Karaoke Forums

I certainly can appreciate the job KJ's do.  They're busy and have bunches of folks coming up with requests and all the while juggling the rotation, disks and what-have-you.   I think the "I'm bugging them" part of me is because they are usually busy so sometimes are terse when I submit stuff.  But I usually get a good intro or comments after I sing.  Especially true when I do something like Have a Drink on Me or any other song with high energy and a falsetto (not too many guys hit those notes).  Again, not many people do those songs so people remember.

The one KJ that always remembers me does so cause I sing stuff very few people do and my daughter has been with me a few times.  She's simply awesome and really gets the crowd going.   that's not just a dad giving his daughter props- she gets it from the crowd and KJ's.  Most times when I go there, the KJ will stop by and chat with us too which I think is pretty cool too.  

The jar rattling guy was filling in for the regular KJ was a bit of goof.

Anyway, net is I think its ok to have a tip jar there since its a way (if one wants) to show appreciation for what a KJ does.  

Dunno why but this reminds of the Seinfeld episode where George was trying to tip a guy in a pizza place and the guy kept missing it when he tipped him.  point being, again, that the KJ KNOWS you appreciate what they do.

Somebody mentioned the bit about having a board to submit songs.  There's a place here in PHX that does that (like a white board with florescent pens).  It works well if you dont' have a lot of singers + you know where you're at in the rotation.  That place also has a DJ/KJ in the back and 2-3 "handlers" that ham it up for the crowd.  That is pretty fun as they sing + get the crowd involved in the song.  One time, somebody wrote them a nasty note that they took up too much time singing.  One of them thought it was me -- dunno why -- I told them it wasn't as I thought it was fun and they did a great job at it (they seemed to appreciate that).

oh- knowing where you're at in the rotation-- sometimes I'll ask.  Cause if its getting late and I'm not going to be up soon, I'll tell them to remove me and let somebody else sing.

btw KJ's - filler songs are a bit of a pain IMHO since it takes up time that could be used by a singer -- if there's a bunch of singers, don't want to wait for a non-karaoke song.

Got a $20 bill last night from someone just saying "Thanks for the great time".  No strings attached, they did it at the end of the night & said they'd be back.

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Ohhhhh boy, now I've heard everything.

I am still new at karaoke, and I have not noticed anyone tipping the KJ.  (At one place where I went, I noticed a few people handing money to people onstage that were singing--perhaps they had requested a song and were paying that person to sing it?  Anyone care to elaborate?)  I haven't noticed any tip jars either.  Most of them do tell you to tip your bartenders & waitresses, and I do tip them.   If I find out for sure that you SHOULD tip the KJ, I will do it.  (I have Asperger syndrome--look it up online!--and don't always instinctively know the "proper" thing to do.)

Once when I was getting ready to sing and the KJ was having some kind of glitch with the sound system, I said to the crowd:  "Are you all having a good time?  Don't forget to tip your bartenders and waitresses...and all that other stuff people say in between songs!"    I just kinda came up with that off the top of my head.

Although I'm not a KJ, I am glad there are so many KJ's on these boards--now we know what you all think of all of us crazy people who get up to sing!     Seriously, it's good to find out the perspective from the KJ's point of view.

Well, if they have to do that, I just hope they make you pay AFTER you sing!  Otherwise, if they run out of time and you don't get to do a song, you've paid for nothing!

Ditto.  I always give the bartender a tip even if I'm just having water (which I do sometimes).  I do like to drink, but my limit is 1 drink per night, and only if I get there early.

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Now there's someone after my own heart!  I do sing some stuff that other people do, but as I've said in other threads, I tend to pick off-the-beaten path songs that sometimes the KJ hasn't even heard before!  (I love it!  Stump the KJ!  LOL )

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I love being a mom!

Tipping Tipping Tipping

It always gets my goat when I've been working my butt off getting the crowd participating and working a night with a lot of demanding people and someone announces don't forget to tip the bartender. OK I'm standing right next to you. Your on my microphone, but don't think to tip me.

I don't ever ask for tips, but have a tip jar. I don't mind if people don't tip, but don't go out of your way to ignore me.

I work a small bar that has sometimes 30 or more singers. I work by myself. I don't ever take a break so more people can sing. I work 6-7 hours straight. If I go to the bathroom I have a patron sing a long song so I have enough time to get there and back.

I had a new person approach me wed. night and said he loves the way I do it. I don't play music in between, because I have the next singer ready to go immediately, to cut down on wait time. The crowd is involved in almost every song. It's like a big family reunion having a sing a long. It isn't a competition who sings better. Every one claps and is encouraging.

