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Old March 2nd, 2007, 02:03 AM
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alanross alanross is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Outer Banks - U.S.A. Nags Head, NC
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First, let me apologize for not finding this thread earlier. Admin alerted me to it with an e-mail for which I am grateful. I also appreciate his posting, he is an amazing person that I am thrilled I had the pleasure to meet.

I'm going to take a personal moment here to give props to the man. I've had the priviledge and honor to work with MTU as one of their beta testers for several years now. In all my dealings with admin, he has personified professionalism. I'll detail that later for purposes of this forum, but for now I want to share with you what it was like for me to meet admin and his lovely wife and to have them visit our show.

We play at a local restaurant 7 nights a week and I personally do three of the nights myself. On one of my nights off, I got a call from this restaurant telling me that there was a couple in town that wanted to meet me. When I found out who it was, I threw on some clothes, grabbed my wife and headed over.

I was nervous the whole time because I knew, it was not going to be a good night in the bar. It was off-season, not a Friday or Saturday night, I had a rookie, fill-in host working the show and the crowd was bound to be small at best. I was thinking that this was not going to be the best way to show off our shows.

When we arrived, I was disappointed that my fears had not been groundless. The room was more empty than not, my host looked like she had jumped out of bed, forgotten to get dressed, threw a baseball cap on and ran out the door. My heart sank as I quickly debated whether I should take over and do the show. I decided that I wasn't going to embarass my host like that, so I just let her continue.

We met admin and his wife and they were perfectly delightful. We sat up at one of the tables near the stage and while admin and I talked about MTU products, our wives were happily engaging each other.

As I listened to admin, I quickly realized I was in way over my head. I had no idea how brilliant this man was before. I knew he was smart and a good business man and a man of deep religious and moral convictions, but Holy crap is he smart!! As I sat there, wallowing in my ocean of ignorance, this man was eloquent not only about the highly technical side of the MTU programs and Karaoke as a business, but the personal side of it, too. He got it.

I've met a lot of techno-nerds who seem to have 4-digit IQs, but most of them haven't got the first clue how to talk to another human being. Admin, has a true understanding of people. He understands their feelings and their motivations. I think what makes MTU stand out for me is the combination of technological brilliance coupled with an understanding of what people want that is evident in their products.

I found myself fumbling to try to say something that sounded even remotely intelligent, but when I am not on stage, I communicate much better through the written word. I felt like a caveman trying to discuss quantum mechanics with Albert Eistein (no offense to the cavemen). What could I bring to the discussion?

Don't get me wrong, admin and his wife were perfectly charming and gracious, but when they left, I thought I must have looked like a total idiot and to top it all off, the show was mediocre at best. Until reading his post today, I thought they were horribly disappointed with me and the show and that's why they never came back. (A large part of humility is a generous helping of self-doubt).

Anyway, here's why I feel admin personifies professionalism. First, he has a firm grasp of the technical side of his craft. He thoroughly understands exactly what it takes to make A work with B to produce C. He also has an understanding of why one would want A to work with B to produce C and how producing C would be beneficial. This knowledge base is essential to be "professional".
Professionals know their stuff.

Second, he's willing to hear ideas that may help improve what he's doing. These forums are a perfect example of what I mean. Admin is willing to listen to suggestions and incorporate ideas into his products that others suggest. He respects the input of people who use his product.
Professionals respect the people they serve.

Third, his products are user friendly and easy to learn. He doesn't try to overdo a product or make it too technologically advanced for the average user. He keeps it as simple as possible while hiding all the really cool programming hidden in the background.
Professionals make it look easy.

Fourth, everything related to the MTU products has a crisp, sharp look and everything works from an operational and aesthetic viewpoint. When you go to the MTU website, things are laid out well, the links all work and it's easy to navigate. Open any final release of an MTU program and it will not only look good but function brilliantly.
Professionals make everything look good. AND
Professionals deliver the goods.

