Playing guitar on the street

When were you here, busker alley?

Did you ever play at Washington State? Univ of Idaho? Univ of Washington? Univ of Utah? Cal-Berkeley? Arizona State? Northern Arizona Univ?

I'm just seeing if it's possible I could have dropped some money into your guitar case somewhere.

 

Hey! I played on 4th st. in Tucson! ( 86-87? or so...)
Ghetto, yeah... Beautiful people though.

My buddy Ernie (vocals, harmonica) and myself on slide guitar, played this little blues set. Muddy waters, Howlin' wolf,... stuff like that.
We played this one tune that I don't know the name of, where the chorus went,
" If the river was whiskey, I'd be a diving duck...
I'd swim to the bottom, and drink myself back up!"

So one day we're standing on the corner kind of bummed out cuz there's hardly any folks on the street, and this lady comes out of a shop across the street and yells " PLAY THE DIVIN' DUCK SONG!"...
And so we did, and she danced around like she was on cloud 9!
That made us so happy...
it was a beautiful day!

P.S; Ernie, I miss you man...

 

Let's see...I was in Tucson a few times...in the late 80's like zombiewolf...I also went into the main office building there at UA and got permission for perform on campus...if that helps.
You know, I just remembered something...I was taking a bus up Speedway to my place when I went by a 7-11...I saw some guitarist out front singing...ha ha!
I played the University of Colorado (the hill) and UCLA campus back in 1984...that nice little part with trees where the sidewalk zig-zags through them...& Venice beach of course.
I soon found that the only real place is Europe....where it's respected as your job...and been going on for hundreds of years. In the early 1990's, I made money hand over fist over there. (Keep in mind this was playing guitar & singing all day, every day, and in Switzerland where it's super expensive so it was a trade-off.)
To me, it was all about your energy.
Ahh, the good old days...

 

Yeah, I always heard Europe is the place...

The best spot I ever played was in San Diego. Balboa park, on the Prado.
Lots of international tourists...

At least 100 bucks a day ( 2-3 hours ) I was playing in a Marimba duo with my brother. The park rules stated no brass or percussion, but I guess they didn't realize Marimba is a percussion instrument ! ha ha ha

....good old days indeed!

 

I've been performing on and off the streets for years and I agree with zombiewolf (even if he is being a dick about it). I havn't actualy met a musician whos performance was improved by being stoned. If someone tries the recording test zombiewolf suggested I'm positive the outcome will be apparent. Pot makes music sound better, but it doesn't help you play better.

I love pot, really I do. I don't have any problem with it and partake regulary myself, but if I'm going to perform I don't smoke all day until after the show.

Pot takes the edge off, but sometimes you need that edge. (Willy Nelson said that.)

 

I play good on opiates.

 

In New York, definitely. I hear music of all styles (and sometimes, an unusual blend of different styles) being played on the streets of Manhattan. If you ever busk in NY, I recommend the subway stop in Union Square, next to the staircase for the trains that are going downtown to Brooklyn. A lot of artists who busk there seem to draw moderate crowds.

 

I do it more for the fun. I play wherever there is the most foot traffic downtown (which isn't a lot in my little suburban town) and have a jam session maybe with my drummer friend. Once in a while you get some change and you thank them dearly as they go on there way. In general I just like to do it to have a good time and buy something small afterward!

 

I might just go sit in NoHo and sing for a bit to see what I can make. I don't play guitar or anything, but I do drum. :]
I might have to try this one day.

 

busking is great fun and a real confidence boost, i use it as a place to test out material a few weeks before a gig and it really helps. find a good location (nice acoustics/plenty of people). watch out for tramps they can rob you blind and becareful of other buskers as they will fight for their pitch, just be polite and try and stand your ground. also find out your local busking laws and just stay safe
PEACE & HAPPINESS

 

Hey! I played on 4th st. in Tucson! ( 86-87? or so...)
Ghetto, yeah... Beautiful people though.

It's not a ghetto now. It's trendy with funky shops and stuff. In fact, the street fair was this past weekend.

 

Im thinking about doing it, but im not aure about somethings:

I really like to play and sing at the same time, but i know that I am a bad singer haha.

Would i be better off just jammin, or does it not really matter as long as people can see im enjoying it?

 

Sing! Sing!...try not to get all self conscious about it, just do it.
Look right at them and tell the story... people dig that.

...you'll get better, I promise.

ZW

 

my friends are all riff-Raff!
an' i'm just a joke
if i gets any money
next minute i'm broke

my friends are all riff-Raff!
an' i can't figure why
you won't break a smile
as you pass us on by


this song refrain is from a street band of train-hoppers that happened into each other
just for a little while and got recorded in nashville . the cd's are rare and free .

 

If i ever become that good iam gonna donate whatever money i make to charities

 

my dad is a busker and i am gonna busk alon now tomorrow hes going to show me the best spots in munich because my style is different then his so we cant play together anymore.

peace and Love Lhiya

 

Hi Lhiya!
I have heard Munich is a wonderful place for buskers.
From what I know,
Germany is quite famous for very high quality, international street performers.

Can you describe your music/style?

ZW

 

hm i would say its singer songwriter folk style but i dont like to put stuff into categorys so much also has some spiritual influences

 

I was in a school bluegrass band in 8th grade and we were invited to play at the Kennedy Center in D.C.
On the way there we stopped in Denver for a few days.
So one day we all got together on these steps where everybody was walking near the huge outdoor mall and just played songs.
We made like $75 in an hour or so, maybe even less.
It was pretty boring. Haha, but I was an 8th grader and bluegrass wasn't my thing.

 

I played on the street for money once.. good thing me and my girl were pretty cute, people were givin up the dough easy