Article from Arizona Karaoke Alliance Web site:

Sound Choice, a leading manufacturer of karaoke discs and member of KIAA (Karaoke Industry Alliance of America) has filed a federal trademark violation lawsuit against 15 karaoke venues and Karaoke Jockeys (KJ’s) in the Phoenix area.  Alleging use of illegally obtained and unauthorized copies of karaoke content on hard drives, Sound Choice is asking for a jury trial to determine damages for lost revenues, “statutory damages per trademark infringed by counterfeiting”, and all profits realized by the defendants as a result of their unfair business advantage from counterfeiting of the trademarks.  Intellectual Property lawsuits have been prominent in recent news with the RIAA winning a nearly 2 million dollar verdict for willful infringement and a Blogger being sentenced to a year’s probation after leaking a Guns N’ Roses album to the internet.

 
<paragraph left out here>
 

Sound Choice is a leader in the karaoke community and has invested nearly 20 million dollars in their karaoke music catalog.  In the mid 90’s Sound Choice routinely put out up to 5 new Karaoke discs per month and employed 75 people.  With the actions of those pirating their music, they now employ less than 10 people and  their last disc release sold under 800 copies, yet can be found on thousands of karaoke systems across the United States.  As stated in their suit,  “Sound Choice has been forced to undertake this litigation in order to ensure that it survives and continues to produce the high-quality karaoke music its fans demand, and to level the playing field for the legitimate KJs.”

You can find the rest of the article here:

http://www.azkaraokealliance.com/Karaoke_Legal_Talk.html#Blogger%20sentenced%20for%20leaking%20Guns%20N%20Roses%20album>

 
For further information regarding the KIAA:

http://www.thekiaa.org/

If you are not yet one of the Karaoke obsessed who invest in their own CDG’s,  yet wish there was some way to practice your favorite songs at home and try new ones before venturing out, I came across a very well developed Karaoke website that may just fill your needs. And you don’t have to download a thing into your computer.

The Karaoke Channel is fairly cheap, running $9.95 /month or if you wish, $99.95 yearly. It boasts 5911 songs, with new songs added weekly. You can use  it for free, from a more limited list of songs to choose from (yet still quite a good selection).  There are all the desirable features you would want on a karaoke machine: vocal changer (not always available per song) and choice of lead vocals or not to practice with, and a nicely readable screen. The songs themselves are decent, with good backups, not just mediocre midis paired with poor vocalists. Take a look and check out for yourselves all the features.

 
http://online.thekaraokechannel.com/

The Grace Award for the Evening went to 1 singin’ fool  Wednesday night at the Captain’s Chest, for successfully shutting down the Karaoke. Good thing for him it was towards the end of the night, otherwise he would have been run out of town. After spilling the fill-in KJ Robert’s red wine (Doowop Bob was floating down the sunny Colorado river) into his nice new Fujitsu laptop, it brought the Karaoke to a dead halt, despite the spill resistant barrier…guess it only works so well…applause all around for 1 singin’ fool…

1 singin’ fool, care to reveal yourself?

In the meantime, I’m going to go have a Gordon Biersch beer…

J*J

On the Sunday night of Presidents Day weekend, this past January, a number of us piled into Vic & Steve Wilde’s minivan and caravanned with them on their annual trek to The Mint in San Fransisco.

With Karaoke 7 days a week starting at 2 in the afternoon until closing, this is an exciting concept to any karaoke enthusiast who’s owlish habit usually starts around 8 or 9. Even those not inclined to bars will find that is a compromise worth stepping into.

Parking was in our luck that night, with an open space directly across the street. However it is not a direct path, you must take an angular journey to use the crosswalk to cross this wide street. A word of caution here: Don’t jaywalk in SF. Take the time to walk the distance to the crosswalk even if there is not another car in sight.

This landmark Karaoke Bar is located within a rather unimpressive, nondescript building, looking from the outside like not much more than an old-time hole in the wall. Overhead, “The Mint“, scripted in green neon, an older sign from simpler days, marks the place, confirms that it will be comfortably low key in there, nothing fancy.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what I walked into appealed to me. An older rustic place with much character both in the building and the varied people themselves. As you enter, directly to your left and up a few steps is the stage, not big, but definitely the stage with it’s lights and drapery, a gaudy spectacle to the otherwise rugged interior. I think I laughed at first, but it was what made it fun at the same time. It was amusing and quaint and pretentious in it’s gay flamboyant posturing…An overall theatrical appearance. Did I say gay? Yes you will find a gamut of individuals here and to say you will find gay people there considering it is SF is like remarking needlessly that they serve alcohol.

The bar itself runs deep to the back of the building, housing a line of stools and patrons along it’s worn wood countertop. We made our way up the steps, toward the stage, which fronted another seating area also running narrow and long to the back of the building. In this upper level of the bar you will find assorted tables and a further row of barstools that run along the upper backside of the bar, where friendly bartenders now have to reach up to you to serve drinks, working both sides.

Speakers and TV screens are mounted along the upper walls throughout, both upper and lower levels. From the upper level, you have the view and participation of the stage. If you sit below, there are large screens from which to watch the show.

A Japanese restaurant next door adjoins the bar with its own entrance right into the Mint through the upper level, a symbiotic relationship that works well, allowing you to order food to accompany your drinks and entertainment. The restaurant even sports it’s own TV Screen so you don’t miss a performance as you wait for your order. And the food did not disappoint.

