Karaoke Forums

It's foreground, irreverent, morning show type humor from the KJ where the singer gets active mixing throughout their song (volume, effects) so that they sound great throughout.

That's Dangerous Karaoke!

Granted not every venue will want a host like that, but there are plenty of venues I wouldn't want either!

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

Anyone that follows my posts knows my feelings on this. My brand is firm and is gradually being established. "Good music, good friends, howling good times!" Was my goal from the beginning.

To that end I do whatever I need to do to make it work for the venue I'm in, not the other way around... which many KJs new and old seem to think is that way it should go.

Yes, I have a nice system, and yes, I work hard to make every singer sound as good as possible, but other than that, pretty much anything goes. Play dance songs at the end of the rotation? Sure, I'll do it. Get crazy dancing on the floor? Yep. Introduce Guitar Hero? I'll try and find a way to make it work. whatever it takes, I will mutate my show based on what I'm hearing and seeing from the crowd. Don't want to fill out song slips? No problem, i hate cutting those things out anyway. I'd rather you use less.

My success is, that no one else seems to be approaching karaoke in my area with this attitude, and that makes the "Koyote Brand" unique... and so far in demand. I am turning down gigs due to conflicts, which begs the question... can I buy another system and hire someone to duplicate what I'm doing???

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Great Post and great business plan... seems to follow my own "whatever it takes"
willingness to evolve and be flexiable

Before you have a brand, you must have fan loyalty. Your show has to be good enough without the brand that fans will generally go to your show--this is done by concentration on the basics. I think karaoke is a little different than gasoline in that a lot of bar owners aren't as familiar with it and their expectation doesn't always mesh with reality. Once a show gets hired, they are usually in for at least 6 months no matter how good or bad they are. Given this, it can take a lot of time for a bar owner to really figure out what makes a good karaoke show unless they happen to stumble upon the right on in the first few attempts. If you have a solid show, the brand would help with advertising and word of mouth referals. But I think you have to be careful with branding, because it could also end up putting artificial limits on your show. If country karaoke is really hot for three years, and then all of a sudden something else takes its place, you might regret branding your show The Kountryoke Kasbah, or some such.

Great post, and I agree this is an approach that seems to be in the minority. I'm always surprised by those who say "I don't play filler music because it's a Karaoke show not a DJ show". Now I don't want to get back into that debate again, I accept that different folks have different approaches. The key is you're taking this approach (as have I - hell I'm hosting Pig Wrestling for cryin' out loud, that has nothing to do with Karaoke) and it makes you different in your area.

I too have thought about the idea of hiring someone to run a second rig. I choose to keep a pretty light schedule (Only two regular shows plus the ad-hocs here and there) and adding another rig would allow me to meet the demands of the weekend shows I'm turning down due to band commitments. I'll mention this as something to think about because I have (and you've likely already considered this too), but I decided not to build a second rig. I don't think I could ever trust anyone to run the show the way I want mine run. If I'm going to send someone out representing my company I put my reputation in their hands. If they don't act according to my business practices, it reflects poorly on me and I'm not willing to take that chance.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Ya gotta start somewhere!!!!!!

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

Something is still confusing.

Dominos pizza tastes exactly the same in Bangor Maine as it does in Hollywood. That can be counted on as a constant. Is that their part of their brand?

Koyote has stated that his show is flexible and changes from night to night. Some nights wiil be totally different than the last. Is that lack of consistancy a brand? If your show is not the same night after night and nobody ever knows for sure how the night will go, is that a good thing? If last night you had few singers and decided to play longer dance sets for example. Tonight the same people show up expecting to dance a lot again but instead you have twice as many singers so the dancing is greatly reduced. Did that inconsistancy help the Koyote brand?

The question is how much does consistancy play in establishing a brand.

Remember how popular country line dancing was for a very short while. A lot of bars hurried to switch to being country bars hoping to cash in. The only thing that happened was they almost went broke because the country line dancers drink nothing but water.

So having a niche on the line dancing was a big failure.

To begin with karaoke as a whole is a niche entertainment.

People either love it or hate it. Not too much in between. Now take all the KJs and put them in a group. Only .5 -1 % are at the top of that pile with good to excellent shows. That is a very small niche. It also puts you in a very good business position. My first priority starting out new would be to set my sights on getting into that 1% catagory. That gives you a big business advantage over the competition. That's the first niche, actually the second. Doing Karaoke is the first.

