Karaoke Forums

Better you than me. I rather listen to "The Rose" followed by "Summer Nights", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Don't Stop Belivein'", and yes, even "Picture" first.

Followed immediately with the torture of having all my toenails torn out with rusty pliers....

Yep I worked hard over the years to GET it to harder rock, pop and newer country. I'll take it all day long over the typical karaoke standards But we still get those on occasion and they are equally as welcome as anyone else.

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

I don't realize where the intolerance comes from? I haven't had a hearing test in a while, but I was blessed/cursed with what is often referred to as perfect pitch (I can distinguish a variation of 5 cents in pitch). Oddly enough the absolute worst for me is not when someone is blatantly off pitch... But instead the really good singers who (like ANYBODY ELSE) aren't perfect & come JUST shy of making the note. Regardless, people need to feel welcome & be welcome to do whatever song they want to (even the host). The host effectively is giving up a night of kare free karaoke, in order to facilitate that for the patrons of the night, so they should be entitled to 1 turn per rotation, like anyone else (although I have been known to cut myself out on busy nights @ midnight to allow for more singers to be able to sing). I will also admit that I sometimes don't sing the songs I want to, in order to meet requests or the atmosphere, but if my soul needs therapy, by means of a particular song... That's what I do, & the open, welcoming environment we have all (patrons & host alike) cultivated allows for it.

This is not about "singing ability" at all... it's about "song selection."

I don't care how "well" he sings metal... the audience doesn't like the genre.

How about this instead:
What if a singer picks nothing but songs that are simply rife with screaming profanity?

And that's all they do.

Every...... single..... time... week.... after..... week...

Shouldn't you be as "tolerant" of that for just 4-5 minutes?

As he originally stated it's a few... 3 or so... We must be intolerant of intolerance - period. This thread became partially about quality of singing, when people tied in singers, who sing the same songs over & over again, & were horrible at them... To those people I suggest another line of work!

But shouldn't you be more tolerant of their efforts? They may not be Celine Dion, but they're at least trying. Karaoke is about fun isn't it?

It's possible to be "intolerant" of a horrible singer OR a horrible genre.... it's all up the listeners isn't it? You can suggest "another line of work" for the singer if they're bad, but is it out of line and "intolerant" to ask that a singer choose "another genre of song?"

You can't exclude one without the other.

Not allowed. Not even listed. Out of site out of mind (99% of the time).

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

Gasp! You intolerant puppy-beater!

Nah bar rule, not mine, but over the years I think I would keep them out now anyway. I can cuss and be profane with the best of them, but usually it's within earshot of just my friends or group i'm with. Don't necessarily want to hear it blaring over a few hundred watts for all to hear.

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

I had a bar that wouldn't allow ANYTHING that remotely sounded like gospel.

If someone requested it, they were told to go talk to the owner who would explain to them that if they wanted to sing gospel in HIS bar, then they could do that.... right AFTER he would sit in the front row of THEIR church and crack open a few beers...

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Every establishment should have the right to deem what IS and what IS NOT acceptable at their venue just as the KJ should have the right to set his/her standards for their shows.

The key is proper notification to the patrons as to what the establishment/KJ considers acceptable and being fair and consistent in enforcement of the parameters.

If a KJ does not like MF songs he/she should not take a gig at a venue that allows it.

Singers should not get bent out of shape because they cannot perform their favorite death metal song at the local church karaoke fundraiser or the sawdust on the floor country bar.

If there is one positive aspect of the pirate invasion, it is that anyone can usually find another place close by that more closely conforms with their tastes in music and/or runs a rotation they way that they like.

I do not mind restrictions as long they are -

Not forced on me by monopolistic fiat
Spelled out clearly
Enforced fairly and consistently.

They are not listed in my book either. As a matter of fact if if the artist is known for having profanity and screaming in their songs, I will remove all the songs by that artist.

Oh good... that should eliminate Godsmack from your books as well. (did I mention how much I can't stand that band?)

