"When I Am Not At My Best In Public"...or "Keep Poking The Dog and Wonder Why He Barks" (ROTATION RANT) LOL

     Something I hear very often is "you are always smiling" or "you always seem to be in a good mood".  For the most part, generally, at work, this is very true.  I enjoy my job and the people who enable me to what I do for them.  Around 90-95% of the time there is nothing to cause me to deviate from that.  This blog entry is NOT about those times.  DON'T GET ME WRONG AS YOU READ THIS...I love my job and love my people BUT if you have seen me flustered or anxious or excitable on a busy night, here is your explanation.   I don't want anyone to take away from this read that I am frustrated, burned out or unhappy...that is NOT the case.  This is just the darker side of what I deal with at work.

     I generally try to be professional at work, pleasant to people and never rude or dismissive.  What I have found is that after a few hours of being treated poorly by a handful of folks, my attitude can disintegrate somewhat.  Some have seen me "lose my sh*t" at work by getting frustrated with folks that are not comprehending what it is that I do, why I do it, or are just unwilling to listen.  It is the latter that cause me the greatest frustration...the folks who just do not hear me when I take the time to answer a question or explain my answer.  

     Now, keep in mind, slow nights are easy!  A trained monkey can run a rotation on a slow night.  There is no guess work or science or interpretation.  It is the busy busy nights that the problems start; usually rotation related problems.  The hardest part of singing karaoke is waiting your turn.  The longer that wait, the more issues arrive, and the more potential for conflict.  As a host, the hardest part of my job, HANDS DOWN, is rotation management on a busy night.  WHAT IS BUSY?  For conversation, lets say I can do 12-15 singers an hour.  Fifteen singers means everyone sings once an hour.  That is kind of an easy night.  Double that, you look at a 2 hour wait for song 2, still not bad.  Beyond 25 singers or so is what I would call a busy night.  The more one builds on THAT number, the more problems you create.  When the number goes more toward 50, you are ENSURED of having drama.  Drama relates to rational people curious when their turn is, and irrational people who ask for things you CANNOT deliver then refuse to accept NO for an answer.

   The following are a few bullet points of the people and activities that set me off regularly on BUSY BUSY nights (keeping in mind the busier it gets, the greater percentage of the group that will become high maintenance, AND the longer the wait, the more low maintenance folks will become high maintenance:

* THE "WHEN AM I UP" FOLKS - "When am I up" is a fair question.  Once.  Maybe twice.  Beyond that they are becoming high maintenance.  If you are told you are 10 away, and come back to me after 2 singers, what do you think my answer will be?  If you said 8, you are rational...but should not have asked me.  LOL.  If I said 8 to you and you complained or disputed me, you have become my new problem.  

     The other problem with these folks is they wont take an approximate answer, it has to be exact, or I become the bad guy.  Sometimes it is so busy, I cannot answer exactly.  I tell them that, and offer an approximation.  Usually that works, but when I am not exact, there is always someone that will come up and complain to me, OR WORSE, stand in the audience telling everyone what an @$$hole I am for having such a long list and not getting them up soon enough.  

     The variables on a busy night are people who sign up and leave, people who do not hear their name because they ran upstairs or are out smoking, then return to find they missed their turn and are put back in.  Given that info, if you come to me on a busy night and I tell you that you are 10 away, and 5 of those folks are no shows, you are then 5 away.  You thought you had 40 minutes and went outside or upstairs, but I called you up in 20 minutes, you missed your turn and it's my fault.

     The other variable is the dance set on Thursdays.  It always starts at the same time, so that is not a variable.  I try to explain that to people, and they don't always get that.  They will come up at the start of the dance set and ask when they are up and I have no answer.  They insist on one, so I tell them, in theory, they are "x" amount of singers after the dance set, BUT that people generally leave during the dance set so that number is a worst case scenario.  Rational people "get" that.  The irrational ones become my problem.  

