Karaoke Forums

Why me?

This gal comes in before I start for the night. Immediately she begins nagging me about when I will start. (Is it time yet? Are you starting now? Can I sing now? Is the mic on? )She followed me around with every dumb karaoke question in the book. Obviously she was drunk asking me my name 5 times. Then proceding to call me Barbara all night. Aaarg! She puts in 20 or more songs (okay there may be time for 3 if she's lucky) Comes on stage repeatedly speaking loud enough for another country to hear her behind the singers. Asks me when she is up 80,000 times before she sings. Asks what she is singing 4 or 5 times before every song. Takes a maraca and bangs it against a table off beat to people's songs.

Now she comes up to sing her first song - LIKE A VIRGIN. As she is screeching the song she is stumbling and jirating like a horney drunk gorilla. That was a bit amuzing. Especially when I had to tell her to keep her clothes on.

I was patient yet stern. I escorted her off the stage several times, so as not to disturb the other singers. I told her who she sang after, so she had no reason to ask when she was up next. I explained the maracas do break to use her hands. I asked if she would like me to write down what songs she was singing, so she no longer had to ask. All the time wanting her secretly dead.  LMAO

I used to be able to tolerate these type of people so much better than I do now. For the most part my regulars are so wonderful now I think I'm getting spoiled.

Okay my rant is over - thanks for listening  :D Babs not Barbara  LMAO

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Awww...poor Babs...nothing to contribute here, really....just offering some sympathy. *lopsided grin*

_________________

"I hold the key to an open door....will I ever be free...?"

I feel your pain Babs ... people like that take the fun out of gigging.

Sounds like it's time for tough love.  First off you tell them once.  They start to bug tell them they're off the list until they behave.  If they are that drunk and/or obnoxious getting on the stage etc, it's time to have security to remove them.  Believe you me the rest of the audience will appreciate it.  If she's bothering you, she's bothering them.  The old adage "The customer is always right" should have been thrown out of the window long ago.  Some people you can do without.

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

There are several new inventions Babs to help in your dillema, One, is the Karaoke exploding microphone, yes inside is enough dynamite to shut up the drunkest or worst singer ever....only $19.95 Ronco products release, insurance is required...
Second, a trap door on stage that leads mysteriously down to the sewer lines and into the Atlantic or Pacific, (whichever you prefer,) Oceans where the body will never be found again!!!! (Also sold by Ronco!!!!! only $39.95!!!!)
Third, The Ronco, Karaoke Shot Gun!!!!! With deadly accuracy, you can shoot in any part of their body, or a direct hit if you want to cut out the pain all together, right before you pull the lever on the Trap Door, to show other singers you are in charge of the show!!!! (Ronco again, the shotgun, yours free when you buy the trap door.
And finally, sulfuric acid cocktail in a beer bottle to make it look harmless, (Ronco has done it again..only $4.95 per beer!!!!! Such a deal!!!)

Babs, when those nights occur, and they will, let Ronco help ease the pain, if only in your head, just remember the good customers who make your show all worthwhile.
Good Luck to you!!!!
All My Karaoke Best....MV  :wave:  :wave:

The title of the forum had me fooled.  I was going to nominate myself for the honor.  I'm the most gawdawful singer there is and goof off a bit, but I respect the KJ and other patrons.   Go to the myspace site below and click on one of the videos and listen for yourselves.  

myspace.com/crazydrunkguykaraoke

(sorry, i'm not selling anything)

Im sorry ya had "one of those" at your place but you are not alone Babs! We had a frat/sorority party to do last week & you would have thought they were a bunch of 5 yr olds the way they acted, always crowding the table asking when they were up to sing, although getting flirted with from some of those hotties was rather fun ( even though I KNEW it was only so I would bump them up on the rotation ) I swear We EARNED our $ that night ! They knocked the monitor over & actually broke the grill off of one of our Shure mics ( which I was po'd about till I made sure it still worked then I was fine knowing I only had to buy a new grill instead of a new mic. Me & hubby just kept looking at eachother & sqeezing eachothers knees under the table until our knuckles turned white to calm down telling eachother that "this is our future Drs & lawyers & most influentual people in society ! I was also saying "I'd kill my daughter" all night too ! Crazy how girls act these days ! But all in all it was fun but I know to bring out the cheaper mics when I see it getting crazy like that from now on . Had to wipe the wet books off too apparently they all have holes in their lips.. !  But naggy people do irritate us also

_________________
Kelley
Star Sounds Karaoke & Mobile Recording Studio


[shadow=black][scroll]You have to respect your audience. Without them, you're essentially standing alone, singing to yourself....KD Lang[/scroll][/shadow]

I totally concur with the "tough love" advice... someone that intoxicated should not be served by the bar, and if they're not buying, they're walking!

*in his best southern drawl* Awww bless her lil' heart she was just badly wantin' to sing I'm sure she didn't mean to bother you at all.

/sarcasm

Yeah I feel ya Babs. I've my share of those too. I joke every now and then over the mic that if they ask me more than once how long till they sing they get bumped down a rotation spot. And of course my regulars will always pipe up with "Yeah he did that to me.. .it sucked"

I did get to own a guy that got like that one night. I knew him through a few friends and knew is wife from a previous job. So I went Kevin Smith on him. I asked to borrow his phone while he was up asking me when he was going to sing. I called his wife and told her her husband (this all inbetween a song and into the mic) was being a pain and creating a disturbance and making things not much fun for the rest of us. At this time I thought his eyes were gonna come out of his head. I then asked her chastise him over the mic for me. If you ever watched the first Evening with kevin smith you'll know exactly what i'm talking about. One of my most favorite nights i've ever worked.

