How to Irritate Shadow

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

Great Crowd, Faulty Equipment, and Constructive Criticism

Last night, there were problems with the equipment. Namely, there is a short in the right side of the mixer. That seems to be the consensus of those who understand that sort of thing.  Personally, I believe it’s a problem with the connection to the right side of the amplifier, but then, I have no real clue about it.

As a KJ, I’m going to have to familiarize myself with all the equipment. I need to study up a bit, and the internet seems to be the place to do it. So, for the next few days, I’ll do what I can to learn the basics.

Troubleshooting seems to be a huge part of the job. I tried everything I knew to do last night, and finally, someone from Galaxie (nice people, those!) came out and, with the help of one of the patrons, jury-rigged the speakers to work relatively well. At least, no one complained.

I want to say, once again, that the patrons of Perera’s Place are wonderful about things like this. Patient, helpful if they can be, and kind to me. (I try, but I can’t do much about intricate equipment issues.)  I am SO thankful for the patrons. And for Bob, who does his best to provide, but he knows even less about the equipment than I do. Lol

I don’t know what it’s going to be like tonight. I was so disgusted with the equipment last night that I put it all away at the end and refused to think about it again until now, two hours before I have to be there.

It does look like rain tonight, so I’m hoping Bob already decided to set up inside. It’ll be cooler, anyway.

I do need a backup KJ for when I can’t make it. I’m sick tonight, but going anyway. A sore throat, kind of dodgy feeling, and just blah. I’ll do my best to keep an excitement level going, though.

I was given some constructive advice by a good friend, as well. He thought I’d be angry. I wasn’t, just a little sad. He said I shouldn’t sing, myself, especially if there were a lot of people, and I know he’s right.

I thought I was doing well with that, because I love to sing and would monopolize the show if I could. 😉 I do tend to say, “If you want me off the stage, come on up and sing instead,” in order to get people to put their names on the list. And I wait usually until two regular songs have played with no one else coming up.

Usually, I only sing in the early part of the evening, and stop as the crowd grows.

I do, however, sing the very first song to break the ice and to check out the system. I’ve had too many equipment malfunctions to use someone else as a guinea pig for that.

Some nights, I get requests to sing a certain song, so I do. I believe I’m behaving well enough. If not, then perhaps someone here might give me some more insight.

Anyway, all that aside, I’m only hoping tonight will go well with the equipment. I can jury rig it again myself if no one has done anything. I only want the patrons to have some fun. And me, of course.

I will say that the more that goes wrong, the more I learn about the system. It’s like a car – every time you have to take it in to the shop because something fails, you learn just a little more about it. Give me six months, and I’ll have it down even without studying it. Lol

Thanks for reading –

Shadow

The Woes of Being a KJ

Being KJ is usually really fun. Really. However, being a KJ also means grunt work. Right now, Bob (my boss) and I are trying to figure out from scratch what programs, equipment, and other things I need to have in order to please the most people in the crowd as possible.

I downloaded a newer version of the software we already use, and every playlist that was already on the computer disappeared. Never store in a cache. Put it in the hard drive files somewhere else.

Also the Content Unlimited program that I thought would give me lots of songs, updated songs, etc, turned out to be far less than advertized.

In other words, I have less than I wanted, and less than I had to begin with in order to play for my customers. I’ve been spending all day for the last two days downloading karaoke songs. I hate not having songs people want. I like having a song no one else has, and seeing the pleased look on someone’s face when they find out.

I’m asking for help here. Please, if you have songs you particularly want, put it on my facebook page – Karaoke With Shadow – in a comment. I’ll be checking at least once a day to see if there’s something new I don’t have yet. If it’s out there, I’ll find it. 😀  (And give the page a like if you haven’t already!)

I can only hope I have a minimum of what I need by the next showtime on Friday.

I do remember a lot of the songs people have requested more than once, so I have quite a bit of those. I’ve downloaded about two thousand songs so far, and hope to have many more by Friday. Yes, I’ll be adding every day until then, and so my goal is a thousand songs a day.

Even if you don’t live close enough to come to the show, please put in your opinion. It’s probably someone else’s as well. 😉

Okay, woe or not, it’s still the best job in the world to be a KJ. I don’t mind this downloading stuff, and updating everything. I will be updating at least once a week after I’ve gotten a decent database. I’m also buying a flash drive when I can to store a backup in case of computer crash or for when Bob gets his new computer. I will attempt professionalism, although I had perhaps an hour of training with an actual KJ, and the rest is sort of learn as I go.

I do know what I, personally, like in a KJ, having sung karaoke for quite a few years now, and I now have far more respect for these guys than I used to. Lol

I WILL find ways to make as many people happy during a show as I can, and that, I think, helps no matter how many songs I have.

I also have to take care of my home while I’m downloading, so life has taken a bit of a stressful turn for the next week or so. Please bear with me as I work hard to get everything done.

Peace, Love, and Karaoke – Shadow

What is a KJ?

When you walk into a bar, and someone is singing to music without a band, that is someone singing karaoke (which I’m sure you knew, but I’m being cautious).  The person running the equipment is the KJ, or Karaoke Jockey.  A radio personality is known as a DJ, or Disc Jockey, and KJ is a play on that.

But I think a KJ is more of a facilitator than a DJ.  We not only run the equipment to play songs selected by the singer, we also help out when the singer falters, download new songs to the computer system (when we are able to do so), deal with the drunk and disorderly who think they can run the equipment themselves, and basically cheer for the singers.

It’s not just about sitting around until someone wants to sing, but about creating an atmosphere in which singers feel both safe enough to have fun singing.  It’s not easy for everyone to get up in front of a crowd and sing their hearts out.

Sometimes a KJ has to hide the emotions when a singer really can’t sing.  Some KJ’s will turn down the mic until you can barely hear the singer.  I don’t believe in that.  It shouldn’t matter if they can or can’t carry a tune in a bucket — it’s all about having fun.  No one can have fun if someone feels insulted.

If nothing else, applaud the singer for having the guts to get on stage.  I’m not there to give advice on how to sing (unless I’m asked).  I may say something about how to hold the mic so people can hear you better, but that’s as far as unasked advice goes.

There’s also trying to balance the singer’s voice with the music.  Someone who sings very softly may need the mic turned up and the background music turned down.  The next person may have a set of lungs that can blow up a building.  A bit more music and less mic is in order then.

Then there’s playing with the treble and bass to get the right mix with the speaker placement.  I’m half-deaf in one ear, and tend to ask for comments at the beginning of the night to get that right.  Sometimes, like now, we have older equipment that needs babying all night long.  The computer I’m using now and I are having a war.  It’s winning.  😉

Bob (the owner) is ordering new equipment.  I’m hoping to have more to say here as I learn the latest and best techniques to help all of you have the best time possible.  😀