Karaoke Scene's Karaoke Forums :: Lull after the holidays

No-smoking laws went into effect in Washington a couple of years back - initially it did impact us and you're in a similar situation with the weather being less than wonderful for smokers to escape to have a butt. Smokers moaned about having to go outside, and a few places even risked tickets to keep their clients; a lot of places closed down entirely blaming the cig law. Sadly for the non-tribal facilities, the tribals are sovereign and are still smoking joints. Ironically, even being allowed to smoke inside, a lot of smokers actually don't enjoy going to the big tribal casinos because of the smoke.

Anyway, most people have decided that they'll just have to learn to be out in the cold everytime they want to have a smoke. Part of the routine for them now. The GOOD places are still open and flourishing.

As far as the post-holiday lull, I think financial times are having a huge impact on people's ability to continue to spend like they used to. I know in this area the cost of gasoline has really impacted people's credit cards (filled them up) ... we have some of the highest priced fuel in the country, even higher than California - and people are less likely to go out and spend $50 and charge it like they have previously. I do really marvel at the 'youngsters' who continue to go out on weeknights, stay out until 2 a.m. (our closing time in Washington State), drink shots for 2-3 hours, and still get up and get to work on time - they are the demographic group that keeps most of the places in my area going.

This month will be quiet; February may show a little increase, then March will be 'tax time' and people will cut back again...at least that's the way things go here. When the weather warms up, people feel more like going out; but when the days stretch out in the middle of summer, they don't come out until late. Strange animals, these karaoke people!

Things will get better! For now, enjoy the no-smoking environment. We have to think of all the nonsmoking hosts and servers and bar tenders who have been inhaling second-hand smoke for years and years, and are in as much danger of developing throat/lung cancer as smokers...phew...

K

Author:	Babs [ Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:29 am ]
Post subject:	Lull after the holidays
Did anyone else experience low crowds this week after NYE. My show was the deadest thing ever last night. I'm not sure if it's the weather, the nonsmoking law that just went into affect Jan. 1st or the fact everyone is partied out. It was interesting seeing how nonsmoking is affecting the patrons. We have a smoking room outside that is heated which is nice. We suspect the city will close it down though because it is enclosed. so far so good.

Author:	djfrank [ Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:12 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
I hope to God the non-smoking laws hit my city soon. No offense to you smokers out there, but dealing with all that smoke destroys my voice through out a night. By the end of the night I'm reserved to singing Bush and Alice Cooper...

Author:	homeplateBG [ Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:49 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
Hi Babs - my show was kind of slow, but I've had worse.

Author:	Karen K [ Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:02 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
No-smoking laws went into effect in Washington a couple of years back - initially it did impact us and you're in a similar situation with the weather being less than wonderful for smokers to escape to have a butt. Smokers moaned about having to go outside, and a few places even risked tickets to keep their clients; a lot of places closed down entirely blaming the cig law. Sadly for the non-tribal facilities, the tribals are sovereign and are still smoking joints. Ironically, even being allowed to smoke inside, a lot of smokers actually don't enjoy going to the big tribal casinos because of the smoke. Anyway, most people have decided that they'll just have to learn to be out in the cold everytime they want to have a smoke. Part of the routine for them now. The GOOD places are still open and flourishing. As far as the post-holiday lull, I think financial times are having a huge impact on people's ability to continue to spend like they used to. I know in this area the cost of gasoline has really impacted people's credit cards (filled them up) ... we have some of the highest priced fuel in the country, even higher than California - and people are less likely to go out and spend $50 and charge it like they have previously. I do really marvel at the 'youngsters' who continue to go out on weeknights, stay out until 2 a.m. (our closing time in Washington State), drink shots for 2-3 hours, and still get up and get to work on time - they are the demographic group that keeps most of the places in my area going. This month will be quiet; February may show a little increase, then March will be 'tax time' and people will cut back again...at least that's the way things go here. When the weather warms up, people feel more like going out; but when the days stretch out in the middle of summer, they don't come out until late. Strange animals, these karaoke people! Things will get better! For now, enjoy the no-smoking environment. We have to think of all the nonsmoking hosts and servers and bar tenders who have been inhaling second-hand smoke for years and years, and are in as much danger of developing throat/lung cancer as smokers...phew... K

Author:	Dr Fred [ Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:16 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
No smokeing laws hit our bar scene bad for about 2 months, but after about 6 months it was back up to as good or better than before, although in many bars illegal smoking appears to be tolerated on slow nights/times. Cold always hurts, but the first two days after New years should be slow anyway. Give the avereage person at least 3 days to recover. I personally did not go out last night because it was just too cold... As for smoking and karaoke, there were a few songs that I could only sing the way I intended when I began after spending a few hours in a smoke filled bar. Even though I don't smoke the smoke gave my voice the rough edge that was what I wanted to use for some songs. Now with more experience and a couple of years of age I don't need the smoke to pre-treat my voice but It helped me in the beginning. Now three years after the ban I hate it when I am with smokers at private parties.

