Karaoke Forums

Had my once a month gig last nigst in a town of about 2,500.  In this town there are 2 other bars (one that has a huge ballroom upstairs), and an American Legion. It should have been a bad nite for karaoke, since the other bar, the one with the huge ballroom, had karaoke Friday nite, and last night had a live tribute band to Hank Williams.   The bar I was giging in is about 20'x60'.

The nite startted off slo, got the about 8pm setup had a drink and fired up at 9.  There were about 10 people in the bar, and only one singer besides the wife and I.  I was thinking we should have changed the night becasue of the live entertainment up the street that also started at 9pm.  10pm arrives, with about 10 more people in the bar and two more singer.  10:30 arrives and the bar starts to fill slowly, and more and more singers.  By 11:30 there are over 80 people in the bar, rotation 15-20 people, and it takes over 5 minutes to get a drink, and about 5 minutes to walk from the front of the bar to the back of ther bar where the bathrooms are.  

Needless to say had to use some buffer music, since it take singers a while to make it to the stage.  NO BACK TO BACK karaoke,  DAMMIT, guess I am a hack since I can't keep the karaoke going. OH YEAH, the bar is TOO FULL for even the most agile person to make in from the back to the fron in a timely manner.  Played some "dance" music, and I use that dance term loosley.  Everyone was loving it, incuding ALL the singers, and ALL the NON-SINGERS.  Some Singers even gave up their spot in the rotation to hear some songs.  

1am rolls around, quitting time.  Bar owner ask me to play another 45 mins, casue he dosen't want to lose the crowd.   So I go on, and on, an on.

Now to my point.....
It dosen't matter how you run your show, there is no right or wrong to it.  The only thing you need to do is be able to read te crowd, and give them what they want!  That is what I do, and it works for me, and the bar owner's bank account.  Call me a hack, but that bar had the BEST NIGHT in sales since the owner took posession of it (5 years ago).  The other bar across the street has karaoke every Wed nite, and the ballroom bar has karaoke evey other friday.  Last night the one across the street closed at 11pm and the ballroom bar closed at midnite.

A message for lildog.....
SO you are so worried about the hack mucking up the KJ biz.  Why you worried, if you are so great, and the best of the best, and most importantly make $$$$ for the venue, why you so worried?  Worried that a "hack" can walk into your gig, undercut you and you are out the door?  Yeah, try to blame it on the bar owner, but if you are the asset that you claim to be, even the most moronic bar owner will know you are the better deal.

But I digress.....
Here is to KJing, DJing, and guys and gals dancing on the bar!  It is all in the $$$$$  

GIVE EM WHAT THEY WANT!!!!!!

That's what an entertainment company is supposed to do, provide the entertainment the people want!  If they want nothing but karaoke, that's what you give them, if they want dance music, that's what you give them, if they want a mixture of both, that's what you give them, etc.. & so on!  Sounds like a great gig!!



Exactly!

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You know another good way to get a gig is to impose yourself on the owner of the bar/restaurant...

I had Saturday night off, hey it's football and folks take the Vols real serious around here. Well anyway, the lady at the Marina had forgotten it was an afternoon game, so she didn't book anything for that night. I call her up at noon, and I'm like, what do you have planned for tonight, and she's like, well I goofed and didn't book anything.
So I'm like hey how about some Karaoke? She hesitates then tells me it's too late to get a check from the office to pay me. I'm like hey tell you what, let me just come set up during halftime and start right after the game, this ones on me....Well how could she refuse. So I go setup, and when Tennessee wins, the first tune of course is 'Rocky Top' which everyone joins in on. The folks that would have normally left stayed. Folks that were still checking into the cabins came by, saw that we had Karaoke, reserved tables and came back that night. The regular Saturday crowd showed up. By 8 o'clock I had a packed house and we had a great evening.
After the bar/restaurant closed, the lady/manager came up and said, 'you know I feel really bad about not being able to get your money to you, it was short notice and everyone in bookkeeping is gone for the weekend.' I reminded her that it was my suggestion to do Karaoke and tonight was on me. When she said that wasn't really fair, I showed her my tip jar and told her not to worry about it. I made more than enough in tips to make it worth my while.
See when folks come to a place like ours, they come there to getaway, have a nice relaxed weekend, have some fun and spend some money. I don't ask for tips, but I do always keep a jar on the songbook table right next to the sign up slips..

You know dumb silly me, I just have this naive thing about that if you do good things, good things come to you. I could have taken the night off and not even given a second thought about the Marina. But the truth is, it's also in my best interest that they are successful. Every person that comes out and has a good time at a Karaoke show will remember how much fun they had and hopefully will come back again.

Saturday nights in this town are usually known as band nights. But I've taken the aggressive approach to it. When people ask if there's a band, I tell them, nope no band, we have Karaoke. When the band plays, you're pretty much stuck with whatever they want to play. But with Karaoke, you get to hear whatever you want to hear, you make the decision, not the band.  
I'm not out to knock the bands, because I've been a live band guy myself for most of my life. But I am out to promote Karaoke and in particular my show. So I will do whatever it takes to make that happen. If it means packing my stuff up at a moments notice to do a gig, or giving a freebie to the bar when someone doesn't show up, or there's an oversight and no entertainment is booked, then so be it.
It's part of who I am, my credibility, my reputation as a performer.

