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Hello All,
Reading through this thread again, I get the impression that the US hosts karaoke venues with massive audiences, which obviously gives rise to the need to make rotation and whatever method of signing up people fair.
I have only been to one in the Mint Lounge, San Francisco
Here in the UK a lot of venues are small and often badly run. A lot of KJ's are incompetent and I would imagine they are the same in any other job they do.
They do all the things which we all accept as bad, on a regular basis.
When I run a karaoke I follow most of the accepted rules to run a good show and still make mistakes.
I sing well enough to have been offered engagements by bars and clubs to sing a programme for an evening, not karaoke.
I try to sing in my natural voice and not copy the singers on the records, although as most karaoke singers would agree, sometimes you get caught up in style of the song. I offer Tony Bennett as an example, you rarely hear other singers tackle his material (except leaving a heart in SF), because the songs he sings seem to have been written for him.
I have been in bars, hosting karaoke, where 100 people have sat all night without ever wishing to get up and sing, in this case the KJ had better be able to sing well. You can see the relief on their faces when someone they know can sing, walks through the door.
I was at a show last night, where the KJ starts off singing to quite a small crowd, he then gives anyone he knows the chance to sing 2 songs together. Ones he doesn't know get to sing 1 song.
Once he has started this he keeps this going even when the crowd swells with known singers. Towards the end of the evening he asked me to do 2 songs, I had to tell him I was doing one because of the number who were still waiting.
He didn't get it!!
And he's one of the better ones. I am sure a lot of you guys would be severely ticked off singing over here.
Regards from across the pond.
Garry
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