The Steel Guitar Forum

Just wondering if anyone's ever done any busking and might want to share your stories, the good, the bad and the ugly?

Oh ya! A few tales (good and bad) -- but usually people just walk by like you're not there. It's a double edged sword.... Sometimes you don't want them to stop. Sometimes the ones that stop are weird and won't go away. In those cases I pack up early and resolve the afternoon for it's better tidings.

Here in Winnipeg the best spots for busking require a that you buy a license. They are formal "busking areas" In those zones (mostly tourist spots) the people are generally attentive and you're well received.

So, J., I've heard of artistic license, poetic license, and that 007 license to kill, but never a license to busk.

Imagine if the law takes you down and your sitting in a cell with one of those weird ones who stopped and wouldn't go away by the name of 'Tiny', who more demands than asks, "whatcha in for, boy?!"

"Umm..Busking. Unlicensed." They'll either be high-fiving you and passing out smokes, or... well, best we not go there.

I have played on the street in several different cities. Battery amps are cool, lightweight, portable, quick setup and teardown.

I have been complimented, applauded, ignored, laughed at, had nice tip$ placed in my case, twice rained upon, and once told to pack up and leave by the cops. All together it is a blast!

Unfortunately, here in Portland OR, we only have a few months without a lot of rain.

Dom Franco

Alexa Gomez wrote:
"Umm..Busking. Unlicensed." They'll either be high-fiving you and passing out smokes, or... well, best we not go there.

Fortunately they just kick you out and you can busk about two blocks away in either direction. Much better than being raped by a demented street-fan.

I like singing extra loud for the people that ignore you. Trying to get their attention can be a fun game. Most of the time, busking amounts to just practicing outside. My buddy straps on his bass and a headset and walks around downtown to practice. He's quite the sight with this long hair and kilt. No one says sh*t tho... he's a big boy.

Somerwhere there is a pic (I think) documenting Bob Brozman's arrest in 1974 for busking in the wrong place in San Francisco.

when i was a teen in NYC, there was this tall string bean black cat who used to sing falsetto on an out of tune guitar in Washington square park in the Village
years later, while busking in Paris in 1981, Lo & behold ! i heard that voice !
yep ! it was him - (took him 15 years to get to Paris)
so my buddies & me added him to our busking band
now we had this Swedish chick who was the "bottler" : she would collect the bread while we played
this black cat would get real uptight cause he was persuaded she was puttin' some away fer herself (which was not the case)
anyway this cat was a real pain in the butt when it came to countin' & sharin' the money
so we cut him loose
i had great times buskin' in the metro in Paris too
did'nt need a license then but now one does
when the corridor was empty, it was like playin' in Church
then the crowd would march through accompanied by it's own sound which would greatly diminish the sound of my lap steel & mandobro -
aside from money, i'd find all kinda things in my case : hand written notes w: fone #s for a RDV, cigarettes, hash, condoms & candy
i also got hauled in to the cop shop fer buskin' in Paris & i even got to play a tune for the desk sergeant

Technically, I haven't busked because I've never opened the case or otherwise solicited money. However, I have played in a number of places, in particular while sitting in the Atlanta and Boston airports. I thought those might be problematic because airports are so uptight about security, but I guess a guy with a guitar is not too suspicious. I've only done this with my acoustic, as I'm not yet presentable on lap steel. I played both inside and outside the secure area.

I'm curious--in those places that require licenses, is the license to play in public or to solicit money? If there is no solicitation, are there still areas where you will be shut down by the police?

CrowBear Schmitt wrote: aside from money, i'd find all kinda things in my case : hand written notes w: fone #s for a RDV, cigarettes, hash, condoms & candy

Great story CrowBear! Sounds like u had a lot of fun.

One time I found a couple of unused band-aids in my case mixed in with the coin and bills. Pretty weird. Also sometimes people leave business cards. That's pretty tacky.

Tom Franke wrote:
I'm curious--in those places that require licenses, is the license to play in public or to solicit money? If there is no solicitation, are there still areas where you will be shut down by the police?