Anyhow....after the bar closes, I go up the road to the next town to another Karaoke bar. In my county on Saturdays, they have to close at midnight, in the next county they can stay open til 3am. I walk in, sit down, order a coke, fill out a slip and take it up. Next to me is a very attractive young lady. Now of course being an old fart, I mind my manners, keeping my comments and hands to myself...
When my name is called, I get up noticing that she's about to light up a smoke, I flip out the ole trustworthy zippo, without saying a word give her a light and make my way up to the stage. Being in a great mood, I kick out a hellraising version of Allman Brothers 'One Way Out'. When I finish to wondrous applause if I do say so myself, I go back to my seat. Well the young lady turns around and it is her that starts up a conversation. We sit and talk til the bar closes. As we're walking outside to the cars, she comments on how nice it was to talk with me, and I thank her adding that my life is like an open book, if she wants to know anything, all she had to do was ask. Of which her comment was, 'well I was wondering if you were a good kisser?' With a grin on my face, I lean in and give her a nice long but gentle kiss. Afterwards her smile tells me that I answered the question correctly.......but I'm not a kiss and tell kinda guy, so let me just say, that I finally got home at 7o'clock this morning.  
The moral of the story, good guys may finish first, but the hacks get the gigs and the girls......

James the Lion Hearted
Maninblack
White Trash Philosopher
Humble (and not so horny now) Karaoke Host

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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.

wow there is a couple of great stories !!  :hug:

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

Now everybody wants to get on the hack wagon.    Can I be a hack, please.


How does getting a gig make you all hacks?  

You guys are taking this too personal, like it pertains to you two directly.

Im glad you posted this  :D  After reading ....I know not to ever try to go to one of your shows or any other karaoke show that is run this way.  My wife and I and our kids and friends hate shows that are run like this!!! Thats why we buy our own karaoke disk and do not go to karaoke bars anymore!!  LMAO

I dont give a rats arse what you hacks think about me  :D  But I would never waste my money on a hack show  LOL

Big Dog  :worship:       ......."Thank God for people like Big Dog"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 My family and I will drive hours to go to shows run like Big Dogs!!!!! And only there will we spend our Time & Money!!! else we enjoy karaoke at home  :D

Just got back from a two day trip to go to a show run by Pro's ....And spent around $700 bucks & had a blast!!!!!!  

Hacks will never work for this high class family!!!!!  LOL    :D

Hey chill out, I was just being a wiseguy and going along with the thread, just a little razzing that's all. For my part it's just making light of an otherwise heavy handed subject. I try not to take your's or anyone elses comments as directed to me personally, so you shouldn't take my ramblings as a direct response either. You should know me by now, if I had a problem with you or anyone here, I would speak directly to you. Right?

James the Lion Hearted
Maninblack
White Trash Philosopher
Humble (yet misunderstood) Karaoke Host

_________________
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.

Sorry you feel that way, but at the bar I was at it is not a FAMILY show.  I do many gigs for birthdays, anniversarys, and wedding receptions.  And thoes gigs are usually family oreinted.   Again I give the customer what they want.  If they want a "FAmily" show that is what they get.  If they want a "Adult" show, that is what they get.  

For me, prsonally, I would never take my child to a bar, unless she is  of legal drinking age.  I hope you do the same.  My bar gigs run from 9pm to 1'ish, by that time my kid is in bed and drameing of something fun to do tiommorow with the money dad made for the show the night before.

BTW, my customer is the bar owner or the person that hired me, not the singers.  And what the want is a long cash register tape at the end of the nigt, and that is what I tey to give them.  IF I piss off a couple people that are upset beacue it is not a "family" show, there are 20 others in the bar spending money that want an "adult show".

Again, know your crowd, and give them what they want!

You sound very adaptable, I'd hire you two in a heartbeat.....sounds like you go the extra mile to make your shows enoyable for all......keep up the good work....

Thanks, I try my best.

I was just ribbing you  LOL Thanks for taking it with a grain of salt  :hi5:  :D

 Actually we'll go to any karaoke show atleast once....rofl  :D
Some people dont know how to take me, most of the time im joking around & being my silly self....Its a way trying to keep from going insane....uh? Did I say I was mentally brain dead...yeah! Thats it  :D

Actually im a nut case, sorry if I got on your nerves  :handshake:
I'll try to be good from now on, just sometime's I do joke too much I guess. Im still learning so I hope you can forgive me.

We always thank people we don't know!



And hours & hours because we don't know where it really is either.



So you do the hiring at the clubs?  Then it shouldn't be an issue, hire the dog...if you can find him.  Dogcatcher is on the hunt!

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[shadow=deepskyblue]I'm impressed, I've never met such a small mind inside such a big head before.[/shadow]

I saw that....roflmao  LMAO

Good Luck Dogcatcher  :D

I was wondering if it was sarcasim, but you do prove a point.  There are people out there that expect certain things, and as a host, you have to try your best to give them want they want.  But ya can't please all people all the time, and you may tinkle off a few along the way.

dont change dahlin I got it but then sometimes it takes a little life experience to be able to laugh at ones self besides anyone with a love of pink floyd is ok wiv me

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."