besa Me Mucho (LPK--I like the guitar on this one), and Quiereme Tal Como Soy (Tropical Zone)

Audience participation songs:  Louie Louie?  Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye?

We didn't do much singing in our Spanish class in high school--but we did do some Christmas carols ("Cascabeles, cascabeles, la la la la la..."--that's "Jingle Bells").  And at least once, we sang "Happy Birthday" to someone in the class:  "Feliz cumplea~nos a ti..."  (sorry, I keep forgetting how to put the ~ over the n), and at the end of the song, one of the guys sang the line "! Y mucho mas!"  ("and many more")

When I used to get the satellite radio channels, at one point I had (among other things) Latin Pop and Latin Tropical Rhythms.  It was easier to figure out the lyrics on the Latin Pop channel, because for the most part, the songs weren't as fast.  But on the other hand, I liked listening to the Latin Tropical Rhythms channel better  BECAUSE the music was more upbeat.

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I have been asked for, and have yet to find Besame Mucho in Spanish.  Does anyone know of a pure Spanish version?