Karaoke Forums

...I think you just found my new name "controversy is my middle name-live with it" What d'ya think? I'm trying to load a pic too ....can you say DORK??? That me. We'll see if I mastered the upload if there is a pic of not! Drumroll please.....

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Dam...uh.....DARNIT...help???

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How DO you get a pic to show??? TOLD you I was a dork!

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in order to have your avatar come up, you actually have to go to the "forum shop" and buy the right to do it with your points.

I'll donate some of mine... I never use 'em anymore!

You get points for individual posts, creating threads (that are good and useful, but be careful, nobody likes a thread hog! !), etc.

AS FOR YOUR original post (okay, the edited one too)... I firmly believe in this.

I hate bribes... you end up rewarding those few who pay and make the others that are the bulk of your audience who are still supporting your show - suffer for receiving said bribe in exchange for preferred treatment.

I DO like tips, though. A tip placed in my tip jar or on my table when someone is leaving for the night to say "hey, thanks for a great time"! "thanks for being fair to EVERYONE"...

Karaoke hosting to me is an artform. As much as ANY other profession.

I really don't like cross-entertainment such as a musician moonlighting as a kj, because, ninety-nine times out a hundred, they usually are the ones that run skewed shows with rules that a pro kj would NEVER do.

First of all THANK you for telling me about the forum shop......I wondered what those points were for!

2nd As I said to a few of the replyees- I should have thought through HOW I worded my post. I was using the illustration with the tip/bribe as an exception to the norm..not something that happened on a regular basis - not even a nightly basis. It was maybe 1 in  4 or 5 shows and then for 1 song only- for ME to sing. To be honest I can't say that I ever moved someone up in the rotation because I was bribed or tipped. I knew several KJ's in the area that did but I didn't. I admitted and say again I did take payment for singing a song. I still don't think I was wrong given the circumstances that I was in. None of my regulars were upset- they were some of the LOUDEST ones trying to get me to sing-because I very rarely did sing at shows. Which brings us to an interesting point you brought up.

Should singers and musicians cross into KJing? What you said has validity..but from the Bar owners point of view(at leat the ones I worked for) They liked the fact that I was somewhat of a celebrity-it drew in "fans" who had heard me at my theatre show, It also was a protection for the owner if for some reason there weren't many singers and I DID have the sing to fill in gaps. They saw it as a security blanket. I was one of 2 singers that ran shows and the other Kj also has extremely popular /crowded shows with his fans.being on stage all the time as a singer also gives you a bit of flamboyance( or it did me) that gave us an edge over many of the other KJs in the area. The one thing that I never saw either of us do was sing too much. I do knw that my being a professional singer as well as a KJ helped get one of the first nationally televised karaoke shows on the air. So in at least that way it was a good thing for a singer to cross into the KJ arena.

I had a loyal following that came out several times a week. Because I knew them and their voices- they always wanted me to suggest new songs that would suit them- then help them with their keys, and vocals. They viewed my shows as free voice lessons. Many of these worked their tails off and got very good. When that happened- then I got a bigger following that came out to hear all the "talent" at my shows. Some of those singers used karaoke as I did to jump into a career singing. It made me very happy when they did! Just like a momma bird seeing her babies fly for the first time.

So in some ways having a singer as a KJ CAN be beneficial.

The ways it can be not so good are- as a singer we ARE much more likely to accept payment for singing a song because that is what a singer considers to be their "real" job.  And you are absoulutely correct in saying that they are the ones who will skew shows and do thing a pro Kj would never do. I have seen Kjs who has great voices do as you said and sing several songs when their show was packed. Or they would jump in and sing back up with people who didn't want it( and act like they were doing them a favor) But IMHO- the biggest way a pro singer would not be the best for a KJ position is that they will never view the job of KJ as a "profession" To someone who considers themselves a singer/musician KJing is a way to get by, or to make ends meet...or just a temp jpb until they get a better one. At least it was for me and all the singers I knew that did it. The people that take pride in their work and see Kjing as a career and artform as you do-ARE always going to be more aware of their job, less likely to have personal agendas and will do better shows because of it. That is in most cases an undeniable truth