Here in Peg City the license is a one time $25 fee (when last I checked). I have never purchased one -- just been lazy is all. I hear you also have to submit a sample of your work; Because these areas in question are tourist zones, the city wants to make sure you can actually play your instrument. That's my presumption anyway.

I've busked many times, but somehow don't have any good stories. I will tell you about how I made a PA portable.

I was sitting in with a three-piece, who had their own small PA and wanted to take it busking. I got a deep-cycle battery and an inverter, which can charge the battery and has outlets for plugging the PA into. I made a small box with comfy handles (the battery is very heavy) to hold it all and make it portable. We could play for a couple hours on a full charge, and have a PA anywhere!

A few years ago, when I was trying to keep my fledgling (now idle) honky-tonk band The Merles from falling apart before it really got going; I convinced our singer, and co-founder that busking would be a good way to make some quick cash (a main interest of his), though I really thought it was just a clever way to get him to rehearse (me too, as I was fairly new to the steel) and hopefully get some attention for the band.

Since busking in NYC is tricky (it's the amplification), I figured that we needed to stay away from tourist spots and subways; so we concentrated on farmer's markets. It was a real success, particularly with the stroller crowd in my brooklyn neighborhood. On our first outing, someone videod and posted a short clip. That plus the money was all it took to pull us together, and busking became a regular part of our performing for the next couple of years.

Through busking we were included in a fashion ad campaign for Bloomingdale's. We recorded the soundtrack to a Volkswagon ad (though they didn't use our track ). We got some really good private gigs. And became tighter as a band while making pretty decent money. Unfortunately the singer moved and his replacement didn't want to busk. I tried going out on my own with my Fender Deluxe 8 and some backing tracks, but it wasn't the same. I miss it.

Oddest story....were playing on the street in Ocean Beach (San Diego) and someone comes up to us in the middle of a song and asked us if we have change for a dollar. Didn't even wait until the guitar player was done doing his solo, before asking him.

Typically, as the day turns to night. It ends up being free entertainment for the street people and they usually scare away the regular folks. Then they start looking into your can. Best to clean it out every so often. One knarly homeless guy insisted that we share our earnings with him, because we were standing in "his spot". He wanted his rent.

Here in California, it's hard work, playing on the street. I'm pretty much done with it. Farmer's markets are a little better....buy only by a little bit.

Yeah, I've had issues with street people too. They want to try out your instrument, or touch it, and yes, they tend to hang around your can or hat or empty case a little too close. Evening busking is pretty much a waste of time. Noon to about 5pm is the best range.

J. Wilson wrote:

Tom Franke wrote:
I'm curious--in those places that require licenses, is the license to play in public or to solicit money? If there is no solicitation, are there still areas where you will be shut down by the police?

Here in Peg City the license is a one time $25 fee (when last I checked). I have never purchased one -- just been lazy is all. I hear you also have to submit a sample of your work; Because these areas in question are tourist zones, the city wants to make sure you can actually play your instrument. That's my presumption anyway.

Hmmm. So someone has the job of deciding whether you're good enough to stand on the street and play music.

Alexa,

At one time in my musical carreer I realied on busking to cover most if not all of my living expenses. I was living in New Orleans and played tenor banjo with a five piece group. We did mostly old jazz tunes, blues and rags and jugband favorites. We worked in the French Quarter everyday that the weather would allow. Often on weekends we would start as early as 10am and not finish until the dinner crowds had thinned out and the drunks started getting nasty. The "season" began around New Years and lasted until after Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest. The weather would start to get too hot for me around May and once the tourists stop showing up it was time to move back north. I split my time this way between New Orlaeans and Oswego NY from 1977 to 1984. When I wasn't playing the street I would pick up a regular job. We always seemed to make enough to cover rent, food and beer although once I remember running hot water through the same coffee grounds for five days because rain kept us off the streets. No matter what you always keep 35 cents in your pocket to catch a bus the next day into the Quarter. We would often hit the street broke and have to play for an hour or more before we had enough for all of us to take a break and get some breakfast.

Gary

What an absolutely wonderful chapter of your life, Gary. In these days when most touring bands are lucky not losing too much money, much less breaking even, you and your enterprising band mates ought be proud. Not to mention how it improves your chops playing what people actually want to hear since your livelihood depends on it.