Suggestions on running a show?

[gotrich]

I am very new! I have my first gig sat may 8th. American Legion for 100$ which is ok in my area. I have heard of some KJ's making 200-300 for a 4-5 hr gig. Can any one give me tips or idea to make my show great. I read most of the forums and snooped here and there. I just hope this works cause I love karaoke. I have my home PC which needs upgrading its a 900Mh AMD with 450Mb RAM a soundblatster live sound card and a 128Mb video card (9000 series Radon) I only have about 1500-1700 different song titles (normal in my area is 3000-8000) I have seen books with as little as 500...so sad! I have a mackie mixer and 2-400watt Crete speakers and 2 wired shure mics. Is there a magazine I could get to help me learn more?? I appreciate any help I can get!

Thanks
Rich

[admin]

I moved your question to this Forum where you should get more answers.

[gotrich]

LOL I noticed this link by accident after I posted..thanks

[gotrich]

Is my system good for a starter? What should be the first thing to upgrade besides forever updating my music?

[swany]

Check, out your local competition often and try to do your best to pick up the good points and discard the bad. Keep a constant and never have dead air if possible. If you don't have a way to have music other than your karaoke player, I would suggest getting a crossfader to run between your player and a dvd (kodak picture capable and mp3) $43 dollars at wal-mart, with this you have a backup for your karaoke player and a mp3 player you can leave it on with the disk playing just fade out of it to the karaoke player when you have a singer up and fade back between singers, it helps to keep the music going. Above all try to get a local band member to help you with your mixing so you sound well. Try not to run too much echo. This is a trap a lot fall into. The greatest thing you can do is turn your charm up and be the happiest person at your show, and the rest will fall into place.

[Lauraine Graham- with the Lord]

Swany has some very good tips, but if I may, I would like to modify one point.

If you decide to have music ALL the time try not to play it too loudly in between singers. As a karaoke patron I often have to suffer the music level up very high when a singer is on and the quiet in between can be a blessing. Say something between singers and the air won't be dead, in other words you can keep it going yourself, giving info about the song, praising the singer, making anouncements, etc. Another reason why I like a break in between songs is that conversation is impossible when the music is on so it gives one a chance to say something without bellowing in another's ear.

The best advice anyone can give is to constantly listen to advice from whatever source. You may have to listen to a lot of rubbish but there will be a pearls of wisdom from which you can benefit. Learn from your mistakes, and you will make plenty of those, and never lose sight of the patrons' needs. Without the patrons the venue manager has no reason to employ you. Be attentive and supportive, and bear in mind that you too are an entertainer.

I wish you luck and my very best wishes for your success are sent to you.

[karaokeG]

i started working for someone doing karaoke as a excuse to meet people. let me tell you i am now the karaoke host with the most lol. i will be going out on my own in 6 months but let me tell you how i run a show. i have someone who puts in the cds and sits by the machine, i wear wireless headphones and i am around the whole bar taling to everyone. we hook up to all the tv's in a bar which i think is very very important, no matter where anyone is sitting they can see the lyrics, and people sing along which gets me to get them up and singing. personality personality that is what you need. i never have dead air and i will NEVER put in a music cd i do a karaoke show and that is it!
so get involved with the customers 110% i have had so many karaoke "virgins" come up to me and say they had a blast. i take e-mails or phone numbers from everyone that i can and i email them thanking them for coming and giving them my schedule of where i will be. i have been doing this for about 6 months and i have a great following. it is all about interacting with the patrons and having a blast i also have props, funny glasses wigs tamborines blow up guitars etc. it also helps if you can sing because i do sing in the begininng since i will not put dj on. but i always find someone within 3 songs that will come up and sing or i sing a song that i know the patrons will like and invite them up right away to sing with me. our patrons dance and i think that is the biggest hell ya you can give to a kj, so i dance right with them, i can go on and on but hey you would have to come see yourself. ALWAYS be extra nice to all the patrons you never know who is a "plant " from another system, or bar (which i have gotten more bookings from)
also have a current list i have all the new songs that come up over 5500 songs right now.and if i don't have it i GET IT for the next show and people remember. just have a blast and make sure your customers there know you are there for them! thank them repeatly all night long. well like i say be great to the patrons i also have a great system which helps but personality rules!

[karaokeG]

there are also other things that can be done. i take pictures of the singers and put them in a binder and bring it with me. if the patron can find themselves in the book the bar buys them a drink.

it helps to talk to the bar owner first of course somethimes they can have drawings at certain times and win prizes, or bar tabs.
get the owner of the bar or who ever is bartending to sing also. it gets them involved and then they get better tips.
hey even though i am new at this and i know i do not have all the experience that some of the other hosts do i find this is what works best for me, but i will always take suggestions, that is what makes a better show i think. i have sang for over 10 years as a patron before i started this and what i am doing know is what i wished other systems would have done when i was singing. also none of this two in a row stuff. it makes the rotations much longer that is one thing i never liked.
good luck and have fun
gloria