     Hosts may think I am whining about the "when am I up" folks,  but when you see that line of people at my table on a Thursday, they are all asking the same question, with individual drama attached to each answer.  There are times when I could not even tell you what song the last singer sang because I am so busy answering this question for folks.  

*THE "I HAVE BEEN IN THE ROTATION FOR AN HOUR OR MORE AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM SINGING" FOLKS - When the rotation is huge and people are breathing down your neck, as a host I am trying to keep things moving so that as many people that want to sing, can sing.  When you hear filler music, you know I am buying time.  When you see me looking straight ahead, fingers hovering over the keyboard with my ear to the singer awaiting instruction, you know now what I am doing.  The other side of this coin is the person who, in the middle of this night, asks me what I want to hear.  I can't think that hard, and generally refuse to, BECAUSE, if I do offer an answer, you will tell me "no, I don't think I am in the mood for THAT one..."  LOL.  Some not familiar with my show will say "don't you make them fill out slips?".  The answer is no, because experience shows that the singer in a long rotation will change their minds.  If you are a host that does not allow singers to change, you are not customer service oriented...and if you take the slips, you spend a large percentage of the night taking slips from singers who will change their mind anyway.  I have been slip free for years.  In the time it takes for them to ask me about a slip, they can give me their name and what song they want.  Save a tree. 

*THE "I HAVE TO LEAVE, BUMP ME UP SO I CAN LEAVE" FOLKS - That just works on NO level.  They always say "no one will notice" but someone always will.  My job is to put people in seats to put cash in the register.  That is the clientele I cater to.  I cant show favor to someone leaving OVER someone who is staying and will probably spend more.  Economics aside, it is just wiser to run a fair rotation and not juggle.  You will make your clientele angry.  Waiting 2 hours to sing is easier when the singer know everyone is waiting.  When a host shows favor to those leaving, it sends a horrible message.  

*THE "LET ME SING NEXT BECAUSE THESE SINGERS SUCK AND I AM BETTER THAN THEM" FOLKS.  - The fact that came out of your mouth explains why it is not going to happen, but I am sure you are going to stand here and argue with me about it.    

*THE "YOU SKIPPED ME, I HAVE BEEN WAITING AN HOUR AND THAT PERSON HAS SUNG THREE TIMES ALREADY" FOLKS -    Happens at every busy show.  My rotation is in ink, I will show it to you.  If you can show me the singer that sang three times and tell me the songs, I will give you $10,000.  It did not happen.  Yes you have been waiting an hour, it is a 2 hour wait to sing tonight, LOL.  

(NOTE, ALL THESE COMMENTS TO THE SINGERS MAY SOUND SNARKY, but I always start out polite and cordial, until they become argumentative or confrontational.)

*THE FOLKS WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE WORD NO - Occasionally I get to a point in the night where new sign ups are impossible, and maybe some signed up will get bumped.  It is at the end of the night, when I legally have to shut down to close the venue...that is the time when it really gets ugly.  I explain that I cannot say past closing time, and people keep asking how I can do it.  Yelling at me wont accomplish that but they try.  They are shocked that I wont take their money.  Money cannot buy the impossible.  When something is impossible, I say no.  Somehow, they think I am not serious.  

*THE FOLKS WHO INTERRUPT YOU WHEN YOU ARE MULTITASKING -   The people who ask you questions or talk to you while on mic making announcements (because obviously it is a recording) or the people who see me running sound for a singer on stage, and dealing with a line of 2 or 3 singers with a question, and feel that coming in behind the singer and talking in my other ear is a great idea.  LOL.  Yes.  It happens...alll...the ...time.  The busier it is, the more it happens.  

