Karaoke Fallout

John Steele (deceased) · From: Renfrew, Ontario, Canada

Being born in 1964, I don't remember where I was when I heard that Kennedy was shot, but I do remember where I was when I saw my first Karaoke machine.
I still wake up in a cold sweat over it. If everyone really does have their own version of hell waiting for them in the afterlife, mine will be filled with Karaoke machines and line dancers.
Lately I have noticed another consequence of the dreaded Sing-Along-With- Mitch machine; a consequence that has crept into my nights of playing live music in the clubs-
With increasing and alarming frequency, I look up from my steel in the middle of a song to see some stranger, uninvited, bound onto the stage and snatch the nearest microphone from a stand, and start caterwalling to the audience. I can hardly believe what I'm seeing sometimes. Of course, the audience is too dumb to realize they shouldn't encourage such obnoxious behaviour, and most efforts are met with great applause.
The first time it happened, I thought it was just a fluke.... but it's happened on virtually every country/rock gig I've done in the last month.
Up 'till now, you could avoid Karaoke shrapnel by avoiding Karaoke nights, but now it seems to be insiduously creeping into my gigs. I've always had a fear of some loose cannon careening around the stage, surrounded by lots of expensive equipment, but now it's become more than an annoyance.
Anyone else had this happen to them ? What do you do ? Ask the bouncers to keep an eye on the stage? The last guy came dangerously close to going nose-to-nose with our bass player (five feet of fury). Am I correct in my conclusion that this behaviour is Karaoke Fallout ?
Just when you think it couldn't get any weirder....
-John

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

I think you could attribute some of this behavior to Karaoke, and I think it's also another consequence of something that's really become unfashionable these days....RESPECT. Lots (not all) of kids think it's cool to be wild and crazy and respect is an old-fashioned foreign concept.
How else could guys like Tom Green become rich and famous? What's he good at besides screaming, yelling and being totally obnoxious? I spent 16 years at a TV station, I've heard all the arguements for and against blaming TV and movies for social behaviors and I have to say - MY OPINION -- is this: Media's defense; "We just mirror society, we don't try to shape it." is HALF true. They do try to give people what they think they want, but they are also specialist at social manipulation. Also, people, especially younger ones, really do tend to believe what they see on TV. "If it's on TV, it must be legitimate." If someone on TV or in a movie makes acting a certain way seem really cool, they'll mimic it. Disrespect, being "bad" is cool now and there you have the reason for much of the violence at concerts, sports, clubs, etc. Just my OPINION and I'm sticking to it! (Views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the management, ISP, Steel Guitar Forum or any of their parent companies, etc. etc.!)

Sunny Callen · From: Las Vegas NV USA

Well said, Jim!

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

(In my best Jimmy Durante voice...)

Ev-ry-body wants to get into the act!

John Lacey · From: Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada

John, this kind of activity goes on in the club I play INTENTIONALLY! We do a jam every Saturday and Sunday afternoons and some of the worst talent I have ever heard is encouraged to get up and sing. It's the biggest musical challenge I've ever had to back these people up, but, it's the nature of the gig. It took me about a month to figure it all out, that it's more about PR than music, so after that, I drank more beer and pressed more flesh, and damn, if it didn't work. Now, they don't usually jump up and start singing without invitation, but sometimes they do and we encourage the sponteneity. It's actually anti-karaoke, in that we are encouraging participation with a real band and no words displayed, but we've become experts at backing up with no guidance as to where the song is going. Talk about turd polishing!

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

That reminds me of the several "talent search" contests where I was in the backup band. Sometimes the hardest thing was just to keep from busting out laughing.

John Steele (deceased) · From: Renfrew, Ontario, Canada

John Lacey, you have a great attitude. I wish it were mine

Jim Phelps, agreed. Further to that, I'd like to say I consider it my duty as a Canadian to travel the world apologizing for Tom Green.
-John

Jim Phelps · From: Mexico City, Mexico

HA! I didn't know Green was Canadian...well we won't hold that against you, after all we gave the world Roseanne Barr, or Arnold, whatever she's calling herself now.

Quesney Gibbs · From: Anniston, AL

Way back in the past when those C#%$&^& machines were not even invented there were star struck human beans who were attracted to a mike like a fly to SH$t.

Many times someone has come to the stage with the request to let his girlfriend (Who sings just like Loretta Lynn dnocha know)get up and do her thing.

One band I worked with would let the fool up and right after the first few bars of the song we would suddenly drop everything down a half tone causing the human bean in question to panic and sound like crap. They usually never figured it out and never came back. Ah..the good old days...

erik · Posted 1 Jan 2002 5:49 am

People who think it is their right to get up on stage and sing a number with the band are the same people who think it's ok to copy their friend's CD. You have to educate people. One way is saying NO!