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Author:	djfrank [ Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
Dr Fred @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:16 pm wrote: As for smoking and karaoke, there were a few songs that I could only sing the way I intended when I began after spending a few hours in a smoke filled bar. Even though I don't smoke the smoke gave my voice the rough edge that was what I wanted to use for some songs. Now with more experience and a couple of years of age I don't need the smoke to pre-treat my voice but It helped me in the beginning. Now three years after the ban I hate it when I am with smokers at private parties. Once the second-hand smoke takes its toll on my voice... I lose all ability to utilize the higher 1/4 of my range. :(

Author:	Lonman [ Thu Jan 03, 2008 11:48 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
Karen K @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:02 am wrote: No-smoking laws went into effect in Washington a couple of years back - initially it did impact us and you're in a similar situation with the weather being less than wonderful for smokers to escape to have a butt. Smokers moaned about having to go outside, and a few places even risked tickets to keep their clients; a lot of places closed down entirely blaming the cig law. Sadly for the non-tribal facilities, the tribals are sovereign and are still smoking joints. Ironically, even being allowed to smoke inside, a lot of smokers actually don't enjoy going to the big tribal casinos because of the smoke. Anyway, most people have decided that they'll just have to learn to be out in the cold everytime they want to have a smoke. Part of the routine for them now. The GOOD places are still open and flourishing. As far as the post-holiday lull, I think financial times are having a huge impact on people's ability to continue to spend like they used to. I know in this area the cost of gasoline has really impacted people's credit cards (filled them up) ... we have some of the highest priced fuel in the country, even higher than California - and people are less likely to go out and spend $50 and charge it like they have previously. I do really marvel at the 'youngsters' who continue to go out on weeknights, stay out until 2 a.m. (our closing time in Washington State), drink shots for 2-3 hours, and still get up and get to work on time - they are the demographic group that keeps most of the places in my area going. This month will be quiet; February may show a little increase, then March will be 'tax time' and people will cut back again...at least that's the way things go here. When the weather warms up, people feel more like going out; but when the days stretch out in the middle of summer, they don't come out until late. Strange animals, these karaoke people! Things will get better! For now, enjoy the no-smoking environment. We have to think of all the nonsmoking hosts and servers and bar tenders who have been inhaling second-hand smoke for years and years, and are in as much danger of developing throat/lung cancer as smokers...phew... K Your description on the slow months are pretty darn accurate for here as well - even being a tribal bar with smoking.

Author:	jreynolds [ Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:51 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
misery loves company i guess...

Author:	Charmin_Gibson [ Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:34 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
djfrank @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:24 am wrote: Once the second-hand smoke takes its toll on my voice... I lose all ability to utilize the higher 1/4 of my range. :( ... Same story here. I get tired of having to do the songs that require more out of my voice early in the night, before the smoke gets to me. I generally save the songs that are all just mid-range for later on. Kinda sucks that I have to make my plans around how smoky it is for the night. We have to wait until January 09 for no smoking in bars. Guess I can tough it out one more year.... But it will sure be nice when that time rolls around. (add in the fact that I wont have to go home and shampoo my hair 3 times to get the ciggy smell out) Where we go, people act like it's a smoking contest rather than a karaoke nite, I swear the smoke there is horrid... and I always take repeated trips over by the door, or even outside, just to clear my lungs for a bit. .

Author:	Karen K [ Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:02 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
Feel for ya - I remember those days....you're right about the shampoo...and I had a permanent place outside to hang my clothes when I got home. Smoke hanging about 5 feet off the floor. Heck, even smokers would complain sometimes! Funny thing was, during the whole time the issue was being voted on, I NOT ONE TIME thought about how it would impact me -- by making my nighttime job smoke free! I felt kind of silly the first night I went in after the ban went into effect...Did one of those silent 'HOORAY's....

Author:	supercharged [ Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
around here it is not state wide, but now with illinois being smoke free wisconsin might. a couple years ago Madison went no smoking in the bars. one city is too small an area and smokers just went to bars outside of the proper city of madison (may be 1/4 of the true city) Most of the bars in the city went belly up. Now I half hope the state does go non smoking. Im not really excited about more illinois drivers on our roads. sober they are more dangerous than the average wisconsin driver when drunk.

