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I sometimes wonder how different the opinions and comments on a thread like this would be if they hosted a son's of silence bikers club all night out at a lake. Or we even do gigs for friend finders. Yes the one on the net (swingers). The rules for friend finders is really strange.

There are different venues and circumstances and you cant apply rules , except for real basic ones to everybody else.

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I have done 2 different biker events.  And both of them were far more courteous and well mannered than any other event I have ever done.

I also don't think it's a matter of "understanding" karaoke.  It all boils down to good old respect, manners and common sense.  Several of you think that I may be a bit rash with my 2 strikes and your out.  But, I don't have that happen very often.   Being drunk and bad manners are two separate things.  I don't have trouble with drunks for the most part.  If people have manners they will act that way even when drunk.

Unfortunately most of the "2 strikers" I run into are stoned cold sober and don't give a hoot.  Those types, I, the regulars and the management would just as soon stay away.

Kelly

Actually Kelly our local bar had some regular bikers Ill tell you what nobody is going to screw with your gear. My mom in her 70.s would go to the bar and drink 2 or 3 beers and everybody protected her but if there were bikers there she was in good hands Ill tell you that.

Us old vets are forever in debt to the bikers at vets funerals that drown out the protesters yells. I have a very special fondness for bikers AND BIKER CHICKS

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Too bad you feel that way.  I go out with a group of "singers" every few days looking for good shows, good times, supporting the crowds & club we go to....and our bar tab reflected that, it was usually well over $500 for the group) provided service was good & drinks weren't underpoured.  Yes we tend to look for clubs that are fun, but still care about their clients "singers", I can understand why you aren't doing shows anymore, but you wouldn't have wanted our money in your club anyway since we were "singers", wonder how your bar managers would feel about that statement!

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

You and your friends would not have come to the places I usually played anyway.  Little hole in the wall taverns that you couldn't put a hundred people in if you used a tamper.  Beer and wine only.  I quit for two reasons, the first being that most of my better disks walked off one night and second, I was told I should quit drinking and that took all the fun out of it.  Nice job on Summer Wind in SS by the way.

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Okay, who took my pants?

I try to avoid working those hole in the walls to begin with, once you get that rep, it's hard to shake.  As far as hosts drinking that's another story, I allow 2 reasonable drinks - no hard drinks or straight shots - to any of my hosts, if I ever got a report of them being intoxicated to a point of where they were being beligerent, insulting, slurring, messing up mixing or music errors they don't even get a warning - they go bye bye!  This is in the rules/policies they sign when they are contracted by me.  We are a professional company and professionals do not get sloppy drunk on the job.  We also have it in the contract that while you are working for me, you are not to get excessively drunk in the club you work on your off nights - they are still representing me & the club.

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Dive bars/hole in the walls wasn't an issue if the host did a good job.  We wouldn't go to any of the places that you describe simply because the way you describe your show & the way you feel about your customers.



Seems you should've had you're discs placed better or in a manner that wouldn't be accessible to anyone else...don't claim it not possible in certain clubs, it is if you set up correctly.
Second I agree a host should not be drinking.

BTW, thanks.

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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 was packing up, pretty hammered as usual, I just returned from taking the disks out to the vehicle when a lovely young lady (not really so young or lovely) became suddenly infatuated with me.  Arrangements had to be made.  When I came out with another load of gear, the disk racks were gone.  There was much shouting and disconfiture which served me not at all.  Entirely my fault certainly.

As for drinking on the job, oh heck yeah.  Why do you think Sacks-O-Nuts was so idiot proof, so I could use it while I was drunk.  This was a feature I tested often.  If you don't like the drunkenness you would have hated the naked ladies on the posters and fliers, and all the volunteer naked ladies dancing on the bartop.  You would have hated the banter, the intro style, the outro style.  You would have dispised the group singing and everyone is the house singing ribald ditties, and the lines of women doing high kicks to American Pie with my old fat bald self in the middle.  Pretty much everything I used to do at my shows you would have detested.  

So, should I go back into the business feel free to go somewhere else.

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Okay, who took my pants?

 We KJs are such a fun bunch ...

I drink at my gigs, but only beer.  I need it because by nature people bug me.  :)  Kind of ironic I spend two nights a week entertaining them.  Actually, I think I do it because there was only one or two real KJs in this town when I started and both had their issues.  There are other KJs but they have the typical unprofessional way about them, including drinking too much (and various other drugs).  I like to think I provide a good service.

I maintain and am consistent, and I'm the only one in this town that still twists knobs and cares about putting on a show for the people.

