Drive Me Crazy

otherwise known as the tale of a horrid wednesday

it's pretty frustrating the way we have our system set up...maybe not the system, just the placement of where we're at...i feel like our table is vulnerable to the drunken atmosphere we're in...it's bad enough that ppl don't care about how they handle the mics, but when the bigger equipment is messed w/, oh boy!

we had a guy accidentally step on the wire that connects the tv to the computer (it's not the first time btw)...he must've got it pretty good though because not only did the screens stop displaying the words, but my computer screen was all on & off...interesting...well when it came back on i guess the size of the words were distorted...i figure we should restart the computer, no biggie...& while i was kinda upset w/ him, i figured it's not his fault anymore than it is ours (we need to find a better way to shield those wires!)...well my boss completely flipped out, "omg what the hell! fk connect the laptop, damnit!" & some more dialogue that i didn't catch i'm sure

it's stressful when things go wrong, but even more when the higher up isn't keeping it cool like he should...the rest of the night was completely silly, having problems connecting the laptop, having the wrong wires connected, accidentally cutting off someone's song cuz i was on a different program, & dealing w/ impatient ppl

i do get that it sucks when you have to wait like 20 mins just to sing a song that you've probably lost interest in doing, but you don't need to be rude about it...i had a group of guys who kept saying our karaoke sucked...& yes, that night was particularly bad, but it's not like that all the time (or else i wouldn't associate myself w/ it)...but i don't like dealing w/ rude ppl, esp when i'm under stress, & even more so when they are drunken fools...i wish i had the power to kick ppl out lol

so the computer works again, everything's cool...& maybe we'll find a way to prevent that from happening again...i'm pretty sure though that guy will probably be hesitant to come up & ask for a song again :P

-Becky

Patience

(ok so if you didn't notice i title my blogs w/ song names, just so happens that the first 2 have been from g'n'r though lol)

something i wish people understood is rotations...i'm sure the regulars by now understand it, but let me explain...

at the begining of the night, there's only at max 5 people singing...so i put everyone's names on the list & we keep going in the order of the list...simple right?...when more people come in, i add them at the bottom of the list, until it gets long...then i try to insert whoever is new before people who have already gone at least once go up again...i try to be fair to everyone...but sometimes there's so many new people that they end up dominating the list, so usually by now the regulars leave to go get drunk (cuz hey, waiting isn't the funnest thing in the world, i totally understand)

when i get a bajillion people at the end of the night, i am annoyed by 2 things:
-when people don't show up for their song, then accusing me of skipping them
-constantly coming up & asking "is it my turn yet?" when i clearly called someone else's name

like i said, i make sure to get everyone if the time allows...we're supposed to end karaoke at 1AM, but sometimes we go a little longer...i only skip people after i've called them at least 3 times on the mic or if i've gotten up to look & see if that person is still around...because i know how it is to be in the audience & wait forever...i've been skipped before, & it's pretty annoying

it's pretty funny though when at the end of the night people get antsy & try to pay me or art off to bump them up...i hear that every week, "hey, can you bump me up?"...haha...& just for the record, i don't bump anyone unless they are leaving, & i don't do it often...

hey people, why don't you make it easier on me & show up @ 9?!? i always get people at 12:30 asking me if they can sing like 8 songs...bleh




so aside from my "bump me up" rant, things went pretty good lastnight...we had a birthday group there that was pretty funny...actually, not much spectacular lastnight...now i just have to go back later today & pick up all the equipment...i started on it last night & the said forget it lol

so we'll see what next week brings :)

come on time to the owl in el centro on wednesdays & thursdays, 9pm-1am

Welcome to the Jungle...

or in this case, my karaoke world

i've decided to blog about my past & current karaoke interactions...mostly to give an idea to other people how hard being a KJ (karaoke jockey) is sometimes...the computer functioning is pretty simple, rotations are easy, the sound board is a piece of cake...the people i come across...*oi*

the first time i did karaoke was at barbara worth...i was underage (who wasn't at barbara worth?), but i had no thought in mind about drinking or telling my friends "oh-em-gee, i'm in a bar!"...i was excited for karaoke...it sounds lame & cheesy, but it's the truth...my mom had invited me & my then bf jeremiah to come out since no one was around singing...of course as a first timer at a karaoke bar, i was pretty shy, but that was at least 3 years ago...my love of karaoke hasn't died down at all, & i'm legal to be in a bar which makes it easier to get in lol...being a part of the audience & working behind the computer, i've come across a lot of people at karaoke...ones who sing average, ones that i'm extremely impressed with, ones that i wish they never came in to sing (but if they're having fun, good for them)...groups of people who come in just for a party but continue to come, a few that we've seen once & never again...we've got a great crowd of regulars that i consider my karaoke family (another cheesy phrase, another truth)...i also love seeing people do karaoke for the first time, & then realizing that it's not so bad after all & have at least 3 more turns...if you've never done karaoke, i suggest you try it at least once in your life...i know i'm making it out to be something great & wonderful...it's just a bunch of people singing...but i see it as a growing community :)

(damn, i am extremely cheesy, put it over some pizza!)

i told a friend today that i'm not a very aggressive person, until i walk into work & realize who's all there...& then i think "ok, this will be a good night"...& then someone comes up to me & starts talking...& i'm thinking "is this over yet?"

this won't be a blog dedicated to people i bag on at karaoke btw (although that was the original thought)...there are singers that really do impress me or are extremely funny characters...i tell people sometimes "oh man this one guy last night", "dude, this chick that came in", blah blah blah, but i think i'd like to get it all down for everyone to see, from my point of view from on stage

so we'll see what happens tonight, yeah?...karaoke @ the owl, 9pm-1am