Whats your opinion on organizing your karaoke book!

[Guest]

Before anyone knocks this idea.... it does work. I've seen it in action in San Jose, CA at the 7 Bamboo..... they have two terminals.... difference is they do sell slips to sing at the bar since it is all done in the Japanese way.

Altho they do supliment with books if one choose to go through one they can.

Yes I agree the Kiosh can work great when you have 5 or 6 singers there shouldn't be too much of a back up!:tritongue:

 

[c. staley]

Yes I agree the Kiosk can work great when you have 5 or 6 singers there shouldn't be too much of a back up!:tritongue:

NOW who's the "chicken little" here?

I use a SINGLE kiosk and regularly get rotations of and hour and a half and 25-30 different singers with no complaints and no back ups.

You've NEVER seen one, You've NEVER used one, You've NEVER even observed a busy night with one but you're going to speculate on how many singers you can have and if (or not) there would be a back up?

Don't worry Thunder, you won't fall off because the earth is really flat - feel better?

 

[jokerswild]

Yes I agree the Kiosh can work great when you have 5 or 6 singers there shouldn't be too much of a back up!:tritongue:

I know you're just giving me **** here but honestly it works just fine.... and trust me the 7 Bamboo gets real busy especially on a Friday and Saturday night.....

I'm not sure if they still do a live stream but checkout www.7bamboo.com

 

[DannyGKaraoke]

I know you're just giving me **** here but honestly it works just fine.... and trust me the 7 Bamboo gets real busy especially on a Friday and Saturday night.....

I'm not sure if they still do a live stream but checkout www.7bamboo.com

Just remember that they are on Pacific Time so their show probably doesn't start until 9pm PST which is 12 Mid EST.

 

[KjAthena]

Jon,

I guess it depends on the popularity of your show, at the majority of mine 20 books is sometimes not enough! I have seen as many as four books on a table because so many were browsing through them!

What I like to do is have enough books to put at least one on each table but in some venues that is simply not feasible! I can't tell you how many people who would have normally never participated in karaoke who have looked through the book and ended up singing and staying for the night! This is the purpose of karaoke being in a bar to bring people in and to keep people there spending money!

Having people have to get up from their seats and going looking for a book or go to a kiosh and stand in line to find a song is not going to appeal to many who are not hardcore karaoke people! I had a family who came into Applebees for dinner one night and as I was passing out the books and put one on their table the lady told me that they were just here for dinner, that was at 8:30 at 11:30 they were still there and the entire family was still looking through the Karaoke book! They haven't missed a Monday since and everyone in that family gets up to sing at least one song each night!

I agree wholeheartedly

 

[Bazza]

Just think how much time & money the restaurants could save if they eliminated menus and went to kiosks. No more printing up silly menus, no waiters needed. Forget that "flat earth" browsing at the table. This is 2010! Just have people browse for their food from the kiosk in the corner and someone will bring it to your table when it's done!

"What a wonderful world it will be. What a glorious time to be free..." :triwink:

 

[jokerswild]

I sit here and I wonder what it is about a karaoke book on a kiosk style computer request system that scares so many for... I'm no scared of it.... it's not taking my job away, but does make it easier.

 

[Guest]

Rob,

I just watched an hour of 7 Bamboo and 8 songs and a total of 5 different people came to the mic Counting the group of 3 girls singing "Love Shack" as one and the group of 3 guys attempting to sing "I'll Make Love To You" as one!

From 12:00 to 1:00 (my time) I counted 11 people come through the door, that is not a high attraction for a friday night!

Any typical show I have I would have had 15 to 16 songs sung in the same amount of time and with 15 different singers!

Now take into the equation that in the first 20 minutes time one mic has already stoped working and there is no one there to fix or change it out!

Even with so few people in the place and so few singing there were still 3 to 4 at the kiosh for the entire hour, looked to me exactly as I said it would be!

 

[Big Joe]

Rob,

I just watched an hour of 7 Bamboo and 8 songs and a total of 5 different people came to the mic Counting the group of 3 girls singing "Love Shack" as one and the group of 3 guys attempting to sing "I'll Make Love To You" as one!

From 12:00 to 1:00 (my time) I counted 11 people come through the door, that is not a high attraction for a friday night!

Any typical show I have I would have had 15 to 16 songs sung in the same amount of time and with 15 different singers!

Now take into the equation that in the first 20 minutes time one mic has already stoped working and there is no one there to fix or change it out!

Even with so few people in the place and so few singing there were still 3 to 4 at the kiosh for the entire hour, looked to me exactly as I said it would be!

That's odd. Isn't 7 Bamboo one of the founding members of the KIAA???

I'd have thought they'd be packed with patrons looking for "LEGIT" Karaoke.

 

[DJMN]

That's odd. Isn't 7 Bamboo one of the founding members of the KIAA???

I'd have thought they'd be packed with patrons looking for "LEGIT" Karaoke.

WOW...just WOW...and SLAM!

 

[jokerswild]

Gee.... don't you guys sometimes have slow nights.... my guess Toqer wasn't or maybe isn't working there anymore because I tell ya when he is that place is jammin.... but, put any of the others there and they wont use what he has in place because they don't know how to run the computer.

 

[DJMN]

Gee.... don't you guys sometimes have slow nights....

I tried to call ya. I will try again sometime later this afternoon. I am finally going to bed. A long, long night. :trisad:

 

[jokerswild]

I tried to call ya. I will try again sometime later this afternoon. I am finally going to bed. A long, long night. :trisad:

I most likely wont be answering as I will be on my way to Hobart this afternoon.

