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| OUCH. QUITE THE STALEMATE! |
Don't be a busker in stalemate!
No matter your busking shtick, whether you be a musician, magician,
an artist or statue, continuing to better your game, I advise you to wittingly
reflect upon one or more of the following five behaviours. (But why five behaviours? Please note, dear reader,
that five is simply an arbitrary number for whatever psychology reasons, humans
seem comfortable to accept. Factoid: Especially when it comes to
publishing the number of items on a recreational reading list, five or ten seem
to be the conventional amounts.)
1. PRACTICE …
The path to becoming proficiently fresh at busking is the
same path you would take getting to Carnegie Hall. Practice, practice, and more practice. This is a no-brainer. The more you practice the more alluring and
mesmerizing your sidewalk experiences will be for those passers-by. When I first started busking I would have
music sheets and music stands and even clips to keep the music sheets tied to
the music stands on windy days. Now I
just open my guitar case, sling my guitar and harp, and play whatever I choose,
without musical cues. Gearing up lightly
offers next to stealth mobility tramping from buskspot to buskspot.
Over the years my beginner clunkiness transformed into veteran
confidence. Parsing every line and chord
on every song I write, the art of busking has become my therapeutic practice
zone. Weather permitting, whenever I’m
bored or out of sorts, busking is my fix.
2. NICHE PICKING…
Stick with your shtick no matter your niche. Being good at what you do means picking your
busking instrument which provides you with the greatest pleasure. This could be a guitar or a sitar, a pencil
and sketchpad, a unicycle and a monkey, or a sword swallower, or a street
hypnotist. Experiment with what works
for you. If you have a talent, take it
to the street before taking it to the bank.
The street cares not who entertains upon it. The street is both the fairest and frankest
venue for practice and perfection.
One hundred is the number for which I start to measure
success. One hundred times hitting the
street with your shtick is the minimum requirement for personally developing
your presentation. The first time out
you’re a tyro; the hundredth time out you’re a virtuoso; the thousandth time
you’re a prototype!
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| MY BUDDY, ALBERT, IS A PROTOTYPE |
3. DRESS FOR SUCCESS …
Cap-a-pie dress the part.
Head-to-toe a clown needs balloons and a bald or curly head, a red nose,
baggy pants, and big shoes. A cowboy needs
guitar, a cowboy hat, a cowboy shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots.
I am not flashy in this regard. I know that the more attention a busker gets;
the more money a busker begets. I think
I’m too lazy to adhere to my own advice with regard to garb. I’ve a few niches as a busker. Most times I’m a busker with a guitar and
harp. Depending on my mood, however,
sometimes I’m a portrait artist with a sketchpad and pencil. Other times I can be a banjo picker or a didge
bluster. No matter my entertainment
gizmo, I am never incognito, and I am ever channeling an Americana young Bobby
Dylan. My look is clean, messy hair, wearing a white shirt (collared and
long-sleeved or T, depending on the weather), faded blue jeans, and leather
work boots.
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| BUSKING IN MY SIGNATURE GARB |
4. DERRING-DO …
Do a little (or lots of) derring-do. Be borderline intrepid and pick a new park or
avenue to strum, or better yet, a new town.
My first busking adventure out of town was to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan,
where I walked the downtown sidewalks for a half hour until I found perfect
pitch – an ice cream store! Ever
demonstrating professional etiquette, I entered the store to seek permission
and echoing The Weight, “NO,” was all
he said.
For Plan B I jay-walked across the street to a coffee shop,
seeking permission there. “Of course you
can,” said the owner, and then he even offered me free drinks whilst busking!
You just never know, and unless you do a little derring-do,
you’ll never really know.
5. BE POLITE …
Always always always be polite. Never never never be that rude busker who offers
not even a modicum of a nod when you toss your coin into his guitar case. Though I am a busker, I am also an appreciative
consumer. Just this morning I handed a
panner a toonie when he asked for some change to buy a java. His “Good morning, sir” was expressed with a
smile, and so I gave him some coin.
In my city there is a guitar busker who is a regular thrummer
in our downtown outdoor mall. He strums
loud and with conviction. He has a
strong and melodic pipes. My only criticism
of his performance is that he only does covers.
But as a fellow busker, I’m one very harsh critic. He never looks a consumer in the eye;
therefore, never offering any intimate or emotional connection. He never nods his head in a thank-you
gesture; in fact, he looks the opposite way and keeps on strummin’ and
singin’. He is a busker who is hard to
like and, as a result, a busker who’ll I promote only in a negative fashion as what you're right now reading. Nope. I’ll drop nary a dime, never mind a toonie or a fin, into his
guitar case.
And the skinny of my fat busking counsel:
BE A CRACKERJACK BUSKER ...
BE NOT ANOTHER BEGGAR WITH A GUITAR!
Posing in my CHAUCERIAN PARADE this week:
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| TRISH FROM THE JOHN HOWARD SOCIETY |
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| LORETTA FROM THE MINISTRY OF CORRECTIONS |
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| (L-R) ... ALBERT, TRENT, AND MYSELF PLAYING AT THE BUSHWAKKER BREW PUB IN REGINA SK |
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