Karaoke Forums

I like the idea of texts but not sure it would work so much in a bar full of drunks ,start texting lots of crap and if you do have any fall outs with anyone ,they could be texting or getting others to text who are not even in the pub.
As for the pc karaoke ,I dont think there is many places in the world where you could say its 100% legal but its getting there slowly as manufactures start allowing 1 to 1 and i think thats the way they will all have to go over time.
Here in the uk we have a licence that is supposed to cover for shifting from disc to pc but its not worth the paper its wrote on as most manufactures are not even covered by it but they dont tell you that.

It's because of that stupid licence that i'm still on disc. i've sent several emails to find out what i can and can't do, with no reply . . . as far as i can see their are only two people who can complain about it (or at least move it forward). The ones who brought the licence and those still using the original discs. . .

I can send emails with no possible way of being procescuted. . . though one guy did state that I could be prosecuted for using SGB, after i told him that it's likely that they never paid their rights in the first place. . . he told me I can't use any disc that is of suspious origin. At which point I screamed that i might as well just throw away all my cd+g's as any number may not be licensed None the less no one will give me an answer in writing.

Texting submissions. I don't think I'd like that but I could see how it could work for some.

I had a drive by one last night. I was out having a cig and a regular drove by and yelled out his car window, put me in for "Someday".

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

I agree, use a computer. Even if you play from disks let the computer (and possibly a kiosk) worry about the rotation and keeping track of past songs. Let them complain to the machine if they want.

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Okay, who took my pants?

there use to be a program called KRIS that handled rotation and uses your KJPro produced songlist to allow for having their song in the que.
I used to use it before I went computer. Worked well.

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

I like texts if I have their name in my address book.

My main reason for using song slips is two fold,,,,, if I get busy, I can let them lay on top of my mixer in correct order and if I don't know the person, I spell their name as it is on the slip.

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

I've been using texts to communicate with my singers constantly this summer. This is the first year of the smoking ban, and with the warm weather 2/3 of the room can be outside.

A quick "U R next" is so much easier than having to track the next singer down.

And I'm getting more and more singers texting me their next song. I find it harmless and actually easier than slips.

I'm currently on a 1500/mo text plan but need to bump it up to unlimited.

Marble...I'm from the UK....and I reckon this crowd are taking the P*** out of you cos a) They are British and thats what the Brits do and b) they saw you making allowances for the disabled guy and decided they want the same. BE FIRM and don't give in to em.Make a new hard fast rule. NO SLIP = NO SONG. Stick to it and...ok..one or two weeks will be tough...but after that...you will have 'em tamed!

I'm not a KJ, but once, when I was singing a Bob Seger song, a group of bikers gathered at the end of the Singer's Area, and one took the second mike and began to massacre the song, I walked over and pried the mike from him and put it in my pocket. Your singers deserve their turn. Let them know And don't allow "join-ins" even if the singer agrees.
Those who just have to sing--"it's my favorite song!", can sing along from their chairs like the rest of us, or can turn in their own songs.
Require all who are going to sing to have their names on the turn in slip, and, yes, require turn in slips. You may loose some of the unruly, but the serious singers will return.
It's not your bar, but it IS your show. Stand up for yourself.

I think the title says it all.

It's your crowd and you created them. If you inherited it that would be one thing. Gaining control won't be easy. They are going to get mad if you start the strict rule thing.

Maybe you should get on the microphone at the beginninmg of the show and lay it out for everyone at once in a nice little speech. Tell them you need to get serious for a moment. Let them know things are getting too hectic during the show and you want to be the best you can for everyones enjoyment. Make them feel sorry for you. You could tell them if you start doing a bad job you could lose your job. I don't want you getting mad at me and i don't want to get mad at you. So i need your cooperation in this matter. And tell them exactly how it's going to be from now on. You need this, these and those so the show can operate smoothly. I know i can count on everyone to do their part. Thanks for your cooperation "I love you all."

Say it all while standing behind the biggest guy in the room.

Then beg for mercy if it turns ugly.

Dave is right.
The Brits can be drink culture yobs.
They dont go out for a good night.
They go out to get legless.
These people will be a pain if they are singing or not.
Causing trouble IS their entertainment.
How bad do you want this gig.
Are you going to tame the whole town. ?

This sounds like experience talking....I'd probably listen if I had this problem.

Could be worse. It could be Irish or God forbid, Scot.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

I was on a cruise in the Med 5 years ago. Went with Canadians. I was one of about 70 Americans. The Scots and Irish were great. I have to say this though, in all honesty, in general, the Brits were snobs once they knew I was American. Didn't matter what my personality was like, I was American. But they were well behaved.