 

[DJMN]

I most likely wont be answering as I will be on my way to Hobart this afternoon.

This is all maybe a pm convo...are you open sunday?

 

[Diafel]

Gee.... don't you guys sometimes have slow nights.... my guess Toqer wasn't or maybe isn't working there anymore because I tell ya when he is that place is jammin.... but, put any of the others there and they wont use what he has in place because they don't know how to run the computer.

Yes, Toqer is still there. As for a slow night, I was seriously shocked by Thunder's description. It figures that Thunder would visit on the ONE slow night. It's usually PACKED and NOT all the same singers.

 

[jclaydon]

I would not be afraid of using a Kiosk, especially if there was a way for the software to exist on a cell phone. That way people could still browse at their table and if the kj had a phone could text their requests, altho that might make cheating the rotation easier.

But i would still have books for several reasons

1. Some people are technophobes. They are simply unwilling to learn how to use something, even if the process is simple.

2. Some people are more tactile. they like something they can feel and touch. Flipping thru a book makes the experience more personal/real for them

3. I can look up stuff faster in a book than it takes me to type in the name of something I am looking for, and a lot of my regulars were the same way

4. I have experience the same thing as Thunder, people who have absolutely NO interest in singing, but decide to flip thru the book just out of curiousity. The likelyhood of someone having no interest in singing walking up to a kiosk is remote. Besides, in my books, I have all sorts of jokes, stories and short blubs that a person can read while they are waiting for their turn. you can't put that in a kiosk..

 

[c. staley]

Here's the only way I can answer this:

I would not be afraid of using a Kiosk, especially if there was a way for the software to exist on a cell phone. That way people could still browse at their table and if the kj had a phone could text their requests, altho that might make cheating the rotation easier.

But i would still have books for several reasons

1. Some people are technophobes. They are simply unwilling to learn how to use something, even if the process is simple.

Sorry. I can't be responsible for them. I have a whole room full of others that don't have this problem.

2. Some people are more tactile. they like something they can feel and touch. Flipping thru a book makes the experience more personal/real for them

So, print a couple books so you can ween them off... it will work. I did exactly that because I had the same concerns you do now. The books will eventually fade away.

3. I can look up stuff faster in a book than it takes me to type in the name of something I am looking for, and a lot of my regulars were the same way

No you can't. I can find all the songs by "Jim Croce" in 4 touches of 1 finger. Do that with a book.

4. I have experience the same thing as Thunder, people who have absolutely NO interest in singing, but decide to flip thru the book just out of curiousity. The likelyhood of someone having no interest in singing walking up to a kiosk is remote. Besides, in my books, I have all sorts of jokes, stories and short blubs that a person can read while they are waiting for their turn. you can't put that in a kiosk..

If they're just going to browse your book and never sing, then it's a wasted book isn't it? (unless you call browsing a songbook your way of "keeping a crowd")

Then it's a storybook, cartoon book, joke book and finally a karaoke book. This confirms that the books are getting more and more useless.

 

[Jon Tuck]

I find it funny

some equate the shows by the number of folks scrambling to sing waiting in a huge lineup must mean your popular right? Sort of like the DJ mentality of how full the dancefloor is. I disagree.

Keeping people in the venue buying drinks is the key. Just because one will never sing doesnt mean you havent succeeded as I have had some folks come in simply to support other singers. If they are paying my wage by looking at books

atleast they arent twirling one of my microphones like a rock star nor screaming in the mic attempting to destroy my system. Staying power with a nice flow of singers will keep success in your doors. If there is a 2-3 hour wait between songs some singers will go elsewhere.

Here's the only way I can answer this:

 

[jclaydon]

Chip:i can't really argue with any of your points but you missed the important part of my third point.. here let me highlight it for you


I can look up stuff faster in a book than it takes me to type the name in. I find using abreviations doesn't alway give the results wanted and then have to spend time scrolling thru a list of stuff I don't want.

I have my books down to almost a science, I can usually flip to the section i need within one or two pages and it only takes a few seconds to scan down the page to the exact entry i need.

your milage may vary

 

[c. staley]

Chip:i can't really argue with any of your points but you missed the important part of my third point.. here let me highlight it for you


I can look up stuff faster in a book than it takes me to type the name in. I find using abreviations doesn't alway give the results wanted and then have to spend time scrolling thru a list of stuff I don't want.

I have my books down to almost a science, I can usually flip to the section i need within one or two pages and it only takes a few seconds to scan down the page to the exact entry i need.

your milage may vary

Sure, YOU can "flip to the section" because you made the book. I'll bet your singers can't do the same.

You missed my point: I don't type either. It's a touchscreen. If I (or any of the patrons in the club) touch the following letters on the screen: C-R-O then I get the name "Croce, Jim" in the list on the screen. You'll also see Bing Crosby and nine others as well - just like "flipping to the section" no?

That so far, is 1 finger touching a screen 3 times. And with one more touch on the name itself, I get the list of songs for Jim Croce.

That's touching a screen with ONE finger, FOUR times to see all his songs.

Let's see if any of your singers can touch your songbook with one finger just four times and get the same list. They can't. They have to open it first.

It is possible to look up, enter and submit 10 songs on a touchscreen LONG before your singers could ever look them up, fill out a slip and deliver them all to the host using a printed songbook. It's simple enough for drunk people to use in the dark...(since it's illuminated)

I'd be happy to link you to a video of it in action if you like, but wouldn't want to be accused of spamming.