Re: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker -- many thanks

["Bart van Strien" <knuppel@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tony Eyers answered as well, he's from Australia. And I busked in NL, England, France & Spain. Well, that makes it international enough ;-)

Ah, you're well informed bout politics. Yeah Wilders took a beating and that serves him right, nuff said I guess... !  Indeed, the biggest part of the Netherlands is below sealevel. On the other hand, we're used to the idea, so we'll just put some more fingers in the dyke (I know, I know, that has a double meaning in english, but I mean that hilly kind of thing to keep the water out)

Ha, not a lot of people like the interaction at first (nobody minds the applause or cheers though), but the more confident you get with what you're playing the more time you find to concentrate a bit on the presentation, talking to people enz. It also helps when you're not alone and can do it together with the musician next to you.  (Sorry, i'm just thinking out loud, don't want to sound like 'mr know-it-all')

Cheers!

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: martin oldsberg 
  To: Bart van Strien 
  Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2012 2:37 PM
  Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker -- many thanks


  Sorry Bart, I almost naturally assumed you were American. Tend to do that with Harp-listers but that´s stupid of me: there are quite a few non-Americans on Harp-l and I for one certainly welcome any initiative to, so to say, emphasize the international aspect of it.


  Aha the Netherlands ... you´re in a bit of a jam there right now, as I understand it. Hope the elections anyway gives you a stable government (and I personally don´t lament that Mr Wilders took a bit of a beating, but that´s just my view).

    The long term problem in the Netherlands is probably that you´re going to find yourselves one of the first sub-marine! nations of the world, if things (the greenhouse effect) keep on as predicted. (I´d really hate to have to ... descend ... into the Rijksmuseeum next time. Never liked diving.)





  Honestly, I´m really awful on that audience interaction stuff, but I see your point. Maybe a few busking sessions will release a more ... "folksy" aspect of my personality.


  Cheers,
  Martin


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: Bart van Strien <knuppel@xxxxxxxxx>
  To: martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx> 
  Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2012 12:49 PM
  Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker -- many thanks



  Haha, I think everybody thinks that from time to time "why do I live here?" :-)

  I live in the Netherlands, and yeah we don't play as much as the time before the government declared that there was a crisis. But we're still making some money, so I dont really worry. 
  With 'busking on stage' I mean, it's still the same way we approach the audience. Really playing fór your audience (and not too much amongst ourselfs), keeping them interested, holding their attention, ye know with the music but also with little interactive jokes and stuff. 

  well, good luck & have fun!
  (btw. busking can be a real good school for musicians, but it can also turn you off completely. 
  How do you call it? I think 'ruthless' or 'merciless' is the word I'm looking for)


    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: martin oldsberg 
    To: Bart van Strien 
    Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 6:36 PM
    Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker -- many thanks


    Sure Bart, Sweden is quite safe -- as long as one stays away from the more troublesome suburbs that is: we have those nowadays. But (contrary to the US!) downtown Gothenburg and Stockholm say, the two largest cities, you can walk safely all over the place. 

      Drunks on the other hand, you never know with them.


    Rigth now the weather took a serious turn for the worse so we had to postpone our debut on the streets, but next weekend is set. (Gothenburg is probably one of the world´s worst places weather wise, esp when after a totally crap summer like this -- a summer that never really arrived --  we get an exceptionally cold autumn. Why do we live here!?)



    "Busking on stage" is certainly a safer way of doing it, if that particular perspective is considered, but I hear rather depressing stories about the shrinking live music opportunities in the US and hope that´s not affecting you.



    I´ll give a report on how things turn out here.



    Cheers,
    Martin




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From: Bart van Strien <knuppel@xxxxxxxxx>
    To: martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 4:27 PM
    Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker -- many thanks


    Good Luck Martin, would like to hear how it turned out. Hey and Sweden is a safe country isn't it? No worries.
    Man, those stories and advice from Harp-L'ers really make me wanna hit the streets again. But, on the other hand, our mandolin-player just wrote me: 'Ah well, were still busking, except now we do it on stage'


    ----- Original Message ----- From: "martin oldsberg" <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>
    To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
    Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 3:00 PM
    Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Three questions to the experienced busker -- many thanks


    Thanks to all for the input on the busking issue. If I´ve forgotten to mail you individually it´s because my digests arrive in a very haphazard way these days and Harp-l things are in some shambles.
    But I´ve read them all (yes, Bart) and I´ve gotten many great points from Mik, Mike, Bart, Joel and others with experience of this somewhat challenging way (at least for me: I´m not naturally inclined towards any more extrovert activity, therefore especially glad for advice in this matter) of performing music.
    This is a very good example of how constructively the list can work.

    I´ll let you know when I´m in a position to summarize the actual experience. Maybe we´ll get seriously beat up by some local bullys on the very first (and then last) occasion ...? Ya never know.

    Cheers,
    Martin