Karaoke Forums

My arch-nemesis, the Singer's Showcase, just actually taught me something interesting. Did yall know that the Jaime Foxx line from Kanye West's GOLD DIGGER was stolen from a Ray Charles song called I GOT A WOMAN?? Now I know, and knowing is half the battle!!

http://www.singersshowcase.com/song.php ... act2=38509

I'm actually going to learn this song and sing it at my show so I can spread the word to others!! Thanks Singer's Showcase!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

yep, that's ray charles!  now, the disc i have is the explicite lyrics version.  it's
Big Hitz Karaoke #BHK-308  Pop Mega Hits 2005 Vol. 3

it's actually not a bad arrangement, but sometimes the lyrics will get you into trouble!

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All work and no play make Homer something something

One of the best things I learned as a live band singer and as an actor is how to improv. It comes in handy when you come across lyrics that you know are going to be offensive and you have to wing it spur of the moment. I say, yes you definitely want to practice it at home several times before doing it in public, that way you don't get tripped up when you have to make a split second decision. Better to be pro-active than reactive....

James
Maninblack

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I serve no man and am loyal to only one God.

Being critical of a person's success in any respect speaks volumes about the lack of your own.

Love as though you've never been hurt, Dance as though no one's watching, Sing as though God Himself were listening.

The trouble with leaving a song like that in the book is, you will sing it non offensively.   Every other jerk will scream out the swear words like a little kid.   That's what gets you in trouble.

Think about the song "You Otta Know"   the only one bad word in the entire song gets yelled out twice as loud and crytal clear every %$#&@ time.  :whistle:

Just happened last night with Green Days Longview.     Two loud mouths came in dancing and singing like a couple of jerks.  The owner told me at the end of the night she was close to tossing them.   Anyway he's singing it and every [highlight=crimson]&%$#@[/highlight] swear word was 3 times louder than every other word.    It was deleted from all of my books before they left the bar.    I really love Office Depots correction tape.  :worship:

....I fortunately work in a bar that pretty much encourages swearing and the like...

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C Mc
KJ, FL

I think it draws in the wrong element and takes away from quality karaoke.  Which I happen to enjoy and promote heavily.    It wouldn't be so bad if they would just sing them like any other word.  It would go down easier.  But when they have to scream them out at 3 times the normal singing volume, makes you wonder.   Grow up punk.    Swearing may be a new thing for you, but we out grew it already and don't need to hear it from you.

I happen to enjoy listening to people with singing talent and you won't keep them around long with too many jerks acting up.   I.  M. very insightful O.  

I try and make it a point to avoid any offensive language in any song. I mean I don't even do the 'it's my own damned fault' in 'Margaritaville' I always swap it it for darn.....  
I also do the Doors 'Been Down So Long' and of course it has the GD word, which gets swapped out for Doggone. No bodys the wiser, and I think folks like the fact that you respect them enough not to include it in your show. I mean if I was playing a redneck bar, it might be different, but when the majority of your audience is families and older clientele, you tend to be a bit more cautious and courteous. I just don't think it has a place in a Karaoke show, at least not at any of my shows.  
 
James  
Maninblack

_________________
I serve no man and am loyal to only one God.

Being critical of a person's success in any respect speaks volumes about the lack of your own.

Love as though you've never been hurt, Dance as though no one's watching, Sing as though God Himself were listening.

Yeah, why do you suppose these singers blurt out the swear words louder and stronger than the other words in the song?
Guess they must think it makes them big people!  Quite the contrary.  I don't want to have to listen to that kind of talk.  People sitting at their seats swear, but are a little more discreet about it.
Had an older couple get up and leave because of the foul words one night.  Don't have any of those songs in my books either, but have a few kids that like to add their own words to songs.  Walked right up to them and told them one more time and they were done.  They remarked and said "If the bar people don't like it, why do they laugh?"  I said "They are your friends, not my regulars, and I won't put up with it."  I got a couple more smart remarks, and they left.  Haven't seen them again.

