What? ANOTHER Karaoke Law? « Offbeat Karaoke News

June 9, 2009

Cardioke - Exercise and Sing - How Appealing

Filed under: Strange Products, What? ANOTHER Karaoke Law? — Tags: Billy Blanks, Cardioke — admin @ 9:04 am

Billy Blanks Jrs Cardioke

For most of us lifting a beer between singing songs is the most exercise we want on our karaoke nights out. So imagine “Cardioke” with this mouthful of a description: “an interactive physical and visual jumbo screen cardio-vascular, sing-a-long/karaoke work out … incorporating proper diaphragmatic performance breathing while being able to accommodate all genres of music.”

That’s the concept that Anthony P. Ricco says he came up with and pitched to Billy Blanks, Jr. and Sharon Blanks. If the name Billy Blank rings a bell it’s probably because of the Tae Boe fitness guru you see doing the infomertials, and yep, these are his youngsters. Ricco is now claiming that they fraudently applied for a trademark on the name and failed to pay him 30% of the gross profits to which he is due.

This gets so complicated it wears me out. You can read an earlier complaint that the Blanks filed against Riccio and on which they received a judgment. It’s kinda interesting because of how things work in the high powered world of entertainment.

I’m not sure what the big fuss is because the trademark lapsed and is no longer valid anyway. It was “abandoned” February 28, 2008.

Ricco and the Blanks used to be friends according to news reporst. I’m guessing they no longer invite each other to their Saturday afternoon cookouts now.

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June 3, 2009

Disgruntled Man Sues Over Karaoke Wizard of Oz Production

Filed under: Karaoke Entertainment, What? ANOTHER Karaoke Law? — Tags: karaoke, lawsuit, Wizard of Oz — admin @ 9:24 am

Witch from The Wizard of Oz casting a spell on people who sue her stage production

In what is an insult to karaoke fans everywhere, the London newspaper The Mail is reporting that Adrian Bradbury is launching a legal action against the producers of a stage musical production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

What’s his complaint?

Mr. Bradbury, a fan of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ says, “When the music starts it normally makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, but instead it was obvious that it was a synthesised backing tape.”

Now granted, he probably is going to be a bit more critical than you or me because he is a professional musician. He says the use of the karaoke tracks meant “there could be absolutely no interaction between the singer and the music”. He did compliment the show by saying “there were some good special effects and a lovely little dog - but it wasn’t a musical.”

Sir Harrison Birtwistle, the UK’s foremost living composer, supported Bradbury by writing “The Wizard of Oz is a musical, composed for a cast of singers/actors with orchestral accompaniment, with a musical director in overall control. Without the orchestra or musical director a performance of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is best described as karaoke.”

Birtwistle explains that in a properly performed musical or opera there is constant interaction between the singer and the band or orchestra. “In karaoke there is no such meaningful dialogue between the singer and the pre-recorded soundtrack - it is no more possible than a caller having a meaningful conversation with an answerphone.”

Bradbury says that it was deceptive advertising for the theater to advertise the show as a “musical”, and he wants his £134.50 back (about $220). He and his brother, their wives, and seven chldren attended the performance. No word from the kids on whether they felt deprived. But for the cost of the tickets, it hardly seems worth the bother to file a lawsuit.

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May 15, 2009

Karaoke and Pole Dancing - Nice Combination!

Filed under: What? ANOTHER Karaoke Law? — Tags: China, karaoke, karaoke club, Pole Dancing — admin @ 10:20 am

Dance students taking classes to learn pole dancing

Now HERE is an idea I can get behind — pole dancing in karaoke clubs. I have no idea how pole dancing in a karaoke club works, but I’m sure willing to give it a try. No, No, wait. I don’t mean *I* am going to pole dance, I just want to watch all the ladies do it.

Apparently pole dancing in karaoke clubs is pretty normal and popular among the young people in certain areas of China. It became controversial when one of the many Chinese sub-governments decided to ban it. In a move that made all the karaoke bar owners sigh with relief, in the end the government decided not to put the prohibition into place. “The initial draft to disallow pole dancing aimed to nip erotic performances in the bud,” said an official surnamed Wei at the Culture, Broadcasting and Press Bureau. “But we’ve found no law in China that forbids pole dancing, so we decided to delete the stipulation.”

They did end up passing a new regulation that will prevent erotic performances at venues, including a detailed stipulation to make “all balconies transparent” to people on the street outside. Huh? Explain that one to me. Maybe there was a problem with the language translation software, but that is something else I’d like to see. Those inventive Chinese folks. Transparent balconies. Cool.

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April 21, 2009

Once Again It’s Legal To Sing Karaoke In Lilburn

Filed under: What? ANOTHER Karaoke Law? — Tags: alcohol, karaoke ban, Lilburn — admin @ 4:07 pm

If you were a KJ in the Georgia hamlet of Lilburn two years ago, you were flat out of luck. The city government banned karaoke in any place that sold alcohol. Because they felt like karaoke increased crime, the city fathers wanted no part of it and gave karaoke the boot. Even though booze and karaoke go together like hot sauce and chicken wings, bar owners were forced to drop karaoke from their establishments.

Now, two years later, it’s back. “Lilburn has matured, and we want to keep it vibrant,” Mayor Diana Preston told The Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Our focus is keeping our business community strong and that means a diversity of businesses.”

So sing your heart out, Lilburn. A two year karaoke ban is enough to make anyone appreciate your newly won freedom to belt down a drink and belt out a song.

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April 17, 2009

Vietnam Government Says “If You Sing You Must Not Dance”

Filed under: Uncategorized, What? ANOTHER Karaoke Law? — Tags: drug use, karaoke club, prostitution, Vietnam — admin @ 11:41 am

Two Vietnamese karaoke singers trying to stop themselves from dancing

In a move that has a lot of citizens of Vietnam scratching their heads, the government is proposing to ban dancing in karaoke clubs. Karaoke is enormously popular in Vietnam, but so are prostitution and drug use. By stopping the dancing, the government hopes to - yup, you guessed it - cut down on prostitution and drug use.

The governmental thinking seems to go something like this: people who take the designer drug ‘ecstasy’ like to dance and hang out with prostitutes so by banning dancing the problem should be solved.

“Karaoke parlors are for singing, not for dancing,” the newspaper Thanh Nien (Young People) quoted Le Anh Tuyen, a ministry official, as saying.

This has led some skeptical observers to wonder exactly what would constitute dancing, and who would monitor it. Can you imagine singing karaoke standing ramrod straight without moving around a bit? Violators would be fined, although the amount is not yet specified.

The proposed regulations would also extend the hours of karaoke parlors and dance clubs from midnight until 2 a.m. - but only those located in luxury hotels. That provision appears to be intended to attract more foreign tourists in the face of the global economic downturn. Maybe they’re hoping to encourage foreign tourists to support the local economy by spending money on drugs and prostitutes.

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