Karaoke Forums

So the pirate host that I have been complaining about has managed to do it again. He got a gig at the EXACT same place I did two years ago that said they would NEVER have karaoke again.

Last night *Tuesday* was his opening night there. The bar was absolutely JAM PACKED with people there must have been about 20 singers, and even more non singers.

On my opening night, there were a whopping total of three people that showed up, not including the 3 girls who showed up just as I was packing the last of my gear into the car.

There were at least 10 people whom I knew personally, and had invited every single one of them several times, several I even offered to buy the first drink *and these people almost never turn down free booze* and not a single one of them showed up to my gig saying "that place sucks, we just don't like it there"

I ran a perfect show when I was hosting. I don't skip people, I don't put people up 3 times in one rotation *not a group singer, this guy actually sang three times by himself* and I didn't spend 3 minutes talking instead of trying to cue up a singer's song.

And I paid for all my music. I just makes me sooo frickin' mad.

I guess it all boils down to personality.. He knows how to attract people.

ok rant over.. thanks for letting me vent

-James

Bingo. You hit the nail on the head right there.

That has been the key to my success. People come to my show because they like ME a lot.

You can run a technically perfect show, but if you don't have people skills or something about YOU that people just really like, it will be hard building a consistent weekly show. My girlfriend taught me this years ago before I started hosting. I took her advice. I wear nice clothes at my shows and have a very good looking presence -AND- I always have on very good smelling cologne. One of the biggest highlights for the women who are regulars at my shows is to greet me with a hug when they first get there. All night long I hear, "Ooooh you smell so good!!!"

Yeah, sounds like a little thing, right?

Those little things add up to people coming back, week after week.

See, JClaydon, if you take a shower and dowse yourself in cologne they will come!!! !!

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

It is almost impossible to tell why a show is successful or not. Sometimes it's the hosts fault sometimes it's the venues, sometimes it's both. All a host can do is stick to the basics and do the best you can. I guess I have been fortunate whatever I'm doing seems to work, as long as I'm able to run the entertainment end of it myself. I think the most important thing is to figure out your target market and focus on it. I do basically a Golden Oldies show geared to family entertainment for baby boomers, and I have always had plenty of work. This type of show doesn't appeal to everyone but it has meant steady employment for me over the years. That and a reputation for square dealing .

That's what I do and they like me too I think you are on to something.

Last week, one of my venue owners reserved nearly all of the seats in her venue for a private party. My regulars, turned up and had no-where to sit so they left - dispersing into the night for their karaoke fix.

Most (about eight) of them chose to go to the venue with the 'miserable host' (their words), because he is fast and fair and the sound is okay.

Five stayed and draped themselves around the pool table.

One decided to have a couple of drinks nearby, and didn't find a karaoke.

Two went to a show similar to mine, in a different town and had a brilliant night.

Three went to a quiet show, with poor sound and left early.

No-one went to the show with the 'personality host' who doesn't run a fair rotation.

No-one went to show with 'rude host'

Sometimes it's just luck that shows are busy. Different customers look for different things. 2 years is a long time, all sorts of influences could occur in that time period.

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'A genius is one who can do anything except make a living'. Joey Adams.

Ya now that I think about it, he prolly got some help from the fact that since the big flood, there hasn't been any karaoke anywhere in town for the last month or so prior to this gig.

I probably should have been talking to the owner as soon as we were allowed back into the town. I guess what i really need to do if i wanted to start hosting again is find someone with really good people skills and let them do all the promoting etc.

It's just really frustrating to be so good at one aspect of something but to still completely fail because of a lack of other skills.

but i guess that's life sometimes.

thanks everyone, I do feel better now at least

-James

It can be frustrating, especially when there seems to be a success at first. I know of one host who is really good at landing shows but not so good at keeping them long term. The confidence and charm that land the job and attract people at first eventually manifest as big ego and people get put off by too much host singing and not enough updating of the library.

We tried to get a start in another town once and the two established hosts mobilized their key followers into a campaign against us. We started out with such a favorable response that we had another night added and then suddenly went to nothing while people badmouthed us, called their friends traitors if they came, tore up our flyers, etc. The final blow was one venue offering free drinks every week (it was a casino so they can subsidize that kind of thing for a while.) But after we were gone, one of the hosts in question lost one of his two shows and ended up retiring from the other soon after. We were told the second show had become a ghost town and was booted to a week night for a DJ. So you never know.