I can see that I got away with the karaoke equivalent of "murder" in my shows and fully acknowledge that the parts I edited were a singular tactic that worked for me that would not be acceptable in most cases. That why I edited it. I also see that my shows were very much a special circumstance in many ways that don't apply across the board. I may have moved on to other pursuits since my KJing days- but I remember them fondly and had a wonderful time doing them. I am also remembered in that area as being a very good KJ- even if I was unconventional. ..I even had a karaoke gong show which is a whole other thread.......But the bottom line for ME is that I do feel a debt of gratitude to Karaoke as a former KJ and as a singer. (see my post on how karaoke changed my life) and I decided to join this site to help support it. I have sent links to all of my friends and asked  them to get involved...as well as made many friends on here that I enjoy listening to and encouraging in their singing endeavors. perhaps I shouldn't be as vocal about the fact that I am a pro singer..but the whole point of my getting involved in the first place was  my indignation at the term Karaoke becoming a synonym for "bad singing"  Granted not everyone on involved is a world class singer- but many people with genuine talent get patronizd when they say their background is karaoke. I wanted to make a point that Karaoke is simply for everyone and that MANY pro level vocalist LOVE karaoke!  And to be honest- there is more talent on here than there was in the top 10 of Idol. I know that personally- I would never have gotten the break that I did had I Not been involved in karaoke! So if I can help support it I will. Thats all I am here to do...and that's what the initial post was attempting. I obviously fell short there. But I am impressed with the avid interest that everyone has taken in this debate.

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well done Matt, once you have popped your eyes back in their sockets  LMAO
yep shes a looker n sounds as hot as she looks  LOL

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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."

she sure is (and I'm STILL having problems putting my eyes back in my head after seeing her avatar pic!)! I'll be the first to say that I would honestly go to her show to see it... once.

But it wouldn't really be karaoke IF she's the "star" of the show...

I've been to other celebrity based shows where they ran a regular rotation... the celeb-kj sang JUST as much as the rest of us. I LOVED it. Yes, this woman was a DREAM to listen to. I bought two of her own cds! REALLY loved it. I've played her music as background filler at MY shows after asking permission!!! She was flattered and said she'd NEVER have a problem with that.

Nothing wrong with oneofakind's concept, other than I PERSONALLY wouldn't call it a karaoke show, if she's giving exhibitions. I'd say it's a regular show with karaoke added in. As long as you know what you're going for, I'd be one of her happy customers KNOWING that she'd sing a bit more than the rest of us, because the oneofakind experience is what was publicized!! What I hate are the kjs that THINK that they are this way, but truly aren't! And their kind of shows foster the belief that OTHER kjs should be the same! I've HONESTLY had people get mad at me because I didn't sing more at my shows... when I'd stop singing after I had 8 singers in rotation... because to me, karaoke was for the public, NOT the kjs! They're PAID to run the gig... not excessively sing at them.

I'll be the first (or second or eighth) to fully admit I admire oneofakind's candor and honesty on here, taking the hard line on her stance.

I must disagree.. The Brass Monkey in Hollywood runs 7 nights, dance party and karaoke at the same time..

They pack them in every night..  :hi5:

Not if it conflicts with their full time job waiting tables !

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

I don't have a disposition that would allow me to KJ or DJ.  I'm a tempermental impatient prissy little thing.  Makes even being a musician tough.

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

I used to be hard core karaoke but after doing many parties ans some all nighters we adapted to the trends. I got burned out with the same week after week..It depends on the crowd The fill music has to suited to them genre wise. If the energy is dying change it Read the crowd. Its the same with the ratio of karaoke dance.  It depends on the size of the rotation.. A couple off mouse clicks and a playlist load we are in a totally different mode. In the last hour we tend go back to old karaoke ways if there are new singers there and trying to get everybody up.
Or if we have 20-30 singers we might but we usually dont have that many anymore. One reason is when you play a dance set the obnoxious drunks that is there to sing and dont care about anybody else (You shouldnt be playing dance music) is elsewhere bitching ...

Why would you limit your resources and customer base? Give me 5-10 good singers  and when the owner sees the z tape for that night he is happy I am happy the singers are happy and the crowd becomes very faithful. You do have to have a good restaraunt and start early. Entire different ball game... The crowd (and their spending) determines format to use. And it is alot easier to ask for a pay raise.

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Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

Posted to wrong thread (edited)

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

Matt I have an ear to ear grin here...and (sassy wink) you'd come back MORE than once(wink wink wink wink)

But y'allare still are missing what I was saying...It was NOT the "oneofakind experience" it was a karoake sounds ltd karaoke show with me as the host. The point that got everybody so riled up was when I said I had accepted $100 to sing. THAT was the ONLY time I sang.And it only happened at ONE out of FOUR OR FIVE shows!!  I NEVER sang in a regular rotation unless a special customer had a b-day or an anniversary or some equally large "cause for celebration" and REQUESTED it-ON A SLIP WITH THEIR NAME- they would ask me to use "their turn" to do the dedication. That and when I was tipped/paid/bribed...whatever you wanna call it were the only times I sang at my shows. They were always packed from 30 minutes before they actually started at 8pm and everyone groaned and moaned when they had to end at 12(and end they DID cuz the owner didn't want to pay overtime to me and the company I worked for.) You do the math - thats 60 songs pernight and I sang 1 possibly 2 songs for every FOUR shows. Thats only 1 or two songs out of 240 total. Does that sound like "I" hogged the show?? Do you know of any other host that "can" sing singing so little at their shows??

