Karaoke Forums

Has anybody sung karaoke with a live band? I found one in my area that plays strictly hard rock, outrageous to say the least. Not that it should ever replace all the fine KJ’s out there. Only a KJ has the music selection and crowd reading abilities to keep the show fresh. A live band is limited to their style and selection of songs that they know but there is definitely a charge singing with a live band. Just wondering.  

Hey Chris I have heard of live band karaoke but nothing like that is offered where I live. I was in a band back in the 80's but we pretty much sucked - it was more for our entertainment than any one elses . However I do have friends in band and they let me sing now and then - its definitely a charge!! I saw you posted in Singers Showcase and I'll check your sub out in the morning...Drea

I hope you like the sub Drea. It's a live band karaoke sub done at a local bar in the San Francisco area. There is more live band karaoke in San Francisco itself but it's an hour trip. I'm lucky I found one only about 20 min. from home. Web search shows that Chicago and NY has tons. It's a nice diversion from the regular karaoke bars.  :dancin:

The most fun karaoke experience I have ever had was with a live band.  They're called Projectronics, and they're mostly an Alan Parsons cover band but they also do some Beatles and Pink Floyd and other stuff.  Anyway, once a year in Bonnots Mill, MO, they do a concert and then they have people do karaoke with them.  Well, last year, I sang "Psychobabble" with them, and it was one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life!  I'm planning to do a few more songs this year!  BTW, they let people know waaaaaay in advance what songs they have available, and they have a book up there on a music stand w/the words in it (although I didn't need it).  Some of you may remember that I posted about this before, back on the thread about "how you got started doing karaoke".  

And if anyone knows about any live band karaoke in the St. Louis, MO area, preferably in North or West County or around Westport or St. Ann, pleeeeeeezzzzzzzzzze let me know!  Karaoke singing is fun, but singing w/live accompaniment is more fun.  (Maybe I'm a bit biased, since I also play the piano and have accompanied a lot of singers, but having live musicians makes it sound so much more--well--LIVE.  :)  )

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I love being a mom!

very common thing in my part of the world

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

oh cool, i will have to search some out in the chicago area, ive always wanted to find one.

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Scorps Rule!

It happens here - I havn't tried it yet - So far everybody I've heard trying to sing with the band really sounds bad.  Either the band is off track or the singer head off into outter space.  I've been listening while they play to try and figure out how the playing and how I can stay with them.

                                         Jackson

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Singing just for you

Laura: I did a Google search for live band karaoke in St Louis and didn’t come up with much, just some old blurbs talking about going to some shows but no real advertisements. I’m sure they’re out there, just will take some hunting.

Jian: You’re lucky, period. As well as scorpatti. Plenty of live band karaoke in Chicago, also from Google search, and I mean PLENTY! Almost makes me wish I lived there.

Jackson: I guess I got lucky twice. Not only did I find a band nearby but one that sounds good too! Keep looking in your area. Don’t worry about what the singer is doing. Concentrate on how the band sounds and if you think they can follow you. My experience (limited as it is) is that the band will do their best to keep the singer on track and follow their lead. Good hunting!

Oh, by the way, before I forget. Allow me to give the band a little plug. They’re called The Inflatables.

I got to sit in with a band for a song once, it was an awesome experience. For anyone who has never tried this, you really should. The karaoke backings pale in comparison to a live band... nothing like the drums thumping in your chest!  :oh yeah:

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Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure. (I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.)

I don't understand.  By definition, if you are "singing with a LIVE band", it can't be Karaoke. The definition of Karaoke (at least I thought) was 'Empty Orchestra", or the recorded orchestra/band that IS NOT live (that you accompany by filling in the omitted vocal track track on) I don't think singing with live musicians CAN be "Karaoke" by definition.   If the band is live, you are "Singing with a band", doesn't that contradict the terms' definition ?  Karaoke means NO live backing is present..  I'm confused. (but this is nothing new)

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Could it be that we have struck a new chord in the evaluation of karaoke? I see it like this, the concept of karaoke does indeed come from singing songs to a recording with no vocals. We now see bands allowing the audience to come up and sing. The singer is not a member of the band. We can't say it's a band performance. So what is it? Ah, there you go, Live Band Karaoke. A newly created concept that expands the definition of the original. What a great country!

In Portland there's Karaoke From Hell. On Monday nights they play a downtown place-Dante's and on Thursday nights they are at a blues bar in Lake Osewego--The Gemini. 5-piece band with 400 song selection book of all types of music.

