Someone died and nobody cared...

     On Sept 12, 2017, someone died, and nobody really cared.  That is a sad statement, but a true one.  This gave me pause to reflect on her life, and to hope that statement never applies to me or anyone I care about.

     The woman in subject was a friend of mine.  Not a casual friend, but a familiar person in my life whom I was close to years ago, but had gotten out of contact with as situations in her life got worse and worse, by her own doing.  She made some decisions in her life that caused her problems.  Not the traditional bad decisions such as drinking, drugs or bad romance, etc...  Just really horrible, wacky life decisions.  In the midst of this, she had kids to raise and did a fair job of that up to a point when the wheels seemingly fell off the car.  Her mom had been there adding SOME stability to her life.  After her mom passed away, all bets were off.  I have to believe some mental illness or psychological issues were at play as well, based on the memories that I have, as well as my friends and her family.

     It appears that years ago, she committed a heinous act that was covered up with the help of her mother.  No one found out for about 20 years.  In the meantime, I think that living with that secret may have took a mental toll on her.  There was very erratic behavior in those years, and each day sent her kids further and further from her, not physically, but emotionally and psychologically.  As each child grew up, they got further away from their mom.  She had no "real" friends outside of family and family friends.  She kept a secretive circle. 

     Years ago, her boyfriend at the time, and father of her last child, spilled the beans about what she had done, exposing her secret to the world in a very high profile story that was on the news for a week.  The statute of limitations had run out, and the story was modified to put her deceased mother at blame, so there was no penalty, but rather, she did enter the criminal system for child neglect charges and other issues.  This was a huge revelation for the children too, to understand why the home situation was so weird (putting it lightly...I could tell stories, and many of my close friends all have stories...especially her children). 

     Fast forward, she became one of the street people around town, eventually taking ill, ending up in a care facility where no one visited her, until she passed away with no fanfare.  She was cremated, and no one cares to claim the cremains.

     Pondering that fact alone, I do not blame any of her children for not caring.  I completely get that.  It is just sad that at the end, there were no friends, no one who cared.  Probably the only nurturing she got in her life for the last 5-7 years or so was from people who were paid as their job to care.  Those are the true angels on earth.  I am actually glad that she is no longer suffering, or causing burden to others.  I hope that maybe her passing was in some way cathartic to her kids, who have all moved forward from her already.  But more for the purpose of this posting, her life's end is a cautionary tale to us here above ground, to try better to not be that person who passes away, and no one cares. 

     My father in law is on the opposite end of that spectrum.  He passed away last week and was beloved by everyone in his life who met him.   It is great to see family and friends rally and mourn the passing, and celebrate the life of a person. 

     It is a humbling feeling to wonder how your passing will be met by those you leave behind.  As long as someone cares and you are missed, I think that is a step in the right direction.  Don't live a life that has you as the person who dies, and no one notices or cares.               

We Just Disagree

I do not understand people who cannot stand to associate civilly with people whom they may not agree with, or share the same beliefs. I would rather hear and see views that oppose mine. It would be a boring world if I were surrounded only by people who agree with me all of the time. It would be a futile position to be in to constantly be "preaching to the choir".

In the real world, or at Facebook as well as other social media, some of my closest friends have polar opposite views to mine, in religion, politics, sexuality and general ethics or policy. It is funny when I hear of people dissociating with or unfriending people who do not agree with them or have opposing beliefs. I UNDERSTAND getting away from people who push their beliefs on you or constantly push at you for not agreeing with them, or who are just otherwise toxic to you, but if someone is just living by example and not being pushy, far be it from me to worry about them, or fear they will somehow damage me in some way. I am secure enough in my beliefs (politically, socially, sexually, morally) that I can be with, hear or see others who disagree with me. This gives me an option to UNDERSTAND where they are coming from and either consider their point of view, or become better positioned to know that I am happy with my current view. But if you surround yourself in your circle with only those who think and act like you do, you can find your circle getting smaller especially if you become vocally critical of those outside your beliefs or practices.

