LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Rotation Really?

I’ve owned several bars, hosted karaoke, and know a bit about both sides of the business. Hosting is a great job, so why not do a good job? Everybody wants to be a host, but they don’t care if they are a good host or not.

It would seem like there would be a standard way of running a karaoke rotation. I am getting tired of learning each karaoke host’s little quirks. Lately, I have visited a couple of places with these little quirks.

We went to a place in Everett where the host sings TWO songs when it’s his turn. Gee, I thought their job was to get people in there to sing and spend money. He, like others, will take requests, getting yet another spot in the rotation. Sure, he’s a good singer, but I was there to sing and spend some money, not to listen to the host sing! We left and won’t return.

If someone wants to sing a duet, it should count as just one person’s turn. The other spot in the rotation could still be used by the other singer, or another duet! Two singers equals two spots… use them however you like, right?! If a KJ can’t keep track of that, well then they have bigger issues.

We found a new place in Mount Vernon, great sound, nice host, okay bar, etc. and had a good time. The next week we went back and brought four friends along. We put in for a duet right off the bat. Well, come to find out that counts as two turns in the rotation! It wasn’t that way last week! They said it depends on how many singers are in the rotation. Maybe they should have said something when we put in our slip.

We waited and waited for our turn again (at the bottom of the list), but new singers were getting up before us! Probably has something to do with the number of singers… we left.

It should be that when you sign up to sing, you get put at the end of the rotation. If you don’t like it, get there earlier. People are already there, spending money, waiting their turn to sing. Maybe by the time you’re called on, you’ve spent a few bucks at the bar too.

The order of the rotation doesn’t have to be tough. Grab a pad and pencil for god’s sake. I’ve seen chalk boards used to display the order, and things move much faster that way too. You know exactly when you’re up. Course, the host has to actually stand up and physically walk over to the board and change it, which cuts into their smoke time.

Starting on time would be considerate too. I’ve watched as karaoke hosts play pool as much as 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. Apparently 2 or 3 singers waiting to sing isn’t enough of a reason to stop playing pool.

Or they’ll just sit there talking to someone, playing music, instead of getting those up who want to sing! Damn, that makes me so mad! We’ll never revisit these places either.

Then you’ve got the host that needs to be dragged back into the room because the song ended minutes ago now. Pay attention to your business! You are not being paid to play pool, smoke, or sit around and BS with the customers.

Good hosts will not sing when there are a lot of singers waiting their turn. Sing a couple songs just to get things started, and then let the customers sing the rest of the time. They know that their job is to take care of the PAYING customers!

P.S. I don’t understand why everybody hasn’t called the Karaoke Guide with their karaoke schedules. It’s FREE ADVERTISING! That list should be twice as long as it is!