I did a private party tonight and in the middle of the gig, I have this guy come up to sing and all he did was scream the lyrics. I kid you not, he didn't even attempt to even try and sing, all he did was scream and laughing because he thought he was funny and cute. Well his daughter comes up to sing a song, and for some reason dad thought he would help her out, sure enough all he did was scream and pretty much disrupted his daughters song. I could tell she was pretty embarrassed by it all, and I kinda pulled her to the side, ask her to pick out another song and I would get her back up there.
Well she comes up, and dad stands right there in front of me, screaming along the lyrics and cussing at me to turn her up, cos he can't hear her..... The second time he told me to 'turn his F***ing daughters vocals up' I lost it. I maintained til she was through, I let a couple of other folks come up, then I took a break. I went to the guy who was hosting the party and told him the situation. He was reluctant, because the guy was a good friend of his, and didn't want to cause a scene. At the same time though he told me of other guest that had complained as well. I told him not to worry, I'd take care of it, which I did. I got dear ole dad off to the side and explained to him, that maybe he might want to tone it down a bit, that his daughter was kinda young and maybe didn't understand about how parents like to have fun and party sometimes. Well this jerk proceeds to start rattling off a whole line of profanitys. Now trust me, if you're my friend, you can pretty much call me any name in the book and as long as I know it's being done in a kidding manner, I could care less. But the moment you say the same things in a threatening manner, it's not 'we got a problem' it's 'you got a problem'. All it took was one was one quick jab to the solarplex and I had his full attention. In a very calm but firm tone, I told him, that if he couldn't show a little respect for the other guest, the least he could do is so some respect for his kid. I ask if he understood what I said, and told him that the only answer I wanted to hear was a yessir or nosir. I got a very shaken yessir from him. I picked him up, dusted him off and told him, that I was sorry about having to take such drastic actions, but I just wanted to make sure that I got my point across.
I take him back up to the bar, get him another beer, shake his hand and go back to my show. About an hour later, he comes up and ask if he can sing another song(and I know what you're thinking ) but he actually did sing this time and wasn't half bad. When he actually got some applause, I got him off to the side and ask him to look at his daughters face and the smile she was wearing. He shook my hand and apologized for the earlier incident. I just told him that I was glad I could be of service, that in the future if he felt the need to act out, just give me a call.
Hey sometimes, you gotta do what you got to do, regardless of who you're working for, right is right and a daughters respect is worth much more than having fun and making a jerk of yourself could ever be.  

James
Maninblack

P.S. sorry for the long rant, just felt like talking about it, thanks for bearing with me.

_________________
I serve no man and am loyal to only one God.

Being critical of a person's success in any respect speaks volumes about the lack of your own.

Love as though you've never been hurt, Dance as though no one's watching, Sing as though God Himself were listening.

    How come we don't have a "Thumbs up" emoticon?    Anybody else want one?    

Yes indeed

Yes indeed

Good job mainblack.  You handled it well.  I always like the punk kids that want to try and bring in a disc with that crap on there or ask why I don't have such and such in my book.  I simply tell them I don't agree with it.  Then they proceed to tell me it's a free "F-in' country and I  can sing that stuff if I want!"  I politely tell them, "Your correct.  But it's my gear; my show; and I'll do it the way I want.  But you're FREE to sing it any place else you want."

Kelly

Cuss words in a karaoke song....easy fix...mic adjustment. That's only if they are really out of control.. Let' s face it...we work in a bar.  People cuss, they do NOT have virgin ears.  I guess this would not offend me because I live and work in a Gold Mining town.  The way some of the miners and drillers cuss would make your hair curl.   Is it right?  NO but as long as it's after nine and all the kids are gone, I am not going to tell them what they can sing or what they can say.  Does this mean I should stop doing the Rodeo Song???     Not going to happen

I was at a club once that would not let anyone sing songs with swearing in them until after midnight.

When 12:00 rolls around, we let out our muses and the Rodeo song sprang from my lips.

Thanks folks, ya'll makin me blush.....  :oops:  

SweetEMT, I hear where your coming from and if I worked in a regular bar, I probably wouldn't be as much of a stickler about the language. But since I'm relatively new to the biz and trying to get the word around, I want to give the best impression I can.
Word of mouth is my best advertisement in the area that I live in and so far it's worked fairly well for me. I now work at three different Marinas/Resorts, and I think it's the standard that I set which has a lot to do with me being able to get so much work this early on. Now I know that after the tourist season is over, I'm sure I'll end up having to do some bar work. In fact I'm already booking for Sept. and it's because folks have come to my shows and like the way I run things. Now these folks also know me in real life and they know that I'm no saint by any stretch of the word. But they also know that I'm a firm but fair person, with a low tolerance for BS. I don't mind folks having a good time, but when their good time keeps others from having a good time, well then it's time for their good time to take a time out...
and speaking of time, I think it's about time I hush. I always tend to get long winded in my post for some odd reason.

James
Maninblack

_________________
I serve no man and am loyal to only one God.

Being critical of a person's success in any respect speaks volumes about the lack of your own.

Love as though you've never been hurt, Dance as though no one's watching, Sing as though God Himself were listening.

I also, just to add a liitle more of my 2 cents, have a statement in the front of my books that say I will try my best to monitor what kids are singing but it is their parents responsibility not mine to monitor their song choices.  In turn I have viewed all of the lyrics of all of my music and labeled in my book (after 9:00 PM).  I totally agree there is a time and place for songs like this.  Even when I sing somewhere else I read the crowd well  before I would even think about singing Rodeo.  Thumbs up to all of you that don't allow, it would never keep me away from your shows.