I know a lot of people who are not jerks or a-holes that I think very highly of who do not agree with me politically, or spiritually. It is just a matter of having an open mind, making decisions for yourself and giving people a little tolerance. Pick those battles carefully, in the long run, it does not matter what your neighbor is doing if you are true to yourself. You wont be changing any minds being around only like minded people and yes men. You really cant understand someones view if you simply ignore it. When you understand it you are more qualified to disagree with it. BUT when and if you impose your feelings on someone without solicitation, you too become one of THOSE PEOPLE. Civility and tolerance do not necessarily have to share the same labels, membership cards or arm patches.

You dont have to agree with me, it is ok.

I Am A Workaholic. Sorry.

TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY: Hello, my name is Harry, and I am a workaholic. HAHA! No, but seriously, I just wanted to get something off of my chest. Sometimes I feel like my friends and family might think that I am neglecting them. I do not get out to visit them often enough, or take road trips and do stay overs, or accept dinner invitations or invitations to get togethers, largely because of the excuse that I am busy, or working. Guilty as charged. Many do not know my actual schedule, or demands on my off time, but I do not get a TON of down time, and even less down time with Lori. Often when I have free time she is occupied and vice versa. Occasionally there are periods where my work load lightens and we get out more socially. That has not been the case of late with the domestic and work situations here.

We do not take vacations, and being self sufficient, I do not get paid time off or sick days either. Running the business, taking care of the houses and overseeing the historic groups, researching and what not take a lot of time, and often on a night off, sitting in front of the tv with a good drink, good food and good company is hard to resist. We try to get an occasional road trip out to Orlando or other close location when we can, if we can, but not often.

Many of my friends run karaoke or are entertainers and are always wondering why I never come to their shows. Usually because I am working. Many do not realize how far away I live as well. It is tough to justify 2 hours of driving to go to karaoke on your night off, LOL. It is not that I don't support them, it is merely logistics.

I miss a lot of social engagements due to my schedule or physical proximity. I just don't want anyone to feel as if I am ignoring them. One upside of my job is that I can socialize somewhat on the clock, and that gives me SOME social outlet, and makes me available to those who seek me out, but it makes it hard for me to appear on their turf at times.

One day I will slow down to a manageable schedule, but I tend to like to strike while the iron is hot. I had the lightest schedule I ever had at the start of this year, but I am back to a normal busy schedule. I feel if there is a demand for my service, I should provide it while I can and prepare for the future. I can rest later, LOL.

The last time I intentionally took a day off was back in 2010 so I could go to New York for the TV appearance in studio. I had a forced few days off during the hurricane (but that was no rest) and one of my employers gave me a few days off as a gift a few years ago, but I stayed close to home. If I were known for my extensive travel or free time, my friends would have a serious gripe, HAHA. But, I think often, many are not aware of just how often I am working, especially on the days I do not plaster it all over FB.

So if you invite me over, out or to visit, and we say no, it is nothing personal, it is either because I am working, or unavailable with grandkids at home, or other reasons. We have not had the annual bonfires lately due to burn bans. I just got the vibe that some of my people might be a little alienated that we don't socialize much. Just wanted you to know it is on me. I know I should take more time off or take vacations or have down time, but I have my own reasons for not doing that as well. They would be hard to explain, and I will save THAT for another day.

Thanks for understanding, and if I ever alienated you in any way or made you feel ignored, insulted or unappreciated as a friend I apologize.

Why I Am Deleting 12,000 Songs This Week, and The Legal Challenges of Karaoke in Our Area

Warning, this is a long post on a controversial subject.  I will not use this post to debate the issue or interject too much opinion, rather, I will try to state clearly and succinctly what is happening in the legal arena of karaoke for us hosts and our venues.
  

