I’m proud and excited to announce that I am hosting a karaoke show at Perera’s Place on Thursday, September 17th to help with the Bernie Sanders campaign. Please come on by to show your support, ask questions, and sing some karaoke!
The show starts at 8:30pm. Let’s have some fun!
As a human being, I’m full of irritations and general curmudgeon type attitudes. As a KJ, I try to be pleasant, upbeat, and friendly to everyone, including the ones who drop the mic, can’t stand up without help because of extreme inebriation, or slobber out the words in a drunken, off key whine that sets my teeth on edge.
I do work at a bar, after all. Drunk is part of the experience. Most of the time I have too much fun to be irritated.
However:
I have one actual rule: DO NOT TOUCH THE EQUIPMENT.
I only warn once.
If you try to get at the computer or other equipment again, I get Bob and he decides if you can stay in the bar at all. (Usually not.)
The mic is the exception. Just try your best not to drop it.
This list contains a few things that happen to irritate the hell outta me, and I’ll react to each of them if it gets bad enough.
1) Someone who continuously bothers the other singers, trying to sing on stage with them, sometimes going so far as to grab the other mic without permission to sing with them.
It depends on who it is (I know one person who comes to mind, and this person just needs to be told to stop it in a firm tone). If I don’t know the offender, I politely ask them to leave the singers alone.
The next offense gets an order.
Very drunk people are referred to the boss to deal with, unless their friends come to rescue the situation.
2) The singer who cannot decide what song they want and ask you what they should sing. (Regulars can ignore this.)
Unless you’re a regular and I have a clue what songs you know, I haven’t the slightest idea of what you’d be good at singing. I am not a mind reader, and I don’t know if you have a low or high singing voice just from your drunken slur.
I try to narrow it down by asking what kind of music you listen to, but I usually get a blank stare and a twenty minute wait to finally figure it out.
What I don’t mind is someone who asks what songs I have by certain groups or singers. Genre I can sometimes suggest, but don’t ask me about country music yet. I’m still trying to learn more of it. Give me a month or two and I’ll have a handle on the most requested groups, singers, and songs.
I like to help, but I can’t perform miracles.
3) Continually changing your mind halfway through the song you’re already singing.
I tend to get testy if it happens every time the same person gets up to sing, or if it happens three times before that person settles on a song.
I might even be mean and skip that person in the next rotation. He/she has already used up two songs, and other people like to have a turn. I think that’s pretty fair.
4) The worst irritation of all is when an audience member (especially one who is also a singer) ignores the singer on stage and yells over the music to her/his friends.
I know a bar gets noisy. The occasional bray of laughter or loud talking isn’t an issue. That’s what the volume control is for.
However – if one person shouts loud enough that the entire bar is now turning to stare at him/her on a continual basis, I’ll turn off the music altogether.
That usually gets the attention of the entire bar. At that point I’ll ask if the drama king/queen would like to finish screaming so the rest of us can continue with the show.
This is a bit of a fine line, but I know when someone crosses it. I wait until it’s been crossed more than a little. Especially if the loud one is at a table next to the mic, waiting for his/her turn to sing.
Rude is rude.
I love to sing. I enjoy the DJ part of the job, playing music to fill in the gaps between singers. I like to help the newbies, and I really like it when they begin to have more confidence. I like to have a drink or two, myself. The attention is wonderful. (Who doesn’t like praise and thanks?)
I’m still learning the job, and I’m very thankful for the patrons at Perera’s Place. They’ve been hugely encouraging, kind, and patient as I struggle with all the problems that come with learning a new job with little training or help.
Rude, annoying people are everywhere, and I don’t mind them as much as I used to. I might even say that, without them, it would be a bit less bright and fun. As my hubby, Highness, would say – Never a dull moment. 😀
Thanks for reading – Shadow
It’s only 4:30pm and I’m already trying to get into the mood of karaoke. When I wasn’t a KJ, I would sing for a while. Now, I have to concentrate on mood, look, and how to erase worry about our equipment. Will it be fixed? Will it be worse? Do I have enough patience for this? Etc.
Since we try to put the show on outside in the back, I also have to figure out what to wear. I hate melting in the heat. lol But then again, if I wear something too revealing, I feel uncomfortable. Tank tops and jeans or shorts, usually. It’s muggy today, but I haven’t gotten the time to wash anything, so I have no shorts. Jeans it is.
I’m anticipating a fun night, with no equipment issues (how many can you have without learning how to deal with them all?) so come on down to Perera’s Place — have a drink and some fun. 😀
Karaoke with Shadow 