Karaoke Forums

This past week, I had the pleasure of meeting SwingCat Kurt in Portland for a couple of nights of Karaoke. He is a great guy, knows the Portland Karaoke scene and occasionally hosts at a local venue.

On Wednesday, I met Kurt at his place where we did a bit of karaoke at Club Kurt. He has his basement geared out for "Homeoke" (as I like to call it) and a substantial collection of physical discs to select from. After loosening up the chops a little bit we hit the road and he guided us over to Duff's Garage - http://www.duffsgarage.com - where we took in some local blues bands jamming out. This is a fantastic venue and had quite a large group of locals there dancing and enjoying the local blues artists. Even if you don't listen to blues regularly, you will be able to appreciate the folks that play there.

After an hour or so of blues, Kurt swung us by the Grand Cafe which is nestled on the fringes of the industrial district on Portland's southeast side. Don't let the name fool you. This is NOT a cafe. It is two clubs in one with a basic seating and dance floor area on the main level and a wonderfully seedy and dark dance floor area downstairs at the Cha-Cha Club. Kurt hosts here occasionally and I would love the chance to sing at this place. There is something oddly appealing about doing karaoke in a poorly lit basement where you also find salsa dancers gyrating around the dance floor. I am going to make a point of visiting the Grand Cafe on a weekend.

We then decided to head over to another club to wrap up the night but on the way, he drove us by Chopsticks and another club with a name one of my jaeger bombs made me forget.

We wrapped up the night at The Amabassador - http://www.ambassadorkaraoke.com/main.htm - where with just a couple of glaring exceptions, it is a very nice karaoke club. The Ambassador is actually two karaoke clubs in one with the main karaoke being in the bar area and a separate enclosed area that is used for family karaoke. That area was closed for the night when we arrived. We sat ourselves in a booth near the bar and received prompt service. Being a Wednesday night, the attendance was light, but with enough folks to add variety. The bar has been remodeled with lots of ambient, colorful lighting, speakers along the walls so you can hear karaoke regardless of where you are seated, and a good sized dance floor if you decide to shake your money-maker.

The downside to karaoke here is the kiosk system they use. I have to admit that I have never used a kiosk system, but I tried to keep an open mind. That lasted all of 15 seconds when I was forced to use a keyboard that was permanently mounted in place at near knee level and was so poorly lit that only the most skilled of nocturnal hobbit sized touch typers could have successfully used it. I found the whole experience very impersonal as I was immediately removed from any interaction with the karaoke host from the moment I stepped into the cramped kiosk area. As a long time singer that travels for a living, I like to get to know a little about the hosts I meet. That wasn't really an option here with the layout provided. Some hosts may like it this way but I prefer being able to converse directly with the host when going to shows. Whether to talk a little shop, thank them for hosting or just speak directly to the host to submit my selection, I like the personal interaction. I guess that is what I get for being human.

Back to the kiosk itself.....I was then forced into creating an account and supplying a password (that had to be entered everytime I wanted to put in another song). The kiosk booth is directly off stage right and I can imagine it being a tremendous distraction for singers on busy nights with a traffic jam of people trying to make their way in and out of the booth.

The rotation was short so we both were able to squeeze in 3 (or was it 4?) songs before calling it a night. The service was good and the place has a good feel to it. Short of the kiosk experience, I bet it is a great place for karaoke on the weekends.

On Thursday, Kurt picked me up at my hotel with a plan of heading over to see Big Mike - http://bigmikesentertainment.com/index-home.html - at Mister B's in Troutdale and then coming back to downtown Portland for Karaoke from Hell - http://karaokefromhell.com - for some live band karaoke.

Let me stop here for a moment to say - we never made it to Karaoke From Hell. I had a great time at Mister B's which I absolutely did not expect.

Mister B's is located smack dab in a very large truck stop hub. That alone made me very skeptical. Not to mention that there were only a half dozen people in the bar when we walked in - and this included us, the bartender and the the host. But very quickly, a small group of people celebrating a birthday and a few others showed up before show time and that turned things into a real karaoke show in a matter of minutes.

Mister B's has a very large, well lit stage with a big screen to one side behind the singers that displays lyrics to the audience and the karaoke host station to stage left. Wait....I take that back.....it is less of a karaoke station and more of a karaoke management station. Big Mike has a full size office desk on stage where he can casually sit and manage the show. Singers can come check out the menu and submit multiple songs on a single song slip which he manages with CompuHost.

