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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:11 am 
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(UK) After a poor Karaoke do on NY eve by a local karaoke dj, I was wondering how you all run your shows? This particular fella kept shouting for more requests, even tho he already had loads, from our table. He then kept us "entertained" wuith inane chatter and music until he had what he wanted and got the next singer up. This went on thoughout the evening and into 2012. There were big gaps between singers and therefore as a karaoke evening it didn't work for us. I do a bit of Karaoke in the same pub on a Friday evening, but do it differently. I'll pack in as many as possible in the time allowed, and don't care if it's only the same person getting up. If they wanna sing they do.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:22 am 
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i don't think there is a "best" but i do it how you do. i will get in as many as i can in the time i have.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:33 am 
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I am a karaoke fan and love karaoke, I am writing this next bit as devils advocate.....

many venues have a big karaoke following. BUT pubs often want to get everyone in ,even those who dislike karaoke and on a night light New years they may have had people who were out not just for karaoke but because its a pub advertising DISCO and Karaoke on New years..if one table is dominating karaoke and the same five or less singers are singing after each other that can mean others will not enjoy the night. If your table had three singers on it and one was noticeably worse singing wise than the other two and they expected to be up straight after each other with no filler all night then the DJ may have thought filling with music , chatting etc and asking for other singers than the one table may have been a better way to entertain the whole pub not just your table.

OK end of Devils advocate ....

I have found as a KJ i have to be very specific in what the pub/venue does with its advertising what my nights actually are..are they Karaoke only , are they karaoke disco ..on certain nights like New years and Halloween it may mean the normal crowd is not the same and non karaoke fans descend and show zero respect for normal etiquette.

I do karaoke only nights and I do Karaoke disco nights my karaoke obsessed singers know which nights to go to and which ones they will not get as many songs.

Personally I would have thought that on New years i would expect it to be a lot more music than normal unless it was advertised as a Karaoke only night

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:49 am 
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crazyface wrote:
don't care if it's only the same person getting up. If they wanna sing they do.


so if one person and only one person puts in twenty requests and the venue is full of non karaoke singers and wanting to party because its new years eve , you would just get them up ,straight after each other with no filler music or gaps? Play all twenty requests until someone else put in a request ? you wouldn't shout for more singers ?and you wouldn't chat?

I understand if it was advertised as a "karaoke show" then fair enough ..but if it was advertised as a New Years Eve Party with karaoke and disco on the poster then i am sorry most of the other customers and the pub management would not be happy.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:55 am 
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Keep in mind here that I do ONE show a week at ONE venue. My experience is limited. I am sure I will change this up once I pick up different venues.

I will generally not even start my karaoke show until I have at least 4 people signed up. I make plenty of exceptions here.

If I have less than 6 on the rotation I keep things slow with a little more filler music or other activities.

Once I have 6 people on the list I will run karaoke back to back with very little filler.

Pretty simple.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:16 am 
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chrisavis wrote:
I will generally not even start my karaoke show until I have at least 4 people signed up. I make plenty of exceptions here.

Never understood that. Why would anyone show up early, if they knew they might have to cool their heels for an hour instead of singing?

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:37 am 
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mckyj57 wrote:
chrisavis wrote:
I will generally not even start my karaoke show until I have at least 4 people signed up. I make plenty of exceptions here.

Never understood that. Why would anyone show up early, if they knew they might have to cool their heels for an hour instead of singing?

Have to agree with this one, if I show up on time to a show that is advertised to start at a specific time, I want to start enjoying the night, not wasting my time supporting the club hoping a few more people sign up in a timely manner. Quite often getting that first singer going will spark others to start getting involved as well. This would make me not want to return.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:00 pm 
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yes getting up a singer can spark others BUT sometimes at venues that have the odd karaoke night but are not specific karaoke venues and on nights like New Years eve and especially in the uk where Most people will sing only after a few drinks , it is often the karaoke fanatics that turn up early, I will get them up but if it is only three people at 7:30 and for the next 3 hrs its the same 3 people singing with no new singer as the rest of them are not drunk enough or have left because they were expecting a Disco karaoke night on new years eve and have had 3 hours of non stop karaoke.

