Karaoke Forums

Frankly I do not get it. I met a Kdj at a New York City hot spot. The place is jumping with a lot of energy.
When I was told a new venue with the same Karaoke dj I assumed she/he would strive to create another high energy establishment.
So a new restaurant is opened with a stage and expensive sound system.
Sadly when a singer steps on the stage to sing he can not hear himself. The speakers near the stage are behind the singer and located near the ceiling. Though there are numerous video monitors throughout the location, the one they chose for karaoke is behind the stage. Duh was my reaction.
Why in the world would you force a singer to turn his back on the crowd I wondered.
So I suggested a portable monitor placed on a stand on the stage. Thus the singer can now face the crowd. So far so good. Only the expensive sound system is not geared for the singer to hear themselves. Another duh, If the singer can not hear the music then even the good k singers can not sing in tune. So naturally I suggested a speaker for the stage. A monitor. I suggest give me the model number of the amp I will match up the speaker. The Dj replies oh that is great I want to create the best experience for my singers.
A month goes by no information is forth coming about the amp.
So I inquire the Karaoke dj explains they are not trying to make the spot a high energy night spot. Just something extra for the crowd to explore? Huh?
You spent a ton of money for the computer, karaoke tracks sound system and stage and you are striving for just another karaoke night spot no better than any other.
So I start asking around see my previous post Karaoke on the decline? It does appear putting forth a lot of expense and energy building a karaoke night will not bring much of a profit in return.
Your thoughts please

I really don't think "everybody" is energized by karaoke, that's #1, only the karaoke crowd. My lady friend and I a few years ago, got a KJ to come in and do a show at a Golf Course in their clubhouse, we were only beginning, had all the equipment, but never put on a show, and we thought a friend of ours who had a big following would lure business, also we had an Elvis impersonator very popular in our area come in. He brought about 25 people, but the comments I heard outside when we went for a smoke or fresh air, were like this "if I had known it was a karaoke show, I wouldn't have come". When he did his act and left most of the 25 he brought with him left also, they were used to live band music and of course singers who could sing. If you get a couple bad singers "they", the listening crowd will stop coming, a couple drunks having a good time thinking they are better than Elvis, and we all have seen them or the Frank Sinatra types with about 6 or 7 martini's under their belt and you know what happens. I have seen some karaoke singers go someplace else too while a particular singer is singing, bathroom, smoke break, or just go outside for 5 minutes. The other draw back is singers who can sing but if the crowd is too big, he may only go up to the mic maybe 2 times in the entire night, we all know that does happen. Live music with a half hour of open mic brings much bigger crowds and faithful patrons, not that the karaoke faithful don't follow their favorite KJ's from venue to venue. I too have had a bad experience with no stage monitor and like you said you couldn't hear the music and I am one who follows the music and rarely look's at the screen, but I've been singing with live bands and you had to know not only the words of a song but the music too for Que notes to go in and out of a song for the interludes. Oh, and the golf course tried it a couple weeks, maybe 3 and decided on the live band, just couldn't draw the Karaoke crowd on Sunday afternoons. They didn't sell enough food or bar tabs to pay the KJ, they paid them, but from profits, not from the few that showed up.

I have a long-established bi-weekly gig that's very high energy. Back from November 2013-the end of January 2014 one of my long time patrons who had opened a bar asked me to do karaoke for him. He thought my same high energy show would translate to his bar. It didn't, and after I quit, I told him exactly why:

1) They would not let me use the projector screen behind the singers, and all other TVs were on the other side of the bar. I had a monitor for the singer, no problem, but I do a lot of video and animation during my filler, which is a big part of my show. On the 2nd day, I set up on the other side of the bar so I could use one of their TVs, and the management got pissed, and told me to set up on the other side with the projector screen that I wasn't allowed to use. One of the major connections between my show and the crowd was lost.

2) The place where they insisted I set up faced out over the dance floor, but all of the patrons generally hung out 90 degrees from my setup directly to my right. I was able to set up so the singers faced the crowd, but there was not an option for me to face the crowd. They were always to my right, so the connection between me and the crowd was lost.

3) Again, due to where they set me up, my speakers would have been behind the singer in a traditional setup, leading to feedback problems. To correct this, I placed the speakers in a stack to the right side of the stage, with one speakers facing straight out to the dance floor and one facing to my right where all the patrons tended to gather. Practically, this worked pretty well, but it did reduce the sonic quality of my system from what I was used to.

4) The reason I couldn't set the speakers up on stands on the floor ahead of the singer was that the bar set up cornhole boards on the dancefloor during my show. That meant that anyone who threw PAST their board was tossing cornhole sacks at the feet of my singers. I asked the management if we could at least cut those cornhole boards off once the bar started getting busier later, and received a look like I had just stolen from the register. It was a bit ridiculous.

So, after all that, I actually tried to quit the show at the end of December, saying it wasn't working for me, and the management offered me a raise to stay, so I told them I'd give them two more months (they were wayyyyy overpaying me!). Same thing at the end of the two months, I quit for good despite them going crazy that they wanted me to stay.

Point being, some KJs take for granted some of the factors the venue and bar owner bring to a good show. It's not all us! So many things factor in. So many KJs also take on shows that they KNOW deep down are doomed to fail, then seem surprised and angered when they fail. It's definitely not ALL the KJ. There's tons of KJs on this board that are perfectly successful at their venues, but you wouldn't be able to handle the animals at my venue. Likewise, I kick azz at my venue, but I wouldn't last more than a month at many of your venues. SOOOO much goes into the right situation, and you often don't recognize that it is working or not working when you are the one on the front line. NO KJ can control all the variables that go into a good show, sometimes you just get lucky!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Everyone can be energized if it's a good rockin' night. We have couples sit in the bar all the time that would never sing, but are equally entertained just to watch.

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