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How do you handle "dirty" songs at your venues? We have a few in our books that have the whole bar clapping and  wanting more to find out later that a some people were realy upset.

I have a disclaimer in the front of my book stating:

NOTE: If you have children with you or are offended by explicit lyrics or suggestive content, no songs with explicit lyrics or suggestive themes will be allowed before 11:00 p.m.. After 11:00 p.m. anything goes!! Please plan your night accordingly!!

The problem with "banning" songs for any reason is that there is always something that offends someone, like John Bob's horrible singing, Amy's short dress, Elton John's sexual orientation, Bob Marley's drug references, or the Dixie Chicks glorifying spousal abouse and murder. If you can everything that offends someone, I think you will only be left with your Amy Grant disc (and I find that offensive!!). My thinking is that there are inherent "risks" or "compromises" you take if you want to be in a bar on a Saturday night after 11:00 p.m., including cursing, drunks, and so on. So family time is from 9:00-11:00, after that if you are offended you should not be in the bar!!

I once had a lady who had her 5 and 7 year old sons in the bar with her on a Wednesday school night until after 1:00 a.m. running around the bar while she played darts and got drunk with some dude. That, quite frankly, pissed me and several of the other bar patrons off but I held my tongue. When I announced at 11:00 p.m. that those with young children should be aware that things were about to get a little roudy, she got all pissed and told the manager I was trying to chase her out of the bar by having people purposely sing songs she didn't want her kids to hear. The manager didn't stand up for me or get upset with me just just played peacemaker. At 1:00 I announced the bar's winner of mother of the year and her boyfriend got up in my face before they FINALLY left.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Oh God, here we go again. You have just opened up a whole new can of worms. Look, let me start  :wave:

Define dirty. EMINEM for instance, here every second word is f (@$%&#!) or do you mean Rodney Carrington where there's just good old adult entertainment.

If it's a place where kids are present, e.g. pizza places, then take took songs out of your books, if it's a place where no kids are allowed, and a Rodney Carrington "dirty" song comes up, and the people are upset, well.....................bite me, and grow up. I don't think any violent (e.g. EMINEM) songs should be in your books. That would include some of the rap/hip hop where every women is spelled out to be a b (@$%&#!), the f (@$%&#!) word is used in every sentence.

But that is my opinion.

One of the problems you have is that I've only heard the sanitised radio edit of some songs, which can be a shock when you're confronted by the f word coming up on the screen.  I seem to remember doing Boulevard of Broken Dreams at about 9pm a few weeks back not having realised, although nobody objected.

IMHO I don't see how it should be a problem in a Bar. These places are for adult entertainment, Not exactly a house of worship for most.  I could understand if a minister was in there he could be upset, but what is he doing there anyhow.

a lot of people change the lyrics to a perfectly innoicent song to make it dirty, what do you do about that.

I assume the answer is you are only responsable for your actions.

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I'm Not Dead yet...... But every day Im getting Closer !

Not everyone who goes to a bar wants to hear or see lewd behavior.  I have been very fortuante that my crowd is very deverse.  Ages 75 to 21.  Mostly country, old rock and roll and 50's - 60's.  Some newer rock.  BUT, I don't put in anything that is discriminatory or vulgar.  That has kept away what I feel is a "group" that I don't care to cater to.  Everyone once is a great while I'll get that certain guy who brings in a disc.  I'll ask what's on it and if he tells me it's not what I or the crowd would want I nicely tell him no.  usually I get the "It's a free country man."  And I tell him "it sure is and you are more than free to take your disc and have it played somewhere else."

Bottom line is this, if it's offensive to me it doesn't get played.  And so far my judgement has been good for me and the place I work at.

Kelly

I've heard that song on the radio and I heard someone sing it at karaoke once--I don't remember it having any bad words in it!  Perhaps you'd better fill me in...

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I love being a mom!

since you asked

Read between the lines
What's [censored] up and everything's alright
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone

The club I work has a no profanity over the mic rule.  So I no longer list any song with serious F bombs or overly lewd content.  Just because it's a bar doesn't give permission to scream (@$%&#!) on the mic.  
We used to list all, started getting younger rowdy crowd that would just drink a pitcher between 5 guys, couldn't sing & when they got to the word - OVER pronounced it (sometimes with gestures), we would also get problems almost every night, as far as fights went.  This was back in '94.  Well they asked me to pull all that kind of music - sure I argued & we did lose customers, what I didn't expect was the GAIN of better singers & higher spenders, so I quit arguing.  Haven't had a serious fight there since '96 & that was over darts.