Part of the skill of a KJ is dealing with situations like this that are appropriate for the venue, the night and the audience..In a karaoke forum you will get the opinion from karaoke singers , put this to the general public and non karaoke people and they will moan about the lack of variety even though they wont get up till the last hour.

Once you have established a night as a karaoke night..then things become easy..but at venues where they expect a bit of everything and on nights like new years eve it will be hard to please everyone.

As a singer i often put in a request and have to wait ages in UK pubs as there are so few singers until the last hour when every man woman and dog wants to sing.

Unless we know what that host was asked to do , In the original post ,we wont be able to make a judgement on if he ran his show the right way, the client ie the venue paying him was his customer..if they asked him to run a varied night for New Years Eve and to entertain the majority of the audience or he was asked to do just karaoke..my feeling and guess is that it was a New years eve party with disco and karaoke , this is the most common sort for pubs .

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:36 pm 
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As I noted - I make plenty of exceptions to the start time.

I have actually had very few nights where lack of singers caused a late start. But it has happened. I generally have 6-10 on the list before start time for my show. My goal is to start on time if not a few mins early every show. So I am actively working the crowd before start time to get people signed up. If there is a new person or someone is limited on time, then I start up regardless of how many people are on the list.

How would I know if someone is new or short on time?

I don't use sign-up slips so every singer has to talk to me to get on the list. I use that opportunity to introduce myself, welcome them to the show, thank them for their support, invite them back, ask them how they found out about the show, do they have any friends with them or on the way. It can go on from there. Just depends on how busy things are.

The point is - I get to know the singer, find out what they want, and set expectations.

-Chris

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:43 pm 
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If the show is advertised as "Karaoke", it needs to be karaoke and start on time no matter how many singers, even if it's just the KJ singing. Tossing in a song or two of DJ music while the KJ recruits more singers is ok, but once there are four or more singers there is no reason to not go all karaoke. Starting late is foolish, as mentioned before, many singers wait for someone else to "break the ice" before they get in line.

If the show is advertised as "Karaoke Plus" then pretty much anything goes and it's a show I wouldn't have high expectations for much singing or fair treatment.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:06 pm 
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earthling12357 wrote:
If the show is advertised as "Karaoke", it needs to be karaoke and start on time no matter how many singers, even if it's just the KJ singing. Tossing in a song or two of DJ music while the KJ recruits more singers is ok, but once there are four or more singers there is no reason to not go all karaoke. Starting late is foolish, as mentioned before, many singers wait for someone else to "break the ice" before they get in line.

If the show is advertised as "Karaoke Plus" then pretty much anything goes and it's a show I wouldn't have high expectations for much singing or fair treatment.


I Have to disagree with you there, Earthling. I announce Karaoke at the start time, but nobody wants to hear me sing several songs in a row if no one is signed up yet. It's not a concert for me. I'll play some energetic music and go and talk to people at the tables to encourage sign-ups, but I don't start until I have at least four, including me. Maybe it's on time, but maybe it's an additional 15 minutes or so. I've never had anyone complain.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:34 pm 
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earthling12357 wrote:
If the show is advertised as "Karaoke", it needs to be karaoke and start on time no matter how many singers, even if it's just the KJ singing. Tossing in a song or two of DJ music while the KJ recruits more singers is ok, but once there are four or more singers there is no reason to not go all karaoke. Starting late is foolish, as mentioned before, many singers wait for someone else to "break the ice" before they get in line.

If the show is advertised as "Karaoke Plus" then pretty much anything goes and it's a show I wouldn't have high expectations for much singing or fair treatment.

