Karaoke Forums

I think it boils down to common sense. I think I know what aggravates people waiting. Changing a song when they walk on stage isn't noticable and it doesn't bother me, so no big deal.
Playing filler music when people are obviously waiting to sing would aggravate me, so I won't do it.
Stopping a song and restarting it because someone isn't ready isn't a problem if it's slow and the person doesn't do it all the time. If it's busy - sorry either start singing or get down.
What does bother me is someone who can't decide what to sing once called. Aaarg ! If I'm busy I'll go and ask them what their singing. It bothers me because I know people are waiting to sing and they are wasting everyone's time.

Sorry off topic here.

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

It only happens until the word gets out. If singers know they will get to sing a lot at the beginning, pretty soon singers will start showing up. If that doesn't happen, the show needs a later start time. Or just to call themself a DJ and karaoke, which will clue me in that I shouldn't show up at all.

If you don't let them sing, it stays slow until the bar just naturally gets busy.

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

Agree with that.

Babs I dont understand They are not called unless they have a song qued.we can change a song and have it running in 3 sec. Click click singer history.. Click click. It is cued . Click click It starts. We can take requests while they are on their way to the stage but they need to specify immediately.

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Maybe Babs keeps her regulars in the rotation regardless of if they have a "requested song" in or not.

I DO THIS IF I KNOW FOR CERTAIN they are going to stick around all night and spend money. Sometimes their initial list of 2 songs run out and they're unaware of it the next 'round.

I call them up and ask on the spot, or the song BEFORE, if possible, what they'd like to sing. 99% of the time i know their songlist and #s in my head so it only takes 3 seconds to get them going.

Other singers don't mind, don't know what's going on, and usually don't care. We are on an island and are on hawaiian time..kidding. I RUN my shows FAST and keep it going non stop!

I have printouts (songlists) of my regulars and rarely do they try new songs without consulting me or giving me a heads-up. They apprecaite the personal service, and my TIPS usually reflect that.

AND i'm ALWAYS asking for feedback from EVERYONE to see what i can improve on. There's always room for improvement at anyones show IMHO.

OLLIE, i NEED to go 'puterized! You make it seem soooooooo easy!

I knew that would catch someones eye.

I have index cards for the regulars. They tell me what song they want to sing from their list of songs on the card. Most of them have me pick the song or bring up a new song on a slip when it is their turn to sing, so it works well and isn't a problem. I have only one gal that really gives me a headache deciding, so I usually go ask her ahead of time what she's singing from her list.

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

I'll get things queued up and go to people who maybe are on their last song. Of course with a 25-person rotation that isn't possible; but I do make an effort to get out in the crowd anyway, and give people a chance to hand me a slip even if it isn't their turn. I like the idea of having people fill out a "favorite song" sheet which I can refer to - if they give me free rein to put up songs for them, I'm happy to do it but not if I have to depend on my memory not only for title but for their favorite version as well. MEMORY NIGHTMARE TIME! There are a few people whose songs are permanently embedded in my brain because they've been attending my shows for so many years - I always treat them well and have all their songs queued as soon as I see them walk in the door. I do also spot the people whom I can tell REALLY want to sing but just need a little gentle convincing ... and have some fun getting them to come up.

What makes me laugh is that someone may have come to my show six mos ago and then expect me to remember their name! Good grief! I can't remember friends' names sometimes... I got over feeling embarrassed about going to ask them now. Most people just laugh.

Benefit of CompuHost is I don't have to remember anything but to check their history to see if they sang the song before. RoxBox, Karma and AUtoKDJ all have this feature.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Hoster too!

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I have to rely on autokdj's history to remember what I sing, never mind trying to remember what anyone else sings!
As for last minute changes, I'm somewhat Ok with it, but it is a bit of a pain in the butt when it's already queued up and ready to go. If they come the song before they're due to sing, it's easier for me and keeps the show running a little more smoothly with less dead time. I try to encourage them not to do it, but I don't disallow it completely.
I used to be a singer too and remember what it was like.
You remember a song that suddenly you would rather sing. Your voice as the night goes on changes and you may be better suited to sing something else, or your friends may make a special request. Also, as someone else said, you may wish to fit in better with the flow of the music.
All good reasons why someone wishes to change a song. Just please, tell me BEFORE you come up so I'm not scrambling to finish entering the current slip so I can search for your "new" selection all the while with dead airspace.
Too much of that and the show starts to crawl.

Lonman: Thanks for the nudge on Hoster and the singer history - geesh, I just started using the latest version with that feature...lordy, no more worrying about my memory failing me!

That's where singer history (in Compuhost, and probably MTU now) comes in. My singers have a history that they can not only glance at over my shoulder, but that I can refer to and know version, key, and artist.


I am starting to get pretty good at that. We had a pretty dead night going (on a Tuesday) and I saw two couples at the end of the bar. I kept kidding one woman about singing, and finally she came over and looked at a book. I asked her what she wanted to sing, and she said "I don't know". Finally she told me she had never done karaoke before, and I put her in for something or another. Maybe it was "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" despite her being 24 at most.

Well, it still was dead, but by closing time it was the rockin'-est dead place you ever did see. She sang "I Love Rock n' Roll", "I Will Survive", and every other chick standard I could think of. The boyfriends got going and did a bunch of songs, a couple of normally pretty sedate regulars started doing things they didn't normally do, and we had a blast. I do believe we may have created a new karaoke regular or two.


My little white lie is "how do you spell your name again?" That is helped by the tendency toward odd spellings these days, but the occasional Bob will look at me funny.

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