Karaoke Forums

Hi all,    :wave:

I'm a newbie here and this is my first post.

I was just curious as to how you usually get a pirvate party going?

I live in a very small town (surrounded by other very small towns) and recently turned my "hobby" into a paying gig.  I average 1-2 private parties a month, some big , some small.

Now....usually I have to start it off....most people up here are chicken (although I am getting some regulars) and I don't have a problem with that, although after a couple "regular" songs I announce that if somebody else doesn't get up here and sing soon the songs will start to deteriorate....and then I will pull out The Masochism Tango and the like until someone gets brave (or drunk) enough to sing.....and you all know once it starts rolling it takes on a life of it's own.

So I was just wondering how you all start off private venues?  My way works well but I wouldn't want to use that technique say....at a wedding.....or something a little more formal you know?

Any and all ideas are welcome.

Thanks,
The Tick

If it's a "KARAOKE" party you're talking about , I've found that if I start off singing some of the "classic" sing along songs and "hand clapping" songs it usual gets the crowd in the mood.  You should have no problem getting the "singers" to sing ....I assume thats why they hired a KJ...The trick is to get the NON singers up to sing and that just takes a little time and a lot of alcohol!!!

The quickest way to fill the dance floor is to sing something SLOW and have people dance ..Once you have them on the floor then you can start to rock the place!

Edit

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

One thing that helps is to whet their appetite by playing a sample cdg with highlighting words...

then if you have it, play a VIDEO of one. Pioneer, or the Original Karaoke line work very well. I like the Originals also as they are the original vids that have the vocalist either on or off (left or right channel)... so it's real kewl to watch classic black and white vids of the artists (Bee Gees, Tina Tuner, Animals, Nancy Sinatra "Boots", etc.)

I agree with the advice of "something slow", but that's when I play the "classic rock" stuff. That will really get folks WATCHING the screen... and that to me, is the secret!

Play real videos too... ANYTHING to get them to watch the screen.

I used to make custom screens too... I love karaoke builder for that!

If you use a PC, change your background to a custom one you make FOR the party... (ex. "Happy Birthday Donna!" or "Meg and Tommy's 10th Anniversary Party!")

Matt

I agree -Another thing I found works is playing the MULTIPLEX version of some songs and have people sing along with the cdg.

I'll usually start off with a simple song like "Breakfast at Tiffany's." When I get to the chorus, I will walk up to people with the Mic in hand and encourage them to sing along with me. After that song is finished, if nobdy gets up to sing, I will sing another song or 2 and then plop in one of my Top Hit Monthly discs from '96 and play the multiplex tracks. The people will see the lyrics come up on the screen while the song is playing, and it doubles as filler music for me until a few people start to get brave enough to sing on their own. Then, usually once this happens, everyone starts getting up together for every song sung for the rest of the party (forget about tghe rules in running a Karaoke Rotation... that goes out the window with private parties).