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alot of city or states are going totally non-smoking- even in bars. Patrons AND employees/independent Contractors have to smoke a certain distance away from the entrance doors to smoke...

Tig
hiding a little less

I really don't know what it would be like to enter a bar/club
that was smoke free. They are trying to do it here in some
cities but not having much luck.

Lone Wolf

They can't do it in specific cities & expect it to work. They tried that here (well a county ban) & all it did was drive the smokers over county lines to bars that didn't have a ban. Once it went statewide that all changed. Either you smoke outside or you don't smoke (or find the tribal bars/casinos that the no smoking ban does not apply to). We've been statewide smoke free for like 3 or 4 years now.

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Can't do it in Maryland. When we went to the Virginia side of the river to a bar, and I proceeded to light up, bartender said take it outside. The bar was over the water, and since the river belongs to Md., no cigar. I might smoke several cigs a year, whats this world coming too? Ron

Not sure about the state laws there Dan, but if you have an employee here in Oregon they must have breaks. If I have a 5 hour gig they must have two 15 minute breaks minimum or you are breaking Employment Law here. What they do with their time is up to them as far as I'm concerned.

When I had employee's I just had them put on 15 minutes of filler and take a break. Customers understand this and I have had no problems.

Currently it is ok to smoke in bars. As of January 9th, 2009 it will be illegal to smoke indoors. I allow the KJ to smoke indoors but not at the KJ booth. They can smoke during a 4-5 minute song and I could care less.

When the new law comes into play then it will only be on their breaks or during a long song.


By the way I heard they abolished slavery when Lincoln was President...

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

I'm in Illinois. We are smoke free everywhere! I thought it would never happen, but it did. I was very worried at first about losing business. Most people that come to our bar do smoke.

It was odd how it came about. First each town made their own decision if they wanted to be smoke free. Worked like a charm for us because we were one of the few who didn't go smoke free, so like you guys said people would just come over from neighboring suburbs to our bar.

Then it became state law. It didn't hurt business at all. In fact I swear we have more business now. We are lucky enough to have a beautiful porch and beer garden where people can smoke. The owner even put heaters on the porch for winter time.

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Like Lonman says above, Wa St is smoke-free in public places (with the exception of tribal casinos, bars, etc.) Smoking is to take place no less than 25 feet from the entrance, but that aspect of the law is usually ignored.

It is wonderful for the nonsmokers, and actually once people got accustomed to trooping outside to do their butt sucking (oh, that is so gross), it really has had no impact on attendance. And after years of hosting in smoke-filled bars, it was so nice to forget about hanging my clothes outside when I got home, and having a shower to get the smoke smell out of my hair. (I'm not sure how well I'd deal with smoke again after so many years of a smoke-free environment.)

k

I have to agree as a smoker myself I actually prefer to work in a smoke free atmosphere. No more brown tar all over my equipment and my eyes don't water from a smoke filled room. And like karen said I don't reek like smoke when I get home.

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What's amazing is the number of non-smokers who go outside to join the smokers.

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I wish that the Oregon law would start in September, not January. Actually I wish it wouldn't start at all. And I'm a non-smoker. But getting smokers used to going outside in the dead of winter is going to be more challenging than if the law started in nice weather.

The other big concern in this state is the fate of the video poker and slot players. They are a huge source of revenue for many bars. I know from talking to room managers that quite a few would not be open without them. Practically all of the players are smokers and chain smoke as they play, it's part of the routine, and they may take their business elsewhere next year... either to casinos or just home.

Some Oregon legislators are predicting a 5-7% drop in state revenues due to reduced participation in state gambling operations. Right now gambling makes up around 20% of the state budget. Oregon is just shooting itself in the foot with this new law as written... without an exemption for bars.

I understand Bill - I believe our law changed in December the year that it changed. We're in the middle of the ugliest weather in the country (wet, drizzle, gray, 35 degrees and raining for days on end, dark at 4:20 in the afternoon in December .. you get it) and surprisingly, since all smokers are in the same boat, they just bundle up and head outside. The down side of this for us hosts is that often singers have to be retrieved from outside when it is their turn to sing.

A lot of places have put up 'smoker's shacks' outside of the 25-foot zone - many have installed heaters suspended from above, chairs, music, etc. They figure the investment they make to keep smokers comfortable will go a long way toward keeping them around when it gets tough going.

k

My karaoke bar, out of sheer dumb luck, is actually pretty well set up as a non-smoking bar. They didn't plan it that way, that's for sure. But there's a garden room right off the back booths, and I can clearly see the space though the windows from the stage. And right off the row of slot machines is a nice covered entryway with benches.

It's my music rooms I'm worried about. None of them are even remotely geared up for the change.