It is hard not to get obsessed with what the other people are doing but as you say, you are analyzing it and thinking of how to improve for the future. But I can identify with wanting to rant.

Good one, Smooth! I think another important factor should be added. You heard the expression “clothes make the man” (or woman). As the host you want to look presentable & if you don’t dress the part, the showering & smelling good wouldn’t count very much. Depending on the venue of course, look presentable. I don’t dress to impress, but I do enjoy looking impressive.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

Depends on the venue if I wear a suit or fun hawaian DJ shirt.....but always wear nice slacks, sharp shoes and plenty of aftershave!! Always look sharp regardless....as you can see by my avatar pic. Just like you see BRIAN in his pic.

But clothing only takes you so far.

The key thing is personality and customer service skills. If you can't welcome your crowd and serve them with a smile, you won't prosper no matter what the venue. It's all about person to person, one on one relationships with your clients and customers.

And your personality has to set and create and carry the party atmosphere of the show. And that does NOT MEAN the KJ getting up and singing all the time and trying to BE THE SHOW. Gotta make the singers feel special and the center of attention and get the non singing crowd involved as part of the show!!

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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

I dress to the venue/crowd. Learned long ago that out-dressing them can be just as bad as dressing too far down.

I wear cologne almost every single day. My mother told me once when I was very young - "Everyone likes when a man smells nice instead of like a dog. But keep this in mind - cologne should be detected, not announced."

-Chris

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-Chris

Funny you should say that. I know of a KJ in my area who reeks of cologne. I swear, he must fill his entire Bathtub with the stuff and bathe in it. You can smell him as he soon as he walks into a room.

What makes a show successful?

1 - Part Talent
1 - Part Music
1 - Part Equipment
3 - Parts Location
3 - Parts Bar
5 - Parts Luck

Shaken...and a dash of Voodoo.

If you personally have a lot of friends who enjoy laraoke then you will more than likely have a successful show. If you're pretty much a loner who doesn't have the gift of gab, you will probably always struggle when it comes to building a successful show from a dead start. Bar owners are always looking for someone with a consistent following that will pay for the karaoke show from DAY ONE. I hate to be the one to say it but EVERY KJ thinks that they run a great show. Many of them are wrong.

That could be true. I was just repeating what everyone else has told me, but then again most of the feedback I got was when I was filling in for someone else or when I was co-hosting at someone else's show.

Actually....if you have a lot of friends that spend money, you will likely have a successful show. I have seen a number of shows where the host was uber popular, brought a crew of 15+ in every night, but they all drank water/soda and ate free pop corn. Those people consume seats as well as slots in the rotation and don't do anything at all except make the place look full and busy when in fact the place is bleeding money.

I honestly have nothing against water drinkers as a rule until you get a herd of them. When they travel in packs, they are a death sentence to any karaoke show.

-Chris

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-Chris

There is a remedy for that. Charge $2.75/bottle of water, and $2.00 for a glass of soda. Either the people will start drinking, or they will make room for those who do.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I have to say you two are both right. Looking busy is an important step towards being profitable. People want to be where people are having fun, the more people, generally speaking, the more fun. The trick is to have the water drinking crowd disappear at the same time the spenders show up.

Being from the same area as Smooth, you have to discourage the water drinkers by charging them for something, and over time they will cease to come. Refusing to play their CD's is another way to solve that problem.

Let me clear the phrase "water drinkers" up a little. It is not directed at water drinkers that chose not to drink alcohol or soda, and drink water with their meal or other items that they purchase while at the venue. The negative definition refers to those that drink only water and purchase NOTHING while expecting to partake in the entertainment.

One place, The Handlebar, up in Mount Sinai NY, (Which is long gone, now.), had a policy that if you drank nothing but free you didn't get to sing. You had to buy something to sing.



BTW, if the Handlebar sounds familiar, it was on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares, although when Gordon Ramsey went there it was under different ownership from when I used to hang out there. Used to be a REALLY nice place with EXCELLENT food.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I'm gonna sound like a bad guy, but facts are facts. Just because a pirate is a lowlife thief doesn't mean he's a bad host. He out marketed you and apparently ran a more attractive show.

This is why I always say: Screw who's a pirate or legal undercutter- rev up your own skills.

I deal with undercutters and pirates and PC hosts with WAY more songs than I- and, after decades, win every time. This includes a high pay rate for my area. Consentrate on YOUR presentation, perfect it, and you will do the same.

Of course, part of this means picking and choosing your venues to match your personality. It's a partnership.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."