They were true Karaoke shows that ran a norm of 15 singers per hour through...No dance music...no breaks at all- my purpose was to get as many singers up as I possible could in a night and make them sound and feel as good as they possibly could. I may not have been a "pro KJ" for my career- But I was D^MN good!  :whistle: But it was a constant battle to make sure that "I" was NOT the center of attention. I detest those KJ who think THEY are what people come to hear. I did not do that. Believe me -"I" didn't NEED to be the center of attention-- I had some of the best singers in the area- both amateur and professional...We lived in a tourist town with big dinner shows/ theatres (1 of which I worked at) When the shows closed the performers from those shows came out my show..so did the DJs in the area on their night off. One of the more well known came and said he had his hats off to a KJ. He was shocked at the energy and multitasking it required. All he had to do was spin records. Their sound didn't need to be adjusted, there weren't any people placing requests or bitching about how long the rotation was. he did'nt have to worry that some drunk was gonna spill a beer in his equipment...and he certainly was not responsible for keepin crowd like that "in line" He and the other Djs woud come to hear my quips at the crowd who liked to heckle me and they enjoyed it when I insulted them right back- it was all done with affection. And the tourists that happened to drop in were always STUNNED that they could see the same level of talent( and in many cases the ACTUAL talent) they had just spent mucho bucks on to see at one of the theatres. Trust me.. it was my show and I was the host- but the CUSTOMERS were the STARS of my show. I was just the maestro conducting the symphony making sure the timing and levels were right!

So Matt I say this will ALL sincerity- I know what a proKJ goes through- My show was as good if not better than any show you've ever been to. It may not have been my career choice but that doesn't mean I didn't excel at it. And while I'm flattered that you "would have come out to see my show because of me......ONCE" I can assure you that you would have been back multiple times because it was a great KARAOKE show. And you and anyone with you would have felt like a star when you left. That feeling it sort of addictive. My following would have told you that I was EXTREMELY fair. (smile) I really hope I don't come of a cocky- because cocky to me is someone who is all talk but can't back up what they say. I am however proud & CONFIDENT that while I was KJing- though I had some instances that some of all of you other Kj's may not approve of- I gave it 100% and succeeded in doing my part to make karaoke as an industry "Look good" to the patrons who came to my shows.

I took as much as I can take from everyone on here WITHOUT defending myself so that's what I just did.  :yes: I obviously erred in some of what I said in my initial post( and have taken those parts out or edited to make that clear. But everyone has missed what I was trying to do and that is bring up some points that may or may not apply to whoever reads my post. Everyone got caught up in the miniscule disagreements and that was where the focus for thos post has been .

On one hand I love stirring up so much "$hite" and getting all y'alls juices flowing the way this has...but on the other hand I am disappointed that everyone has focused on the hubcaps and missed out on the make and model of my post.

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WOW...i almost went through a whole bag of frito's reading this stuff. All the makings of a good drug store paper back {munch munch}. Intrigue, bribery, money, personal values, kickbacks, politicians ...ummm...is there anyway we can inter ject sex into this, then i know we got a best seller...{munch munch}.

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Sweet Little Me In Karaokeland........

I'd love to but unfortuneately I'm already banned.

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

Thats why I got Sonar3 to record these gals and make them cd's. Sometimes I even buy the cd's... And sometimes it takes all night  just for one song to get everything just right ..

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Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

Ummm.... how very tempting.

But Charm would never do such a thing. Sex talk in a public forum?  :shock: I'm much too shy to pull off something like that.

Now, if you wanna talk in private.....  :D

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Oopsie... I need to learn to find out who I'm responding to before I go blabbing. I just noticed you're a fella... For some reason, I thought I was responding to Cat.

So 'scuse me for being so bold.

(but still... if you wanna talk in private....)  LMAO


.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Novels longer than War and Peace don't sell all that well.

MFAO! Boy....did lil ole ME stir up all this passion???? We could interject sex into this but you'd have to pay...um....tip...um BRIBE me!  :rotflmao:  I seriously need to get a life...I have always wanted to write a book.. anf never thought I had the time...well*rueful sheepish grin* I plainly DO have way too much time!

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