*THE FOLKS WHO THINK A TIP IS A BRIBE or are otherwise generally ungracious -  I have seen people obviously offer me bribes...which I don't take.  The real aggravation is when someone drops a couple of bucks in the jar or buys you a drink, then later when you cant fulfill a demand for them they throw that in your face.  Yes that happens...even worse...it is no secret that I had a major accident back in 2004 and there was a fundraiser held to help keep my head above water.  People have come to my show, and asked for something I could not do, and told me how much money they supposedly donated to me at that time and acted frustrated about that.  And "I" am the ass in that scenario?

*THE FOLKS WHO BRIBE IN GENERAL - I think asking me to take a bribe to get up sooner, or again, is reasonable.  When it becomes unreasonable is when I refuse it and the briber begins bartering.  Look, keeping it FAIR for everyone keeps it fair for you.  If you offer me $10 to get up next and I take it, then what if the next person offers me $20 to get in front of you?  Exactly.  Keeping it fair means no hard feelings.  No need to bribe me to keep it fair, but IF you like the way I keep it fair I take tips, LOL. 

*THE FOLKS WHO OFFER/MAKE A BRIBE AND WON'T BACK IT UP - There are times when creative commerce can be done...such as after a show where the bar has not closed, someone wants to sing one more, etc...  Throw a $20 or so, I boot back up, you do a song and we are all happier.  THEN there are the folks who will offer a big bribe to entice you, and if you accept it they either talk you down or don't produce it.  They offer a 20 for you to do something, then ask if you will REALLY take a 10.  Here is a re post of a Face Book entry from last Tuesday:  Guy wants to sing, I explain that I have no time for new singers. He insists...  I explain I am past closing time and still have a list. He asks if I am sure, and I say yes. Back and forth continues, and I finally say I just have to stop explaining myself and say I am closed.  He says..."not even for $200 dollars?"   I lose it on the guy...in a respectful way.  Told him to show me the money...that I was sick and tired of people coming up and making offers to find out my moral state and not back it up.  I told him if he was just trying to determine if I was a whore or not that I would make it easy and say that if he put the 200 in my hand, I would knock the current singer off the mic and let him run the show to closing time but if he was not presenting the money to step off my stage because I was closed. Of course, no money changed hands...he sent another guy from the table up to see if HE could do better. Grr. LOL. Don't try me. LOL.

*THE FOLKS WHO CANT READ THE BOOK BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR GLASSES SO COME UP AND ASK WHAT SONGS YOU HAVE BY A CERTAIN ARTIST AND MAKE YOU READ THEM ALL TO THEM...OVER AND OVER - Which on a slow night is not a big deal.  But when it happens a lot on top of a busy night it becomes high maintenance.  THE WORST is when they ask for a certain song by a certain artist.  You pull it up on the computer and tell them NO, I DON'T HAVE THAT ONE unfortunately.  They then stare at your computer screen and say "are you sure?".  "Yes", I reply, looking again, trying alternative spellings...then they look at the screen a bit longer and look at me again and say..."so you still don't have it?".  "Yes, I continue to not have it."  They look at the screen again then say "yep, I would sure like to have sung that".  I say, "well I have not seen it available, but I know I don't have it".  They say I should get it.  I don't make this stuff up.  

*DRUNK FOLKS - While alcohol plays a role in some of the above scenarios, in between are people who are just plain drunk.   This is an exception to the rule 90% of the time.  We are not surrounded by imbeciles and drunks, by any means...don't think that is what I mean in this blog.  However, it does not take many drunks to make a high maintenance event, and my stories of dealing with them go on and on.  Just not here. 



There are many more scenarios, and many more stories...BUT, if you have been out on a busy night and seen me beating my head against the wall or pulling my hair out, be on the lookout for these folks mentioned in this blog, as well as others.  Feel free to comment and add your own observations and experience.  

Keep Singing...  Harry     

  

 

JANUARY 2014 Harryoke Update: New Show and Info On Minimum Charges

HARRYOKE!

Newsletter and Update for JANUARY 11 2014

 

Hey everybody!  Happy New Year to you all.  Hope you had a great holiday season and all is well!  Just a couple of notes to let you know what is happening in Harryokeland, and fill in a couple of blanks...