I agree - especially the start on time part, usually if it's just the host, you can incorporate any crowd to join you sing to break the ice if you aren't finding solo singers but start on time.
I agree with the advertising too, If I am looking for karaoke, I look for that advertisment and that's what I expect. If you plan on doing some regular music at any time during, then simply add Karaoke/DJ or like earthling suggested Karaoke Plus just so a singer knows what to expect.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:29 pm 
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My post was deleted for reasons unknown. There was only my way of handling it posted- nothing derogitory toward anyone...

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:31 pm 
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RE:How do you run your shows?:
There is no right way to do it. You do what works for you and what works for you may not work for the next guy. It largely relies on the bars to an extent as well, the crowd type, the location and even the staff.

I have done Karaoke shows since 1985, I am a Karaoke only biz, never dj, never contests, no breaks at all, 9:30-1:30am, bar closes at 2am. I do not take bribes to be bumped up ever. If they JUST HAFTA SING NEXT, then I will let them simply to avoid the drama that ALWAYS ensues, and THEN TAKE THEM OUT OF THE LINE for the rest of the night. All to often, they will tell me, "we changed our minds, we are not gonna leave... "too bad, soooo sad, but you are not gonna be in the line for the rest of the night, next time don't mislead me. They probably won't come back OR won't do it again. Either way, I deal harshly with Drama queens of both genders. In my experience, if you feed them, they will return. I don't need the drama. I would rather weed them out.

I NEVER SING UNLESS there are less than 5 ppl EVER. 99% of the time I never sing in the rotation at all...That is the BIGGEST complaint that I receive from other patrons about other shows... The Kj sings all night - every 3rd song cause they can - or picks duets all night to sing with the girls/guys - always sings the last song of the night... I simply don't want to be a part of that, so I take myself out of the equation all together, ppl love that. :mrgreen:

I am one to NEVER take breaks. My average show rotation is 15-25 ppl, on the weekends 30-35 easy...and I ONLY play bumper music for as long as it takes the singer to get up to the mic...hopefully, no more than 10-20 seconds. If they are not ready, then I bump them, I DO NOT WAIT FOR THEM. The less filler I play, the more ppl get to sing= the happier they are.

New Years eve fell on my regular Sat gig. I work here 3 nights a week. Wed, Fri & Sat. (I get $250p/n Wed thru Sat & $200 Mon-Tues, SUN OFF) I have played here for 9 years now.
I started Sat (New Years eve) early at 8:45 cause there were already sooo many there. by the time I got the books out , I had 17 sign up and by the time I had typed them all in, I had 25 ppl.. just got worse from there.. lol, ugh. Ended up with a high of 39 ppl by 11:30,... to say the least, I stopped taking requests and put the books up. I ran the rest of the night with those in the rotation only. I was told by the Manager to play a 1/2 hr dance break at midnight. MOST of the crowd wanted nothing to do with it and complained during the 3rd song, so I immediately went back to Karaoke and ran it to the end.

I never charge extra on an event that falls on a regular night.
I will not rock the boat in this day and age of backstabbers and Kj's with 150,000 song libraries on their illegal hard drives. Too many bar owners think that more songs in the computer makes for more customers and more money. NOT always true, you can have a hard drive full of crap music and a lot of them do lol.
I own my discs and only have 30,000+ songs that my customers have hand picked over the years! I do my best to buy every song that the customers ask for if it is available. I never allow a Mgr/owner to tell me how to run my show. I have done this for over 20 years now, I believe I got it figured out. I will hear their input, but They hired me to do my thing, so go away and let me make you money. I can say that only cause I have worked for the same owners for over 10 years now in several different clubs they own, BUT I still have to be careful about rocking the boat.

