Karaoke Forums

I dont know if this has been brought up but the problem with the slips doesnt seem that bad to me, I use a dry erase board & write their name on it in the order they will sing. Is there another problem that you all are talking about ? Or amI misunderstanding the problem itself ?

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Kelley
Star Sounds Karaoke & Mobile Recording Studio


[shadow=black][scroll]You have to respect your audience. Without them, you're essentially standing alone, singing to yourself....KD Lang[/scroll][/shadow]

Well Tinkermomm we'd love to have ya.....and I promise....you could sing!
It would be quite the long trip home after a few drinks though..hehehehe
I don't have the problem with slips very often, for the simple fact I don't usually have more than 10-15 singers.  I do have normally have the people though that want to sing and almost refuse to fill out a slip.  Just come up blabbing numbers at me, which may or may not be fine.  As long as I'm not real busy...if I am, I may forget (on purpose sometimes)!

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[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
Visit MrD on facebook - mrdsentertainment
& on myspace - larrynance[/highlight]

I had my biggest pet peeve Sat. night. Had a birthday crowd in and everyone was getting going and starting to have a good time. This guy kept wanting to sing right away, wanting to impress the woman. He was a local that was pretty much on his way to La La land. I told him to hold off until the birthday crowd started to sing and then he could begin. Shortly thereafter the birthday crowd starts to sing and everyones getting involved. He gets to sing his song and immidately starts to piss off the birthday crowd...someone from the back says something smart and he says...."...I'll kick your (@$%&#!)" At this time his song starts going and the bartender comes to me and says this guys been "rubbing" on the woman, and an older man(a really nice guy) says jokingly that I need to get this guy off the stage. I'm adjusting the thermostat down across the room and he starts YELLING the words into the microphone! I made a beeeline over to him and pointed in his face and said "Don't yell into the microphone". He knew I was pissed and did'nt try to fight it, I was ready to deck the MF'R. He did'nt sing the rest of the night and was gone a short time later. The crowd ended up having a REALLY great time the rest of the night. The pet peeve is ONE BAD APPLE can sour the night if not addressed appropriately.

I think I handled it correctly, but I still get upset with myself that I let this buttwipe get under my skin. I'm sure some of the the patrons could see my anger at this guy. I've got a temper and it would not have been pretty for my business to see fisticuffs on the dance floor. I guess the old "3 deep breaths" idea needs to come into play here. Maybe some people need to be confronted head on.

Just curious,...How would you guys have handled it?

                                                                                                bigjim56

As a KJ  one of the pet peeves is the PRIMA DONA singer. The one who doesn't want to wait their turn in the rotation and always want to get ONE MORE SONG in at the end of the night even though I am already on 20min OT.  I had a regular who comes in and one night he was in the middle of a pool game - So I SKIPPED him in the rotation and called him up 2 singers later when he was done playing pool . FOR GOD'S SAKE IT WAS JUST ANOTHER 8MINUTES TOPS
HE REFUSED TO SING AND LEFT ALL PISSED OFF.  This wasn't the 1st time he has done something similar if he feels he is not getting enough attention.  So that night after he left I went over to his table were his group was and took all his song request slips that I save every week ( he had about 50 of them) and ripped them all up in front of his friends and said he can come back anytime but he will have to fill out a slip if he wants to sing.  :)

I don't think you were right to skip him.  If he's in the rotation, he's in the rotation.  We're all doing other things while waiting for our turn to sing.   The pool game could have been put on hold for 5 minutes, shouldn't have been your decision to make, it should have been his.

And the dramatic ripping up of song slips?  That's just downright silly.

Sorry, but you look like more of a primadonna in this example than he does.

As a singer, I have a few....

As Tink said, filler music. I went once where they played a complete filler song in between EVERY karaoke song. The guy said the owner required it, to keep variety in the music. Well, heck, there was a LOT of variety in singers that night. It was a big place with lots of singers- and it took forever and a day to get a turn. I have NEVER been back there.  

I did go to another place where it was basically just me and my sister singing (woodburn, oregon... NOT a good spot for karaoke, unless you just like to hear yourself sing) , and this guy did the same. (bar owners orders) But that was okay, heck... we couldn't think of songs fast enough to sing, and the whole night I think only one or two other people wandered over to sing a song each. So that was cool.... much more of me, my sis, me, my sis, me, my sis... and I'd have given the bar owner a bill for our duet act;)

I hate the little ditsy girl who wants to flirt with the KJ to get more turns. (oh wait, that's me...)  :D
>Not really<
But I've seen one KJ in my years of doing karaoke who'd actually fall for that and put the girl up more than anyone else. And, to be fair, it was my first time there.... coulda been his wife for all I know. (but she was up literally every 3 or 4 songs it seemed) I thought about sitting on his lap too, to see what she'd think of that, but then thought nah... better not.


My number one peave is people who can't run the system properly, or don't take the time to care. When a new song/singer starts... that KJ should be AT the mixer stand with his/her hands at the ready on the knobs.  :yes:

And a KJ who doesn't encourage applause does not need to be in that line of work. It seems wherever you go, there's always a pretty bad singer, or a newbie singer who is afraid to get loud enough to HEAR... and sometimes a crowd don't clap too enthusiastically. The KJ needs to prompt it.... everyone needs applause for getting up there in the first place.