KJs must twist and slide, how could you not?  I memorize the regulars and have them set before they're even on stage.  I have a standard setting I use for new singers and adjust from there.  Often finding their 'points' quickly.  Then I usually remember it for the night.

Shame on KJs that don't twist and slide.

Wowzers, I filled in for a KJ at a *ahem* swinger party. All I can say is very interesting. They were really nice people , tho.

Thanks to everyone who shared the responses. Very good posts, IMHO. I do not suffer fools very often, and I guess you would have to be able to "read" people to know the proper response when faced with this problem. I do agree that bikers tend to be very respectful of their "home bar". My own mom was friends with several of the Milwaukee Outlaws that would frequent our local gin mill. They let no one bother her. However, that being said, in my early karaoke experiences, I was with a friends show hanging out when this idiot drunk decided to pick a fight with my KJ friend. I just jumped on the back of this dude (I'm not little) and the next thing I remember is a West Allis cop pulling me off the floor and his partner had the offender pinned to the floor with his knee on his neck. Talk about fast acting bar staff, they had the PD on the horn that quick. As I was talking to the officer about the incident, I saw his partner remove two guns and a knife from the guy. Whew!!! After my nervousness settled down, I got drinks from everyone and more female attention than anything before or since. Even got a kiss from the KJs smoking hawt girl friend.  :dancin:

Partly why hosts shouldn't drink, keep your bearings and know where your stuff is.  Yep entirely your fault.



Kind of sad actually.



Yep definitely would have hated it, that's not karaoke, that's drunken idiocy!  Hopefully the bar was licensed for the nudity, it should've been reported to authorities.  I know I would have!



TRUST ME there would NEVER be an issue there!

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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 sometimes frequent a bar that has all those things that exweedfarmer speaks of...the girls on bars, the ribald ditties et al, but the KJ does not get bombed and he controls it. and everyone has a blast and parties hard, but everyone pretty much behaves themselves. The bar owner has rooms to sleep in when they've had too much and he won't let them drive or ride home. Great place.

Perry love your humour dahlin xxxxxxx

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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."

Now that sounds like a fun place....

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"I hold the key to an open door....will I ever be free...?"

As a singer the best thing I did was when the one guy who thought he could do my song better came to the stage, btw he did ask if he could sing with me, but this was when I was beginning the song, he was on the first step right in front of the monitor with the other foot on its way up to the stage.   So instead of stopping the song, or stop singing, I just grabbed him the other mic.  But as I gave him the mic, I pushed the button and slid the cord off at the same motion, while I turned the on switch for him.   So he got on stage and sung from the cordless mic while the crowd was getting a chuckle at the fella.  Maybe he did sing better than me, but who knows at that time.

Or how about those cheeseheads that stand right in front of or off to the side of the singer and belt out the song (sans microphone) to the point where the singer can't even hear themselves singing.  That's just as annoying and I usually will wave them off.  I notice that some people don't realize how disruptive that is.

[highlight=violet]exweedfarmer wrote :

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oneofakind864 @ Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:25 pm wrote:
Babs as usual nailed it...but to take it one step further- Ive seen KJ's that allowed and even encouraged behavior like this saying that "crowd participation" was "more fun for everyone" and when I made it clear that i did not want the person on stage they shrugged like "What can I do"When it was obvious that they wouldn't take action-- I stopped singing- reached over and yanked the mic from the interloper and handed it to the Kj. [/highlight]

[highlight=violet]
As I read you post my eyes grew wide and my mouth went dry thinking of what would have happened at about half of the venues I played.  As you turned back to the interloper to make your comment you probably would have been introduced to the questionable art of the B@@ch Slap.  People are dangerous.  If the KJ didn't do anything about it I have to suspect that there was probably a good reason.

     
 
CroakDog Major Poster wrote:

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Are you kidding me, somebody slaps a hottie like Paula at one of my gigs and they wouldn't even make it off the stage before 10 guys beat 'em to a pulp.  
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You guys CRACK me up...but trust me - before the 10 guys could move in to do any bashing...the "person" who attempted to slap me would have found out that a beyotch slap to the wrong beyotch will quicly get you knocked OUT COLD!!!...remember- I was the one now holding the mics...I was also the one who is an ex KJ with fairly large kahunas...and I AM the one who would have slugged said slapee upside the head with both mics and put my body weight behind it...    (Um....Charmin taught me that move ! )  

Seriously...though...most people who you refer to as "jumpers" are so for 1 of two reason...1) they are afraid to sing solo because they don't think people will like them...and 2) they are a mic hog and need positive attention from the crowd..in BOTH cases they are extremely concerned with what people think of them. Unless they were stinking drunk...Most jumpers will run at the first sign of conflict because they are afraid of "looking bad"...The only time I ever saw a jumper situation escalate into something where slaps/punches/drinks etc were thrown, was when the 2 parties were friends that were having a tiff...and the jumper did so on purpose to tick their buddy off. The actual "problem" had nothing to do with the mic hog cuz the trouble had started long before either hit the stage. Had the KJ prevented the jumper in the first place then the brawl that ensued would never have happened.