WHAT IS HAPPENING: 

Phoenix Entertainment Partners (PEP) is a company that owns the trademarks for the karaoke brands Sound Choice and Chartbusters.  These brands represent, arguably, a large percentage of the content at many karaoke shows and are often the preferred choice of singers.  Both of those companies are no longer in business, but PEP controls the trademarks.  They have stated that they do not allow karaoke hosts to display their trademarked song tracks using a computer UNLESS the host or the venue go thru a specific process, which either involves a costly blanket license, leasing of original content from PEP, or an audited host who can prove that they have an original disc for each trademarked track offered at their show.
 

PEP has recently contacted most of the karaoke venues in our area and informed them that either they need to be in compliance with this matter or face legal action...meaning, any karaoke show that uses content from CHARTBUSTERS or SOUND CHOICE without being "PEP Compliant" would be open to possible legal action from PEP.  Previously, PEP was litigating the hosts directly, currently they are litigating the venues that hire the hosts.  Again, this is a long and controversial topic, and if you need more info about these lawsuits, google "PHOENIX ENTERTAINMENT PARTNER LAWSUIT".

HOW THIS WILL AFFECT KARAOKE IN OUR AREA: 

A lot depends on who takes the warnings seriously and who ignores them.  Some got the warnings and did not realize what they were.  There will be a flurry of activity initially with people proactively complying, and later more activity as lawsuits actually come to the court.  Immediately you will see hosts either licensing content, deleting content, or returning to disc usage instead of computers.  Hosts can become compliant easily by NOT USING Chartbusters or Sound Choice content, ONLY using them from original CDs instead of computers, or voluntarily being audited to assure compliance and enter an agreement to not be sued.  Hosts that are using collections of content that they have no discs for will most likely have to stop using Sound Choice and Chartbuster songs altogether.
 

HOW THIS AFFECTS LOCAL KARAOKE HOSTS:
They could be fired, or forced to comply .  Since it is the venues being contacted, if they are paying attention, the venue owners may not want to be involved in litigation and may decide to just cancel karaoke altogether if their host is not willing or able to be compliant, and if the venue does not want to shoulder the cost of venue compliance.  It is not up to the hosts to litigate, get an attorney, it is the hosts goal to keep working and insulate the venue from the potential of a lawsuit.
 

HOW THIS AFFECTS HARRYOKE SPECIFICALLY: 

Harryoke is working with PEP to be audited and become a Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified Host, meaning, that I will have proven to PEP that I have an original SC and CB disc for each song I claim to have in my library, and will be allowed to use my computer to play CB and SC content that I legally own, and will be able to add new SC and CB content as I obtain it, without fear of lawsuits for myself, or for the venues that use me exclusively as a karaoke provider.  I have gone thru the audit process successfully, and will just need to prove to them next week that the 12k CB songs have been removed to assure compliance.  

WELL THEN WHY ARE YOU DELETING 12k SONGS THIS WEEK:
Back in 2012 when Chartbusters was going out of business, I purchased the entire Chartbusters licensed catalog to use at my shows.  I paid thousands of dollars for it, and have all of my documentation.  During my audit, it was revealed to me that the retailer that I got my songs from had counterfeited the material and defrauded me.  Had this not happened, you would see no change in my library, but since this was revealed, I will have to delete those songs from my show to remain in legal compliance.  I will be doing my best to source the missing songs as I can, from other sources or from sourced original media.  This means that a large number of CHARTBUSTER songs will be missing as of this week.  This will not cripple my song selection, but it will put a big dent in it.  I will be sitting about where I was in 2012, aside from any content I have added from other sources since then.  The singers who will feel it most are those who go for the deep country tracks or some of the obscure pop titles that I had Chartbuster exclusive on.  I will be redoing the karaoke song list online this week and the song books will be updated ASAP!

If anyone knows of an attorney in CA who might be interested in taking my fraud case against the retailer to recoup my losses, let me know, I would be interested in talking to them.
 