(i just pretty much repeated everyone, didn't i?)

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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. ♥

Biggest pet peeve is a drunk (well, actually anybody who does this, but usually they're drunk) who isn't singing but wants to stand next to the person who is, and "assist" them.  This happened to me at one of my favorite shows, and it wasn't just me; the guy stayed up there for four or five songs after his own.  The drunk was bad enough, but I was pretty irritated that the KJ didn't do anything to stop it (they did shut off the drunk's microphone, but that was all), and for awhile even seemed somewhat amused by it.

Okay, but everybody would be bothered by that.  In terms of a pet peeve meaning "it doesn't bother everybody but it bothers me," I'd have to say it's the singers who get up, usually in large groups, and giggle through the whole song rather than giving a genuine attempt to sing.  I don't care how bad you are, but you could at least try.

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Reward: nine yen in drawer.

That exact scenario has absolutely RUINED the songs "Goodbye Earl" and "I Love Rock & Roll".... they used to be 2 of my favorites, now they're "drunk girl group songs"..... I don't care to sing either and have a group of wobbly girls run up and ask me if they can share the mic... so I no longer choose those songs. Cause trust me, a fight would break out. Unless I know you- and need you at the moment- you are NOT sharing my stage.  LMAO

(actually, I've done this a time or few over the years... usually a girl will come up and say "oh my god, this is one of my favorite songs, can I sing it with you?!?!"... and I've said yes, only to realize later that she did NOT know the song, only wanted to scream loudly into the mic. Irritating as hell, when I wait my turn, I'm a mic hog... I WANT my turn. )


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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. ♥

Here's another for ya--the "pro" who thinks everyone else will sound better if he/she is singing with them--grrrrrrrrrrrr.  Of course a lil tweaking of the volume (e.g. turn the dayum thing off) from muh numble fangers helps........

Yeah, or the "pro" who sings along to every song loudly from their table so you can't hear the singer with the mic. (because they think they are better, aparently...)

I've gotten up to sing with a few different girls on different occasions...... ONLY because they are trying a song they've heard me sing before, and they ask me to. And when that happens, cross my heart, hope to die, I swear I do..... I ask the KJ to turn my mic down, and I'll lower my mic and stand where the girl can hear me but to where the audience is hearing her. Never ever once have I asked someone else to let me join in their song, nor would I ever. That's tacky... And I hate the times I've done songs with other girls, just for the reason that I don't want people to THINK I'm being like those people who do it out of bad habit. ...... that's SO not me.

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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. ♥

One lady KJ, when I turned in my slip, said, "God, I hate that song", and backed that up with, "Every KJ hates that song"..

So, we were off to a great karaoke experience..

Now I don't mind a large woman.. butt, damn.. Weight Watchers, biatch..

At first, I actually wondered why nobody was there to sing.. She explained without delay..

Her response was the same for my second song..

And, yes, she and I were the only two singing.. The club was full..  :shock:

I didn't go back..

yeah, weight watchers will help her weight, but someone that's judgemental like you are being, will always be an a-hole!

Is there a A-Hole Watchers out there that will teach civility and respect? I doubt it!

This one goes both ways as well - sometimes there only so much that can be done.  The singers that sing SO low that you have to turn them up to the edge of feedback & turn the music down just to get SOME of their vocals out Or the singers that hold the mic down at their waist & refuse to bring it up even when you go put it in their face, or the singer that holds the mic straight up & sings over it & you still can't hear them & they all wonder why they can't hear themselves?

I completely agree a kj should make everyone sound as good as they possibly can on every song, but some people it just don't work.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

1). Drunk people trying to dance and bouncing off the monitor stand.

2). Drunk people who pick a really fast song, and have no chance of keeping up with it.

3). Drunk people who slobber the mics.

4). Drunk people who want to pick a fight.

5). Drunk people who treat you like your only there to serve them ( I know how waiters and waitresses feel)  :shock:

6) Drunk people in general.

Lonny,

I think the original post goes to the KJ's that set the bass up and the reverb to mid and never touch another knob for the rest of the night.

Seen it all too often.

I like you work hard to get the best sound on each singer, within the capabilities of the system.

I firmly believe as a KJ, we have every right to refuse a singer under a host of circumstances.  

I'm in a 'non smoking' state.  So often, when I call a singer up, they're not around, they're outside smoking.  If a person puts up a slip, they should feel obliged to be at the ready when their name is called, if they're not, I move them down in the rotation.  I have other singers giving me the 'puppy dog' eyes waiting patiently to sing.  I'd rather get to them.  Many of the smokers will ask how long before their next turn and let me know they're going outside for a bit.  That's respectful, and I appreciate that very much.

How many times, has a hot chick come up to me with those beautiful eyes looking to melt my cockles with the intent on getting pushed up in the rotation?  Countless.  And how many times have I watched the brow curl and the smile turn upside down when I tell them they have to wait their turn?  Countless.  

