Letters to Editor

October 2009

I have read two issues of Karaoke and Live Entertainment and I have to say I was amazed at some of the articles I have read. I have been doing karaoke for about several months now. and recently, over the summer, I have been taking private voice lessons from local vocal teacher, Gary Jordan.

I usually sing karaoke with my friends at O’Finnigan’s on Highway 99 in South Everett, across from Olson’s Food Emporium. Your articles inspired me to sing louder, clearer, and most importantly, better at wailing at the top of my lungs in front of a karaoke audience. I will provide two of my best photos in the near future as I would like to be featured in the Faces In The Crowd piece because I have so many things I would like say to all aspiring singers both amateur and professional.

I will keep reading your monthly karaoke newspaper to get more inspiration for singing in public.

Thank you,
Jason Lundgren, 26
Edmonds, WA

July 2009

I read Stephen Whitener’s article (“Karaoke machines”) in the May issue of this paper with great interest, especially his rating of the various publishers of CD+G karaoke tracks. However, I have to take issue with his choice of placing the Sound Choice label in such an undisputed high regard as he did in the article: “the creme de la creme for karaoke discs.”

Has he ever heard CD+G tracks published under the Zoom label? Granted, it is a British label and they have not published as many songs as Sound Choice but I would venture to bet that any song that was published by both companies, the Zoom version would win the comparison hands down.

Their rendition of the music and lyrics is always closer to the original sound track than that of Sound Choice. Though Sound Choice may be the best American label most of the time, they have quite a few tracks with poor synthesized music and lyrics not matching the original song. This is seldom, if ever the case with Zoom tracks.

Hipster (Bellevue)

March 2009

I have been getting emails and phone calls from both my ad and the article that you did on the Little Red Hen and me! Thank you so much for all the kind things you said about me.

I really believe in what you’re doing. I think with the success that we gain, together we’ll make other karaoke hosts want to advertise with you, whether the places they host for advertise or not! This should be a proof for them to realize that the Karaoke paper is how to make a career out of karaoke and they have to take things into their own hands!

I believe in the power of advertising, and believe that this is the right place for it. They should know that advertising in the Karaoke Paper can only help. Your Karaoke newspaper is a great, quality news source with no competition!

I would be honored if I were the first host to realize the power of my future by advertising in your paper! Thank you for being so supportive.

~ Cordel James
Karaoke Host

January 2009

In response to recently published letter

By Denver “Dr. Kess” Kessler

I am Denver Kessler (real name), stage name Dr. Kess, and I currently host a show at Vince’s Italian Restaurant at 2815 Sunset Blvd. in the Renton Highlands, behind Hillcrest Bowl on Friday nights only 9pm to 1:30am.

Pedigree: Father played accordion on road bands for Stuart Amblin and Roy Rogers.

I was spinning vinyl literally as soon as I could toddle to the hi-fi. Involved in band and choir throughout school from day one to high school. Played coronet, saxophone, self taught guitars, bass and drums, sang tenor and bass. Swing choir senior year and also sang and played through church, toured with a youth group in the summer of 1975.

I am a songwriter with copyrights, I’ve performed live and recorded solo studio and with short-lived bands. I was a radio DJ intern around 1983 or 1984 at KSCR 1420 AM in Renton, WA before the station folded. Television studio sessions, plus produced, directed, edited, lights, camera… all in Oregon. I was awarded 1997 Volunteer and Rookie Producer of the Year by Multnomah Community Television (MCTV) of Gresham, OR. Our program coincidentally was called Karaoke Korner and ran for three plus seasons. The goal was to find talented singers and feature them on our show in studio in a TV setting. I still live in Oregon, but I’ve come back to Renton for the karaoke – for now.

I have been involved with karaoke in many states since at least 1990. Heavily involved.

Over the last year plus that I have been up here I have been an avid reader of the Karaoke & Entertainment Guide. I have kept up on the many reviews, profiles, contests and recommendations of local competitors. Know thy enemy!

Up to now, I haven’t had much to add to the conversation of letters to the Editor and refutes, rebuttals or agreements in response that have been sent in. At least nothing over the past few months that has not already been adequately stated by others. However, after reading a recently published letter, I have to add my own input.

First, thank you for being brave enough to print his letter. Now the whole world can identify the author as the idiotic jerk he is. Hey, when you come to my venue, you might well have ONE spot in the rotation – period! Have a song and don’t suck. From now on, the old Jim Rome principles apply to my show and here’s why:

The purpose and reasons of longevity of karaoke are, to me, three-fold.

First and foremost it is FUN. It is a form of entertainment offered to you, the clientele, by the owners of whichever venue you’re in chooses to provide you.

Second, the goal is to attract and retain additional customers and clientele for the purpose of having them spend money so that venue makes money.

Third, karaoke is participatory, audience friendly (see FUN), relatively inexpensive and a headache free alternative to live music. Karaoke is more reliable, affordable and takes up less space than live music does in smaller venues. This is not an indictment against live music.

However, judging from the recent press here, it occurs to me that too many singers and reviewers are forgetting, or are ignorant of, a few ground rules.

Karaoke is a service provided to you by the owner’s choice. No owner is obligated to provide anything. Too many people have come to expect that if karaoke is not top-notch, state-of-the-art, and expertly-hosted in a competitive fashion, then they should not bother to be in business.

May I point out that karaoke is not an entitlement. Too many “karaoke connoisseurs” have come to expect or demand a certain level of standard industrial professionalism in the venue, in the system and sound quality, in the hosts/KJs and in the show itself.

It may be helpful to learn that when you are on the stage, YOU are the show at that point. Not the KJ. Not the host. Not the venue. And not the sound. You. So if the place sucks, go look in a mirror. Don’t pass the buck!

Look, money is the bottom line of any business. It shouldn’t be a matter of comparing the “haves” to the “have nots”? Example: MegaMax Casino has the budget to drop tens of thousands of dollars into a state-of-the-art sound and stage production literally overnight, while Pop’s Tavern down the street is lucky to afford to rent a basic PA system and employ Pop’s deadbeat brother-in-law as a host. It’s like apples to oranges.

How can you compare the two? What do you expect? Pop’s Tavern cannot possibly fairly compete against MegaMax Casino and they should not have to. A bad review could easily end Pop’s business. Can you say lawsuit?

It has been well documented that Mom’s Corner Grocery cannot compete with Big Box Wally World.

An answer to that could be just to ignore Pop’s Tavern. They are not worth the time or anyone’s effort, so we won’t bother and we won’t embarrass them by posting a poor review. Is that fair?

The same dynamic holds for the karaoke business.

Many karaoke owners/hosts are in it only to make a few extra bucks on the side. Yes, they do have day jobs. Why is that a problem?

If in your search for “karaoke heaven” your demand for Bon Jovi or Neil Diamond isn’t met, what is your point in griping about “all this dump had was Joe’s Garage Band?” It is not constructive, but detrimental over all.

What bothers me most, I guess, is there seems to be a prevailing, pre-conceived, or preset notion; a standard of industrial professionalism which singers, reviewers and “connoisseurs” already have in mind before they ever set foot inside a new venue. They expect a certain fairness to all rotations, state-of-the-art sound systems, passable singers and professional, expert hosts and KJs. Most karaoke bars are not professional recording studios. The hosts are not highly skilled engineers or technicians.

If you expect the best, rent and pay for a sound studio yourself. Pay for a licensed and qualified engineer. Why is there no room for the casual weekend hobbyist? Hobbies are meant to be FUN!