THAT IS ALL FOR NOW...just wanted to fill in the blanks proactively, and shed some light over what has been on my mind the last few weeks and how it is being handled.  If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or message me privately.  You can also visit the Phoenix Entertainment Partners website or google them for more input.

THANK YOU ALL , and THANKS for understanding and bearing with me through these events. 


UPDATE AND EDIT FROM 6/7/17 - PROBLEM SOLVED!!:

I HAVE SOME PRETTY GREAT NEWS...(long post warning). The short version is, I do not have to delete any songs from my HARRYOKE! library of tunes, and my audit concludes successfully on that note, meaning that I will be a PEP Compliant and Certified karaoke host. Might even say bona fide. LOL.

Last week I posted about the legal state of karaoke and some challenges to hosts and venues. I also posted that I was going to have to delete 12k of my songs because in the course of being audited it was pointed out to me that I was defrauded by a supplier who sold me counterfeit content without my knowledge. My chore this past weekend was to clean the 12k songs out of my library and books and online song lists. Then at 1030 am today, I had another audit set up to verify that was done. About an hour after posting that post on Facebook I was contacted by another karaoke host on the other coast who is a friend of mine, and generally a very helpful person. You know how people say "if you ever need anything let me know" and don't always mean it? He is always willing to help on a tech issue if he can. So he reaches out and I fill him in on how I was defrauded. Back when Chartbusters was going out of business, they started lowering the prices on their product to clear out all stock. When the fire sales started, the price on the full 12k song catalog got too good to say no to. My buddy got HIS directly from Chartbusters, I got mine from a well known karaoke supplier based out of FL. The supplier fulfilled the order from another well known supplier in California. The sales person I dealt with was in California. I paid thousands of dollars to them and they shipped the music to me. That was over 5 years ago. Fast forward to the audit a few weeks ago. I showed them the music I got from CA and they instantly knew it was counterfeit. That was a gut punch they could do nothing about. To be legal, I would have to delete the music.

With my friend the KJ understanding this, he told me he would sell me one of the certified and registered sets that he bought and was not using, to get me out of a bind. I reached out to my auditor at PEP to make sure that was allowed, and to ask him to certify it for me before I paid good money to anyone. He certified it and I sent my buddy the funds and he mailed it out to me and it is in my hands today. So instead of an audit today, I sent the email to my auditor showing him my new replacement music, and that is the last step to my becoming certified legally compliant.

I want to shout THANK YOU from the mountain tops to my friend and colleague for helping me this way, but he chooses to remain off the radar and does not want any public recognition. He is just happy to be able to help. Karma wise he definitely has one in the bank. I cannot believe how the stars aligned to make this happen so quickly.

With this certification, Harryoke, (and anyone who hires Harryoke) no longer has to look over their shoulder or wait for the other shoe to drop in regard to litigation about Sound Choice or Chartbuster content. I will be allowed to continue to use the content that I have proven I legally own, and acquire new content from those brands if I choose to, as opposed to others in the industry who may be forced to remove those brands entirely, or be litigated in court for using them without permissions or certification.

Today I am exhaling, and will be downing a bottle of bubbly tomorrow to celebrate the events of this weekend, and to toast my friend for bailing me out, and toast ALL OF THOSE FRIENDS who came to me after that post with offers of help, donating music, asking what they could do, or just sending me good wishes and good thoughts. I tell myself all the time that I am surrounded by some of the best folks, and this chain of events just proves it further.

THANK YOU ALL for your support, and good thoughts for my colleague for taking the weight off my mind.

Harry  

RUMORS and the Self Fulfilling Prophecy of Failure – Finnegan’s Black Cloud

A self fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.  Rumors are news that are spread with no necessary link to fact.  Here is my issue.

When rumors are spread, people hear them and buy into them without any basis in fact, or without getting facts from a credible source.  Rumors go out that a restaurant/bar is closing.  That in fact is not true, but the self fulfilling prophecy occurs when people subliminally decide not to go there because they are closing.  In fact, they are not closing, BUT, they are not doing well because people are not going there.  When enough people stop going, of course they will close.
 