The place I host at keeps water pistols behind the bar for drunks to squirt at each other for extended entertainment.  If I see them on my side of the bar, I immediately let people know that anyone caught shooting in the direction of my equipment will be excommunicated for the evening from the show.  I've had idiots wet my mixer board and I've literally ripped the gun out of their hand and asked them a simple question ... 'What, are you f'ing stupid?"

Screamers?  My favorite.  Once they start, I turn the microphone to a whisper.  I don't care if they can't be heard, just like they don't care the heed to many, many requests not to scream in the microphones.  Idiots!

Anyone cut off from the bar, is also cut off from the show for the rest of the evening.  I had one girl get so upset she couldn't sing at the end of a show (well over closing), that she started threatening me and became quite unruly.  As the bar staff was escorting her out she chucked a full beer into the side of the bar and was told not to come back for the rest of the weekend.  I 86'd her for two solid weeks with the understanding that if she ever pulled a stunt like that again, she wouldn't be singing on my equipment ever.  She's been a model citizen since.

The thing with me is this:

1)  I realize that drunks are obnoxious and defiant by nature
2)  I run a fair and consistent show
3)  The waitstaff and I work together to put on a good show
4)  I won't tolerate disrespect or abuse of myself, my singers or my equipment
5)  I've got a good group of regular that understand how I roll and appreciate it
6)  I don't host for the money, I do it for the fun (and girls  :) ), so I don't feel obliged to kiss anyone's patootie, including the owners (she's a drama queen who lacks discretionary skills).

RE:
This wasn't the 1st time this "prima dona" had a fit for one reason or another -
And yes it is my decision to skip him (1 or 2 singers) to keep the show flowing If I feel it is required.  If I call him in the middle of his game - as I've done before, He'll hold up a finger to have me WAIT until he is finished shooting.  Now I have to put filler music on while the karaoke show comes to a temporary halt waiting for him.
This is the same guy one he was "mistakely missed" in the rotation - MY FAULT !
his slip was misplaced.   So I apologized and he refused to sing and left.  WAH WAH WAH ..sorry but in the years I've been KJ'ing its has happened once or twice.

If he was'nt a regular I probably would have called him in the middle of his game and gave him the "goin once goine twice NEXT" if he didn't stop shooting.

But really ---Just because you had to wait one time 2 additional singers to sing ( 8mins) is it really worth as a grown man to get upset and leave?  I even told him I didn't want to screw up his pool game ( they take pool seriously here).

Maybe it was childish to rip up his slips but I was trying to act as childish as him to make a point.  

It's karaoke at a local bar - SO if you sing 4 songs a night --does it really make any difference if your 2nd song was sung at 10:20pm rather than 10:12pm ?
Get real  LMAO  LMAO

Never in a million years would I do that. The show goes on.

Sorry, you lost control of your show and compromised yourself to the rest of the audience.

Take control and put a finger up for him. Your choice of which one, but I would hold up the same one as I said "Next Up!"

Gaurantee he won't do that to you again.

Dennis - no disrespect but you missed the 1st post  which explained that I DO NOT wait for someone to finish playing a pool game. I took control as you say and gentle moved him down the rotation until he finished THAT GAME of pool ( 2 singers) .  To ME that seemed like a good decision .  This guy didn't like the fact that he had to wait 2 singers and walked out.  Sorry ! .

My biggest pet peeve as a KJ is prima donna SINGERS.

Well, I guess I'm not speaking of EVERY time Lon, I realize there are those kinds of people. I'm mostly referring to me, when it's MY turn. Now, where I hang out, I don't have issues with this kind of thing. I have in the past, at other places... and there's even one fill in girl at Denny's that irritates me when she is there.

I've been up right after one of those terribly quiet singers- and I've had to say "uh, buddy, turn my mic down to match the music"... cause they didn't readjust. I don't LIKE to hold the mic very far away to adjust my voice. I like to hold it up close, and not be overkill. One thing that bugs me... new places I go to, I think they see me coming and assume cause of my size that I'm gonna sing quietly. And truth is, I have a pretty healthy set of lungs, I'm NOT a quiet singer at all. I've also on the flipside though, been up right after Godzilla who just sang a Motley Crue song, and they've turned it low... and I'm up to do a mellower song... and I have to ask them to turn it back up. My point is... they should handle it BEFORE I have the time to even realize it's not set right.

It really is not so common to see bad KJ's anymore, I don't think. I did run into a pure-dee !00% dumbazz a couple years ago in Wilsonville, but I'm sure he's been replaced. He was awful. I may as well have popped a tape in an Am/Fm radio and sang through a tin can... it would have sounded much the same.

And... for the record... I sound persnickety, when I'm not. I am NOT a person who knows alot about equipment. Hell, if my effects are adequate, and I can hear myself and the music equally well, I'm good. (and btw, I have decent hearing, I'm not partially deaf, so it's not like I need any special settings to hear, either)  I'm talking about OBVIOUS errors in mixing the KJ makes... bad enough that the crowd is noticing.

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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. ♥