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That's what happened with me.  Noticed the change in about a 30 day period.  Pulled several songs and wouldn't permitt anymore.  That crowd no longer comes around.

Kelly

The place I run karaoke is basically advertised as a "Fun for the entire family" atmosphere so we can get a lot of kids some days & nights. Kind of a mix of fun-loving beer drinkers, familes and everything in between.

I used to strictly enforce people not singing songs with dirty-ish lyrics, etc. out of respect to this kind of atmosphere, especially with kids around. Mostly common sense judgement calls. About 4 months ago I was told by the higher-ups that anything that was in the system could be sung regardless of content, with the exception of the "F" word. Made my jaw drop, but hey, it's their place. It's just weird that they would let people say cuss words on the mic, and promote a "family" atmosphere at the same time

Nowdays, I just try to warn the adults that the kids in their parties are going to sing the unedited version of "Hollaback Girl" that prints the word s**t on the television screens, or I'll let other parties with young people know ahead of time that a song like that with "bad" lyrics is going to be sung by another customer. This seems to work very well, and most family types are thankful to know that info ahead of time. Sometimes they mind, sometimes they don't. Luckily, we don't have too many "hard-core" dirty type songs, mostly mainstream pop and country.

It's still kinda weird hearing a 6 year old sing "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" with a church group there.

To each their owns, but it just depends on what the venue is and what the demographics are.   For a place that serves alcohol, promoting the alcohol with busty babes in bikinis on the posters, smoking, and almost every single guy chasing tail,  I still find it hard to believe when people look down upon someone singing the **** word that's in the song.

Ok so how does an old duffer like me find out what  the dirty ones are without listening to them all?   Most of my new ones are Top Hits Monthly...

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Good topic. I did something before that later, I wasn't especially proud of. Although it's not my main genre of music, I did an Eminem song called "Without Me" with every dirty word in the song just to make a statement I guess. And don't ask me why I know this song when the actual dirty words don't show up on the screen. For some reason, it's just stuck in my mind after hearing it several times before. I can blurt this song out for no reason at all!! WEIRD.
These people brought their kids into the bar to listen to the karaoke. It was a slow night, and there weren't many people singing at all, so they got to listen to me mostly. I felt terrible about it later.
I took it upon myself to discourage this mom and dad from bringing their kids into a bar atmosphere when it wasn't my decision to make. I don't work there, I was just a patron. But they continued to sit there and watch/listen like it wasn't a big deal. Maybe they were just stunned and couldn't move for a while?
I just don't think it's a good idea to take your kids into a bar for any reason. Who knows, some psycho could come in shooting or something? If it's a hotel/restaurant/bar thing like what I'm describing here, I'd say, if you want to go into the bar, send your kids to bed first, don't expose them to the element of what really goes on at a bar, let them find out when they are adults.
I was wrong doing that though, and just wanted to get it off of my chest.
I won't sing songs that have alot of cursing usually. The song "It's Been A While" by "Staind" for instance, I insert messed up for the F worded part, and stuff for the S word part. I mean it's one thing to act like a heathen in private, but I'm not really comfortable blurting out the F word over a mic, even in a bar. It's just a matter of integrity I guess, which I lost some of when trying to make a statement to the family bar flies.  :(  :newlol:
It's a touchy subject.

Can't smoke in any bar here in Washington - well that's any bar that isn't on tribal land.  And yes, there are people - believe it or not - that DO get offended & look down on others that sing the **** word.  I get customers all the time that tell me they'd rather NOT hear someone singing those songs.

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Good question Karyoker. I basically have to wait till some of the newer songs get sung and the words pop up on the screen before I'll know about the content. Not that I personally mind cusswords in a song, but from a K.J. standpoint, it would be nice if more companies would put P.A. warnings on their tunes like S.C. does, so you know what you're getting into.

Guess I should stop listening to classic rock & oldies on the radio so much, and occasionally listen to the new stuff  :(.

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We have no problem with those 'bad' words cos all cds and vcds have to pass thro the Censorship Board. No kidding. Thats the reason I dont buy cds thru the net.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Very interesting, Badsinger. What kind of limitations does the Censorship Board put on karaoke tracks in your country? Just curious.

The govt will banned any songs, karaoke or not, that have some element of anti-religious message (not just Islam), drug, and most reference to fre sex and of course the F-word.
Its not the artise that get censored but thier work

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott