DAVID: Because of my “history” with The Karaoke Club Australia (KCA) I am qualified to speak a bit about it. The KCA Yahoo Group was officially launched on April 30, 2000 by “Ric Gold” and I was welcome as its very First Member on May 2, 2000.

Ric touted the idea for a while, among the group of us (the then Vic karaoke diehards haunting The Legend Karaoke Bar in Caulfield during the 1980s – 1990s, and when that folded, Sergio’s in the City – now Melbourne Karaoke Lounge – was the preferred “meeting place”). We all thought that it was a great idea, and so Ric went ahead and created The KCA Yahoo Group.

Yes, it was very active in its early years, with everyone who’s anyone in the Victorian industry participating. Contributors included singers / hosts / venue operators / comp-purveyors / equipment suppliers / overseas members / etc. Discussions covered everything karaoke – there were friendly chats, robust discussions and quite a few fiery mud-slinging sessions, as experienced here on Where2Sing.

A number of the more vicious online “fights” were pre-arranged and choreographed amongst a few of us, to make interesting reading for all but we managed to bring out all the salient points we set out to do. It was all in fun, as karaoke should be, and we all buy each other a beer when we do meet up at each other’s gigs or some other gigs on our nights off.

Because karaoke here in Victoria is basically “pub-karaoke”, an “entertainment after-thought” conducted in a dingy corner of the local pub, after a few YEARS of covering every imaginable karaoke-topic, what more can be discussed? It’s the same-old same-old all over again. The Vic karaoke industry has not been that imaginative to break-out of its “pub-karaoke” mould since 2000 when the KCA first commenced.

So, nothing new to add, nothing new to thrash out. Online chats and discussions have dwindled to nothing, apart from the occasional Venue Review or Self-Promo material from me. But what more can be said about the size of songbooks, equipment quality, sound, foldbacks, lighting, stage or no stage, hosting styles, quality of the pub food, audience quality, drink prices, comps, comp-chasers, SWDs, undercutting, shonky operators, piracy, etc.

Also the last 2-3 years or so saw a number of the regular KCA contributors leaving the karaoke industry, or are not as active as previously.

PS: Vic Gig Listing there, on the KCA site, are very outdated, with no one bothering to provide current info, no singers volunteering, not even the hosts, not even the venue operators.

Submitted by CHINA, from CAULFIELD on 15-04-2008

Meet karaoke hosts and singers in the Where2sing.com forums . . .

Where2sing.com