Not a single song by Godsmack when I do a search, but if I search the "will not play" file I show that I have 14 different songs by them. So Chip it would be safe for you to come to one of my shows. I have a monstrous amount of songs in my "will not play" because they would not be well received at any of my past or present venues.

Yay!

I'm with you on this.

I do a pretty wide range of stuff, from current hip hop to Bing Crosby. And I tend to swing my song selection to be room appropriate--partly for them, and partly for me. Generally speaking, I'm not going to sing Bing Crosby with the college kids, and I'm not doing Dr. Dre with the grandpas.

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Co-host of The Greatest Song Ever Sung (Poorly), a karaoke-themed podcast

I still go through each song as I enter them through lyrics search. There are many clean songs even by artists notoriously known for cussing.

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

You either failed to read my post properly or are intentionally strawmanning it.

I think that I have grown to be a regular there in the past two years I have regularly been showing up. Most of the people there love it when I get up and sing, even though it is not what they are used to or usually listen to. I've had a roughly eighty-year-old regular come up to me and say that I bring energy and variety to the show (a show that were I not there, would simply be 95 percent country classics with 5 percent 80s pop).

It is only two or three people that have been turning up in the past four or so months, that had been causing problems and talking (@$%&#!). Even most of the other patrons thought these guys were being rude; and they have since been given a "talking to" by some other singers and now do not complain.

And frankly I agree with the other singers there. Variety is the spice of life, and if a person can't sit through a song they don't like for four minutes without throwing a tantrum, then I believe they are a whiny crybaby and need to grow up. For a singer, karaoke is about singing what you love; it is not the audience's or KJ's job to tell a singer what to sing, profanities aside.

I have no choice but to sing at my shows. If I don't, people start asking me to. Though, if I am really busy, I will cut it back to every other rotation, if at all. I sing a pretty wide variety of songs. I can go anywhere from Dean Martin to Whitesnake. I don't sing country, but my people are fine with that. I sing , mostly melodic Metal, like Queensryche, and Alter Bridge. I also sing quite a bit of Blues.

As for the hecklers at Butt's show, screw them. Make them sing. Once they sing they won't heckle.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I also have problems once in awhile with hecklers. I have found and this may not be possible in all venues you play, but I find if you get on the mic and shut them down, not necessarily rudely, but with a joking comment such as " keep drinking you'll be singing along later" etc etc it shuts them up because you called them out... only once or twice in my 24 + years of running shows have I ever had to get rude on the mic with a heckler... you'll get those that boo every singer, etc etc... one that works for me is, Calling them out to come sing if they think they can do a better job or even pointing out the nerve it takes to get up and sing in front of a crowd in the first place and that they aren't allowed to BOO unless they get up there and sing first.. luckily I most of the places I have played support me in trying to nip heckling in the bud. Though you should make sure first, usually I work with the bartenders to do it in a way that won't be insulting, because that could start a whole other storm of problems if the heckler is drunk and just trying to start a confrontation.. I have had bartenders even tell them to shut up and sit down or they aren't allowed to drink anymore.. ( that usually shuts them up quick.)
The pragmatic approach sometimes works, get on the mic and ask them what kind of music they like and sing one for them. I also start every show to set sound before my other singers go up to sing, also I sing until I get a lot of singers or if some nights there are more country singers then rock or some other genre i'll break it up and sing what isn't being sung...
if none of these work, and the bar/club doesn't give you voluntary back up to quiet them down, explain to them that you they will lose business if those hecklers continue doing that to the singers. you will have some first time singers that won't sing at all when that sort of thing is going on, and it makes your show look bad, because it looks like you are not supporting them or trying to make the atmosphere more likeable to the singer. Even when you have a sing that might have been "bad" explain, that its karaoke, no one there has a recording contract no one is "better" then the others, it's about having fun and singing what YOU want to sing...
just my 2 cents though...