Karaoke Forums

I feel for you, Michaeldiapers, but I don't have a solution. For several years I had a show at a place that never damaged a book so reprinting was just a matter of doing it when too many new songs had been added.

Now I'm at a place where they don't just spill drinks on the books, they manage to get it inside the page protectors--once the very same day I had reprinted them. And for some reason it is always some fancy red sticky drink and not just beer. I have picked them up off the tables where they were actually dripping wet.

There was a fellow on here, Bill W, who used to cater to a young age group. He mentioned that he laminated his books so he could take them out in the back yard after a show and hose the vomit off of them. I've never had it that bad but I'm really amazed at what this new group can do to books.

As far as leaving books around encouraging new singers--I accompanied a friend to karaoke for almost a year before I dared to try it myself. I often see people looking at the books and ask if they would like to put in a song and they get that deer in the headlights look and decline. But months later they will finally say, this is the night, and give it a try.

I had that happen with 2 singers Wed night.

Most of the places I am in are smaller venues. I try to print enough books to have one on every table. That means 8-12 books per venue. I have a couple that are much Larger so a book goes on every other table.

Like Leopard and others, I have had "never in a million years" singers break down over time and eventually come up. A few have even turned into regulars.

My wife and I met at a karaoke bar. She accompanied me to karaoke 2-4 times a week for the first year we dated and never sang. Then she asked me to do a duet with her "Cruisin" by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow. When we moved from Texas to CA, she started taking voice lessons from Dodie Stevens ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodie_Stevens ) who happened to live in a neighboring town. Until I started running my own shows, she would come with me every weekend to karaoke. Now that we are karaoke pretty much 24/7 she doesn't come out very often at all. Besides, getting home at 3am because I have to stay and break down, isn't her idea of fun anymore.

In other words, people convert.

This is one of many reasons why I like books and will always have books.

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-Chris

I got rid of my books about a year ago and have been using Songbookdb and my singers love it (exception might be the few that have not embraced the smartphone yet). I did not just pull the book away but did a gradual migration to the online app. Side note: If I am hosting a senior or kids event, I will take the books for them with which includes page of the last year of updates.

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

Received the quote back on printing books for every show I have. $2300 for 100 books. At $23/book it is actually a very good price and I have already given them the thumbs up. They just have to order more supplies.

But I also made the decision last night to start designing a kiosk that I will use at one of my new gigs. Fortunately I know a LOT of creative types here in Seattle so I am going to crowdsource the whole project.

Oh....my wife told me to get a partner. Anyone want to move to Seattle?

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-Chris

if I ever started hosting again, I would print some books, just not as many as I used to.

I have seen too many people who said they would never sing pick up a book and start browsing thru it, probably out of sheer boredom, then an hour later they are up on stage murdering some rendition of there favourite song they probably haven't heard since they were a kid or in college, or whatever.

-James

at hosing vomit off in the backyard. I've explored the laminating option, but the printing place I used to use said It would probably be 4x as much. So about $600 for 8 books. That place pissed me off, so I'm back at Staples for now, I'll ask them how much.

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If you're going to eat my mic, do you at least want some condiments?

My wife sings "Pink Shoelaces" every now and them, and I was thinking about getting getting some pink shoelaces, tan shoes, a polka dot vest, a Panama hat with a purple hat band and change my name to Dooley.

I have the smart phone apps as well. Some people use them. I will never get rid of books as that is something I (me personally) like to see when I go to karaoke shows. So I offer what I would like to see at another show. Most of my crowd is in their 20-30's and every one of them have smart phones - but again, they LIKE looking at the books as well.
Again the only thing that are killing books are kj's. Customers do in fact still like them, many shows around do not use books and are pleasantly surprised when they can take a book to browse to their table.

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

I use three books. I may make two more, in time. I do them myself. I wrote them in Excel, I edited them in excel, I print them and put them together myself. I have me new section that gets amended every week to two weeks, for 6 months. Then it gets incorporated into the main books and I print them out fresh. Right now I have two listed by artist and one listed by title.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

That's exactly what I do, smoothedge, only I use MS Word. I have the main books in two sections with a card separater in-between; Original list of 125 double-sided A4 at the front and a Late Additions section (currently 12 double-sided A4 pages at the back. If I was running a professional show I'd update it occasionally but it seems too much paper, ink, hassle for family gatherings which is all I do so I'll probably allow the Late Additions section to grow for a bit.