Tuesday, March 14, 2006

KroaKnights and the search for the first KroaKING begins


hellos, hiiis and all the pleasantries that go with it..
if u havent been to opus on a sunday night over the last 3 months then this mail is not for you. couple of things have been bothering me and i thought i needed to address it. In my wildest fantasy (and believe me, some of them are really really over the top) i would never imagine a regular 500 people every sunday. woww!! thanks!! i have a sneaky feeling that im doing something right here.
but its brought its share of 'its not what sunday nights used to be'... 'it takes 7 mins to get to the loo from where i was standing'... 'why do i have to book a week before if i need a table'.... 'i had to @#$^ park next to the palace ground entrance'...
but most worrying of all is the fact that the opus billings on a sunday nite just doesnt justify the numbers and the mayhem that comes with it. As a comparison on a saturday nite with 150 people we do just as much. the reasons are many and I've been really getting ulcers trying to fix this. So this sunday its gonna be entry 100 + cover 300 for the moment (sorry.. but thats the cost of one and a half drinks)
sighhh... a man's gotta do what a mans gotta do!!
im totally welcome to any other ideas anyone else can come up with. post a comment at http://opusbangalore.blogspot.com/

now onto something much more exciting!!
wednesday we kick off the search for KroaKING.. i'm keeping it really simple .. every wednesday we pick 3 people out of the entire lot that sings, to get into the final stages .. which means if u are not picked on a particular wednesday u have the opportunity to have a go next week and the week after next ... i guess u get my drift .. this will be over 8 (lets give the octopus its due) weeks.. every week an updated list will be sent to all and hosted on the site.
we are still working on prizes and sponsors and record deals and judges .. watch this space for updates.
when we reach 24 people we'll have a semifinal to pick 12 .. and then a final wherein one would be crowned Opus KroaKING... (ok .. i know, i know .. i'm being sexist... but i am like this wonly)

once again its incredible to see the kind of talent and the energy that wednesdays and especially sundays bring. thank u all so so so very much.

cheers
carlton

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOVE the cover idea! It’s gonna get me over more often.

And, I am absolutely thrilled at the success Opus is enjoying. May it go on and on and on and on…..oh wait, that’s Carlton on the mic.

Anonymous said...

carlton,
I must say I miss bangalore and opus. 300 covers on a sunday is more than I have heard of any place for a while. keep up the good work. How come there is never news of the dance hall upstairs.
cheers,
anshu

Anonymous said...

Hi Carlton,
I think this is definitely a step forward. I tried coming in one Sunday and there were an insane number of cars parked... on the main road! Moreover, karaoke and the Opus experience does not lend itself well to huge crowds, in my opinion. I love Opus because it gives me a Goa (in the off-season) feel, a chilled out atmosphere where i can kick my feet back and relax, and best of all, jam on an impromptu basis (or watch others do the same). It's not an Athena or a Spinn where we battle for shoulder-room and smell armpits, and feel like we're in a Virar fast in Bombay. But then, this is just my opinion :-))

I think the cover charge is a positive step forward. Kudos for trying to reduce the crowd for the sake of us music lovers.
One question: Are you going to have a cover charge for Wednesdays as well? Wednesdays are usually much less crowded, and i've actually started preferring it over Sundays nowadays.

One suggestion as well (if you don't mind), why don't you start the karaoke a little earlier, say an hour earlier? It would definitely help those of us who don't want to stay until too late as we have office on Thursdays.

Thanks,
arun

Anonymous said...

Carlton!

I think the cover idea is brilliant. And if it works, and I can actually get myself to the loo in 6 minutes (:oD), you will see me at opus more often. I think the start earlier suggestion is a good one.

Chitra.

Anonymous said...

first off...CONGRATULATIONS on the super success. I am thrilled to bits! woooohoooo!

the cover idea is perfect and trust me, the opus sunday nights are definitely worth more. but since we are nice people and all, 300 cover is "chillrae" (change in kannada).

all the very best!

smiles,
the resident

Anonymous said...

I love opus and the cover charges are a definite plus...just the look of happiness and cheer on everyones faces..thats what opus is all about.

Anonymous said...

Carlton! What happens to us perpetually broke species? I know cover's a good way to filter crowd and all that, but there has to be a way to let us in! Perhaps half price before 7:30? Or if you're in a gang of 10?

Anonymous said...

Hi!
Absolutely stupendous news that OPUS is doing this well!!!
Congrats!!
The cover idea is simply fine, however, I would suggest you consider incorporating what Coffee Day does nowadays..that funky billing system machine that they lug around..

Can you believe, I saw some conductors on a "semi-deluxe' bus of KSRTC using this on my way from Virajpet to Mysore...Time to get techie, I think :-P

Cheers!

ceebee said...

hey
thanks y'all
decisions are definitely not my forte .. hated doing it really ..
and the reassurance helps!!
arun and chits .. about starting early .. it just doesnt happen .. maybe kika's 7.30 thing may not be a bad idea to get one lot going early ..
surabhi .. will look into these funky billers
and for u mr. sunawalla .. may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your nethermost crevice .. love u
carlton

Anonymous said...

A group of friends having a good time,candle lit tables, palm trees swaying, CCR, Bob Dylan, Eddy Grant, people singing or crooning great retro music... that was OPUS on a sunday, a year ago. Blissful.
It's sad to see the turn it has taken now. You've probably heard this before, but Opus is just not the same. It's lost the old charm it used to have. Today it feels like an extension of a saturday night.
I definitely support the idea of a cover charge in order to filter out the crowd. Atleast this way we can hope to get the old Opus back :) That's a good move!!!
But, about charging 100 as entry for a wednesday..hmm.. is it really required at this point. I think not. It's not like the place is over crowded on a wednesday. it has the right amount of crowd and is thus quite peaceful. And a lot of people go to Opus on a wednesday to have dinner. So the idea of paying to enter a restaurant is not very convincing. Maybe you'd want to think that over Carlton :)

ceebee said...

yesterdays wednesday nite was overwhelming to say the least... woww!! each and every one could sing .. and i mean really sing.. 7 more wednesdays and 21 more places to be filled

the first 3 spaces on that list are taken
1. megha girish
2. vivek madan
3. divya bajaj

Anonymous said...