Big Mike is a Sound Choice and Chartbuster certified KJ and he makes sure people know by clearly displaying his certificates on the inside cover of his very nicely printed karaoke menus. Kurt had made arrangements beforehand to do an interview for a local karaoke entertainment magazine so Mike had also brought it his immaculately organized collection of karaoke discs including a coveted SC8125 "Eagles" disc.

Big Mike is very personable and was happy to discuss the state of the karaoke industry, provide some advise from his (7?) years of hosting, and offer up his contact information to stay in touch. He also runs a tight, efficient, good sounding show. Big Mike makes all the difference at this show and dissolves all preconceived judements you might walk in with about a truck stop karaoke show. I highly recommend you check out his gig if you get a chance.

Because we had such a great time singing and chatting with Big Mike, we never made it over to Karaoke From Hell, so that one will have to wait until a later time.

If you get a chance to come to Portland, touch base with Kurt beforehand and he will make sure you find some great karaoke while you are in town!

-Chris

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-Chris

I don't think i'd ever go to a strictly based kiosk system for the exact reasons you described, plus I personally as a singer like to peruse through a book at my own pace so will always offer books.
But I am working on adding one station for those who would like to use one. If it's the same system I was able to demo, the password is only for if you want to store your song history, it does not have to be used. Plus i'll have it set to where you need to still fill out a slip to bring to the host.

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

I have used the kiosk at the Ambassador, and it is a terrible, custom-written system. Most kiosk systems are much better.

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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.

User Experience is king when it comes to apps of any kind. I imagine some kiosks have a great experience. This was not one.

Like Lonman, I don't want to feel pressured to find a song quickly so I can keep the line moving. I like books. And I like the intereaction with the KJ.

Personally, I see kiosks as a bit of a threat to KJ's. Just a step away from automating the whole process and eliminating the KJ all together. Next thing you know, we have a Stephen Hawking voxbox announcing singers and a computer doing all the queuing.

-Chris

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-Chris

thats already been done as well, look at 7bamboo.
he is able to sit at the door and check id's letting the computer and super compressors do the karaoke work.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

I will Never switch to a kiosk system. I like the interaction with my singers and they all know me even when they see me in town. I've been doing this since '96 and aside from switching to computers in 06-07, I have always done my show the same.

• Dance/Stage Lights
• Professional Mics
• Organized Selection of music
• and customer service Skills (Your Customers are your Pay. Treat them well)

Just My Two Cents Worth.

=)

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Sal "Kjmann" Esquivel
Karaoke With Sal - Website

I would never switch, but am planning in addition to books. Again this kiosk will be set for people to still fill out a slip to bring up instead of just sending the host an anonymous request which I don't like - it does take the interaction out I agree.
I had a chance to beta test a phone app that allows the singer to send their request through their phone, I quickly declined that. I want people to come up to me and hand me a slip or at the very least tell me their next song.

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

i think any method can lose the personal touch if we allow it to. the kisok can be a nice addition, but i am currently with Lon in that i do not think i could go strictly kiosk for this reason until i really get a grip on how to keep the same personal interaction while using it.

back to the op,
sounds like you had a great time, one of these days i will be able to break away for a vacation of my own to finally get to see some of the people on the board.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

I know it really looks like that can be the case, but really -- a kiosk doesn't mean death to interaction. We run a kiosk only, and I speak to all of the singers, and generally several times during the night. The decision to interact is really up to the host, and any good host will make sure that a kiosk enhances their show -- and doesn't take anything away from interaction.

You can have a host with slips that doesn't ever talk to the singers other than to call them up to sing.

I have a feeling none of you would run a show like that, for any reason.

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Birdofsong

you know bird, this would be a good spot to let everyone know how. it does seem that it would take away by having anonymous people putting songs in via a remote computer and you never see them.
how do you keep in touch with the anonymous singers?
not in a snippy way, asking for real information.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

If you're walking around the bar talking to people, then nobody is anonymous. Plus, when they come up to sing their first song, you get the introduction. Just because someone hands you a slip doesn't mean you necessarily have time to have a real conversation with them, in any event. Also, people come up to me and ask questions all the time..."How long is the rotation?" "What is the best version to sing?" "So and so is having a birthday...could you play happy birthday for them?" Etc.... It would take real effort NOT to have interaction with the people in the bar. If you're friendly and outgoing, people will get to know you. Even the newbies.

