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Originally posted by amwildman

Students are notoriously tight. They don't tip their pizza drivers either. Most of them are broke.

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That may be true in some cases.. The ones I'm seeing are going to and from the eating places and bars, dressed to the 'nines'......

Hey, do you think that I could get Harry Hare to do this for me?  http://quepajo.com/video/guy-performs-for-public-at-red-light/

Back in 1982, I saw the musical "Barnum/"  In it there was a violinist playing on a tightrope....  go for it.

Rain, rain, go away.. This Midwest weather is tough on us buskers..I haven't been on a street corner for days..

I was the host at Open Mic for the Bloomington Contra dance last night.  Eleven musicians were on stage.. That could be a record.. Absent, was Harry Hare. Seems that the last time he was on stage they didn't give him a mic.. He is 'miffed'.   He'll get even and I'm just a little anxious because I have NO idea how he will do it..

(I may be spending too much time with that hare.  Does it show?)

Busking today was interesting and fun.. However,  it didn't turn out like I thought it would.. Get this.  It was sunny with a slight breeze, and eighty one degrees was in the forecast.  I found a nice, shady spot. Pedestrian traffic was Good... After 45 minutes of playing my heart out, I had only accumulated  Zero tips.. So, being the trooper that I am, I moved to a second spot where I stayed another 30 minutes.. Again, the passersby were in large numbers..At the end of the 30 minute period I had finally receives one fifty cent tip... Not to be defeated, I went to a Third spot.. FINALLY, after a total of an hour and a half of busking in three spots on a day that looked profitable... my grand total received in tips was.........$4.50... The parking meter took $2 of that..I've NEVER had a worse day busking... Goes to show........The public can give and the public can take away.. Tomorrow I'm going to a different TOWN...I'll keep you posted..

The Busker's CREDO...You may not receive many tips when you are out there on the sidewalk, but unless you are out there, you'll not receive ANY tips.

After a $4.50 busking event earlier this afternoon, I went back out this evening for 45 minutes.. $36.  Yep, the total for the day was $40.. Respectable.. Ya just gotta spent the time to get the dime...

I had a great day playing in Nashville, Indiana, an artist community town.. I met a guy who was about 50 year old and who had been taking violin lessons from a teacher who only knew how to teach classical style violin....He was frustrated.. I gave him a 'quick' overview of what Old Time fiddling was and he wants to LEARN.. something besides classical technique..There is Nothing wrong with classical techniques in my opinion, but as you know, OT music often takes a different approach to learning tunes..

I gave him my contact info and the name of the FIDDLE HANGOUT.. I hope he contacts either of us...

We went there a few years ago to celebrate our anniversary and I was really surprised that there were no street performers. There was a small time show musical in one of the theaters and the Little Opry was still open at the time.

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Originally posted by Jimhand
 

We went there a few years ago to celebrate our anniversary and I was really surprised that there were no street performers. There was a small time show musical in one of the theaters and the Little Opry was still open at the time.

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Yes, the Opry closed after a big scandal.. It is missed.. Only me and my buddy Roger busk, it seems.  Maybe when the weather is warmer???? Hope to see you there sometime.. It is a great little village..

This little 'ditty' only relates to busking in that it happened WHILE I was busking.. This beautiful lady deposited a tip.  She was wearing a spotless pair of white slacks.. I asked her how she kept them so white.. She said it was because they were new....Nuff said......Later, a MAN wearing a spotless white shirt and slacks deposited a tip..  I told him that to my knowledge the people who seem to have the ability to wear such white clothes AND keep them that way were people who were from third world countries and , who lived  along dirt roads and lived in dirt floored houses...I always found that to be ironic.. He laughed.. He said he was from ANGOLA...!!! ..Yep.. That explains why his clothes were so white.  We had a good laugh about that. ( He did confess that he spilled some curry sauce on his shirt last week and spent a Long time getting it back to spotless white)....

Looks like I OWN this thread...  Today's interesting tidbit is the this is the third day in a row in which my tips totaled exactly $34... What are the odds of that?  Also, the lady who last year said that she would send a photo of me and Harry Hare to Joshua Bell...again said that she'd send him a photo... I won't count my chickens, if you know what I mean..

Just one more month of heavy busking and I should have made my financial goal for the year (private matter).. After that, I'll save up for hearing aids.. I hear that they can be Very expensive.  Now, my wife needs dental work.. Maybe I could teach her to busk?  Can a person's busking skill be KNITTING?  Shes is very good at it....