The cover charge is a good idea ... but 100 bucks for entrance is a bit steep. Why not make it 400 cover or something.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Carlton! Totally thrilled at the success Opus is enjoying. It's certainly one of my favourite places.

The Rs. 300/- cover charge is fine for those who drink. But, what about those who don't? It just does not make sense to a non-alcoholic to pay a cover of Rs.300/-!

About the entry fee. Why have it when you're charging cover?

Anonymous said...

Hey Carlton...
I think starting cover at opus is a brilliant idea!!My boyfriend stopped coming to opus coz he says that everyone just comes there and hangs around and it's too much of a crowd...now he has no excuse!!yay!!
seyah on sunday
Reshma Millet

Anonymous said...

Vivek Madan said...
I don't rightly know what to say except that i'm probably more surprised than most people aboout my ascension into the ranks.
I've known Opus since it was an idea and it makes me proud to know that there has been such an overwhelming response to Carltons email on the cover and entry for Kroaknights.
Forgive my ramble but i remember the first night I was introduced to Karaoke at Opus - Carlton had his software on the computer and I decided i would sing; there was nobody there, it must've been past midnight (bangalore being what it was) and I sang or rather tried to sing 'Everybody Hurts'. And trust me, whoever was listening was hurt.
I've come a long way from that night and the emails we've recieved just shows that opus has travelled its own course along the road that determines success and popularity.
It would be sorely lacking on my part not to dedicate my small success to carlton, gina, neil, shonali, ashok, pramod, susant and everyone who helps make Opus the experience it is today. Kudos!
PS- I'd love to do my own show at Opus just to see what Stanley Pinto would say... :-)

ceebee said...

ok lemme try and explain why we do what we do ..
opus, as vivek stated has indeed come a long way .. on the equipment front we started off with 2 speakers and a computer .. as and when we could, we have added on sound .. vocal effects .. microphones .. recently got ourselves a spanking new projector (may the other one rest in peace)
thats where the entry goes towards .. its a constant work in progress
the cover, is due to the fact, as reshma put it .. for people who just hang around .. i have nothing against that (i really love the buzz) ... but if they have begun to be a deterrent to those that actually come there and spend money then i dont have much of a choice now do i ???
hope u guys understand ..
cheers
carlton

and vivek .. own show ?? .. woww .. now ive seen all ..

Anonymous said...

Fine then, I'll entertain you My Way!!

Misha said...

Am most definately for the cover charge. Come on, how does it matter if you pay the 300/- at the entrance, one would in any case spend atleast that much inside.
And yes, if this brings Opus Sunday Nites back to what it used to be i will be sooo thrilled.

And vivek... call us when you're entertaining Carlton 'You Way!' That is one show i wouldn't miss....

devil's own said...

The cover idea is great, keeps your crowd filtered,
It was quite a shock comiing back after 2 years to see all the crowd at opus on sunday nites,
and most of whom jus come an hang for eh sake of doing so, and not for the love of music,
Great to be back
Tamana

Anonymous said...

I'm most interested in this VIVEK- Carlton Personal MY WAY Show, sounds very interesting even if it's for the benifit of Mr. Stanley Pinto!!!
PLEASE keep me posted!

Anonymous said...

Carlton!

Why don't we have a 'Hindi' karaoke on one've these wednesday's?
Very few people know this, but our very own Mr.Madan is quite the Mohd.Rafi incarnate hehe, so you have a ready MC! - but i'm serious, it'll be fun. Worth giving a shot?

Cheers

ceebee said...

hahaha..
i know .. but this is a niche that working nicely at the moment.
i would have to reinvent the wheel.. rebuild my database of songs ... ive has quite a bit of pressure to do hindi for a while , but have stuck to my guns .. there are tons of places and kj's that do hindi ...
cheers
c

Anonymous said...

hmmm...good point...a one off thing would be fun, but you don't associate too many hindi songs with a place like opus, beyond maybe 'mumbai' se aya mera dost :)
anyways, i shall get back to my bathroom singing...there's a spot on the 'kroaking' list that's gonna be mine soon!

Anonymous said...

mr malhotra..i dont know you..but do you know that i sang a whole bunch of hindi tunes at opus one fateful night?!!(im sorry carlton..but we knew we couldnt keep that a secret for too long..!)
iv been telling everyone i know about how fantastic sunday nights at opus are..am talking about the time i could actually get T9 without any trouble at all..havent been in the last few months( am hanging my head down in shame ceebee)and have not seen the kroaknight ppl-krush krisis in person..
anyway..my family are coming down with me to banglore and a sunday night at opus was on the menu..but i recd a really upsetting msg from shons about tonight's kroaknight.
THEY CANT DO THIS!!!!!i do hope this is a one off.
carlton..let it be known that i am offering to march down mg road in protest.#$%^%@!!if only i knew where these guys lived!
hoping(so hard!)that sunday nights are unharmed by the decision making dimwits.
love u n gina loads!
p.s.i happen to believe that the bacon wrapped prawns one gets at opus are FANFREAKINTASTIC!

punit said...

anushka, r u serious? does opus cover hindi as well? wat nos u sang btw?n how was the response.....let us know bout ur xperience

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