Besides -- our kiosk is very close to the system. I can make eye contact with whoever is putting in a song, so when I see a song come in, I can look and see what the person looks like that is putting in the song. That way, if there's a problem with what they chose, such as someone else is singing it right before them, then I can go right up to them and talk to them about it. They're usually surprised I know their name.

Also, when someone new comes in, and they've never seen the kiosk and doesn't know it's there, they will come up to me and ask if we have books. It gives me an opportunity to say hello, and explain the kiosk. I hardly ever have to give anyone a tutorial, because it is so easy and user friendly.

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Birdofsong

Having grown up in an age where computers and other technologies have reduced the interaction between people to pokes, tweets and looking at what gets written on a virtual wall, I am hesitant to adopt any technologies that further reduces face-to-face interaction.

The only upside I see to kiosks are long term savings against the cost or printing and maintaining song books. Now this can potentially be a significant savings so I absolutely see the appeal from a numbers perspective. I just prefer the human interaction.

I might think differently if there was a major shift in the industry to go toward kiosks, but in all the years I have been doing karaoke that was the first and only kiosk system I have run across. First impressions set a bar. This first impression did not impress.

-Chris

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-Chris

I'm planning on Putting a Cheap Laptop in my place for people to search/browse my song list, but they will still have to bring me their song requests Personally.

=)

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Sal "Kjmann" Esquivel
Karaoke With Sal - Website

I am looking into doing a laptop/mobile app for song searches but not for song submission.

-Chris

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-Chris

thanks bird.
Chrisavis, i agree for now, i wold like to put out a kisok but still want a slip until i get used to it. like i used to still use my corkboard for my slips to keep rotation after i got pc, just until i got used to the comp.
i wonder, as most of us mentioned in a previous thread about not allowing repeat songs in a night to keep the d!ck waving to a minimum, can any of the kiosks be set to lock out a song once it has been programmed? could be a neat addition.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

As a user of the system at the Ambassador----its too cramped, dark, keyboard too low.....more annoying than anything.

I want to have a book to take back to my table to dig around in at my leisure throughout the evening. Thats hafl the fun of karoake---is digging in the books....I come across stuff I would ordinarily have forgotten or decide to give it a try on spur of the moment. Too tedious on puter to do that...and cant have the puter or lappy at your table to do that....and i certainly dont want to try doing that on an Droid or Ipad......just too tedious.....give me the book anytime!!

Also dont want to log in my entree to a que on a puter....that feature is helpful to see where peopel are in the quue.....but more effective is the scroll on some KJ's tv screens that tells what the rotation is and whos up next....much more effective than a puter screen hidden is some corner. Again not conveint and too tedious.

And as far as upkeep....keyboards get nasty, stuff gets spilled on them, screens need to be cleaned, electronics or interface wiring can fail causing entire system to be unusable. Again would rather the dependability of plain old songbook and song slips. Thats what Im used to and thats what I want.

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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

If it's the RIGHT Kiosk, the first impression could be (and usually is where we do shows) "Hey! This is so cool! I've never seen this before. No other bar has this. Wow!"

I've heard it time and time again WHEN I'M INTERACTING WITH MY CUSTOMERS.

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Birdofsong

Still dont want to get up from my table, go deal with yet ANOTHER computer(train myself or have KJ train me on how to use it...as there is a training period with ANY computer your not familiar with). Cool as any software may be, the novelty would wear off soon enough and again just prefer having a book at my table instead of waiting in line to scroll through a huge puter screen to find a song. Rather dig in a book at my own ease and convienice while sipping my drink or having another bite of my bar snack(ie my hot & sour soup and springrolls at the Ambasador).

You can call me narrow-minded, stubborn, set in my ways....but a book at my table is what I want...not waiting in line behind a couple other people to get on a puter terminal while the ice in my drink melts and the food I ordered gets cold.

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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

How long does it take you to learn to use an unfamiliar ATM or a Redbox or an internet Jukebox?

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KNOW THYSELF

This is my feeling exactly. I enjoy looking through the books at my own pace and seeing what a kj has. I may not remember a song or artist unless I saw it so that song may never get sung. So I wouldn't think to look it up in a kiosk but may see it in print and think "Oh Yeah"! To me I think it would be a nice addition but I would never want to replace books with them.

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