The point here isn't to toot my own horn. It is just to explain it is very hard work to keep everyone happy. I was finally given a bouncer on Fiday nights because I am hassled so much - it is nice to be appreciated if you go the extra step for your patrons. But I understand not everyone has the money to be tipping the KJ $5 or $10 bucks.

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Hell i'd be elated if everyone that sang threw in the change in their pockets half the time.  I'm the same way, have a jar, but do not make any reference to it throughout a show.  If someone asks if I have 1, then I point to it.  But sure I would appreciate if every singer at least thought to throw something in - & not crumpled up slips.

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 LMAO Lonman you so brought back some funny stories for me.

Someone put a tampon in my tip jar once. (unused of course eeew)

I had one guy who would leave me a candy bar every time he'd come in- I thought that was cute

I've had my $1 nights, but I'll never forget the night I was given a $100 bill. He showed me he was putting it in the jar and I pulled it out and asked if it was real.  LMAO I doubt that will ever happen again.

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Had that happen once, it was by my own host.  He had just won $10K on a slot machine.

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As a custy (I just learned that word here--a crusty custy?   ), I prefer it that way.  Sometimes, though, just for fun, if I'm up there and they're playing some song in between, I sing along with that for a while!  But sometimes I do get tired of waiting for the next person to sing, whether it's me or someone else.

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I love being a mom!

There's a difference between FILLER and a "dance music set" or whatever you want to call it.

I personally can't stand dead music while waiting for the next singer, nor do I want a cattle call or baseball driven show, where the person up next is in the circle swinging the bat around with the extra weight on it! !

At shows where the next person comes up in the next ten seconds, the dead air issue is almost a moot point... but in many cases, that 10-25 seconds changes the pace of the night. If you got a buncha crooners, then a good hard butt rock song can perk up the folks... or if you got a lot of heavy metal singers, then a good classic country song can bring the energy down a bit, or change the pace up. It also helps with some folks for song selections.

WHOLE songs... yeah, I will agree that I detest filler... but ten-25 secongs?? That's MY show and my pace I'm setting.

Never a WHOLE 3-4 min song UNLESS they start dancing to it. But in general 45-60 seconds MAX--but then i have some REALLY OLD SLOW laser machines I have to deal with so the time lags are built in and unavoidable.  But in general just long enough to get the next person up, introduced and situated ready to go. BUT NEVER EVER DEAD AIR TIME GAPS UNDER ANY CIRUCMSTANCES.


Dead air time between EACH SONG while the person saunters up and doddles and monkeys around by the time they start moving in the direction of the mic is a killer to the flow of the show.

Its like dead air time on the radio. Just dead. Silence.  And i certainly dont want to listen to the KJ talking on the mic for that length of time trying to fill in the SILENT GAPS.

So NO DEAD AIR TIME EVER! Keep the vibe and the groove rollin!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

don't konw if it's rude or not but when i have someone who habitually farts around.....can i say fart here?  oops, i just said it again.  ok, i'll try not to say fart anymore...dang!  ok, let's start over.

when someone habitually goofs around before coming to the stage, i start their song and when they ask to restart it, i tell them "no, you should have come up when i called you five minutes ago!"  usually it takes quite a bit to get to this point and i've talked to the person several times before it gets to this.  still, it gets the point across not to fart around......oops!

I would do such a thing ONLY if I warned them once. Then I would start the music, and then walk away from it, to talk with another customer

There's a difference between FILLER and a "dance music set" or whatever you want to call it.

30-45 seconds of filler is fine.  I was referring to a whole song.  That makes sense if the "flow" puts you into that much dead time (e.g. stage etc.).  In most of the venues I've been in the "on-deck" person usually has the mic and is ready to go when their song is up.  But I see your point in that you may want to change up the "pace" a bit.

Crankit said fart... hee hee haa haa  I'm telling mom  

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

I think we basically agree. My ex-partner does that with songs... a full damned song, and it's annoying. It also reduces the singers per hour in half! IF not more. He treats karaoke as an addition to a dance night.

If I want to go to a dance club, I'll do that. I'm in a karaoke joint, and dammit, I wanna sing karaoke! !

I may have a dual wireless, but that doesn't mean I allow them nor give them the mic until I call them. That's my style. I have seen a show, however, where the CURRENT singer announces the NEXT singer, and hands them the mic. I think that's kinda kewl! But that also means they have to be with it enough to follow your lead or know who's next...

I do not accept tips as that gives the impression that I can be bribed to move a singer up in the rotation. Sorry their turn remains where it is. I will only move a singer's request if they are in the restroom.