I also have to say I cen see both sides of the situation that exweed and croakdog stated regarding drinking. I had several shows but one of the first ones i did was in a hole in the wall college bar and it ran from 11pm to 3am...it was a nightmare of drunks with quick tempers and no talent...trying to make anyone there sound better was like polishing a turd(oops can I say that on here? ) It was a low paying gig too so the owner threw in a free tab for "medicinal purposes" cuz alcohol was the only way anyone could tolerate that place for that long. Thank god I didn't do it long! Then I got some good shows and made something of a name for myself and it all got better. But I did learn a few tricks for crowd control...believe me - every night there was some jerk that tried to spray a beer into my monitors or to swing the mic by the cord like it was a lasso of something. Those iron bars that TV stands are balanced on get a crowds attention VERY fast! When I actually had to resort to such a drastic measure to prevent my equipment from being torn apart was the night I quit that particular place.

Grinning..this is off the subject but when one was shaking up his beer...I stepped up to him and put my hand over his thumb in the bottle and said on the mic..."what are you doing" He blushed....I asked "you gonna try to spray that on my equipment?" He said "no 'mam" I said "GreaT!! That's what I thought you'd say - you were just trying to cool off weren't you?" He knew he'd be thrown out if he didn't go along and said yeah- so I made him point the bottle at himself and let go. He was pretty darn soaked but at least my speakers were safe. ANd...it was a long time before I had to worry about dealing with anyone shaking up their beer on stage after that.  But...from that story the point I'd like to make is ..there has to be a certain amount of responsibility from the bar owners to protect not only the kj's right to control the show- but especially in cases of lady KJ's- The KJ themselves. As several of you said..at most shows there are always plenty of men who will come to the rescue- but that doesn't seem fair to make these "knights in armor" have to jump into a fray to keep someone from being hurt.

But all of these situations and issues spring from the same basic problem...If a KJ physically can't control the show- either through their own physical strength- or through the bars staff and backing---the show can and will become not only a "rough" show to attend..it can get downright ugly and dangerous for anyone there. A KJ MUST be able to see trouble coming and avert it. I have much respect for ex weed but I have to disagree with the KJ being "one of the crowd"  It's fine to have fun within certain limits but partying to the extent that you aren't "sharp" enough to see a problem coming  or firm enough to stand up to someone when they overstep the boundaries is not a good idea.The KJ MUST always be the authority at a show or anything could happen. Seriously exweedfarmer "what would you do if "I" were at your show...and someone jumped on stage with me and I asked you to remove them? Would you force me into the situation like the other KJ did by refusing to do anything? If so you could have either "Me" or the person I bashed in the head" or any of "the 10 guys that jumped in" get seriously hurt. I have been to shows like yours( both as a client and as a KJ) I have also been to lonman and croakdogs definition of shows...perhaps I'm getting old- but I MUCH prefer the latter sort. Then again...I don't like places where my spike heels get stuck in the slats of the floor either( wnk wink) I sincerely hope that you don't take offense to what I just said .....er not the part about the heels in the slats but before that   because I only said it to hopefully cause you to think about that situation and what you really WOULD do...because from your definition of your shows( if you were really serious) sooner or later you WILL have to deal with that situation or something similar. I'd hate for anyone to be hurt at something that is supposed to be fun like karaoke is.  :handshake:
Respectfully,
Paula

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First, as I said before he would never have gotten to the stage because I am always near the singer to be of aid in any way I can.  Second, the remaining mics are not accessable and they are muted, he would not have been tempted in the first place.  Had he actually gained the stage, I would have looked the big sucker in the eye and said "Please, she would really prefer that you not be here."  Being very polite will defuse almost any situation.  If that didn't work, I would have turned off the power amp and waited for him to leave.  If that didn't work, he didn't care about singing, he was trying to pick a fight.

By the by, drunk does not mean out of control.  In my case it means happy as a clam.

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Okay, who took my pants?