Lee, Pablito is jealous. We haven't been out this year, Too cold, raining or something else going on. Soon though
See you at Battleground?

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Originally posted by cornfed
 

Lee, Pablito is jealous. We haven't been out this year, Too cold, raining or something else going on. Soon though
See you at Battleground?

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I had planned on doing one of the Open Mic segments (8-10 minutes) with Harry Hare.. Maybe we could do it together..I'll arrive at Battleground around Noon on Friday..(credit card in hand....things are a LOT more expensive this year)..

This post isn't exactly a busking story, but it is ABOUT two busking marionettes.. Harry Hare, who you've read about here. and Pablo, who is a marionette operated by Hangout member "Cornfed", Wayne... We had the opertunity to put our busking characters on stage at the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering last week.. It was fun, and to me especially notable because 40 or so years earlier, I LEARNED my first fiddle tune at that festival.  Now, all these years later, here I am ON STAGE .... Whod'a thought...!!  So.. Enjoy the Harry Hare and Pablo String Band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcMkufn8wT4&t=132s

I just can't believe that I spelled "opportunity" as "opertunity"... Musta' been the beer..

I have concluded that except for the Farmer's Market, busking in hot weather is a BUST.. When the weather was cool/cold, I made much better tips.. Fortunately, it is not all about money.. Today, a guy, NORM, stopped by with his guitar and we jammed together with Harry Hare.. That was fun.  Then, I heard someone say, "Lee, is that you?".. it was the voice of a friend who I hadn't seen in 8-10 years.. We had a nice chat.. If it weren't for busking I'd have not crossed paths with either Norm or my old friend... Life on the street is great..ALWAYS...

So,.......YOU......get out there...!!!!

Harry Hare and I just returned from spending a week in Seattle, visiting my wonderful stepson...We got to go busking four times.. It was an eye opening experience.. We never got to  busk at an intersection where as many as 50-60 people passed by every MINUTE...  All in all the tips were pretty good but, considering the large number of pedestrians, I'd have to say that less than  1/2 of One percent of them left a tip.. Now, the idea that buskers do best when there are a LOT of people, it more firm in my mind.. 

Since there were so many people I though I'd try an experiment.. I usually just have a sign that says, "For a video or photo, please TIP."   For one day posted a sign that read, "Are we worth a quarter?"... Well, the number of people who tipped increased dramatically on that day. (mosty quarters.. DUH !)   My thought was that I'd probably get 5 quarters faster than I'd get 1 dollar.. That seemed to be partially true.. In the end, a lot more people tipped but  I still think that no sign is the best sign... Now, when I see people wanting to make a video I ask for a tip FIRST...  

The Seattle experience was good... Can't wait to do it again.... Harry Hare was a big hit.  

Attached is a photo of me and Harry Hare with two first time buskers, Danial and Lauren.. They were excited to be able to busk but didn't have the nerve to get out there themselves alone.. That is where me and Harry came in... Each of them made $10 and had a great time.. I think that one of the responsibilities of us older musicians is to encourage the younger ones.  

Hangout member, GAPBOB, was caught busking with Harry Hare..Which one is the marionette?  You decide.. BTW, Bob placed third in the Senior  fiddler's division at Clifftop 2017...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoIceP530Ww

A couple of things:  I got to busk in the little park where all of the homeless people used to hang out..The police presence was too much for them.  No, the police didn't MAKE them leave.  They left of their own accord because they couldn't do drugs, fight and get drunk with the police 100 feet away.. Secondly.. at Clifftop I met someone who had played guitar of  for a not-to-be-named FAMOUS old time band and that person has agreed to go busking with me and Harry Hare this Sunday..  Harry and I are Ready for a New adventure....

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Originally posted by Lee M
 

Hangout member, GAPBOB, was caught busking with Harry Hare..Which one is the marionette?  You decide.. BTW, Bob placed third in the Senior  fiddler's division at Clifftop 2017...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoIceP530Ww

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Not really busking, just trying it out, it was fun!

What's your repertoire like, Lee? Do you have different tunes you play at different locations or times of day? Maybe it's time for a book: The Social Science of Busking.