My heart grew one size larger when a parent told me that his child (under 2 years old) said, "Market, Bunny!" this morning..   Looks like I have a following.  The Farmer's Market is the place to be on a Saturday morning.

Yesterday, a guy passed by and offered me a bottle of Tea.. I declined, saying that it would only make me have to "pee" and for a busker, that can be problematic in that once shops close there is no 'outlet', if you get my drift.. Anyway, I met my wife downtown and we went to a restaurant for dinner.. When we came out of the establishment, that same guy was BUSKING with his guitar in the exact same spot where I was busking.. It is good to see that I'm not the only one out on that street.  I wish him well..

OK, so this isn't really busking.  It's about 55 degrees out on my front stoop at 9:30 am.  It's a perfect May morning, birds chirping, sun shining, blue skies.  I just came in with my fiddle.  I took the opportunity to play for the residents of the cemetery across the road.  Nice, quiet, respectful music lovers, every one.  Things couldn't be better.  Then somebody started up the backhoe and the power equipment over the fence there.  I hope it isn't something I did.

Yes, cemetery residents don't complain, but then again, they usually don't tip either...bummer..Speaking of back hoes, you heard about the fiddler who was asked to play a few tunes at the sight of a recently dead person.. When he arrived, late,  the back hoe was already covering the hole.. The fiddler played a few tunes anyway and left.. When he was gone the back hoe operator looked at his assistant and said, "Gosh, I'd never heard of anyone playing for a septic tank burial before."..I guess it pays to check Google Earth or MapQuest  before going to a venue.......

I don't think MissDig goes there. 

As for the tips, I guess you really can't take it with you and it seems you can't leave it lying around, either.  Truly one of life's great mysteries.

HAH!! Bet you thought that you had heard the last of me.. Buskers never give up..The other day I noticed several people walking around my neighborhood carrying filming equipment.. I exited that house and yelled, "Hey, I want to be in the movie.".. Little did I know that they recognized me from my busking stint at the farmer's market on Saturday.. They were 5 Pakistani and Indian students visiting the US and making  films about typical US towns.. They did a filmed interview with me about our town and I thought that that was 'that'.  Well, their leader got my email address and today contacted me about meeting a different Pakistani student  with the idea that I would introduce her to some of the local homeless people so that she could interview them about life on the street.

While I was busking, a young Pakistani woman wearing a hijab set up a tripod and camera and started filming me and Harry Hare..She turned out to be the student that I was warned about. Here name was  Razia.   We chatted for a LOOOng time and then went to lunch together.  After lunch I walked her down the street until we encountered a homeless person who I knew to be polite, intelligent and articulate.. He was sitting on a bench with his wife sleeping on the bench next to him.. I had to leave at that point.. 

I always say that "You never know in the morning what the evening will bring."..The entire three day encounter with the Pakistani  and Indian students was a wonderful experience.. I have some new Facebook friends and some wonderful memories.. I made a few bucks in tips also but that wasn't the most important thing that happened..

A couple things happened today.. One, someone left a cell phone on a street corner planter.. I noticed it long after the owner had left.. I asked a passerby if they would take it into the restaurant that we were in front of.. I knew someone would be looking for it.. Sure enough, about an hour later some guy is digging around in the flower bed.. I asked if he was looking for his phone.. Yes..  He retrieved it from the restaurant and gave me a $10 tip.... I gave him a tip also.."Make a pencil / paper copy of all of the phone numbers in you phone.. If you loose the phone for good, you still have the numbers."..

Later, I sat on a bench to count and record my tips.  I had emptied my tip basket of change and was counting that change when a known homeless guy (who I often see checking out garbage units looking for  'whatever'),  bent over and picked up a dime that I hadn't noticed that I had dropped..He offered me the dime.. I told him to keep it.. I was touched that a broke/homeless man would offer me the dime knowing that it wasn't his..I now wish I had given him a dollar...or something.. He needed that dime a lot more than I did..I'll make it up to him tomorrow when I see him on the street.  Again, my heart grew a little larger today..

Hindsight is easier than being in the moment and coming up with just the right answer.

Our humble city has a 1/4 block park called People's Park.   That is where many of the homeless people hangout, fight, do drugs and rest/sleep.. I read in today's newspaper that the park has become a big problem for the City.. Police now do morning 'muster' at the park and are trying to have a larger presence both in the park and on the streets nearby where there has been a lot of aggressive panhandling... I went by the park today on my way to my busking spot... Police were posted in the park and many of the usual park residents were off in one corner.. just a few in number..

