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I've only been doing KJ for a couple of years. I started off doing it for a friend at a private party. The commander of a local AMVETS post happened to be there, liked my show and asked if I would do it at his post. I did and purely by word of mouth, other military posts (AMVETS, American Legion, VFW) started booking me. The going rate in this area is $150.00 for 4 hours and that's what I charge.
I love to sing but I don't consider myself a great singer. Since I started out with this, I've upgrade my equipment several times and I just recently purchased two JBL EON15 G2 powered speakers which have made a world of difference in my sound system. Since I have a regular, well-paying job, I do KJ simply as a hobby and means of recreation. I have a loyal following at the military clubs I gig at and I have a gig every Saturday and a few on Friday nights. I had one post offer to pay me more than I was asking because the previous KJ charged them $200.00. I insisted that I was happy with $150.00 because for me (and I'm only speaking for myself), it's not all about money. I have loads of fun interacting with my audiences. I have all wireless mics so that I can work the bar or the hall. I almost always try to connect the club's big screen TV to my system so the folks that would normally be shy to sing in front of everyone can sit at their seats and sing along. I get a kick out of seeing old ladies at the bar blush when I serenade them with some love song or other. Most of my crowd also likes the line dances I play every now and then and they especially like the fact that I'm actually out there dancing with them. I've actually introduced everything from Salsa, Merenque, Soca and Reggae to my audiences and they have a wonderful time with it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know I'm worth more than $150.00 and I would undoubtedly get more if I asked for it. But for me, this is more of a hobby or a recreational past time than it is a living. I only perform on Fridays and Saturdays because of my regular job. I guess if the average rate in this area goes up, I'd probably increase my price as well so as not to give any other KJ the impression that I'm trying to undercut them. I'm booked through 2003 so I really don't need to undercut anyone to get bookings. This is so much fun for me, I've actually gigged three times for absolutely nothing, zilch, nada.
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