The bar I mention is Finnegan’s Black Cloud.  I work there on Sundays.  There are a lot of reasons why they are struggling.  Yes, they are struggling.  Tim is not a millionaire investor who runs businesses as a hobby.  I am by no means their spokesperson or an apologist for them either.  BUT, I have worked for Tim, and been a friend to him for over 17 years, so I feel the need to speak my piece.  

Before Tim took over, the community spoke, telling him to please take over the Black Cloud.  After consideration, he did just that.  There was a very strong grand opening, but the crowds have not been overwhelming since the drop off.  There are a few reasons.  Notably, just after taking over, Tim was hospitalized with a serious issue that he has been combatting since.  There was a period of nearly a month or more where he was not on premise.  The management roles and policy were not clear and some balls were dropped.  There was also a money pinch.  An investor who was to come on board with Tim bailed out with no warning as well.   Other management and ownership and staff changes occurred as well, that I will not bore you with.  I will say that some of the staff changes affected service and quality issues, and have been addressed.  The A Team is back in the kitchen, and other changes have been and are being addressed.     

What I will say is, a large majority of the folks who cheered Tim on to take over, have not become customers.  Businesses need customers to survive.  The Black Cloud is off the beaten path, and as I have always said, is the best kept secret in Flagler.  The new faces have not arrived.  The same customers that were there when John owned it, and when the girls ran it, are there.  You cant expect to succeed doing the same things with the same customers.  Where are all the old Finnegan’s customers?  Where are all of Tim’s friends who said they would support a new venue?  Where are all of the displaced customers of McCharacters who were looking for a venue like this? 

Tim is on premise more now, and the ownership and management team are working on getting things smooth, and profitable, with what they have to work with...but dwindling crowds do not a profit make.  

THE BIG ISSUE I HAVE is that EVERYWHERE I go, people come up and say “So , I hear Black Cloud is closing...when is it closing”?  IT IS NOT!!! IT IS STRUGGLING!!  A struggle can be WON with support.  These people hear the rumors, then stay away thinking it is closed or closing...and when enough stay away, OF COURSE it will close. 

My Sundays do well there, but even lately I have seen my crowd diminish, only to see the customers elsewhere and have them tell me they heard it was closing, or that it was up for sale or any other variation of a story that has nothing to do with the fact that they are open, and courting your business, which they need, and would greatly appreciate.  They would love to get back to the full menu (which should be happening this week) and get the big name music acts in, but the crowds have not been supporting the cash outlay so far.  

PLEASE...before you buy into a rumor, vet it from a reliable source.  ASK TIM.  ASK ME.  Do not listen to disgruntled employees, or anyone with a chip on their shoulder.  And if you have not been there for a drink or dinner, why not?  Especially if you know Tim and support his ventures...  

THANK YOU to the regulars who support me, and my nights at the Black Cloud.  THANK YOU to those who hear the rumors and run them by me.  THANK YOU to those of you who do not buy into rumors without considering the source.  AND A BIG THANK YOU to those friends of Tim’s, the Finnegan’s family and the staff there, who are hearing me and will help quell the rumors by sharing the news, and getting some more butts in the seats to generate some business for the Black Cloud.  TIM IS ACCESSIBLE....contact him with any concerns or complaints or suggestions.  Heck send them to me and I will get them to him...but don’t be silent, and don’t stay away only to create a self fulfilling prophecy.  


ADDENDUM ADDED 5/6/16:  NEWS FRESH OFF THE PRESSES...5/6/16: FROM HARRYOKE, REGARDING Finnegans Black Cloud Saloon: I have sad news to report, and a lengthy explanation to follow. The short news is...THE BLACK CLOUD HAS TEMPORARILY CLOSED. This is effective IMMEDIATELY. There is a chance that they will reopen, but to be honest and straightforward, it wont be real soon. THAT BEING SAID...read on for my lengthy explanation:

Many of you read my blog post of a few weeks ago explaining that the BC was not closing, and appealing to customers to come support them. I STAND BY EVERY WORD of that as truth. BUT, several things have happened since then, and there is a lot going on in BC world.

