rate of pay around the country.

[alanross]

I'll just add this one bit of advice...

Never set the length of your shows to longer than you would want to do on your worse night.

When you've been doing shows for as long as I have - 12 years, seven nights a week for the first two years, five nights a week for 10 years with five employees doing shows as well, plus 17 years as a regular DJ before that - and you've been dealing with drunken idiots who have fallen into your equipment, broken microphones, spilled their drinks on the stage, swearing on the mic, etc., you will begin to wish your show wasn't four hours long (let alone five).

I love what I'm doing, but I swear I've been wanting to change our shows to three hours. Unfortunately, I've been doing four hours for so long, I can't now cut back without incurring the wrath of the seriously addicted Karaoke junkies.

Basic rule of thumb, what you start, you must complete. I started at four and I'll probably end up doing four 'til the day I die.

- Alan