Karaoke Forums

Ever go to a show and the KJ was just VERY IRRITATING and ANNOYING?? What did they do to be that way?

Here's my list:

They sang too much(The so-and-so "experience")

Talk so fast or strangly you cant understand them

Use applause sound effects

Play favorites with the rotation

Spends the evening flirting with his GF instead of paying attention to the sound mix

Excessive dead air time length between songs

Nasty filthy worn out songbooks

Personality like a block of wood

All of these things grate on my nerves and can just really ruin a night out. Wont go back to a place with any of this stuff.

Your experiences??

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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

We have a new KJ on Friday's.  Often his between song chatter reminds me too much of a bad Morning Zoo radio guy.  It's not all that funny really, just kind of annoying.  If the crowd isn't responding the way he likes, he'll jokingly insult them or say "well I don't give a damm, I'm getting paid anyway".  Plus, he's not all that great with mixing the audio.  Sometimes it's the karaoke track that's too loud and not the singer that's being too soft.

Had a Kj who expressed obvious disaproval of some song choices, if they were not the kind of music he liked.

He drove at least a couple of the best singers in town away from the bar for that reason. Those two are just the ones that have admitted it publicly to me, how many more did he drive away. It was not just that the songs were not the "genre" of the bar (roc-pop) but it was specific artists, and even some songs by artists he "approved of".


Going away for cigarette breaks for 10 minutes in the middle of the show and just running filler music for the time was another "bad" trait of a local KJ (2 or 3 times a night). His advertising line was "Karaoke that does not suck" well his show did.

Broken equipment is a big no-no. One working speaker for 4-6 weeks in a row is bad (on a single night it can happen to the best... but not fixing things is bad).

KJs who do not mantain crowd control, and let a drunk try to sing along with every person's turn.

Kjs who just forget the rotation and skip people, it happens to all sometimes, but some make a habit of it.

Oh man, after I wrote this, I realized I should probably just stay home!

KJ's who think they are radio DJs and spend far too much time talking just to hear their own voices.

KJ's who have NO idea how to help someone who needs help when they ask. (Part of our job, I believe, is familiarity with most music, again to involve singers who have little or no self-confidence).

KJ's who walk away from the board before the singer has even started singing - how in the heck do you know what's going to come out of the speakers if you do that? Or worse yet, KJ's who have NO idea how to mix sound at all.

KJ's who are threatened by a good singer - I have sung professionally for years and know how to mix sound - if I ask for less effects (to avoid sounding like I'm singing in a 50-gallon drum or at the bottom of a well) or to have the mic volume adjusted, they do it to extreme just to show me "who's boss."

KJ's who go too far with all the esoteric jokes when they have a room full of singers who are new to the joint.

KJ's who make NO attempt to introduce themselves, ask where we usually sing, what kind of music we enjoy singing, etc.  Don't treat unfamiliar singers like lepers - for goodness sakes, make them feel welcome enough that they'll come back! I went to a place one night, the KJ screwed around with music/vocal volume every time I got up to sing, ignored me other than that, and at the end of the night walked up with a stupid grin on her face and said to me, "I sure hope you'll come back and sing here again." I said, "Now, why would I want to do that???"  

Of course the obvious, a KJ that sings too much - once I get 5 people in the rotation, I drop out, or only sing if someone asks me to. Nothing worse than watching peoples' faces when there is a long rotation and the KJ continues to involve himself/herself. Guys seem to be worse for this. Add insult to injury, a song that is totally inapprorpiate for the crowd...

Ok, going to stop now.  :oops:  Too easy to get me going on this subject apparently....

Drunken KJs, I mean three sheets to the wind, fall down puking drunk.
KJs who don't know how to use the mixing board, and it's either flat oor sounds like you are singing in a cardboard box.
KJs who dress like Elvis and think they are.
Canned applause
KJs who prominently display tip jar and make appeals to fill same.
KJs who talk over your performance
KJs who try and use homemade stuff in  a commercial setting like cheap car 6X9 speakers in cigar boxes for monitors, or even a total lack of a monitor.
KJs who use a B&W TV, ever try to follow words on one?
KJs who plead for drinks (see first line)
KJs who look like they need a bath and a hair cut (really, you'd be surprised)
KJs who "showcase" a friend who cannot sing anymore and is so infirm, he needs the help of attendants to get on stage. This was in a place (Supper Club) that had the stage behind the horseshoe shaped  bar and it had seven steps to climb. Proof that being Italian doesn't mean you should or could sing frank Sinatra.
KJs that have arguements with their spouse during the show.
KJs who are late.

