Karaoke Forums

I don't think ANY song should be banned because of "lyrical content"..... if a bar owner is uncomfortble with certain songs, maybe not have them played in his bar.

I think- if a KJ is gonna karaoke at BARS- they should offer what's out there to offer. Some songs are raunchy, but then they are funny too.

What NEEDS to be changed.... not banned , but changed.... are those dang 6 minute songs. There's a girl local here that does every dang long heavy metal song that is in the books. She's not that great of a singer to begin with.... but even to hear her sing for 6 minutes would be preferable to 3 or 4 instrumental breaks that are from 16- 48 measures long. That gets old. Even some bluegrass songs (which I like), they should cut out some of the instrumental breaks on- for karaoke purposes. Just cause I could sit & listen to the banjo & fiddle licks for 16 measures in between every verse/chorus..... doesn't mean everyone else should have to at a karaoke bar.  Same with Hank Sr. songs (god rest his soul) have WAY too many steel guitar solos in some of them, and it's too long of pauses for a karaoke atmostphere. IMO

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

I work in a bar where they absolutely do not want profanity of any kind on stage.  We used to allow it all, then we were gaining a younger rowdy crowd that would only sing the "f" songs.  These kids would be causing trouble, drugs, fights, etc...The owner asked originally to go all country, I refused, then she said to pull anything with profane lyrics of any kind - I reluctantly agreed after heavy arguing (I NEEDED the gig at the time otherwise I would have left).  What happened was we lost the trouble making crowd, screamers - a large loss, what I didn't expect was a larger GAIN of better singers, better bahaved, better spenders!  So I quit arguing the point & just accepted.

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Yeah, I guess it would need to be based on the crowd and the bar owners, everything all tied together into one to decide "what kind of music is suitable".

I got taken to Iggy's Pub in Brooks, OR once for my birthday bash, some friends & relatives went with us. Just so happened they were doing a contest that night, which severly cut down on REGULAR karaoke time, but ANYhow....... before they started the actual "contest" they made the announcement that "No songs with anything stronger than the word 'dayum' are to be sung in the contest, or you're disqualified, the owner does not like cursing in songs". And it was kept very clean. Nobody argued the point at all.  LOL

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

I thought it was "the thought of lovin' you"?!?!

Anyway, about filtering bad words on these boards:  I was on one forum once where I wrote "Hello!" and it came out "####".  I guess because the first 4 letters of "hello" are the H word.  I thought, "Man oh man, what is this world coming to when you can't even say 'hello'????"    :shock:

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I love being a mom!

That's pretty intense!!

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

There is a chain of 7-night a week karoake restaurant/bars here in town that are the only ones I know of that ban cursing altogether. They will literally kick you out of the bar for cursing in your karaoke song.

They by no menas have a larger or bigger-spending crowd than I do, though. They just end up with lots of older folk (who don't tip well), families and kids (who don't tip well), and high-school and college theater and church-going types (who don't tip well). I'm sure you can tell what the waitstaff thinks about their "well-behaved" audience.

I go there every so often, just because I like to daydream about their $20,000 system that they keep at a VERY low volume. The clientale by no means makes the place a better karaoke bar, just a different audience (boring audience in my opinion).

It all comes down to preference. Would you rather go to a Cat Stevens concert or a Metallica concert? Which is objectively more fun? Which has the greater propensity for trouble Doesn't there seem to be a direct coorelation between excitement and the possibilty for trouble?

I personally think karaoke should mimic a live band performance, and like to keep the excitement and tempo (and volume) up to those standards. I literally get the3 crowd excited to the point of frenzy. Without my roudy crowd that can appreciate some good cussing, I wouldn't have as much success as I have had (and that makes up for the occational fight!!).

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C Mc
KJ, FL

If there has to be the "possibility" of trouble to have "excitement" is when I quit going to bars altogether.  Our Friday & Saturday night crowds are generally standing room only (200 seat max house) & no lack of excitement - yes even with no cussing, it's not needed & i'm willing to bet that MOST people would rather not be forced to hear it - I could be wrong, maybe most DON'T care & encourage the cussing & rowdiness for excitement & possible trouble.
Our crowds are by no means old by any standards, but they no longer have the option to scream/cuss over the mic.  The only ones we lost over it WERE the trouble makers.
I run my system pretty wide open, it pushes around 3700 watts tri-amped with subs.  So the "live" feel is there, why does screaming cuss songs make it better?

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I think as long as there is alchohol involved, the possibility for trouble is always there, along with that edginess and excitement. AND, I think my implied job is to make as many people buy as much alchohol as possible (since we don't serve food after 8:00 p.m.).

I was not commenting on all shows and saying no cussing = no fun, just on the one I know from my experience that explicitly does not allow cussing, which, to me, is much less fun. The fact that there are such blatent restrictions at that particular bar makes the crowd noticibly subdued and, to me, boring. I understand that that is a TOTALLY different market, though. Most of my partrons would not have fun at that restarant and most of their patrons would not have fun at my bar. I'm not particularly competing for those people.