I can Never think I am all that, I can always be replaced.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:17 am 
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Thanks for all the replys it's made very interesting reading. Just to let you know. The evening was billied as karaoke, well not billed as such with a poster just what we were told. I'd have been ok with the guy adding one song of music inbetween each singer to fill but three or four songs? no way !!!! zzzzzzzzzz. I also agree with not waiting for singers. Sometimes you'll wait all night. Start it yourself, I like to sing, whilst they all liquor up. As soon as you've got a some requests sit back and get as many as possible. We actually just do it for a laugh for the Friday night crowd (locals) who like to sing. Sometimes we get some new people in who once we start end up staying and joining in. I sometimes make them!!!!! Once the ice is broken, we're off !!!!


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:49 am 
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crazyface wrote:
The evening was billied as karaoke, well not billed as such with a poster just what we were told.


That's the problem ..If some one asks is it karaoke the bar staff often say yes. even when its karaoke dj karaoke , Karaoke plus or as we say in the UK karaoke disco.To be fair in the UK i would think that on new years eve most people would know what to expect on New years eve..I have never and i mean never seen a truly complete karaoke only show on new years eve in a general pub in the UK.

as some may know i am well known on the UK karaoke scene, In my area of Manchester on New years eve in a normal boozer and not a known karaoke only venue or established venue doing a Karaoke only night, then on New years eve is would be commercial suicide and would often result in fighting from punters not wanting karaoke all night..the pub culture is very different in certain areas , some obsessed karaoke fans and singers do not see the issue that karaoke haters have. and you are not going to get a real world balanced reply from a karaoke forum.

It does sound to me as your a guy doing it for free on a friday and were miffed that someone was booked for New years eve and then started to pick fault in the way he did his show ..was it empty? , were people dancing ? if he was so poor then surely all the karaoke singers left? or is this more a case of sour grapes ?

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:13 am 
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earthling12357 wrote:
If the show is advertised as "Karaoke", it needs to be karaoke and start on time no matter how many singers, even if it's just the KJ singing. Tossing in a song or two of DJ music while the KJ recruits more singers is ok, but once there are four or more singers there is no reason to not go all karaoke. Starting late is foolish, as mentioned before, many singers wait for someone else to "break the ice" before they get in line.


I agree 100% with earthling and run my shows the exact same way. If no one is singing, I sing to get the ball rolling and have no problem doing so. I specialize in "Karaoke"...not "A little karaoke with a bunch of dance music in between".


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 10:31 am 
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It should be obvious that everyone has their own style.

In my case, I leverage my experience as a public speaker to help me out. For me it really boils down to one single thing -

"Know your Audience/Customer"

-Chris

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:42 am 
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Hello all.
I've been reading this forum for several months now but just recently registered. This is my second post.

For me, it's all about the singers now. I try to get singing started asap, even if it is just one person. If I can get one person up to sing, then that makes 2 singers in rotation (incuding myself). Once the ball gets rolling and I have at least 5 singers in rotation, I take myself out of the rotation. I play as little filler music as possible and try to encourage others to participate in the singing as well. I have noticed that since I started doing it this way, my shows have become much more popular.

When I first started doing karaoke 2 years ago, I tried to cater to singers and dancers. I would play a lot of dance music and let people dance quite a bit between singers. As the weeks went by, I noticed I had less and less singers coming to my shows which caused the venues to eventually let me go. I never understood why my shows always seemed to start off right, but then die as the weeks went by. I now completely know the reason why.

So I strictly cater to singers now and the result is major success for me. I host karaoke 3 nights a week at 3 different venues. I am so glad I finally "woke up" and got it right. When people come up to me now and request dance songs, I simply tell them we have a live dj for dance music on xxx night. You're welcome to come back then for a night of dancing, but for now, I'll be glad to sign you up to sing.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:16 pm 
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That is fair enough Vince but the original post was about a new years eve night in a UK pub..

I agree with karaoke only nights and karaoke only venues but pub culture and a new years eve party in the average UK pub are very different to a US karaoke bar..seriously you would get lynched if you tried hosting just karaoke on a new years party in a average UK pub on new years eve.

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