All the above, plus, a KJ that mutes the mic until the music ramps up, and again the instant the music fades..

God forbid the singer could say "Hello" or "Thank You"..

 Or even worse plays fill music until 1 second before song starts If Im in a strange bar I wont even start singing. Ill just say to the KJ HEY Could I get  a mic check please? Then I will ask them real, nice dont do that me But novices get imtimidated when I get on the mic. Then after while they realize that im not a hot dog or want to take over their show.

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KJs who will not do a key change, or cannot.

KJs who won't play your disk, but also don't tell you what version is in their book.

Good point mckyj... I like to use my own backing CD's mostly due to the horrid surprises of some of the CDGs I have come across...  Would be nice if the song books would state which manufacturer was associated with each version.  I chose a song the other day with a prefix of LG in the song code, and I assure you I will NEVER choose a song with that prefix again!   If a KJ is going to insist that a singer uses only the CDGs supplied (and it is their right to do so), the least I would expect is that they have a decent version of the song!

Karyoker has a good point too!  I've lost count of the number of times I've had to ask a KJ to restart a song because he was playing filler music during the song intro so that I could not pick up the music cues!

Murrlyn, good point about filler music. Those that go a lot to sing start recognizing prefixes on song numbers if the use the CDG company part number. Of course that gets thrown out the window if the KJ has his own numbering system in place. I hate that. One KJ I know had several versions of the same song listed under the companies numbers, but the best versions in his opinion always were listed first, and he was usually right.

KJs whos books don't correlate with the songs on their harddrive....Pick a particular version out of their book (say Sound Choice) and the only version they actually have on their hardrive is something other than what is listed in their book...this has happened too too often. What are they doing...borrowing some other kjs books?  

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

Sorry to say I have found some of my numbers on my hard drive to be wrong. Once I figure out the correction I change the books. Believe me it is as frustrating to me is it is to you. I only know the number is wrong when it happens. Granted this has only happened once or twice in several years.

I can't fix the problem on the spot. I have to wait until I get home. It is embarrassing and frustrating. I'm not even sure how it happens in the first place because I am so careful. The last thing I want to have to do is go through all my books and change numbers or worse reprint them all.

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In response to Babs: I've had that problem with KJ pro.... I had a disc with 17 songs, but the cd sleeve showed 18 (there was a mis-number) and that was what was listed in KJ pro.... really no way to know it's there until you're faced with it.

Now, to the original post:
I've been to a "Karaoke Show" where the KJ & one other person got to sing, even though several other people had put up slips.... that guy later joined a band, but I wouldn't even go to his band shows

I get annoyed at the computerized shows where they either don't have a book to look through ( I like to glance through & hope to find a song I haven't done but would like to) Or, like the other night, I look through the book, the guy doesn't have any of the songs I wanted to sing, I ask if I he would use my discs and he said "just write the songs down, I may have them" Would have saved me alot of trips to his booth if his book said that... ... But he was a very nice guy, with great sounding equipment and ran a great show....

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To maybe clarify my post. I would pick a song - say Wicked Game, the Sound Choice version, out of the song book, fill out a slip with the song name and song number listed in the songbook and turn it in only to find out he doesn't have the Sound Choice version at all and instead pulls up a Pioneer version of Wicked game.
My question is if he has the Sound Choice version in his songbook with a number assigned---where is the Sound Choice version?

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

That's a good question... my best guess would be that he had the disc at one time, but for some reason, no longer has it and just hasn't updated his books.

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I think what 'possibly' may happen here is if they are using computer, they just do a search for the song & pick whatever comes up?  May not be the case but a possibility.  Or like said may have had it at one time & hasn't updated books.

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My book lists all mfgs.. So it's just the lazy factor..

And fish is another we eat before birth and after death..