My bar is roudy, loud, and exciting, and there is always the possibility for trouble because the average person is drinking alot and getting worked up by the music. 98% of the time, everyone just has a good time and goes home. On the average, we probably have one legit fight a month (always on or very near to a full moon, believe it or not) and 3-4 verbal altercations a month, which I think is about par for the course in most dedicated bars.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Hmmmm....name a few activities where the possibility of trouble is not the direct factor that makes it exciting.

I really don't want you to have to stop going to bars altogether, especially since that is your living!!

I've been to uninspired karaoke that isn't exciting. What makes it exciting, in my opinion, is when everyone gets unruly, gets into the music, hoots and hollers, and is generally rambuncsious (sp.?). The most exciting karaoke nights seem to border on anarchy to be honest. My job is to create the atmosphere where people lose their inhibitions, open up, and act in such a way that they wouldn't act in most other situations. That mindset, and how it infects and breeds onto the rest of the crowd certainly bends normal, everyday order, and certainly opens up more possibility for trouble!!

Just my opinion!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

As a patron...

Cussing doesn't bother me a bit.  Again, if the music is good and its not "just" constant cussing, I'm ok with it.   Its the music and song.  

Rowdiness is a different story and depends on what "you" mean.  I can do without fights, arguments or verbal altercations as that can be a "buzz kill".  That is, kill the fun, mood, etc. in the bar.

If, by rowdy, we're talking about crowd participation, hooting, having fun, dancing, singing along, then I say bring it on since everybody is having fun and getting into the "show".   Fights can downright kill the night and in one case it did for me.  I had just finished singing and some drunken buffoons went at it about something stupid I'm sure.  The KJ just stopped the whole show and the bar told everybody to settle up and go.  This was between 12:30-1a and the bar was to close at 2p.

Come on, you gotta admit when somebody is doing Delilah (sic?) and people say "you b*, you sl*t, you ho" that it isn't funny.  Or how about Billy Idol - Mony Mony.    :twisted:

As a patron...

Cussing doesn't bother me a bit.  Again, if the music is good and its not "just" constant cussing, I'm ok with it.   Its the music and song.  

Rowdiness is a different story and depends on what "you" mean.  I can do without fights, arguments or verbal altercations as that can be a "buzz kill".  That is, kill the fun, mood, etc. in the bar.

If, by rowdy, we're talking about crowd participation, hooting, having fun, dancing, singing along, then I say bring it on since everybody is having fun and getting into the "show".   Fights can downright kill the night and in one case it did for me.  I had just finished singing and some drunken buffoons went at it about something stupid I'm sure.  The KJ just stopped the whole show and the bar told everybody to settle up and go.  This was between 12:30-1a and the bar was to close at 2p.

Come on, you gotta admit when somebody is doing Delilah (sic?) and people say "you b*, you sl*t, you ho" that it isn't funny.  Or how about Billy Idol - Mony Mony.    :twisted:

So why does cussing HAVE to be involved to make for a more enjoyable evening?  Again, we don't allow it, i've never cussed over the mic while hosting (i've seen shows where the host will cuss AT the singers - sometimes derogatorily "in a playful way" yeah right) & have no complaints...& there is no lack of fun & exciting.



Same with my bar except take out the "rowdy" factor which helps lower the "possibility" of trouble.  We get a bar fight maybe 1 time per 6 month period (actually has been a little over a year since our last real fight), altercations can happen anywhere at anytime - drinking don't have to be involved, but you eliminate certain factors, you lower chances.
Our customers hoot & holler with the music, dance, applause & get involved, but there is nothing "rowdy" about that, that's just enjoying the evening.  
Rowdy adj disturbing the public peace; loud and rough; Disorderly; rough

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

My Banned List:

Picture
Me and Bobbie McGee
Paradise By The Dashboard Light
American Pie

That is all I'm sure there are a few others but content is never an issue.

Hmmm.  All the times I've been karaoke-ing, I can only remember hearing 1 person sing "American Pie".  As for the other songs on your list, lyq, I agree that they are overdone.  

Actually I haven't been karaoke-ing in a few weeks.  I need to go again sometime soon.

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I love being a mom!

I'm against censorship of any kind.

You have just describe a karaoke bar that is ideal. If it is near enough I will drive there.......... every nite.

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

Every one of my songs are in my books. I don't leave ANYTHING out. But, it is mine and the bar owners perogative on what will be played and not played. I played at one bar where anything went. And I hated it but it was the crowd for the music. My 6 year job...no cussing (the really bad ones) on the mic. I don't care if you sing Ode To My Car...but you must censor the F word. Most people understand because we have a VERY mixed crowd. Every once in awhile I will get this line: "Well, why's it in your book if I can't sing it?" and my answer to them is "Because this is not the only place I play and if you want to sing songs like that come to my show at.....".

When it comes to songs like American Pie or Paradise...my only rule is they are not to be sang the last hour of the show. It is on very rare occassion when I have less then  20 people in my rotation and I plan out my last rotation to the last 2 minutes and those songs screw me up. (LOL)