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Originally posted by tpquinn
 

What's your repertoire like, Lee? Do you have different tunes you play at different locations or times of day? Maybe it's time for a book: The Social Science of Busking.

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Funny... I have not set tune list.. Frankly, people don't care what is being played for the most part.. I do try to play strong rhythmic tunes but there really is no rule.  Book?  Hey, I thought that this Hangout topic WAS my book..  I've actually copied all of the pages so far and have put them along with a stack of short vignettes about my life and times that I've made for my children's children..I love telling these little stories.. Keeps my mind from getting any duller..

BTW, I AGAIN wrote the local university's newspaper and suggested that they do an article about the difference between a panhandler and a busker.. As luck would have it, I was mentioning this fact to the young, blond, bass player whose picture   is just a few posts ahead of this one.. Turns out that SHE is a student reporter for that very newspaper.. What are the odds?  She is going to help me get an article written.  I'll keep you posted (Naturally)..

Harry Hare and I were busking on a corner.. Around the corner came a car with a sign on the side, "STUDENT DRIVERS"... The instructor and a student were in the front seats.. In the back were two other students.. Does this sound normal?? Well, it LOOKED normal until the car passed.  I could clearly see that  while the one student was driving, the two students in the back seat were TEXTING... No joke.. So, is texting while learning to drive part of the training?    Ya Cain't make dis stuff up folks.

For a while there I was busking with a guitar player, a fiddle player and me on mandolin. One time I joined the two of them a bit late. They'd found a good spot next to a theater where people were coming to hear a bluegrass concert and someone had left a $50 dollar bill in the case! Another time we were playing in front of an empty store front and a couple of pretty ladies stopped to dance and one of them gave me a big kiss on the cheek, but didn't give the two guys one ha ha (I'm a lady.) Most of the times we would play, whether on the main street or farmer's market, the shopkeepers would actually be happy we were there. They'd give us money or vegetables, and they'd be happy to see us when we arrived. Pretty much every little kid under 3 feet tall would start dancing, which was really cute. Sadly our little group broke up because the guitar player seemed to have some mental instabilities.

Anyway, busking with our small group instead of the big jam I normally play in I could actually hear the fiddle player. I didn't care about the money, I just liked to see people dance and be happy and listen to my friend on the fiddle. It is what inspired me to try to play the fiddle again.

Both yesterday and today this happened.. Yesterday and well dressed guy chatted me up while I was busking and then asked if he could make a video.. I said YES.. After he made the video he said that he didn't have any money for a tip..........Today, FOUR guys stopped by and asked if they could make a video.. I said, Yes, if you give a tip.. They left without the video.. Would those same people try to do business without paying?  Why do the try to take advantage of ME when I'm just busking for the minimum wage?  Humanity sometimes amazes me...

This is busking commentary, not a busking story.  Every now and then I see a Facebook video that shows a poor, homeless guy sitting on the sidewalk..Then, a musician sits down next to him and starts playing music...People passing by start putting money into the homeless guy's cup and he is amazed.. Finally, the musician leaves and is supposedly a Saint for having gotten the homeless guy some money... BULL....  If all I had to do to get the public to put money in a cup was to sit next to the cup owner,  we'd all be rich...Real life busking just doesn't work like that....generally...( I say generally because busking is an 'iffy' thing.. Today I was busking for over an hour and make $1.07.....Then, during the next 45 minutes, made $34..Go figure).  Life is interesting...

Then, there is the video of the blind, homeless man sitting on a sidewalk.. A passerby take his "anything helps'' sign and exchanges it or a sign that reads, "It is a beautiful day, but I can't see it"... Donations start pouring in..  I wish that that was true.. Most people passing buy go out of their way to NOT read what is on the signs... An example of that has been posted by me a while back but just to bore you, I'll tell it again.. I made a sign that said something like, "Please support street musicians".. I put the sign at a curb/sidewalk intersection so that people would see it about 50 feet before they encountered me.. The sign was about 2 feet by 18 inches... I literally watched people's eyes as they neared the sign.. Not only did about 99% of them not look at the sign, sever actually Tripped over it.. I couldn't believe it... It was hilarious...