 

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NEW MONDAY SHOW:  I wont bore you with the details here, as most of you probably already know about the new Monday show at the Grind.  IF YOU DO NOT, all the info is available at www.harryoke.com  The show starts MONDAY Jan 13, every Monday, from 6-10 pm.  All the info about the venue is at my page, and a link to the Grind website is there where you can see the menu, etc...  The big question I get is about parking.  Here are the details for parking at Grind Gastropub:  Grind is located at 49 W. Granada, on the north side of the street.  Your parking options are A) on the street on Granada,  B) in the free valet parking just east of the building  C) Behind Grind on New Britain street or D) Across the street in the municipal City Hall/Library lot...you would park in that lot off Tomoka, then cross Granada to Grind.  That is the option I personally would take as I don’t mind walking, but after your first visit, you will find it easy.  See you there. 

 

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MINIMUM CHARGE INFORMATION:  Most karaoke venues do not charge an admission fee, or enforce a minimum purchase.  Many simply gently raise the price of drinks or food during entertainment.  Some do not even do that.  The contract society has for karaoke is that the entertainer is paid, and the money comes from those who spend.  In a scenario where perhaps not enough people are spending, or where they are not raising the price of their products, occasionally a minimum purchase is enforced to ensure that everyone there is contributing a minimal amount.  Many come out and spend very little to nothing.  Even if they tip their server, the house still has work involved in hosting them, and the house has to pay for all the supplies, utilities, rent, labor and the entertainment.  In smaller venues, occasionally non/low spenders may be taking seats away from people who want to buy dinners.  As the snowbirds prepare to return to the area, seating can get hard to find at smaller or more popular venues.  Please understand that a minimum purchase IS NOT a cover charge, nor is it about greed.  It is simply a way to ensure that the entertainment can continue, and that if it does so, the hours that the entertainment is there are profitable.  If a restaurant pays me, pays the help and pays for the food it cooks and has nothing left over, either the place will not be there much longer, or the entertainment will be cancelled.  Please keep that in mind, especially if you enjoy singing or watching the singers.  CURRENTLY THE FOLLOWING MINIMUM CHARGE POLICIES ARE IN EFFECT DURING ENTERTAINMENT AT HARRYOKE SHOWS:  Sunday at Black Cloud there is a $7 minimum purchase per person, Friday at Halifax Plantation there is a $10 minimum purchase per person.  Enforcing the minimums ensures they will be able to continue providing free entertainment without a cover charge.  If revenues are poor, some places or performers charge admission at the door, and that is how they pay the entertainers.  Personally, that is not something I want to happen at Harryoke shows, so thanks for understanding what some of the venues are doing. 

 

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The website is updated with new info about the venues, and song lists of all karaoke songs sorted by Artist and Title.  Check it out.  If you have a mobile device or pad, you can access the site and it should be friendlier now to look at.  The online song list is more complete than the books at the show as the books do not have the new Chartbusters songs added.  The website does.  You can use your device to find your song at the show, or at home before you get to the show. 

 

Speaking of online, find me at Facebook.  Search Harryoke... my official page is www.facebook.com/harryokefl and my Harry Smith page for non show stuff is www.facebook.com/harryoke.  I regularly network with singers and customers there, and if I have wi-fi available, often can communicate with you at the show via Facebook. 

 

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All the best!  Thanks so much for your friendship and patronage!!  See you out and about!!

 

Harry

www.harryoke.com

 

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Thanks so much...it is your show, so be sure to contact me with any requests, questions, comments, or criticism.    

 

                       

Observations from the 3rd Annual IGUIDB Walkabout / Ballough Corridor

(LOTS OF PICS...CLICK ON PICS TO ENLARGE TO FULL SIZE!)

