Karaoke Forums

hello all,
I am a student at cal state fullerton and am doing an essay on karaoke. this particular essay requires that i conduct interviews and experience what i am writing about. if anyone on here could help me out with a few questions i would be very greatful. note:please feel free to answer any or all questions.

general questions
#1. how long have you been participating in karaoke? what got you started?

#2. would you rather sing in private rooms, to a large audience, some other misc place (taxi cabs in japan )? why?

#3. what aspect of performance do you enjoy watching someone else sing? why?

#4. what traits bother you about others performance? why?

"special" questions

#1. there are many times in peoples life when they come of their shell, for some its a public speaking class in high school, others may find themselves in a theatre production. has anyone been honestly changed by karaoke? what was the experience like. please email me your stories if you dont feel like sharing on the forums.

#2. many people abuse alcohal and drugs or even coffee for that matter. has anyone been affected in a bad way by karaoke. for example, not coming home to see your family so you could go to a karaoke club? please email me your stories if you dont feel like sharing on the forums.

thank you very much for your time. if you have anything else you feel like sharing please email me or just make a post thanks a lot everyone -Erik

cmon people, someone please help me out... thanks!

OK! I'M GAME!

general questions
#1. how long have you been participating in karaoke? what got you started? Since I was 18... so almost 4 yrs

#2. would you rather sing in private rooms, to a large audience, some other misc place (taxi cabs in japan )? why? I would MUCH rather sing in front of a large audience....say... in a bar as opposed to in a private room, because In a small room it seem so intimate and close.... like EVERYONE'S listening.... whereas in a big room like a bar... There are more things to distract my audience. I'm more like background noise. I also find, that if someone really enjoys your singing, they listen.... if they don't.. they just ignore. In a private room... it's almost as though they have no choice but to listen! make sense?? I'm much less nervous with a large audience.

#3. what aspect of performance do you enjoy watching someone else sing? why? I looove seeing if people change the song a bit... you know.. "make it their own" rather than try to sound exactly like the original artist.... Also.. if the singer is drunk outta their minds, Well that's just good entertainment that money can't buy! !

#4. what traits bother you about others performance? why? I hate when someone tries to copy the original singers' voice!! for example.... guys who sing Creed songs... c'mon guys.... most of you CANNOT sound like Creed... no many how many gummy worms are jammed at the back of your throat.. !!

"special" questions

#1. there are many times in peoples life when they come of their shell, for some its a public speaking class in high school, others may find themselves in a theatre production. has anyone been honestly changed by karaoke? what was the experience like. please email me your stories if you dont feel like sharing on the forums. ABSOLUTELY!!! When i was growing up, I was veeeery sheltered. As soon as I was introduced to this wonderful world we call karaoke.... I COMPLETELY broke outta my shell. The first time I got cheers from an audience.. it boosted my self esteem to the MOON! The adrenaline that comes from an appreciative audience completely takes over any nervous or shy feelings! Ya just feel PUMPED! at least I do!

#2. many people abuse alcohal and drugs or even coffee for that matter. has anyone been affected in a bad way by karaoke. for example, not coming home to see your family so you could go to a karaoke club? please email me your stories if you dont feel like sharing on the forums.
umm... well karaoke itself hasn't taken me away from anything, but THIS SITE!! and this FORUM!! My goodness... my poor apartment.... could really use a good cleaning! ! I can't keep my hands of this keyboard!!

_________________

Show up to one of my gigs before I start and you can interview me. Then you can be the first singer of the night. Bring some of your friends and classmates, I promise you a fun filled night. All of my shows are pretty close to fullerton so the drive wont be that bad......c-ya

general questions
#1. how long have you been participating in karaoke? what got you started?
I've probably gone to karaoke shows for about 6 years now. What got me started was a friend of mine had one of his good friends working as a KJ at a local bar. My friend told me to check it out. At first I thought karaoke was pretty lame (I had only seen it once or twice and it didn't seem like the thing to do). But after going and hanging out, I had a good time and have been going to shows nearly once a week, time permitting.

#2. would you rather sing in private rooms, to a large audience, some other misc place (taxi cabs in japan )? why?
I'd rather sing to a decent size crowd, I guess I'd vote for large audience. Because crowd reaction is what makes karaoke fun. If you do a song everyone likes, they'll dance and definately applaud you at the end. If it's really quiet where I go, then you probably bombed.


#3. what aspect of performance do you enjoy watching someone else sing? why?
Some people, actually I should say, a few have a really strange routine. One guy I know sings Guns & Roses "Paradise City." Now the best part is guy doesn't sing it too well, but he totally gets into it, dancing a little like old school Michael Jackson, even doing the splits at one point!

It doesn't get any better than that.


#4. what traits bother you about others performance? why?
Either 1, people that are way too sloshed to be on a microphone or 2, people that scream when they don't have to (it's not really a part of a song).


"special" questions

#1. there are many times in peoples life when they come of their shell, for some its a public speaking class in high school, others may find themselves in a theatre production. has anyone been honestly changed by karaoke? what was the experience like. please email me your stories if you dont feel like sharing on the forums.
Personally, I feel like I can grab a microphone and pretty much address anyone now. When I first started being a "KJ" I didn't know what to do and didn't have a lot of confidence. Now it's all good.


#2. many people abuse alcohal and drugs or even coffee for that matter. has anyone been affected in a bad way by karaoke. for example, not coming home to see your family so you could go to a karaoke club?

No, not that I can think of. About the only thing that some people don't like is having their wallet lighter at the end of the night from spending their money on drinks.

wow, thanks for the great responses. my paper is due wednesday, so i dont have much time left to go out. last night i went to a place called emelios (spelling?) in my area. its an ok pizza joint and the karaoke was exactly what i was looking for. not super professional and good crowd reactions. me and my next door neighbor sang "i am a man of constant sorrow" and talked--pleaded-- my dad to sing something so he agreed to do "a boy named sue" by johnny cash, well because you really dont have to sing much in that song. part of the theme behind my essay is the fact that people dont need to be great to sing karaoke. as someone else pointed out the guy that sings november rain really is enjoyable to watch because he makes the best of the performance. this is for a world music class that has a large focus on non western traditions, so the quality of the music isnt so important as much as the aesthetic values of the songs lyrics and or mood. thanks again guys