Finally, admin cares about the quality of his products. He could put out programs which serve the purpose, but there is a commitment to quality inherent in all his work that surpasses the competition. I don't know if you can quantify without serious examination of each program, but the attention to detail shows just how much he puts into everything he makes.
Professionals care enough to never give less than 100%.

When you think about what makes someone a professional, they have to have all these qualities without exception:
Professionals know their stuff.
Professionals respect the people they serve.
Professionals make it look easy.
Professionals make everything look good.
Professionals deliver the goods.
Professionals care enough to never give less than 100%.

So when we're talking about what makes a KJ, DJ or MC more "professional" than another, a lot of it is more esoteric than literal. You can use Websters to find the definition of a professional or you can know it intuitively. When you see it, you know it.

It's like the difference between a local commercial and a network commercial. For example, you would never confuse a nationally run commercial for Pizza Hut with a locally run commercial for Fred's Pizza Emporium. You can instantly tell the difference in the level of quality. One is very "professional" looking and the other... not so much. It's true for almost any business.

You take your car to an auto shop. The shop is well ordered, people move about with purpose, the mechanics are all wearing matching work clothes, no one is standing idle, and the girl at the register is smiling to the customers. Your car is examined within minutes of your scheduled arrival and an estimate is given shortly thereafter. You agree to the work, and before you know it, your car is functioning perfectly again. This is a very professional auto shop.

OR you could take your car to Lousey's Auto. The shop is filthy; tools lying on the ground, old tires stacked up along the parking lot, two mechanics are standing off to the side of the building having a smoke. There are three cars up on lifts with no one around. You check in at the desk and they tell you they're backed up - it'll be about an hour before you can get an estimate. You wait two before some guy in ratty jeans and a grease and sweat stained t-shirt gives you the bad news about your car. You agree to have the work done and they tell you to come pick it up tomorrow. After three days of trying to get a real answer about your car, you're finally told it's ready. You pay twice the amount of the estimate and drive away only to discover that there's now a strange rattling noise coming from the engine which still isn't running right. This is a very unprofessional auto shop.

The point is, no one has to tell you what makes one shop more professional than the other. It's obvious to everyone. The same is true for Show Hosts. You know it when you see it.

How you help someone become "professional" is a whole different story.

And lastly, (I know I rattle on and on, sorry, but thank you for getting this far, if you did...) the following quote is proof positive of how impressive admin is to me. I'll explain after...
Quote:
Originally Posted by admin
Singing karaoke on stage is TOTALLY different from listening or dancing to music... be it a Juke, a Band, or a DJ. You are up there alone. You must overcome the fear of going on stage. You WILL experience an Adrenalin rush - the "fight or flight" hormone - to either bask in the applause or head for the door. You will do the best you can... if the Host has built you and others up over the evening. Humans know respect and love, and our spirit responds to it.

Karaoke, in my humble opinion, has the power to change the human spirit. It can lift a common person... who may be too fat or too thin, too tall or too short, pure ugly or just plain... and give them a chance in the spotlight to show their Talent. As we all know, there are those with Talent, and those with NONE, and their physical appearance has nothing to do with their Talent. If they are rich they may dress well. If they are poor, they don't. But a Talented voice... even in a drab garb... can bring tears to my eyes and joy to my heart.
Admin doesn't frequent Karaoke joints, he doesn't sing at every opportunity and he certainly didn't sing at our show, but he understands what it takes for someone to get up there and do it. He understands what the person goes through, what it means to them and how it can change them.

We've all seen the wallflower blossom with the right encouragement and one of the things a true professional is going to do, is be the one offering that encouragement.

My hat is off to admin, because part of being a professional is knowing your stuff and to know your stuff, you have to know it from many different perspectives. His understanding from the vocalists' perspective is perhaps the most impressive, because he's not a vocalist. That's what I mean about knowing your stuff. He knows way more than I ever will.

- Alan Ross
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Alan Ross

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