Karaoke Forums

I have been to many long-running shows that did nothing special--in fact in some cases the hosts were arrogant and even rude to the "lesser" singers. It is just that they had been around forever so it was just assumed they were the "go to" people. Sometimes it's hard to unseat an incumbent.

It can also depend on what the bar management does. It can be difficult for even the best show to overcome bad management. But a weaker show could thrive at a bar that has a good location and does what it needs to do to attract people.

Everyone talks about skills as a host but I'm betting very few were born perfect. I think even Lonman has talked about messing up and losing his first job? The frustration today is that hosts have a hard time getting that opportunity to hone their skills against so many that are taking up spots that wouldn't even have been in the business if they'd had to pay the true start up costs. I can sympathize with that. There are upgrades that I would like to make in my business but I have less of my profits to work with then the competition due to paying licenses and taxes and actually paying for my music. The OP acknowledged he had things he might need to work on. We all do. We all get frustrated. A rant is just a rant.

Joe:this has almost nothing to do with the fact that he is a thief. That's just an extra detail that irks me. What REALLY makes me scratch my head is he is a substandard host, and it absolutely baffles me why people will flock to a show were the host regularily:

1. Skips people in the rotation because his desk is so unorganized that he loses slips
2. Will spend 2 minutes chatting to someone else on stage while the singers is waiting there for there song to be cued
3. Will put people up more than once in a rotation, and I'm not talking about doing duets I mean this guy sang THREE times on his own in one rotation
4. will be all nice and friendly to your face, but will say mean stuff about you behind your back *i'm not the only person he's done it to*

I would bet every penny that I have that you have NEVER done any of these things.

-James

Actually, it doesn't sound like it has anything to do with personality. One of your singers that you know said, "that place sucks, we just don't like it there". It's the place, not the karaoke. It may just be the place itself isn't that great of a place. Some places have a good atmosphere, and some don't. Maybe the place smells of stale cigarette smoke, or maybe the pinball machines drown out the singers, or maybe the place has hard plastic chairs that nobody likes to sit in, or maybe they never change their fry oil so the French fries are all soggy and gross. Or maybe the service is slow, or they blow their noses while cooking people's food. Or maybe the parking lot is full of potholes which are full of muddy water all the time and you have skip, jump and swim just to get inside. It could be a million things that have nothing to do with your show, so don't take it personally. If you ran a fair rotation, had a half-decent song selection, and reasonably good sound, and you treat your singers courteously, you would have a show that I would want to attend. But if there were two such shows, and one was in a nicer place, and the other was a seedy dive....well...I'd go to the nicer of the two places.

@ seattledrizzle... I'm not so sure. Don't forget, jclaydon said that this was at the same place where he had hosted Karaoke 2 years earlier, and, at that time, it was dead there for him. I may have interpreted jclaydon's rant wrong, and read more into the above quote. Maybe these same 10 people whom he asked/invited to come to his show at that place, the same people who said "This place sucks," showed up to the same place for that Pirate's show. That would feel like a slap in the face to me.

Some KJs draw people and some KJs draw flies. Some KJs have a great following of friends and they can pack the worst venue in any area. Given a choice between going to my friends show or a total strangers show10 minutes away; I will pick my friend's show every time. The problems that you desribe, bad rotation may be th ereason this guys show ir packed. His friends don't want a fair rotation. They want a rotation where the KJs friends get preferential treatment.

You didn't read too much into it, that is EXACTLY what happened.

I can relate to how you feel. Currently, I am not doing any shows (my full-time job work-schedule interferes with me being able to give a long-time commitment to a place), but when I was doing the occasional show, attendance was poor for me as well. I have a mailing list of over 100 names, and if 3 people showed up (from my list), I was happy. I would go out to attend other Karaoke shows and people who knew me would approach and ask me when I was doing another show. When I would give them the information, I would also ask for their e-mail address (if I didn't have it already), and they would respond, "I'll be there.", and never show up. Then, when I would be attending another show, and happen to see these people, they would just approach me and apologize for not being able to make it to my show. Mind you, I never approached these people, they approached me (to ask about any shows I was doing, and/or to apologize for not showing up). I never put them on the spot with questions like, "Why didn't you show up?".

I have learned to live with it, and not to take anyone on their word that they say they will "be there." I don't put any expectations upon the people I know (including all those on my e-mail list) to show up to my show (when I host one). All I do is send out the e-mail, and if they show, they show. If they don't, oh well.


Now, as for Joe C.'s advice...


That's easier said than done. When you have nothing, you take what you can get. I don't have the Salesmanship abilities that Joe C. boasts about having. I don't have a following. As a result of this, I don't have the luxury of picking and choosing a venue like Joe C. suggests. There is no partnership. All I have is ME, and the knowledge that I have a good Sound System and Library. All I can tell them (the Venues) is that I run a fair Rotation, and that I don't Censor any music. I will not lie to them or fudge about a having a following. I will not give them false guarantees that I can/will pack the place with people.

Before approaching a venue, there are certain things which I look for:
The neighborhood
Parking
Work Space (for me) in the Venue
If I don't see those 3 criteria, then I will not approach the place. Anything else that the place has to offer is icing on the cake.