I will say this...the immediate closing was in part due to Tim's poor health and his inability to put in the hours needed, and some issues with the state in regard to the building and a couple of other things that need not be laid out here...needless to say, closing for now is the path of least resistance.

ANOTHER SITUATION that I have been keeping under my hat is about the Moose Lodge. Rumor is out there, and backed in fact, so I am fine repeating this, that the Moose lodge of Bunnell is considering the Black Cloud as it's new location. They are putting it to a members vote on MAY 14. If they vote no, then the BC is dead for now unless Tim or John reopen it, or John leases it to another party...BUT IF THE MOOSE APPROVES THE MOVE, that will be a great thing, and BC will become the Bunnell Moose lodge...and Harryoke would likely continue on Sunday afternoons there as it has for the LAST 9 YEARS!! That would mean that a lot would change there, but I am told that ALL OF MY CUSTOMERS would be welcome, whether Moose members or not...business as usual but with a new sheriff in town.

Watch my pages here at FB and my email list and website for news regarding the future, and I will report it as SOON AS I KNOW FACTS... Thank you all for your years of support and friendship, and keep a good thought for Tim, John and all of our friends at the Black Cloud, and those affected by this event. - Harry "Harryoke" Smith.

Observations: When My Dad Was My Age

My father has been gone for 19 years.  All of my life, I always considered him an old man.  This is a combination of the facts that I was a change of life baby for my parents, arriving in HIS 47th year, and because a doctor told him he was sick so he considered himself disabled for most of the time from my birth to his death.

This week I gave pause to reflect on MY age, and ponder where my father was when he was my age.  When my father was my current age, he was relocating the family from New Jersey to Florida.  He had never owned a home, and had no money.  His wife, and 4 kids aged 3, 5, 10 and 11 headed to Florida with little to no money.  He took them to a hotel on US-1 until securing a rented house with what little money they had.  He was waiting on a disability check from the company that he had retired from.  There was so little money, my mother suggested that if any of my older brothers friends invited them to dinner to take them up on it.

I could not imagine being in that position at my age, and taking on that task this late in life.  I know many are in that situation.  I just look at the grand kids around my circle, and I am appreciative that I am not raising 4 of my own kids this late in life, and that I have the security of being a homeowner, and some measure of financial stability.  Just an interesting, personal observation that I thought I would document and share.

The chronology has been on my mind of late as I have been digging into my ancestry and learning more of the stories of my family down the different lines.  As more of my family members die off, more stories are lost.  Last week, my step brother in law passed away.  He and my stepsister have a huge and wonderful family.  It was always interesting as a little child to visit them in S. Florida and have these teenagers introduce me as their uncle,

I had one step sister from my Mom's previous marriage, and 3 step sisters from my Father's previous marriage (only one living still) and my two brothers and a sister.  Large family, and for the most part, we are all strangers to each other.  Thankfully, Facebook connected many of us.    

A Social Contract Between Karaoke Hosts and Singers Who Bring Their Own CDs

It is now the year 2015.  Up to a few years ago, the compact disc was the chosen medium for the karaoke industry, for both singers and hosts.  Avid singers often buy as many (or more) discs as hosts once did.  Now, hosts and singers have large collections of karaoke CDs.  Often, singers have chosen to bring their own CDs to karaoke shows to have the host play their favorite (or most familiar) version. 