Ive gone and sung with them several times and have done a couple magazine articles on them.

http://www.nwkaraokeguide.net/march2005/fromhell.php

KS Magazine even ran a photo of me singing in front of them once.

Theyre a good tight musical unit--all the bandmembers play in other bands and they have been together at K from H for almost 10 years.

Hmmm maybe when we have the NW get together in Pdx we could go there on a second night and do Karaoke from Hell.

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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

A newly created concept that expands the definition of the original. What a great country!


Its not really a new idea. Like I said above, its not only common here, it started in the 60s. around here. Most of the bands here will invite the audience to sing as the nite gets older. In some cases the band is hired to just play backing music for the 'karaoke'. When they do not know the song requested the karaoke player is used and the band takes a break.

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

Theres VERY FEW karaoke bands in the US. Most musicians look down on karoake and to them no SELF-RESPECTING musician would be caught DEAD singing karaoke, much less perfroming as a karaoek band.

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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

Its not really a new idea. Like I said above, its not only common here, it started in the 60's.

I had no idea it went that far back.  We should see more of it here (with all due respect to all the KJ's out there).

Hey Kurt, "Karaoke from Hell", you gotta love it!. About the self respecting artist doing karaoke, someone told me a story when John Mellencamp actually went to a karaoke session and sang (what else) his own songs. Now THAT'S karaoke.

Until we realize that a few of us somewhat self-respecting musicians can't continue to subject ourselves to the life of being a pro musician for any duration, and as we get old and lose energy, we also don't want to travel around to find decent bands even WE can join or just sit-in with... So we discover session training backing tracks for US... Where rather than the vocal missing, the backing and vocals are taped, and we play guitar with the actual band, or a really good knock-off band covering a song we like...and also, since we can't sing, and could never sing, Karaoke is a great way EVEN WE, can sing with great bands, or try to learn how to sing without humiliating ourselves first.  Karaoke is something we can do behind closed doors... Any self respecting musician recognises that while there's a stigma attached to "Singing along with a record" as opposed to performing with a live band, the later becomes less practical over time.  MOST musicians will tell you they've double-tracked and used tape-recorders in days of old, and sequencers as well as rhythm machines currently, and learned to pick out parts by playing along with the album...

Well; Honest musicians will tell you Karaoke is a FABULOUS concept, that can be indespensible to even we musicians, who want to have some fun, practice, or just keep up.. Also my feelings are that ANY respectable musician WON'T ever 'dis" something regardless of how rudimentary it appears to be to them, that get's kids, and adults alike, (who would otherwise never sing, or feel they can sing and perform), involved in music...

Karaoke is a great concept !  Whether it's Guitaraoke, or standard karaoke, it keeps me occupied at times...

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Some qoutes that have been said directly to me by musicians:

"Just a bunch of drunks warbling"- (said to me by the president of the local blues association)

"Karoake put me out of business"-(a bass player in a prominent local blues band)

"Karaoke...........(with a roll of the eyes and look of disdain)-almost all of them

And it goes on and on and on....................

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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

Yes, I've done live karaoke twice now in Las Vegas...once at the Palms (they don't do it any longer), and once at the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay.  The first was more fun, for various reasons, but both were a total rush.

I am getting my own band together--I am really looking forward to it because it is so much more fun than karaoke (not to knock karaoke, it's fun, too).

I have heard many snobby people look down on karaoke (musicians and plenty of non-musicians). Who cares what they think? I don't listen to them.  So far the people I've talked to about joining my band have been very supportive of karaoke.

I tried to put a band together a couple of years ago...even just rehearsing with half the band was a blast!! It's very different from karaoke because you and the band members interact more, that's the main fun.  In karaoke, the singer is the follower, but in a band, the singer is more or less the leader (musically, I mean).

For Steve, it is called "Live Band Karaoke" but, yeah, if you go by the strict defiition of karaoke, it's not....but it also depends on how it's set up. Both times I did it, the words were on a screen (one scrolled, the other didn't), but the words were not highlighted.  You really have to know the song well to do it.  I would think that many karaoke singers would not do it because they would be too afraid or worried.  Also, I think the audience does expect a more "professional" performer.

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~Suzanne Lanoue~

I have noticed that singers at the live band session are more polished. Yes, they know the songs very well and don’t need the words. There have been the occasional few that perform as well (?) as if singing to recorded music, but by far the live band show goes over great. I, myself, take care to do songs that I know by heart. Forget about reading the words. No way.

Say, Suzanne, any session tapes? Love to hear.