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

I am very glad to report that I am not currently working with a band , yet, I am practicing with a group and will do gigs now and again soon, SO, I don't have to put up with the karaoke syndrome. But, years ago when I gigged weekly we still had the same obnoxious people come up and wanted to excercise there god given right to crash a band stand and sing, even if that meant pushing instruments and musicians out of the way. My drummer friend and I figured out though how to turn the tide on the ones we hated the most. I, being either on Lead Guitar or Steel, being the dominant Instrument I forced a half step key raise on the second verse. It was great , the rest of the band was pretty much not sure what I was doing and I usually just said I was following the singer...HA HA ! You wanna see someone who thinks they area a star go into a complete stage fright mode..Ya see, he with the loudest amp still has the power ! Most of the crappy mindless singers didn't want to experience that again and they never had a clue that it was me that took the stage back..Just look innocent like your trying to work with them..Sometimes after the half step change I returned to the root key again..My friend and I still talk and laugh about those days..The band leader used to accuse us of not being professional..AMEN to that ! When I do start working with the group I'm practicing with I guess I have to let them know that I am not interested in backing up the next Elvis or Loretta on a gig. I want to keep the old days and memories right where they are, in the old days and memory file cabinet. I'm sorry for you players that are subjected to this..
TP

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 01 January 2002 at 06:42 AM.]

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Folks I just had to add this as I am sitting here laughing with a great memory. We played this gig weekly for years and this one lady , very very obnoxious who thought she was the cats meow to singing, she used to sing the star spangled banner every week, it was worse than horrible, and I mean horrible ! If she sang it horrible that would have been an improvement ! Well, she would normally sing it in like G or something like that , so I kicked it off in the 5th , D.. the rest was history...when the bridge came.. YIPES !! Yeah, I know, I am not a professional...But I never stated that I was back then.. Half the time when I started the tunes in a key she called for she sang it in a totally different key anyway so what was the big deal ?
Karoake, thats where people sing and make fools of themselves, I was just giving them a jump start !
TP

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

Sometime in '84 or '85 I was working with a singer named Bobby Cahill (a great singer who should have become a star) when some drunken fiddle player jumped uninvoted onto the stae to play with us, fell, and knocked the mike stand into my Fender Triple 8 Stringmaster and put a big gouge in it. Not only the the guy not apologise for damaging my instrument, but Bobby refused to let him back on stage afterwards, his two sons threatened to beat up all the band members.

It makes one wish they'd bring back the chicken wire.

John Lacey · From: Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada

"John Lacey, you have a great attitude. I wish it were mine". John, I put up with this cause I work with two professional and sweet women. I also make pretty good coin and only have 2 blocks to crawl home from.

Jeff Evans · From: Cowtown and The Bill Cox Outfit

Croaky. It's pronounced "croaky."
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Jeff
and the Sassy Bag of Cats Band

David Pennybaker · From: Conroe, TX USA

A half-step key-change, unawares to the "singer" ?

Oh, man, that's cruel! (but funny).

If the karaoke operators ever think of that trick . . . .

Bill Taft · From: Sturgeon Mo. USA * R.I.P.

I havent played a bar since 85, but before that for 10 years that was my only job and you know instead of karaoke it was disco starting to take our clubs during the week and just wanted live music on fridays and saturdays so they could save money soon we had to travel more and more to work 6 nights a week. We did have our way to take care all the money the club owners were gonna save. There wasnt a week went by ever for a couple of years that we wouldnt break off the arms of every record player in every club we would go in. I guess every band in the country did it long enough because disco is all but gone now. Five years from now it will be something else trying to take the place of the live music and the energy that goes with the band and as always the die hard musician will overcome as always and find their way around whatever comes next.
Now to add this I no longer play the get even guy anymore, I guess when I quit drinking most of the mean left with the booze in 85, but I still love playing COUNTRY just play shows now days. One of you guys need's to write a hit song and name it " MY KARAOKE IS BROKIE" and get George Jones to sing it.

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btaft

David Pennybaker · From: Conroe, TX USA

Love the title.

Chris Forbes · From: Beltsville, MD, USA

A Mr. T reference? beautiful!! I love this place!!

Tony Davis · From: Brisbane, QLD, Australia

I used to get so sick of folks coming up and demanding to sing with the band!...we were so well in with boss of the pub that he let us do as we want....so I could go behind the bar and get a cheap bottle of wine for prizes.......so I used to say.....you want to sing with us...wait a while and sing in the talent quest......our Judge was a Korg WT 10...guitar tuner.......nobody knew we just rotated the prize...they were all as bad as each other.......and if we got a Semi Pro Singer come in trying to nudge us out of a job or even just get a hand out of the wine.......well wouldnt you know it...the clapometer...would put them way behind the most drunk, fat and Ugly one.....who just came every week 'cos we were their Band !!!!!

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Used to play the Sunday afternoon jam sessions at Sams Club/Cowtown (same club, just changed names at one point). Usually, the people who came up to sing were pretty awful. I remember one dude who looked like Eddie Rabbit's twin brother, would come in with his wireless mike (before they were so popular) and proceed to serenade the ladies while walking in the crowd. We used to play tricks on him like stopping in the middle of the song, changing keys, everyone playing in different keys, etc... With all that, this guy never missed a word.

So much for the good ole days.

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Carter D10 9p/10k
Richard Sinkler