Many of you know that I am the moderator of an internet group called I Grew up In Daytona.  We are about 8000+ members strong, most not really active, but they check in once in awhile.  I am amazed at the people who are aware of what we do there, that never post.  Many people seem to enjoy the memories and photos we share there.  (If you are a Facebook member, you can check us out at the link at the end of this blog).

On November 30 2013, we took our 3rd annual history walk, this time concentrating on the Ballough Corridor and Orange Island areas.

I would like to thank Dr. Rawls and the Rawls Veterinary clinic at 127 Mason Av for allowing us to use their property as a starting point.  We began assembling around 10 am and departed on our walk shortly after 11am.

The weather is generally perfect on these walks.  About 1030am we had some sprinkles and clouds that caused us some concern.  Fortunately, as predicted by the weather man, they left as fast as they arrived, and the weather for the walk was spectacular, save for some very heavy winds that only concerned those with hats or long hair or both.

We began by heading north toward the old traffic circle.  The old bridge left us in 1995 when the new bridge spans were constructed, completely changing the face of that part of town.  We shared our memories of the circle and the surrounding businesses.  I pointed at Sunset Harbor, and illustrated the generation gaps of our attendees by pointing out they either remembered that as Marker 32, Beacon Ambulance, Ray Fox, or Fish Carburetor, or the Hudson dealer, depending on their age!  I also told of the old oil tanks that formerly sat just south of that location.

We then continued north along Sickler, pointing out the location of the old Moose Lodge, and the old Green Dolphin which is now Chez Paul, and the location where Parks was, which is now just a parking lot.  Before Parks was there, it was Paleface Harbor.

We continued north to 2nd street, past the site of Smokeys which is now just a cleared lot awaiting condos once the market rebounds further.  Smokeys has been closed and sold for some time, but the last of the building burned in a suspicious 2011 fire.  It was always Smokeys wish that his property not become a shrine to him, so to know him is to know that the loss is not truly heartbreaking.  We headed easterly on 2nd to the park situated between the Marina Grande and the old Smokeys site.  This was a planned rest room break using the public facilities there, as the rest of us headed to the rivers edge where Aloha Marina once has stood.

While enjoying this vista, we talked about the seaplane base that had been here on the site of where Publix was, and the plaza where Publix was and a bit about the shoreline added from the dredging, and the saw mill that was at 4th street.

We also spoke about the property where the Diplomatic Center is now, and that before then it was the location of the Post's house.  I shared the story of the Posts having had the Post Office moved, and this created the City of Goodall at the time, about where Main Street is today.  Mentioned that the Posts were founders of the city, and explained the Posts and Kelloggs impetus in those days about health and wellness...as illustrated in the movie "The Road To Wellville".  This was probably my last chance in life to use the term "copious and ropelike stools" in front of a crowd.  HA!!

I then pointed attention to the Riverside Trailer Park that most likely will not be there much longer as the city is acquiring the land to create drainage to assuage the flooding issues prone to that area.  We also took note of the Townline, looking eerily the same as when it was Danny's Musical Lounge in the 40s...

Next door to the south, the property that was formerly an open air market, then for many decades the law center housing the DL office, tag office, jail and sheriffs.  Now owned by Holly Hill and in process of becoming a municipally owned plaza.  New tenant being the Honduran restaurant that moved in from Mason Av.  My impression...beautiful, underused facility, but poorly marked.  I stood there a long time and could not tell you where the restaurant was.  This is a work in progress for sure.

We then headed south further toward Mason, making note of what had been.  We crossed over Mason and walked along Beach Street thru what was the area known as Kingston, taking note of the older commercial property and some of the great historic homes still in the area.  We headed west on Madison past the old trailer park which is largely abandoned of residents now that the new owners have come in to either make improvements or develop.  This leg of the walk between Madison and Fairview was intended to show what WAS at one time a thriving residential area, and how it had declined.  We took note of grand, large single family homes converted into multiple apartments, which attracts a lower income tenant.  Combine that with a lack of upkeep due to mostly rental status, this seems to be what causes the decline in that area of town...especially given its proximity to both the crime area (drugs and prostitution) as well as the area where the desperate go to seek help (Salvation Army, the shelter on North Street, etc...).  It was noted that perhaps moving the facilities further west toward Indian Lake area may do well to help revitalize the district we are walking thru.  