The CD is now waning in its popularity.  This is largely due to hosts switching to computers for playback, and the trend of instant downloads of songs in digital formats.  Anyone using a computer for playback, and using digital media, no longer need to burn their songs to CDs.  Some with the savvy still do, or choose to make compilation CDs to carry to shows with them.  Some hosts no longer have the ability or desire to play CDs for customers.  At the Harryoke show, we will continue to play them as long as a lot of people bring them.  The feeling among hosts is that either they feel they already have an acceptable version you should be singing, or that they no longer want to carry a CDG player in their kit, with the maintenance and weight that come along with that.  That being said, there are also plenty of hosts who still carry CDG players (such as I do) or know how to play a CDG from their computer (using hosting software).  

For those who choose to bring their own discs, there should be some sort of social contract...an agreement of sorts on expectations, not only for what the singers expect from the host, but what the host needs from the singers.  The CDG format is falling out of favor for several reasons, and if your host is gracious enough to continue to play your discs, you should consider taking a look at the guidelines below that outline good social etiquette for the CDG user at a public karaoke show.

FOR CUSTOMERS WHO BRING THEIR OWN CDs:

- TRY TO KEEP IT WITH YOU / HAVE IT READY:  Keep your CD with you and bring it to the host when it is your turn.  Have your CD ready when you get to the stage.  If you are getting to the stage and making a production of opening the case to fish it out, or having to run back to the table to get the correct disc or a different one, you are burning another singers stage time.  Sort that out at the table before coming to the stage.  In a perfect world, after your song, stick around a second to collect your disc back from the host. 

- LABEL YOUR BURNED DISC (CORRECTLY):  If all of your compilations are burned, mark them somehow.  Put a number on them, or put a label on them, or in some way make them identifiable.  This helps for many reasons...mostly, stops the person who has 5 identical Maxell discs from bringing the wrong one up and having to go back to the table to get the right one.  Also, if you have a plain disc, and 3 others in the room do too, and you each leave them with me to pick up later, have fun sorting out which of the 3 Maxell CDGs on the table is yours!  If you take them out in public, you need to label them somehow.  ALSO, regarding labels; make sure they are correct.  Handing me a disc where Mack the Knife is labeled #8, telling me to play #8 and being shocked that it is My Way is not my fault.  When you discover mistakes like that, make a new label, or make a note on the label.  We should not be fast forwarding thru the tracks on the disc to find your song each week. 
  

- KNOW THE NUMBER OF YOUR TRACK BEFORE GETTING TO THE STAGE:  If you watch the body english of singers bringing their own discs, many will get to the stage, put on glasses and start reading the disc looking for the number...often not being able to find it before handing the disc to the host to use better light to find the song.  That burns up stage time.  What happens more times than that is when they give the wrong number...coming to the host with a confident “#12 please!!”, and the cheerful host is then greeted with “that’s not my song...” and the disc must be ejected, the correct number sorted, and the disc put back in and restarted correctly.  This also burns stage time, and worse, give the audience the illusion that the host is making mistakes. 

- KNOW IF YOUR DISC IS MULTIPLEX (MPX) (meaning it has guide vocals):  When you get to the stage, if your disc has versions with guide vocals, make sure you have the correct number for the INSTRUMENTAL version.  If a guide vocal starts, 9 times out of 10 a good host can hit the MPX button on the player to shut it off, or if they do not have one, they will have to eject the disc and figure out the correct number (difficult for discs of certain manufacturers who do not put the number on the label).  Either way, once the guide vocal comes out, it usually requires a restart of the song when the singer yells “hey, that’s not me!!”.  This also leads the customers to think the host is making mistakes. 

- KEEP YOUR DISC CLEAN, and FREE OF SCRATCHES AND FINGERPRINTS:  Some peoples idea of “clean” is different than others, but CD surfaces should always be pristine, as mirror-like as possible, free from smudges, schmutz, fingerprints, food residue, water residue or anything wet or sticky.  Often discs are at tables with food and drink, and many make it to the stage looking more like coasters than CDs.  ALSO, aging CDGs deteriorate and wear out, either getting more scratched over time from abuse or poor storage, or handling with finger contact to the surface, or damaged top surfaces that cause the laser to skip when trying to read the disc. 

