Karaoke Ceilidh?

Subject: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: mandotim
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 12:57 PM

I got an email from a friend yesterday advertising the services of a couple who run ceilidhs; they have a PA setup and a CD player, and they both call the dances. One thing missing; no band, strictly recorded music. As a performing musician I found this a bit wierd, and something of a nail in the coffin of working ceilidh bands. Is this a common practice? Thoughts?
Tim

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: treewind
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 01:12 PM

Yes, callers are doing it with CDs all the time. It's especially common in the social dance clubs, which haven't any money and have monthly meetings where the choice is typically an old geezer playing piano* accordion or "proper" music on CD...

Anahata
*I mistyped that as "paino accordion" - perhaps I should have left it!

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Rasener
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 01:40 PM

Hmmm the thought makes me shudder.

The real thing is for me.

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 02:15 PM

"where the choice is typically an old geezer playing piano* accordion"

I thought that was quite a bit of the point of Ceilidhs?

L in C

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 02:28 PM

Re the thread title — I should call this phenomenon a "disco ceilidh" rather than a "Karaoke ceilidh", which would imply singing rather than dancing, surely?

MEthePEDANT

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 02:36 PM

The other end of the spectrum from what Anahata describes is the DJeilidh, which we experimented with at Sidmouth last year and will be rolling out as part of the Silent Disco event this year.

The idea is that, instead of a band, a DJ is playing music (through a laptop or on a turntable) - could be pop music, could be folk, could be a bit of both. The caller is live. But because this is Silent Ceilidh, everything feeds from the desk and the mics directly into the Bluetooth headsets worn by the dancers. The headsets have two different channels. This will allow us to have two different tracks playing at the same time, and the dancers can choose which they want to dance to. At certain points in the evening, we will actually have two different dances happening at the same time.

Though this is obviously aimed at the younger end of the ceilidh market, people of all ages enjoyed last year's Silent Folkin' Disco. We're hoping that the Silent Ceilidh will be equally popular. Oh - and the theme of the evening is Christmas in August.

To respond to the OP, this type of event certainly isn't meant to replace band-led ceilidhs. It's a bit of fun, and something different, but meant to stand alongside the more traditional ceilidh set-up, rather than replace it.

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 02:58 PM

Barn dance with dansette record player used to be the format at church social events when I was little. It's more traditional than a band with microphones and PA systems.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Rasener
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 03:01 PM

Ruth
I can see the health inspectors coming in to stop ear infections passed on by sweaty earhole folkies.

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: GUEST,charlie
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 04:10 PM

This sort of thing has gone on in the uk for donkeys years my friend ! Callers with records, tapes, cd's, mp3's, has gone on in one form or another since technology has been around! Where are all the public ceilidhs, as opposed to the odd bit of nonsense at a wedding etc! Is there still a ceilidh scene?? If so, where is it??

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 04:28 PM

Villan, they aren't in-ear headphones, and they are cleaned every time they are used.

This is what they look like:

Silent Folkin' Disco

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Rasener
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 04:57 PM

Ok I see. see reply to PM

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: s&r
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 07:43 PM

Years ago Victor Sylvester's band used to record music in strict tempo for dance tuition. This was for ballroom dancing, but the principle is the same.

For learning and practice it's fairly common to use cd's, but I would imagine as a night out it would be dull to say the least

Stu

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: mandotim
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 04:31 AM

Thanks for all the replies; I'm still bothered a bit by this though. For me, part of the entertainment at a ceilidh is the interaction with the band, and the sheer enjoyment of listening to live music produced by musicians I can see. I suppose what I'm really worried about is what has happened elsewhere in music; it's much harder for four or five piece bands to get gigs when your local pub venue can book a DJ or a karaoke for much less. The expectation of what is a reasonable fee for a night of music is driven down, and making any kind of living from music gets harder. I'm also reminded of what a friend said about this; he compared going to a DJ session with a visit to the cinema 'Do you want to go to the pictures tonight?' 'Dunno; who's the projectionist?'.
Tim

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Bernard
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 02:22 PM

Literal translation of 'Karaoke' = 'empty orchestra'... says it all, really!

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 02:33 PM

"it's much harder for four or five piece bands to get gigs when your local pub venue can book a DJ or a karaoke for much less. The expectation of what is a reasonable fee for a night of music is driven down, and making any kind of living from music gets harder"

When it comes to Silent Ceilidh, by the time you've hired the equipment and paid your DJs, it could be more expensive than a band (depending on how many headsets you require).

The way it's being done on the younger end of the circuit, it's a bit of a laugh: ceilidh dancing to pop songs. But in the context of a festival or ceilidh series, it's definitely a one-off, the exception rather than the rule. We'll probably programme a couple of dozen ceilidhs and social dances this year at Sidmouth - one of them will use a DJ and recorded music. Personally, as a programmer, I don't see it as a threat to the live band. Part of the fun of a ceilidh is dancing to the band, but every now and again, something novel doesn't hurt, and it may being in new people to the ceilidh scene.

With regard to how it's done in social dance circles, you're talking about local clubs made up of maybe 20 dancers at a time. They can't afford a band even if they wanted one.

Apart from these two approaches, I'm not aware of any major ceilidh series that has swapped live bands for recorded music. Even the little ceilidhs that happen in village halls around here use a live local band, and they attract lots of non-folkies who happen to live in the village. I don't think that would happen if the evening consisted of dancing to recorded music.

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: GUEST,Bardan
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 02:49 PM

but if you give folkies headsets then they cant put their fingers in their ears!

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Jane Bird
Date: 17 Jan 10 - 06:53 PM

Re the set up referred to in Mandotim's original message, yes I've come across it, and yes it's not usually half as much fun as a live band.

On the folk scene, you're most likely to find recorded music for dancing in small folk dance clubs. At one club I attended they used records mainly because it gave them a broad repatoire of dances. However at Towersey Folk Dance Group (where I used to be a regular) dancers are spoilt by having a resident band with an impressive repatoire of tune sets and the willingness to learn new stuff if you give them enough notice.

That said I'm really looking forward to Sidmouth's Silent Folkin' Disco - that's a rather different proposition, as compared with what Mandotim describes.

Subject: RE: Karaoke Ceilidh?
From: Mr Red
Date: 18 Jan 10 - 06:09 AM

Far more fun to be had a Oxfolk Ceilidh. or Stroud Ceilidhs for that matter.

Oh how I remember trying to describe a "strip the willow" to a Maths major (studying at Oxford University) as: like the unzipping of the DNA double helix. He nodded with recognition until he tried to do it!

He laughed a lot, I laughed a lot, and that sums up the best of ceilidhs for me. Records are not the best of ceilidhs.

And do they pay PPL?