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

Hey guys, thanks for advice, just finished the gig and things worked alot smoother. The best advice I can give to anyone in my situation is make all the customers who are demanding something queue, whilst you deal with the most important things, eg calling up the next singer and setting the sound. Then whilst they wait, they can see what each other is asking, (read: screaming about) and they tend to either sort each other out, or walk away through boredom.

The two disabled lads that just hang around staring at me and the equipment. . . have been moved out of the way by the queue rather than me, and if someone yells out a demand, I make the queue wait. Their anger then turns on the one causing trouble.

I switched of the system once, because a non singer decided to boo people. . . and verbally brought him down a peg or two with a quick joke. "shame your mouth is bigger than your (@$%&#!)" <<< not my usual on stage humour but in this pub it worked, and received a cheer.

Anyone with a slip jumped the queue (since it only takes a split second to take it out of their hand).

those who jump up, unasked are removed IF they are skipping rotation, if they haven't given me a song, the singer has approx four seconds to grab my attention. . . then i wait for the instrumental where I ask them out right if they want this person joining them. If the answer is yes or if they are too drunk to process the question, i hand over another mic. If no I remove the singer.

Twas a lot better tonight, and i'm far less stressed, fingers crossed it continues to work.

Just maybe you will tame the town afterall.
Good on you.

Great advice. I have my rules on the first page of my books. (I actually call them "Karaoke Courtesies" since "rules" is such a harsh word for a pursuit of fun.) Everyone has to abide by the same rules if they want to "play". As has been said, it's not your bar, but it IS your show. When people don't take the time to find a song slip and hand me their request on a napkin or bar coaster, I'm happy to hand it back to them with a blank slip and ask them to transcribe it there. I don't want to have odd-shaped pieces of paper in my tidy stack of slips. That's MY show and MY rule.Wow, you should NOT have had to do that. The KJ should have simply turned the other mike off. Again on my "Karaoke Courtesies" I let people know if their name isn't on the slip, they can't sing! Even if the person who is on the slip says, "It's OK, they're a friend of mine" I have to explain that every singer's name on the slip insures a fair rotation. What if that friend - whose name I don't know - has a solo song put in 4 songs later?

You have to run your show in the way you see fit to keep order and insure everyone has a good time.

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[font=Lucida Console]"Sing for the day, sing for the moment, sing for the time of your life!"[/font]

looks like you are starting to get a handle on them.

This type of environment can be very stressful and takes the fun out of doing the show. It also appears that they are allowing their patrons to get sloppy drunk and have little control over them as well. I'm not sure what the drinking laws are in your country but in most states here in the US you are not allowed to legally serve a "visibly intoxicated person" and you can be held liable for their actions if you serve them more alcohol and they go out and get in an accident, you can also be issued a citation and can lose your servers license which basically results in you losing your job or business.

Here is my 2 cents:

Just continue to run your show exactly how you originally intended it to be. You are the one who must keep things in check and be consistent with everyone, by that I mean do not make exceptions for anyone or you will be inviting them to drive a car through the gaping hole that you created.

When you have adults that behave like children then you must govern them as such.

It might be a good idea to have a sign at your KJ booth that states that all song requests must be written on song slips. No slip = No sing. That basically says it all and then all you need to do is point at the sign and say "That's the Rules"

When starting a new gig I lay out the ground rules with the owner and make sure we are in complete agreement with how I handle unruly customers and problems that can and will come up. I also make sure that we have a meeting with all the bartenders that may work on that given evening as it is important that all parties understand and agree. If I cannot get the cooperation of the bar staff and owner prior to starting the gig then I will not take the job. This stance has served me well over the years.

Basically if it is a Karaoke problem then I handle it and I am the final judge of what the outcome will be and I expect the bar to back me up on my decision.

If it is an alcohol or out of control customer then the bartender or owner takes care of the problem. I will support them in their decision.

Communication with the Staff is the key if you are going to be successful in dealing with Bar or Pub problems. As long as you are both singing out of the same hymn book then it's all good.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

I'm usually a total hard-ass about people turning in slips. I tell them if they're too drunk to operate a 10 cent pencil, I don't want them touching my mics! For every person who leaves upset, several more come in, and the ones who like to sing always seem to come back eventually. Giligin's is known as one of the toughest drunkest crowds in Scottsdale, but I just always stand my ground. And remind people that everyone else who sang wrote their song down and ask what makes them think they are more special than the people who have already sang.

I also play music videos, and would personally rather play VJ than deal with unruly unappreciative singers.

-- Dan Dan

Yes it's the same here.
Unfortunatly many people will drink at home before they go out so it is a cheaper night.
There are many bars here that are in financial difficulty and have little option than to take all the money they can get.
We don't have the same social pub culture that we used to have.
Also many landlords will no longer make a stand against a group of yob's.
Yes the law protects the landlord but it's not much use from a hospital bed.

There are good pubs as well.