Again today, two people too videos ( one, a LONG video) and walked off without leaving a tip even though the "please tip if you make a video" sign was right in front of them.. SO..
I'm reposting a hopefully humorous list of ways to get rich busking. These are suggested busking 'fees' ..

1. Standing and listening $1
2. Standing 'back' and listening $1
3. slowing down when you pass by $1
4. Pretending not to notice but noticing $1
5. Encouraging your kids to feel the beat $1
6. Enjoying more than one musician $1 each
7. taking photos $1 each photo
8. Taking videos $1/ minute
9. Telling us that you used to play an instrument $2
10. Tossing change into the instrument case $1
11. Telling us that there is a better musician
just down the block $1
12. Saying you would buy one of our CDs if we
had one $1
13. Asking if your kid can touch the instrument $1
14. Letting your dog sniff my instrument case $2
15. Putting in $1 and organizing other bills so that
they don't blow away... 50 cent credit
16. Pointing out that busking is a civil violation $1
17. Telling us to leave $1
18. Saying that we are in your "usual" spot $1

Darci Lynne has been getting a lot of attention lately.. She is the 12 year old ventriloquist who has done so well on America's Got Talent.. Several people have suggested that me and Harry Hare ought to be on that show.. NO.. Not gonna happen.. We are 'hackers' and don't take ourselves all that seriously.. If you get a chance to watch Darci, the DO. She is amazing..

My friend Tamara SAVED me last night.. I had been busking at the Lotus Festival and when I got home, I parked my bike and went into the house and proceeded to check Facebook..THEN, I got the message.. "Lee, we have your violin case. A policeman picked it up after it fell off of your bike"......!!!!! I had NO idea that it was missing..Thank God for them... When I got back downtown to recover the fiddle, the policeman stated that he had watched me busk and after I left he noticed that the fiddle was still on the corner.. I can't imagine how I could have let that happen..Tamara is one of the festival organizers and I'm glad that she knew me personally...

So, I'm busking in the next county over in the tourist town.. This guitar player walks by and I ask him how he did.. He said, what makes you think I'm done for the day..? I said, ok, hope you do well the rest of the day.. He says, I'd have done better if YOU and your silly puppet hadn't been here.. He says HE is a local person and doesn't like out of town buskers ....I told him that he has a bad attitude and that on busy weekends there are enough tips for a dozen buskers.. He left.. Later, when I was done, I went up to where he was busking, threw a dollar bill into his case and said 'Lets go for a beer'... Turns out that he is disgruntled because years ago, people didn't use credit cards.. they all carried CASH and he could easily make 3-400 dollars in a day... (musta been good times)... I told him that I knew he wasn't mad at me personally but that it was something else and sure enough that was it...I'm determined to be this guys friend, like it or not...I'm to old to have enemies and he is too young to feel so self important... In the end we shook hands, he thanked me for the tip (peace offering, he called it)... and I told him I wasn't going away and he seemed to understand that... He was just a LITTLE apologetic, but that didn't matter...Once I 'friend' someone, they have no choice about it after that.

Any chance of putting a sign out where people can scan a barcode with their phones? I realize it's a bit more cumbersome than cash, but there has to be a way to tip or buy cds etc and that isn't too obnoxious for passers by.

Actually, Aaron, it is coming to that.. I've already been approached by someone who has such a system.. I'm not ready for it yet and I don't know what percentage of the public is ready, but yes, that will happen and it will be a GOOD thing..

So... I've concluded.. first, in a tourist town, buskers who busk early get the benefit of people who have not yet spent a lot of money.. They are fresh, looking for entertainment and are more than willing to tip a busker..Later in the day those same people are 'spent out' and just are not as willing to tip because they have seen their money 'fly'....Sounds good, right? Well, in the afternoons the crowds are so much larger that they more than offset the early crowd and tired or not, there just seem to be more tips.. Conclusion? More shoppers=more tips...........I stopped for a beer before I came home.. A lady in the bar asked how much I made today.. I said $100 in four hours.. She said, "Wow, I don't make that much."... I went on to explain that I don't make $25 every hour.. Some hours I may make only $5... You don't judge someone's income base upon One Good hour.. Many hours only bring in the minimum wage..   People just don't understand how difficult busking really can be..  Two or three hours and I am "wiped out'..