Seems like a good idea to clear the park, right?? Well, as I walked up and down the street I noticed that the homeless just moved from the park to the flower planters placed up  and down the sidewalks..Now, it is even MORE intimidating for passersby to travel on the sidewalk to and from the City square... The first place I chose to busk soon became a haven for homeless men. They came because the spot was shady and the park wasn't welcoming anymore.. After a while I moved to another locatiion and along the way I passed an increased number of homeless along the sidewalk..

Personally, I'm not intimidated by the homeless population in our city because I have come to know many of the 'regulars' and they mostly like Harry Hare and fiddle music.  However, people who are not familiar with homeless people can feel intimidated by several people holding signs that read things like "Anything helps, God bless," or "Homeless and traveling, anything helps,", or,  "Rare brain disease, please help"...  and that is just in a two block walk... The city has police officers whose ONLY job is to try to help these people, and there are 11 agencies dedicated to helping homeless people.. Still, panhandling persists..........Such a dilemma......

Lately an elderly lady with her sign would sit maybe 30 feet down the sidewalk from me..   Passersby get to choose.. "give a buck for entertainment", or, "give a buck to this poor lady".............Neither of us is helping the other...

My busking efforts DO benefit the homeless population.. I'll discuss how that can be, later..

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Originally posted by Lee M
 

Someone in Nashville, Indiana suggested that they want MORE buskers on the streets... Don't they know? The sign entering the county says that they have OVER 200 shops.. Well, if each shop would just subsidize me and Harry Hare by only 25 cents each day that we busk for two hours.. THEY would only have spent 25 cents, ME AND HARRY would be guaranteed $50 (plus tips) for the day and EVERYBODY would be happy...EVEN the shoppers...Since I usually only busk about 3 days a week, that is just 75 cents a week per shop

.. Folks, Ya get what Ya pay for...

 

 

 

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A reply to my own comment.. It is a two sided sword.. I'll say it isn't about the money, but it IS about the money...Today, i spent over an hour traveling to busk, spent $5 on gas, and then bought a COOL $5 beer before I went home.. Total time invested =3 hours.  Total tips acquired, $20... Now, minus the $5 beer, the $5 gas and dividing the remainder by the three hours invested...$3.33/hour...(the beer was optional, I know)....My theory that only 3% of passersby leave a tip was proven to be true today... 30 people passed by before I got the first tip..

Mind you, I'm NOT complaining although it may seem like it.. I Love to busk.. but remuneration is also important.. I have a financial goal that is not yet met so to me busking at this time IS like work...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I"d explain how my busking benefits the homeless.. Well, in my Own family, there is one member who has been basically homeless for the past six years.. All forms of therapy and tough love have only proven to demonstrate that that family member is TRULY in need of family help...... There have been six years of couch surfing, cabin sitting, house sitting, sleeping in the car,  bedroom hopping, and staying with DAD... Enough is enough.. This person needs help (really) and so my ex and I have decided to split the cost of an efficiency apartment for our son... My share is $3,600 for the year.. I fully expect to earn every dollar, one at at time, busking.. I'm almost there.. It is a Relief  to know that my son has finally gotten a place he can call his own...So, my busking is a labor of love.. ( just telling this almost makes me cry).

I often think about a close family member who would not otherwise have a roof.  It's like that sometimes.  I can't fix one single thing about it.

I am told that the single largest known population of the mentally ill resides in the Los Angeles County jail system.  Where else would they be?  Certainly not holding down a 9-5 and raising 2.4 offspring in the 'burbs.

These are the things that have me fiddling past my bedtime some nights.  I'm inspired that you've made something of it.

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Originally posted by boxbow
 

I often think about a close family member who would not otherwise have a roof.  It's like that sometimes.  I can't fix one single thing about it.

I am told that the single largest known population of the mentally ill resides in the Los Angeles County jail system.  Where else would they be?  Certainly not holding down a 9-5 and raising 2.4 offspring in the 'burbs.

These are the things that have me fiddling past my bedtime some nights.  I'm inspired that you've made something of it.

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Thanks for your support.. Seems like about 10 % of the population is needy..and as I look around, almost EVERY family has that ONE member who is just not doing well.. Also note that it is about 10% on Public Assistance... SO.... we all have someone who could use our help...

Busking is SO unpredictable.. The other day, I only received $2 in tips with 140 passersby...Needless to say, I went home..... Today, just 100 feet from that $2 spot, I received a $5 tip even before I got my fiddle out of the case.. The person just said, " I know you'll eventually play the fiddle.".... It was a fun day.