Karaoke Forums

I will and have helped out if an altercation occurred where there was no security for the evening or it was only one of the lady bartenders. We typically do not have any problems, so there is no need for security 99% of the times.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Stop SCREAMING KURT and please STOP trying to boss people around and tell them what to do with their jobs! You type like Ollie used to

Where's the UN-Like Button????

Except that Kurt is 100% correct.

...sorry, didn't know the OP was looking for advice from his dad.

He is correct, granted, sometimes H-O-W you say something is received better than what you're saying. see.. i can roll too

Sorry, but I agree with Kurt as well. I wouldn't consider his post as shouting, he was merely emphasizing the key points. Had the entire post been in all caps I would empathise with that argument.

The closest I've seen the KJ at the karaoke I frequent the most was a few years ago when a bloke was dancing with his girl friend in front of the stage then picked her up and spun her in the air for ages. KJ, who was singing a duet with one of the singers, muted the music for a couple of seconds (enough time to yell at the man through the PA to stop), then continued the song without missing a beat. The man obeyed and behaved from then on.
Fast forward to present day, what complicates the situation is the landlady is very quick to bar people from the pub for the most ridiculous of petty reasons, while one of her barmen has repeated gotten $#!+ faced and started brawls (on one occasion throwing furniture at his victims) and nothing happens!

I will continue to type AS I ALWAYS DO, with caps for EMPHASIS!! And I do not SOUND LIKE OLLIE!! OLLIE SOUNDS LIKE ME!! Let's just get THAT straight!!

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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

As a KJ, I would not hesitate to CONTROL the stage and dance floor areas.

If I observed hazardous or offensive behavior then I would not hesitate to step in and tell them to knock if off and cool it. Also, tell the people in their party that they needed to reign that person in and control him or else he would be asked to leave.

If they continued to be disruptive or hazardous to themselves or others then security would be brought over to take things further.

If the person were a sloppy drunken mess then they and their partner would be directed to leave.

If a full-on barroom brawl broke out I would under no circumstance wade into it. I would shut the music, turn on lights and shoo as many bystanders out the side door as I could to prevent them from being injured by flying things. But under NO CIRCUMSTANCES would I wade in and try to break things up myself.

I would render basic first-aid if required.

I would help the waitress clean-up the aftermath if needed.

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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

Don't think that I LOOK for these situations. Absolutely not. I don't get involved unless I absolutely HAVE to. Seeing a guy being pummeled on the ground is clearly one of those situations that I don't even have to think....

Once I had the guy in the restroom, I washed the blood from the walls, door & gumball machine while guarding the door. The bartender grabbed a mop bucket and took care of the floor. Within 2 minutes, all blood on the outside of the restroom was cleaned up.

I work hard on maintaining a clean & "PG-13 Rated" environment so that everyone of all legal drinking ages, races, sexual orientations, and genders feels comfortable. Everything about what happened (the fight & the aftermath) is contrary to that sort of environment, so I have no problem helping clean up.

Lon, I think you and I sound like we are on the same page. Never have problems, but on the rare occasion, if needed, we'll help control the situation, IF needed.

My problem is: We have about a 10 minute response time for police (unless one happens to be in the area). Knowing this, we can't let a situation get too far out of control, because once it does, everyone inside the bar and the bar itself is then put at risk. And let me tell you.... every minute seems like an eternity when you are waiting for any sort of emergency response.

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I'm not a cheerleader, but I paid for my pom poms with my own money!

The place I HAD BEEN (note past tense) KJ'ing for 10 years had become out of control with a gang infestation problem and had been MANDATED by the Liquor Control Commission (among other remediation by the City) to hire and post 2 trained security personnel (at all times) and install a fancy video surveillance system. In the last 6 months while I was there, there had been numerous incidents, but the last straw for me was an all-out barroom brawl (the first in the last 2 years on my watch). That was it for me. No more brawls, no more gang affiliates, no more rap, no more hip-hop, no more hoodies, no more ballcaps, no more pants hanging at the knees, no more thrown chairs, no more thrown tables, no more thrown glasses, no more broken glass (both inside and outside the bar). No more PERIOD!! DONE!

This was Febuary of this year.

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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

Yes Ive cleaned blood off both the floor and injured's arm/hand face........didn't have surgical gloves....was careful not to have direct contact.

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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 too must be very lucky, because I have never had a single altercation, thrown drink, push or or shove, in my many years of hosting. It does help that all of my shows have ended before 11 PM, and all the serious partiers (drunks) barely get started by then.

I have had a few unhappy customers that have sworn to never come back because of what they thought was unfair treatment (IE: rotation). There is something good to be said about doing karaoke shows in Florida. I'm packed up and back home before the "swinging" even starts.

Testing post

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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

IT'S WORKING Kurt!!

Fortunately we have rather large doormen at both my venues.

They are all Samoan, 6'2 + 320 pounds.. so there's rarely ever a problem.

I did play "bouncer" in a few venues before to protect my equipment and a waitress from harassment, but it was just escorting the drunks outside.

I was threatened once by a guy who wanted his girlfriend to sing, as we were closing the bar, and i apologized, but he called me a "punk" and got in my face.

One of my regulars saw what happened, waited for the guy in the parking lot across the street off property, confronted him, (unbeknownst to me), and after a smart-azz remark from the jerk, busted him in the mouth in front of his girlfriend and knocked out one of his front teeth.

I heard about this the next night, as i was presented with a napkin containing said tooth from my regular. He told me he was "teaching the guy to respect those that serve others".

It's been about 5 years and i'm still waiting for the guy to come back and claim his tooth. Don't think it's gonna happen . True story.

My Thursday night gig has had it's share of trouble for sure. When I first started that gig, we had no security. However, as the gig grew in popularity, it also grew in fights. I have always taken the stance that I will not leave my equipment to break up a fight. Instead, I always cut the music and then try to stop the fight using my mic. I have been pretty successful with that technique most times.

About 2 months ago, the weekly fights were really getting out of control to the point where the owner finally agreed to hire security. I was glad he did that. We haven't had any more fights on karaoke night since security was brought in.

But to answer the question... no. I refuse to be a bouncer at my karaoke gigs.

Me too. It's amazing how silence and glaring houselights help to end things quicker. A harsh mood change is what you want in that situation.

Unfortunately after the fight has been cleared and its time to get back to having fun, it's always tough getting that mood back. Fights often suck the joy out of the evening for many and some just leave rather than wait, especially if police are called, etc.

Saturday night at da' fights................all part of da' entertainment!!

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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