_________________
KJ for Elite Entertainment at Charlie Horse Saloon in Ocala Florida.

Geez, sorry Babs!  :(   At times like that I don't understand why management and the employees of the place don't step in to help get the women out of your hair! You're trying to do your job as the "hostess of the entertainment" so to speak and this person is putting up a big road block.  Are you and KJ's in general in charge of entertainment, crowd control and bouncing?! Maybe I just don't get it.

Ahhhhhhh, babs.....I feel for you on this one.  2 out the last 3 gigs, I've had this issue with a select duo.  I am thinking they are gay, which I have nothing against gay people btw.  The one is a large gentleman, he stumbles in and comes over to the booth and is mumbling...wanting to sing 10,000 times.  If I'm playing just music/no singers...he's grabbing the mic and studdering into it...tapping it/blowing on it/looking for a swich.  Yes, I have it muted!  After about 5 mins, he'll come up and ask me to turn it on.  I'll say no, then he'll go back and do the tap/blow/look routine again.......5min later come up and ask if I'll turn it on.  I say NO, it happens all over again.  Somewhere in the mix of this his friend comes up wanting to sing a female song, which I've never heard a male sing before *red flag*.  I politely say, I'll try to get you up......BUT THEY DON'T GET THE POINT, THEY STILL COME UP EVERY 30 SEC WANTING TO SING.  Lucky I was not very busy the last few times they were in, they just drive me nutz.  The 1st time they came in, I had never seen them before.  I got them up to sing, each of them individually.  The female song singer was almost tolerable, but after the 1st song..he wanted to sing or asked when he was singing....every 2 mins!!!  The other guy was so drunk/stoned/something, he stumbled to the stage, was 3 lines behind on the song and to top it off...he couldn't speak a coherant word, let alone sentance!  He never got up again, but it wasn't because of his NOT wanting to.  Drive a KJ to drink and drink heavily...let me tell ya!  Ok, rant over......I feel for you Babs!  MrD

_________________
[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
Visit MrD on facebook - mrdsentertainment
& on myspace - larrynance[/highlight]

I'd say based on the above posts that other states are far more lenient with drunken patrons. In the northwest, we are literally hounded by liquor inspectors - most of us hosts recognize them and so do some of the staff, but on the odd chance we miss them and there are obviously over-served patrons around, it is really bad for the bar - very, very expensive. I don't let drunks sing - I either appeal to their friends to get them out before everyone gets in trouble, or use my "mom's face" to advise them that the next time they're in, I'd be happy to put them up to sing. I tell them I sure don't want them to be so embarrassed by their display that night that they can't come back...we really have to be tactful and know what we're doing to keep those kinds of people from really disrupting a show.

It's funny how regulars will come to the rescue of the host, too - I've had regulars intercede on my behalf and manage to keep those people from singing somehow - I've never asked how they did it!  :yes:

If it's just a plain 'lousy' singer (man, I hate to use that as a description because it's all supposed to be fun) I just do board magic with them...

Sometimes this job just takes way too much work!

K

This had me rolling on the floor laughing. Thank you I needed that!

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

This gal was what I call an inbetweener. Very irritating, but not bad enough to throw out of the bar.
She was also right on the line of me being able to cut her off from singing. When she started acting as if she was going to do a strip tease, by taking off her jacket first, I told her, her clothes had to stay on and she stopped.

I can't cut people off from singing or have them kicked out just because they're irritating - unfortunately. I can cut them off from singing if they are to drunk and I have done this. It is last resort because as you know a drunk never will admit they're to drunk to sing and they will fight it to the end. Although I will win that confrontation and I know the bar will back me up - it isn't any fun.

I was leary about posting this because I know you've all been there. I have to say after reading your responses I'm glad I did. Sometimes it feels nice to have people understand where you are coming from and laugh about it after.

Thanks  :hug:

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Nothing against gay people, but you felt the need to mention this even though it had absolutely no relevance to your story?  Well, I guess it's relevant enough to raise a RED FLAG because of the song choice by one of them.  You do realize that people use the phrase "red flag" to warn about something negative?  

For someone with nothing against gay people, your post came across as pretty condescending toward us.

Babs, I would sympathize but for the fact that I go through a partial problem similar to yours 5 nights per week.   I have a woman I'll call Mary Velcro.  She is as sweet as pie, and stumble around drunk, but she does ask a lot of questions, and repeats them.  She is also completely tone deaf. She has two notes:  Up and Down. She also follows me to every venue.

   I have a habit of giving nicknames, and while singing, due to her short stature, I call her The Pocket Cutie. Strangely enough, each of the venues has adopted her as their own, and all the regulars always give her a big hand.  She has a great time and has no idea how much pain she causes me. The bartenders at two of the venues love her because when she sings they sell shots like crazy!

  Anyway, my point is that I  have the worst singer ever EVERY TIME I WORK!

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

You have an "inbetweener". They are the worst because they aren't always seen by the crowd as being that bad of a nuisance, but for us those type of people make it hard to go to work. You don't want to get to stern with them because people won't understand.

"inbetweeneer" - a singer who is extremely irratating, but doesn't do anything bad enough to warrant cutting them off from singing or kicking them out.

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

RE,

I brought the point up, because I didn't want to get slammed....for mentioning how they came across to me.  Their preferences on things has no meaning to me in how they sing or if they are allowed to sing...MrD

_________________
[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
Visit MrD on facebook - mrdsentertainment
& on myspace - larrynance[/highlight]

What kinda weener does she have....or what kinda weener did you call her???...I've ran into a few creatures like that before.......usually found out, after I'd gone too far, and it was too late to turn back....

She can't go "too far",  she has an "Inbetweener-weener".  Must I explain EVERTHING to you Johnny ?  (People will talk)  :shock:




heh.  I see

_________________
Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".