The bar staff were wonderful, friendly and fresh with enthusiasm, you’d not believe they‘ve worked there for years. I felt equally enthused to tip them well, they made me feel that comfortable. Drinks were not too expensive, especially considering SF. You can purchase blank CD’s from the bartenders for a buck, and have yourself recorded. Later, in private, I listened to my recording, and personally, if I truly sound that way, oh, I’d probably quit singing lol. To be fair, the KJ told me he was having trouble with his machine.

I could not tell you about their song selection, as I brought my own, but yes, you can bring your own, which I appreciate.

The sound overall was what I was least impressed with.Despite the many speakers everywhere, even the best of singers sounded muffled and a bit drab to me. It would be interesting to see if it was better on a different night. Still, it was an overall fun experience, well worth the yearly trek.

http://www.themint.net/frontpage.htm

J*J

.

Whether you are looking to upgrade or supplement your  professional or personal Karaoke system  -  you might want to check out  SoundTek Music in Union City.

I walked into their huge warehouse and found myself in Karaoke Heaven. Everywhere,  boxes of equipment were piled high of all sorts of stuff.  Speakers, amps, mixers, mics, you name it. They are one of the major wholesalers and distributors for Karaoke in Northern California, shipping throughout the US, as well as Overseas.

For us locals, we get the benefit of huge discounts on merchandise returned, merchandise slightly damaged and  refurbished, or close-outs in general. SoundTek offers some incredible deals. I bought a nice pair of BMB Karaoke speakers for a huge discount off the retail price.  They are more than I’ll ever need for my personal home use, but what the heck, they are wonderful all around,  and the sound is fantastic for either karaoke or just in general listening through my  stereo.

Doowop Bob, the KJ at the helm of the Captain’s Chest, bought the same speakers as well for his home use, and is very pleased.  Another friend  bought  a pair of dual wireless mics at a nicely discounted price.

The way I found Soundtek was through Craigslist/Eastbay.  I typed ‘Karaoke’ into the Electronics heading and up came a surprising amount of ads placed singularly in ‘Union City’ as location.  These are the ones you want.  Only Union City as location.  Try it.  You’ll see what they are currently selling to get an idea of their inventory and prices.  If you are interested, you can email or call them and arrange for a time to meet at the Warehouse.  When you get there you will get to meet a very informative and knowledgeable man – Vincent, is what I remember his name to be – who will answer and go out of his way to find just what you are looking for.

This is what they have to say in their website regarding their warehouse sales:

“SoundTek Music is committed to offering best products to the consumers in the Outlet. However, we do not sell brand new products in our Outlet. All products are refurbished products with big discounts. The following are different types of our refurbished products.

Good Condition : Products in “good condition” are basically new. They may have minor cosmetic imperfections like scratches (some have been out of the box). While they are not factory sealed, they are guaranteed to work perfectly. They include both the full manufacturer’s warranty and SoundTek’s 45-day 100% satisfaction guarantee.”

Mint Condition : These products are “like new” but the factory is seal is not intact. They are in good condition, but the packaging may be damaged in transit. These products come with a full manufacturer warranty. SoundTek Music offers consumers a 45-day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Red Tag : The products in “red tag” brand new with factory seal intact. Some are discontinued items, “B stock” and refurbished items. Soundtek Music offers the consumers the lowest possible prices and customer satisfaction.”

And of course you can shop at home by going to the SoundTekMusic.com website and check out what they are advertising on clearance there. Look for the online Outlet link.

The one thing I should mention they don’t sell, at least to my knowledge, are CDG’s, the music itself. Which reminds me, if you plan on trying something out, you might bring along  music of your own liking.

Happy shopping…J*Jennifer

Sprinkled throughout the small towns and larger cities like the stars within a galaxy, Karaoke is found and enjoyed just about everywhere. Wednesday and Saturday nights you can almost always find me at the Captains Chest, a cozy bar found in a small strip mall in Concord. I would say it is my Karaoke home base, my Karaoke Star of choice…

Most singers have a favorite hangout, with reasons that differ from place to place, person to person, maybe the reason being as simple as enjoying a certain group of friends. As with most Karaoke enthusiasts, I don’t limit myself to just the Captains Chest, but like to venture out to other establishments; it is much like traveling the rodeo circuit, where you check out other Arenas of competition, get new song  ideas, and most of all enjoy the camaraderie and music.

While the Captains Chest is where I am most comfortable, going to other places allows me new experiences. I like the change, the differences, it pushes me to sing through different situations. Change is good, variety is good, immersing myself in different atmospheres, age groups and styles, for me is good; it all stretches my abilities. 

If you know me, you know that technology is something in particular of interest to me. 
I have a knack for finding the unusual, or if not the unusual, the useful. I like sharing this knowledge. I am in no way experienced with any of it, other than my enthusiastic curiosity. Still, I hope to share my finds, and, hopefully, those with more knowledge can fill in my blank spots and share back.  

Jim’s intention and desire for “Karaoke Hangouts” is to bring the local Karaoke community in touch with each other, where we can share what we know, tell of our favorite places, news of venues opening, or maybe some shows overlooked or forgotten or perhaps closed. It is a place to ask advice from an open source of community knowledge, and to talk in general about anything you want Karaoke-wise. Here we can link together, and expand outward in discovery of what’s new out there. I hope you will feel excited like I do about this Website…so for now…I’ll be seeing ya around!

 
Jennifer, aka ‘JJ’