We encountered a handful of potentially unsavory characters, but we were about 40 strong so I did not anticipate any problems.  We were quite the sight walking thru there.  More than one resident looked at us not sure what we were up to.  As we made our way up North St to Ridgewood, we walked Ridgewood to Fairview, pointing out the awesome bungalows and craftsman style houses still standing in the area.  I pointed out that US-1 was much narrower way back before the 50s, and there were largely only residences there, with huge oak trees shading the way.  There was a petition to keep US1 from being widened wider than 50 feet, but alas that failed and the widening came as did the "progress".

      

We then made our way back east on Fairview, noting the wonderful original houses still on the block there.  Everyone seemed to have a memory of that part of town, especially as we made our way back closer to Beach Street and Ballough.  

Once across Beach Street, we congregated at the western base of the Main Street bridge to prepare for my favorite leg of the walk, around the area known as Orange Island.  Not many of the attendees even knew about this area, which is situated between the river and Ballough, north of Main Street/Fairview.  There are a bunch of historic homes along here, especially along Rio Vista drive.  

The island was originally home to the Manley lumber mill, and later the Bishop fiber company.  The saw mill processed much of the lumber for the area, and the fiber company processed palmetto trees and made brushes and brooms as well.

Here is a pic from the late 1800s across the street on the SE corner of Fairview and Beach...

Continuing around on to Rio Vista...

Now, a picture that I love, which is a picture I used for the cover of the walk page...shot around 1915, from a boat in the river at the end of Anita street, facing west: 

The single lone house shown here was built in 1910, and is still awesome today, and still owned by the same family...

Directly across the street, I have some friends, Chris and Mei.  They happened to be home, and outside.  They saw us coming...they were aware that I was running a walk but they had forgotten.  Chris took us into the back yard, then thru the garage then what the heck, he ran 40 strangers directly thru his kitchen, dining room, living room and out the front door.  THAT was way cool.   Having seen the whole house I can tell you we did not scratch the surface on the coolness, BUT this act completely illustrates what joy I find in walking...you would never have had this happen driving by or on a bike, AND you could drive by the house a thousand times and not know how cool it is inside, or how cool the people living there are.  

From there, we headed back to Ballough, and made our way to Lexington...another street that most of the walkers had not known about.  It runs a horseshoe from Ballough to the river and back.  There are some posh riverfront properties as well as some affordable land locked properties.  An interesting area to consider to be, although, for my money, if I won the lottery I would enjoy living on Rio Vista most.  

From Lexington, back to Ballough and into the Basin area.  We observed the canal feeding the basin as we stood on the bridge over the canal, on Ballough.  There are possible plans to make a Marina District from Anita to Marina Grande, to emphasize the shore usage.  Plans are to make the Ballough bridge higher to allow marine traffic underneath.  We shall see.

Back down Ballough past the old Armory, the old location of the Pepsi and 7up bottlers, Honda City and Daytona Sports Center and all the other lost ghosts from that area as we headed back toward our start point.  We jutted east at Sunset Harbor where I showed most everyone a park there that they had no idea existed, underneath the Seabreeze span.  

Thus concluded our walk!  A HUGE thanks to those who took pics and shared, to the Rawls Vet Clinic and most especially to Chris and Mei for allowing their home to be invaded without warning, and for everyone who came out and participated.  We try to do a formal walk annually, usually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  If you would like to join our FB group, find us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/IGUIDB2/.

If you have a suggestion for an area to walk, just let me know.  In the past we have done Beach Street Area, Main Street Area and now Ballough.  

THANKS!!