Most musicians consider karaoke a joke. Karoke singers aren't in their catagory.

Karaoke is unique and still very popular because it consists of a big variety of musical tastes. By singling out an even tinyer niche of say Spanish music is really limiting. If for some reason Spanish karaoke would fall out of favor you're screwed. It could be wildly popular and a great idea. There is nothing wrong with being a specialist except you're looking for a small special group. That could be limiting to your income and prospects for steady work. Then again they could be breaking down your door to hire you. It's a chance.

I still say your brand comes down to your reputation and how consistant you are. Is the quality of the show the same night after night. Will anyone be surprised or disapointed?

For the sake of more not always being good, I will keep this short and sweet. Not all areas and or venues are going to require the same formula for success.

Just as an NFL team will not call the same play every time. They also will not play the same order of plays game after game.

Sometimes flexibility will add to the flavor of success. If a show is listed as karaoke/dj or known in that format, they will know what to expect, a flexible show. This will scare some away and will bring others in. Depends on the market as to which will be more, the scaring or bringing.

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

I'm not sure that you'd call it a brand, but I do a type of karaoke that's specifically tailored to a demographic that was underserved in the area. It's loud, rude at times, aggressive, and doesn't appeal to ballad and country singers much (which pretty much keeps them away).

Everyone in the area knows what it is and what to expect when they walk in. Those who don't like this approach have other choices, and they're welcome to them because we are doing rather well with a narrow focus.

I have a couple songs I can do in your room -- "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "Strange Condition". Plus, even the loud and aggressive like the occasional tearjerker. (Music soothes the savage breast....)

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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.

How many other bars in town would hire your show? That could be a very limiting factor. To work in another bar might require a big change in the way you host. Will that change your brand?

Hey Jam, do you happen to have a picture of your portable stage? I'm real curious to see what you did and how you did it?

I had a KJ acquaintance out this way who made his own portable stage out of pvc pipe. A local entertainment magazine writer described it as "delightfully cheesy" which ended up upsetting him so he quit using it.

Personally I thought it was kind of cool. Especially for people to shoot pics of their friends. It came complete with a black kind of shimmery curtain behind the singers and a nice sign with his company name prominently posted.

You are responsible for the singers safety if they fall off or get hurt on your stage. I would leave that to the bar owners doing as to whether they have a stage. Keeps you from a lawsuit.

C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! That is how I call for the next singer. I believe that to be unique. This thread is coming loose a bit but I also have a 2nd monitor for the audience to watch the lyrics and see the video bits I play during instrumentals which get a laugh. I play transition music between songs (at half volume). I have a laser light, LED lights, par can lights and fog. Thanks to this forum, I have top notch sounding audio which blows my local competition away. I also have sound bits that I usually save for after performances, usually applause but some funny comments such as "Yeah Baby" and others.

Angel, give us a break. The portable stage is probably OSHA standards safe. Do you think it would be made out of straw? Why do you have to cut others ideas down?

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

Cool idea! Could you give some examples of the video clips you're using?

Sure. I have a Beavis and Butthead rocking out. I have Beavis doing karate. Wile E Coyote giving the tongue. Curly of the 3 stooges with steam coming out of his ears. I have a number of animated dancers that I put up from time to time. I have an animated flasher, an animated clip of a guy watching a girl get curvy and slender the more he drinks. I can only put 45 on my compuhost at a time but I have hundreds. One that used to get a lot of laughs (still does) is the clip of George W. Bush ducking to avoid a shoe.

Googled video bites and sometimes used different words like animated or cartoon and found some super sites.

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

They said the guy made it from PVC pipe. That sounds home made. Do it and take the liability for it.

Isn't this the norm? I have always hooked into the bar tv's or had one available for the audience.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Our company has been branded the McDonalds of karaoke. Most karaoke clubs we do have at least 3 monitors we tap into and in between karaoke songs there is constant electronic billboard advertising going on for our company and clients. Over all we are not claiming to be the best or largest selection but most consistant with the largest selection of entertainers, promotions and up to date music (legal karaoke music). Our look is corporate and designed for the masses.

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CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE AT THE DOOR, STICK AROUND YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE SOME FUN

This "stage" was more like a frame that the singers performed within. It wasn't an elevated platform that you had to step up to get on or off of. I do understand why you were thinking that -- guess I should have explained better.