Karaoke Forums

As I was setting up Thursday, I noticed someone in the room watching. Usually no one is in the "black room" until show time. Turns out the gentleman lived in New Orleans but was in town for a 40 year class reunion as he graduated here in town. Also turns out he is a karaoke host down in NO area. Also turned out he was an Elvis impersonater.
This was a close call, he scoped out karaoke in our town on the net before making his trip and was going to bring disks to my show but said my selection (although not updated completely) had what he wanted.

This will make Lonnie happy, he uses Hoster.

He sang 7 or 8 songs as we had a slow start. I believe all his songs were Elvis except 1 or maybe 2 (including Born to be Wild). He was very good at Elvis songs and had a good voice. Problem is, our venue advertises 80's music and someone in the other room decided to play the jukebox and it was loud enough I could hear it from my box which is a long ways from the double wide doorway that seperates the two rooms. I found this to be rude. Point being, he wasn't going to bring in any business singing Elvis songs.

Before he left he stopped by the booth to say thanks. After that we had a slew of upbeat songs, mostly rock or alternative including a good mix of 80s rock type songs.

Anyone ever had an Elvis guy come and slow down the tempo of the mood of the room?

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

We have only had Elvis guys turn the room into euphoria but our present venue where we host is older oriented and the one before that where we sang was old school karaoke where people had a more open and appreciative mind for all styles and eras. I can see how people wouldn't want to hear one guy sing 7 songs in a short time but they should have gotten their butts in there and sang what they wanted rather than try to drown out the show.

Well the folks that were in the other room weren't singers but enjoy hearing the karaoke music turned up as it will fill both rooms. Unfortunately while Bob (Elvis) was in the room, there were only a couple other singers including another that did Johnny Cash so the music wasn't exactly foot stomping hip turning music to this type of crowd. Usually we get a mix of songs performed, they don't have to be 80's and sometimes even hip hop is performed (although hip hop isn't allowed for dj songs). Our average crowd age is probably mid to upper 20 something.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Might have just been a function of it being a slow niight to start with a combo of all low key singers. Elvis mixed in with the rest might have gotten wild applause. At least if he did a bit of "Burning Love." Times are weird. You rock one week and struggle the next. Hard to fight the energy drain if that is what your singers want to sing unless you commit the sin (to some) of jumping in yourself or rocking them with your filler.

Speaking of age differences in music (minor hijacking ) did you happen to catch Paul McCartney on David Letterman? He did a serviceable "Lady Madonna" but when he got to sing one of his new Fireman songs he just lit up and rocked the place. I took it as a lesson about not getting in a musical rut (which can happen with some Elvis impersonators--there--back on track).

Locals will kind of dictate the style of the room. But after that, so what!!! Let the Elvis guy do his thing and the devil be damned. Like you said, he was an out of towner who would be gone on the next jet out of town. Those bar flies in the other room will survive. It's like the car shows I DJ. I always try and keep a good mix of tunes going covering a lot of eras. You will always get the one guy who is forever stuck in the fifties and just wails bloody murder if you go outside of his or her comfort zone.

Sometimes music styles clash from what one thinks should be the norm and you just got to calmly ride through it like a ship in the eye of the hurricane. You can make the hurricane worse my screwing your eyes shut and knotting your stomach and thinking that something is bad when it is not nearly as bad as one might think. It sounds like if Elvis hadn't been singing, nobody would have been singing...echo the sounds....of silence.

There used to be a guy at a show I went to who called himself Edvis because his name was Ed. He had an Elvis costume that he sometimes wore. He did a pretty good Elvis. He had a humongous collection of Elvis discs. He liked singing Sinatra too. The crowd liked him. There was even one Edvis fan that would grab his belt in her teeth. the crowd got into his act. That place sang a real diverse set of karaoke songs.

I'm not so much concerned about the singers' selections as I am that the bar allows a jukebox to be played during your show.
At all my shows, the volume of all jukeboxes, radios and TVs on the premises are shut down completely for the duration - no exceptions. That was one of my conditions for taking the gigs.
(The venue has to support the karaoke better than to be grubbing for quarters from a jukebox.)
I think it's at the very least inconsiderate to play music or television while someone's trying to sing, and it prevents me from making the singers sound as good as possible.

Oh, and Elvis had some pretty good rockin' songs, too. They're not all "Love Me Tender."

I've had 3 professional Elvis impersonators at my show on different occasions. None of them went over well. Odd birds.

Over all Elvis songs done here and there are received well. I get a pretty good mix of everthing at my shows.

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I had the same thought. From years of doing club gigs with bands I've developed the habit that no show starts without any other audio sources being shut off. I don't even negotiate it with the bar I just go to the bartenders before I start the show and ask them to turn it off.

There's nothing worse than trying to mix when you have extraneous sound in the room. When my show is on, that is where the attention should be, not on the jukebox. Besides, my PA will dominate the in-house audio at any of the venues I've ever played so they're not going to hear the jukebox or TV anyway.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

We pipe music into the other room with and extra speaker and use the utility out. Attimes we have had and elvis impersonator but we gave himj 30 minutes before the show.


This is another case for playing longer fill music for establishing the tempo of the show..

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Had a KJ who was also an Elvis impersonator pop in once. Did a good Elvis but it totally bombed. There was a time when Elvis impersonators were hot, but I think that time has long gone.

And yeah I'm with the group here - jukebox must be off when karaoke starts in my room. If it's still running I'll go and mute it myself if bartenders are busy.

Very limited appeal for me and for the singers at my shows. 90/10 chance that it'll bomb. Most impersonators seem to think more of their abilities than the crowd ever does.

Our local Elvis guy has fun with it. He's ok. But you talk slow, in between Elvis he does Gordon Lightfoot's song sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Good song, but it's slow and long, like a 6 minute song. That brings a slowdown to the gig.

And with the segway(sp?) I'm "on board" with the no jukebox! I agree with letitrip, the venue has to support karaoke.

Thanks everyone.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

I loved the crash and burn Elvis guys, I even called out this one guy when I saw him do it at another venue the day after he killed the day before. If I wasn't doubting he'd be a same act singer, I would've sung Burning Love instead of yelling it out when he put on the garb in the bathroom. Took the wind out of his sail.

Has there been any other impersonating singers? I've seen a guy already in white shirt and black tie, he put on shades and did a decent Soul Man ala Blues Bros w/out dancing

I'm sure Michael Jackson impersonators will be popping up more now. He'll be the new Elvis siting per say.

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Saw a really good looking young guy impersonate the YOUNG elvis ala the comeback show in 69(black leather outfit cowlick over the forehead- Oh LAWD!) People seem to forget how hot Elvis was in his hey day. I'm tired of seeing fat middle age men in tacky suits keep his older year alive in such a ridiculous caricature! They didn't call him the "KING" because of the rhinestones, drugs and paunchy middle...The black leather wearing Elvis is(To ME) the iconic image that he SHOULD be remembered for..now I'd watch THAT any day- Hubba hubba! SEXXY never goes out of style!

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Adam Lambert is an incredibly sexy young Elvis....sexy eyes, pouty mouth ...pour him in tight black leather, slick back the hair, and watch those hips move...HUBBA HUBBA IS RIGHT!

Unfortunitely all the Elvis impersonators I've seen are the old paunchy ones. I'd love to see a young version too !

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Paunchy Elvises or is that Elvi, need loving too.

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