Author:	SwingcatKurt [ Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:08 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
Thats just all them SMOKIN rednecks out in Canby Charm!!!! LOL LOL LOL

Author:	Babs [ Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:46 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
I guess I was worrying for nothing. Friday night it was packed in the bar. I am so relieved !! It must have been the fact people were partied out from NYE. I am fortunate my bar has a porch with a smoking room that seems to be pleasing the smokers enough to still come in. I just found out also when our beer garden opens up in the spring people will be able to smoke out there also. I think we'll survive this.

Author:	Flipper [ Sat Jan 05, 2008 7:38 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
Don't worry Bab's....you are good at what you do....they come to see you and have fun! :hug: Predicting the ups and downs in the bar business is nearly impossible. I used to get all worried about slow nights but I found that as long as I remain consistent in my performance as a KJ the business will be consistent as well. I can't control what others do but I can control what I do. We had 3 straight weeks of mild business in October and it is normally our very busiest times of the year, one thing we confirmed is that all the other bars on the avenue (over 40 of them) experienced the same thing so it was not the bar or karaoke that had any bearing on the outcome. However Summer is usually slower and we were totally packed to the rafters and rockin' all summer long.....I gave up trying to predict business patterns

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Author:	supercharged [ Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:42 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
my wednesday was good, they had nothing going on on NYE. If not for a good group of 20something regurlars it would have been really bad. thursday was the same place i did nye, It was a slow night till after 12:30 then it picked up pretty well. still not a great night but ok.

Author:	lyquiddye [ Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:32 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
Here we are up more than 35% on sales from last year. I am experiencing record sales and singers. The smoking ban did not pass here, but we do have a new 10% poured drink tax that stared Jan 1. What a load of crap the money is used to bail out public transportation. My theory is if you don't have a car you can walk.

Author:	djdingaling28 [ Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
are you from uk hunny

Author:	pflugerville [ Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:32 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
Babs @ Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:29 am wrote: Did anyone else experience low crowds this week after NYE. My show was the deadest thing ever last night. I'm not sure if it's the weather, the nonsmoking law that just went into affect Jan. 1st or the fact everyone is partied out. It was interesting seeing how nonsmoking is affecting the patrons. We have a smoking room outside that is heated which is nice. We suspect the city will close it down though because it is enclosed. so far so good. y'know... it's really weird. i expected almost no one to show up to any of my shows, but friday was a record night, saturday started late, but was good. thursday's show was slower, but still had a dozen singers. overall i was pleasantly suprised!

Author:	OooglyBoogly [ Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
we have been slow for a while..i cave kinda been glad, i get a chance to try new things without a huge audiance...but it is is fun to belt out a Journey tune to a packed house though

Author:	DJ Tuck [ Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:17 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Lull after the holidays
My Fri. night (substitute) show was REALLY slow. Bar did medium business, but only had 3 or 4 singers all night long. Most people were there to play pool, JUST drink, or drink and listen to singers. Sat. was a little better, had about 7 in the rotation for a while, but most went home or were too drunk to feel comfortable singing by midnight. Since there wasn't many people in the bar, my g/f went on a spree and sang like 10 songs in a row, back to back... the bar tenders loved it. As for the smoking ban... I'm a smoker, and I hated it at first, but am fairly used to it now. I get a little more annoyed with it when I'm working vs. just hanging out with my friends since most songs are about 3 or 4 min. long... not long enough to smoke a whole cig. On the other hang though, it's GREAT for the equipment! Tabacco smoke is murder on electronic equipment. It slowly destroys the plastic. So I was glad to see the safer environment for my stuff... and since I smoke, I didn't really care about the safer environment for myself. I remember the night that the ban went into effect, it was a Karaoke night (and I think someone's birthday party) so at midnight when we were supposed to stop smoking, the KJ put on breakin the law, and invited all the smokers to light up and join in singing the song. It was lots of fun... everyone (even the non-smokers) had a blas that night. Babs- if the city tries to shut down the smoking "room"/porch, there's a bar here in WA that found a way around the ban. The have the space to do this though... down stars is one part of the bar with tables and karaoke/DJ music w/ full bar, then up stairs -closed off by a closed door- is "the smoking area" with pool tables, and other games and another full bar. They have posted all over the place their corispondance with the state so that everyone knows that what they're doing is leagal. Don't know if the law would be written the same in ur area, but if you would like a copy of the info, I'm sure I could get it and send you a copy.