- IF YOU BURN YOUR OWN CDs OR HAVE OTHERS BURN THEM FOR YOU, UNDERSTAND THAT THEY JUST MAY NOT WORK:  There are several reasons why burned CDGs do not work.  These include: possible defective media, possible errors in technique by the person creating the disc, any manner of compatibility issues with the burner used, or the program used to burn, or the speed it was burned at, or the source of the burn...whether it be from a copied disc, or conversion of digital media (MP3G files, etc...) to the CD.  These are all things out of the control of the host.  VERY OFTEN though, a burned disc is handed to the host that will not play, for whatever reason.  I can’t MAKE it play, or do anything to fix it for you, all I can do is move on, ask you for an alternative song or disc, and keep the show moving.  Once you determine that your disc will not play at a certain show, make a note of it, so that the same disc is not presented to the host over and over with the same conversation.  Your disc may also be in a format that the hosts player does not read.  If you have some weird disc format from Korea that is not CDG or maybe VCD and it wont play, that is not the hosts fault.  They cant be expected to be ready to play any format.  Similarly, bringing a CD in with burned files (MP3G or zips) that are not formatted to CDG cannot be played on most CDG players either. 
           

- TAKE THE BLAME WHEN A DELAY OCCURS, DON’T DEFLECT BLAME TO THE HOST:  A good host tries to do everything correctly, and not make mistakes.  An audience is watching a host and when glitches happen, many times this reflects poorly on the host.  Many times it is their fault, BUT, if any of the scenarios above bring a show to a halt or cause dead air, or a song restart, give your host a break and get him off the hook by TAKING THE BLAME; maybe even on mic.  When the CD starts skipping like crazy, don’t look at the host like it is THEIR fault if it is your disc.  Computer based hosts don’t worry about skipping anymore, but it only happens with discs.  I have even had singer BLAME ME on the mic, and I quickly and diplomatically then make an announcement that the disc belongs to the SINGER, and the SINGER’S disc is defective.  The host should not ever have to defend themselves for a customer’s defective disc, or for any delay caused by any of the scenarios discussed here.  Stepping up and saying something on mic, or apologizing to the audience and taking the blame will make you a hero in the eyes of a flustered host trying to fix YOUR problem.  
   

- NO, I CANNOT COPY YOUR SONGS TO MY COMPUTER, DO NOT ALLOW ANY HOST TO DO THAT:  Many singers ask me to put their songs from their CD’s onto my computer, or offer to let me copy their discs.  For a professional host, this activity is unlawful.  Laws protect users at home who use copied or pirated material, but in the course of a public, for hire karaoke show, it is unlawful to use pirated or copied songs.  For THIS reason, many hosts have hard rules that they will not under any circumstances play a customers burned disc, that they will only play original discs.  When this becomes a legal issue for hosts, you will see more hosts adopt a rule about playing “burns”.   It is important for a professional host to be 1:1 legal; that is, to either have an original disc for each song on their computer, or to have sourced the song from a legal and reputable online site, in order to stay insulated from litigation.     

- A NOTE ABOUT USB STICKS:  As digital media becomes more popular, singers are catching on and the new trend is for singers to want to bring their song in on a USB stick.  Many hosts will happily play a USB stick, others will not.  If the host has a CDG player with a USB input, it is more likely that they will.  If they have to put the USB stick in their computer, then some will and some wont.  (I am one who will not play a USB stick).  Putting a USB stick from a customer into a computer is a dangerous practice, given that the host does not know what software may be loaded on the stick, or what the source of the digital media is, and that could put their show computer in danger.     

That is all for now...hope that was a little enlightening on the perils of CD use for hosts, and that CD users who may read this will maybe learn a tip or two to make the karaoke experience better for everyone.  CD’s will be around awhile, but the next big thing is around the corner.  We are kind of in a flux mode in the karaoke world right now as technology changes.