Did I ever mention some of the posts in these threads crack me the fxck up? Lose your job because you indulge in a cigarette? Thanks to those that jumped Dan's caboose before I unleashed. I've got to wonder what kind of show some people are hosting ... YAWN. "Hey you, yeah you Mr. Singer, you're singing off key, keep it up and you can't sing anymore." 'Hey, where are you going? No you, with the pack of cigarettes in your hand. Are you going out to smoke? You're not a real singer. You walk out that door, you're done in this town.'

If queuing up a 5-7 minute song doesn't give a KJ the opportunity to steal away for a few minutes, that KJ should learn how to queue a singer or invest in some better equipment, you know, the kind that will continue to operate even if you're not in the immediate vicinity.

I make sure all systems are go before I step away. I take breaks all night long, and I can do it without skipping a beat. When I was in kindergarten, I was taught how to sit in a chair and listen to the teacher too. Second, I would probably strangle some people if I didn't step away for a few minutes every now and then. Do I have a crowd of whiners that constantly ask me to take 'em up or down one, or give 'em more echo? No. I've got a very smooth operation and I'm a friggin' legend in my town.

Reasons I take as many breaks as I choose:

1) My equipment is capable of functioning without my constant attention - and the people dig it - best in town - bar none
2) I like to smoke and drink
3) I need to pee, pick my nose, and scratch things sometimes and that's not generally stage worthy behavior
4) I've got 100 things going on in my head at any given time and I sometimes need to ponder stupid things people say or organize my thoughts without the sensory overload my show offers
5) Drunk people suck, and they can get obnoxious. I need to get away from them from time to time
6) I have many reasons to talk to people throughout the night (just last night the owner of my secondary gig needed a couple minutes of my time - should I have told him to call me in the morning? - 'Sorry Dude, I'm in the middle of a show and if I step away I might be perceived as being a bad KJ'.). If I summoned everyone that wanted a minute or two of my time up to where my station is, there'd be a lot more traffic in front of singers and a lot more yelling (which would probably make me want to take more breaks - to avoid massive headaches).
7) Sometimes girls wanna makeout with me
8 ) Sometimes my cats want to borrow money or the car and neither are old enough to enter a bar, so I've got to meet 'em outside
9) I trust my stage arrangment and my intelligence level enough that leaving a karaoke track and singer unattended isn't going to signal the end of my most popular and much appreciated show. 'Hey, where's the KJ? Is he dead? Maybe the aliens got him? What are we to do? Oh no, Mr. Bill!!!!!!!'.

I notice throughout these posts that a lot of people walk about the crowd mingling, networking, promoting, etc. - shame on you. Shouldn't you be up on stage acting like a KJ? Maybe wearing an Elvis costume.

Nothing personal Dan. I'd have called my own mother out for a comment like that.

That is the one true reason we play in a band, sing, DJ, KJ, do stand up, etc.

I know one KJ who would take his potty breaks during my set (we have two per singer) as I usually did long songs for just that reason once a night. With his remote mic, he could call up other singers from the "Loo". All of a sudden you'd hear this disempbodied voice... "and next up we have Lord Airgtar singing Sweet Transvestite and Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

I think Croak Dog could do stand up with no problem.....

CroakDog, as I mentioned my original rant concerned an experience I had where the KJ took a 10+ minute break every hour and left fill music on while he went outside to smoke. As a singer, it pi$$ed me off bigtime as the show came to a screeching halt and everyone had to wait the equivalent time of 2 more songs to sing. In my mind, there's no excuse for that.

The show must go on! If you're able to time your smoke/bathroom/personal breaks so that there is no interruption in the flow of singers, then I think that's terrific. The KJ is not only queuing up the next song, but also talking with patrons, taking new slips, helping out new singers, etc. It's like when I used to work in radio. A 5-hour shift meant I had to be sitting in that air chair (perhaps occasionally getting a soda/coffee or tending to Nature's call during longer records) doing my show! And I had to have my full attention directed toward it whether it was pulling commercials, answering the request line, filing music, whatever. Now of course you have stations that totally run with voice tracking and computers, but that's another story.I'm sure that's tongue-in-cheek...the patrons ar entitled to do what they wish. WE are there for THEM.I believe your physical presence is what's necessary...again to greet new patrons, help them with song selections, etc. Otherwise, why not put a self-serve CAVS jukebox there? Do away with waitresses and make people stand in line to get their drinks. It's all about personality and service.IMHO the only thing you should be doing or thinking about during your show is YOUR SHOW! It's the equivalent of taking personal phone calls or surfing the net while at work. I believe I'm hired to devote my full attention to the job which I'm hired to do...not do other business, meet with friends or make chicks. (They can stick around AFTER my show or slip me their digits for later...!)As long as you are IN the room attending to your patrons in the context of a karaoke host then you ARE doing your job.

As for the Elvis costume, the pic is from when I was a passenger on a cruise and roped into doing the "talent show". The cruise director provided the costume. It was a blast!

Again, I think we're all entitled to run our shows the way that works best for us. If you still have a gig at the end of the night, you know you did a good job

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