Karaoke Forums

I know it's not traditional karaoke, but I thought this sounded like fun.

"Carnival Cruise Lines Launches Live Band Karaoke

Cruise passengers who want to channel their inner Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar or even Lady Gaga will be able to perform with a live band on a dozen Carnival Cruise Lines ships.
The company is introducing Superstar Live Karaoke as its newest entertainment offering.
Passengers will be able to perform to a packed house, while fronting musicians playing electric guitar, bass, drums and keyboards and with versatile backup singers providing harmonies, the line said.
"We're thrilled to bring this new entertainment option to the Carnival vacation experience. Superstar Live Karaoke takes Carnival's participatory fun to a new level with our guests unleashing their vocal talents and fulfilling their musical fantasies while fronting a great live band," said Gerry Cahill, Carnival's president and CEO.
To show off your skills you just need to sign up with the on-site host in the designated Superstar Live Karaoke lounge on board. Participation is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The song list includes 100 titles that span a wide variety of musical styles and genres including pop, Motown, Country and rock 'n' roll.
The program has already debuted on the Carnival Conquest and Carnival Valor and launches this week on Carnival Pride. Other Carnival ships that do one-week or longer itineraries will also be getting the offering by year's end, the line said."

100 songs to choose from???? Sounds like the early Laser Disc years. I wonder if they will somehow "televise" the lyrics.

Live band karaoke is a blast. We have a place in Cocoa Beach that does it on a regular basis, every Thursday night.

They have about 200 songs on their list, but will usually try to fake it if you have another one you really want to do.

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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.

Around here they call that an open mic night. We had a bar down the road from us that used to do it every Tuesday night. The band kicked butt, they knew hundreds (probably thousands) of songs including some really obscure stuff. Definitely takes Karaoke to a whole new level.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

very common over here. all/most cover bands will entertain singers from the audience. Most will have printed lyric books of all the songs that they can play.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

I participated in this on a Carnival cruise in 2008. We hung out at the karaoke bar on the first few nights and I was picked by the crowd as one of the best performers. The last night of the cruise, the entire presentation was created by putting all the karaoke winners in a musical walk through time onstage in front of about 2,500 people. I personally had a a blast, but if you read between the lines what it really boils down to is free talent for Carnival. For the cruise line it is just another way to channel the excitement of cruise passengers into a free night of entertainment.

My little sister lives in Michigan, and they've got a club up there that does a live band karaoke thing.. and they have singing contests as well.

I seem to recall you had to submit the song you wanted to sing a few days in advance, along with the key you wanted to sing it in. Seemed like kind of a hassle and more planning than your average casual karaoke singer would be interested in.. but definitely drew in the hard core singers.

In my opinion.. the only advantage of playing with a live band is when you're able to improv and play off one another.. it gives the live performance that living, 'organic' kind of feel and vibe.. and that's something that generally only happens when everyone has been playing with one another for some time.

Definitely not the kind of thing you pick a song out of a book and sing along with the band.. especially if you don't know the words by heart, or aren't comfortable vamping or deviating from a set structure. (i.e. repeating the chorus another time, slowing things down picking them up to match the crowd, on a whim adding an additional verse, etc)

In short, if you're not able to utilize any of the elements that make great live music great.. then what's the point? You might as well be singing along with canned music.

I seriously doubt that the band plays for free.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Nope, but 12 performers for an event would cost much more than the band alone.

IDK I guess I don't follow your point then, I don't see how it's any different whether they hire a traditional band to play each night of the week or pay a band to do this karaoke thing. Either way the band gets paid to be there every night I don't see how having passengers sing along with them is any cheaper than if they had a front person of their own. I must be missing something here.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

They do it for the audience and the customers, of course. I have been on a number of cruises with karaoke, both artfully and cluelessly done. I was on the maiden voyage of the Norwegian Pearl. It must have been the maiden voyage of the cruise director, too, because she scheduled one hour of karaoke one night, and one-and-a-half hours another night. On a 5-day cruise with 2600 passengers! The only thing accomplished was a few happy people and a whole bunch of madder-than-a-hornet ones -- there was an audience of 500 and a good portion of those wanted to sing and were disappointed. (Taught me to say no when someone suggested I do an hour of karaoke at a festival.)

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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.

That's one thing that always kind of irritated me.. people who say karaoke is a way for a venue to get 'free entertainment'.

WHAT?

If they're paying a KJ to run the show, the venue is generally paying MORE than they would a regular DJ.. and many times, the KJ actually brings in a smaller crowd.

If they're paying a band to play live karaoke music.. they're paying the band probably MORE than your average cover band.. mostly because of the volume of material that has to be available to play, and it generally takes a larger group to cover a wide range of music.

For instance.. you're not going to get your garden variety 3 piece blues band that plays for $350 a night to run a live karaoke show.

This whole 'venue gets free entertainment' idea generally comes from the people who think their singing along with backing tracks is the entertainment.

Just a point: If anybody was actually going to PAY YOU TO SING somewhere.. you'd probably be doing that instead of going and singing at a karaoke show.

I often hear the same thing about 'open mic' or 'open jam' nights. The venue is too cheap to hire a band, they want their entertainment for free!

Well when i've done it, i've had to bring a PA, a bass amp, a guitar amp, a decent drum set, a guitar, a bass, and several microphones.

On average, I was paid about the same, or less, than what i'd get running straight DJ. Open jams usually happened on weeknights when most venues aren't booking bands in the first place.

Not like they were booking open jam nights on Saturday nights or something.

Open mics gave musicians an opportunity to network with each other.. maybe find a vocalist/bassist/drummer/guitarist to round out their existing group.. or give a complete band the chance to try out their material in front of an audience.. or even audition for the venue for a possible weekend paid gig.

Open Jam nights usually brought in a strictly musician crowd.. not a hard partying drinking crowd. Definitely not a dancing crowd, and not a lot of people showing up just to listen.

But still you'd hear the grumblings.. oh it's just another way for the venue to get free entertainment.

I did the cruise thing on the Mediterranian in 05. Can't remember the line but it was the ship's last cruise for them. There was one karaoke night. The house was packed. I hadn't grown a pair at that time yet so I just wished. Anyway it was straight karaoke and I don't think anyone sang more than once. The last night fo the cruise, about 6 or 7 of the very best went up on stage to perform. Now THAT was free entertainment.

I secretly wish I could try a song with a live band. The cruise thing would be fun. But 100 songs? C'MON MAN!!!!

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

Based on my memory of having visited a couple of "live" karaoke shows, the majority of the songs they know (as is typical with a guy band) are guy songs, very few for women. Of those 100 songs, I'll bet dollars to donuts it is 70% guy songs, 30% female if that.. Just sayin' based on past experience.

For those of us who have fronted bands or done backup or were somehow involved with singing with a band, sometimes karaoke tracks are preferable. At least there is a good selection of songs for females. I usually end up singing guy songs in that situation.

Had a guy come up to me a few weeks back begging me to apply for a job hosting karaoke on a cruise line...he said his last experience with cruiseline karaoke was a disaster.

Here ya go..................The originators of the live band Karaoke genre....been doing it since 1993...........and of course they are from Portland, Oregon...........the source of ALL KARAOKE GOODNESS.......

http://www.karaokefromhell.com/index.html

I've been going to sing with them for over 5 years now at all of thier most recent venues...........including in front of 500 at their one appearance at Portland's BITE OF OREGON FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT