The Daily Kroak

Don't stop believing

It appears I have a full-blown "Don't stop Believing" addiction -- I can't seem to stop playing it. I first heard it at the end of The Sopranos and after a while I looked it up on iTunes and now it's getting heavy rotation around the house. I'm looking forward to trying it out when Kroaky's opens -- it goes on and on and on!

We received our tabletops today. I chose a Zebrawood pattern, which looks quite exotic. I ordered them over the net, so it was a relief to see the real-life pattern was better than the web sample.

Construction work is beginning to move forward after a few weeks of slow progress. We have passed the plumbing inspection, and have sealed the pipes into the floor. Next we have to finish the final wall construction and electrical work then we can move on to putting in the wall insulation, followed by the drywall.

We are still doing a lot of thinking about the interior design. Last night we saw Rod Stewart live in concert at Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa (we were in the fifth row and had a great view) and, as well as being inspired to sing Rod's classics, we got some interesting interior design ideas from his stage set. I can't find any pics on the net so you'll have to just wait and see...

If a picture paints a thousand words...

We received our final logo today. Often making a logo is a very difficult process, but this was quite easy. A few months ago I was looking through Google image search checking out frog pictures when I came across an illustration of an frog that was similar to what we wanted. I found that the frog had been designed in the UK, so I contacted the illustrator and asked him to make a version especially for us. We spent the last few weeks working on the text. So here's a big thank you to Duncan McMillan of artandsoul.co.uk for bringing Kroaky to life. We've also been working on a few surprises that we're sure you'll like...more later!

Now we can go ahead with all the printed items such as songbooks, menus and our big sign!

Right here waiting for you

The good news: The construction is moving ahead, the equipment is mostly ordered and ready to be installed, the songs are being prepared...

The bad news: Due to circumstances beyond our control we have to delay the opening of Kroaky's for a couple of weeks. Our opening is going to be delayed until mid-September. We will have a better idea of the opening date during next week. Stay tuned for updates...

I saw the sign

While we were away in the Caribbean with Spongbob Squarepants on the Nickelodeon Family Cruise we had QuikSigns make up a temporary sign for the outside of the building. We also made a decal of the new Kroaky (now with Blue Eyes). it must be working because we are receiving more inquiries about bookings and requests for employment (please send to info@kroakys.com).

On the cruise, in a moment of insanity, I decided to sing Bryan Adam's "Heaven" in the public Karaoke bar. Usually that's one of the first songs we sing at karaoke, because it's not too difficult and everyone knows it and can sing along. I managed to get through it even though I was very nervous because I hadn't sang in front of strangers for years, and I haven't sang any Karaoke since I left Japan. I nearly Kroaked, but came through in the end, 'cos baby you're all that I need, I'm findin' it hard to believe we're in heaven. Woh-woh-oh-oh!

Now we are back on dry land we have to work on the songbook and menu designs. And of course the design for the really big sign out on U.S. 41. 

True Colors

We did a lot of work on getting the table sizes today. It turns out we need 32 tables. We asked our architect for a big floorplan and cut out little table shapes and moved them around for a while until they seemed to fit into the right places. Then we drew out all the tables on the floorplan and worked on the color schemes.

Each room has one of five seat colors that match the floor tiles. We actually chose the floor tile colors first and matched the seats with those colors.These are the actual names of the colors: Kickin' kiwi (lime green), Vicious Violet, Cherry Red, Bodacious Blue and Violet Bloom. You may have noticed that there are two violets in there. I just noticed that too, but in fact one is more of a purple color and the other more lilac.

The lobby and corridors will be in Classic Black with Kickin' Kiwi accents to match our froggy friend.

Can't buy me love

Busy, busy, busy! In the past few days we've been working long hours ordering equipment for Kroaky's. Here's just some of the stuff we've ordered this week...

We ordered all the software to serve songs to each room. Each room has a computer running special karaoke software. You choose songs by inputting song numbers using a handy remote control. These come from Asia, so we had to make sure they were ordered first.

Then we added the main color-changing lights for each room. You can change the color of the room lights using another handy remote control. Just press the purple button when it's time to sing "Purple Rain", press the orange button when it's time for R.E.M.s "Orange Crush". How about red when you sing Simply Red, or green for Green Day? Yup, the possibilities are endless...

We also ordered the amplifiers and the speakers. The amplifier is specially made for karaoke and has in-built digital effect for echo and reverb so you can sing like a pro. The speakers have been specially developed to minimize feedback. The only squeals you'll hear through your performance are those of your happy friends!