[Harp-L] Re: why I loved busking

[Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks David Brown, nice post! I can relate to that.

I started my musical career as a street musician with a jugband named  
Have Mercy in London in 1975 and learned an enormous amount about  
performance and projection as well as stopping the traffic, being  
moved on by the police and having a load of good times with the most  
varied people. Performing on the street can certainly teach you  
things which you'll never learn in music school!

 My friend and long-time colleague in BluesCulture, Abi Wallenstein  
(see www.bluesculture.com), who's an iconic figure on the European  
blues scene, got into playing on the street through us and still does  
it whenever he has time. We occasionally play on the street when on  
tour if the weather's nice and we have a couple of hours to while  
away in a town with a suitable pedestrian precinct. The great thing  
about this is that the only way to make people stop, listen and pay  
is through the conviction and musical merit of your performance. They  
have no preconceptions and usually don't know you from Adam. One tip  
I'd seriously recommend is to get a pretty girl to go round with a  
hat (actually a drawstring bag is much more practical) from the  
moment you start playing. It's fine to put out your guitar case or  
whatever, but you'll earn at least twice as much if an attractive  
female person asks people directly and from the word go. It's a  
hustle, but it definitely works,

Steve