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I'm thinking of busking here in Louisville, and I've checked out the busking sites on the web. Picked up some tips on those sites.
Any JPF members ever done it ? Any tips for success ?

Thanks in advance

I got my buskering experience in London when I fell in with a couple of guys who had lots of experience. The best place to make money was in the tube stations right under the signs that said "no buskering allowed." When I returned to the states, I found that the city where I lived had a statute that prohibited street musicians. I worked to change that, and eventually our City enacted a new statute to license street musicians (the statute also included a provision that a preliminary license could be obtained for free). First thing I'd do is check the local ordinances to make sure you can't be hassled before you even start.
Tips:
1.) Loud patter between songs works to gather the crowd ""Yes, ladies and gentlemen, 6 years of college and this is my career, if you would like to make a request, feel free to do so and we will play what we want anyway...).
2.) Comments about passersby also work to gather them in ("Madam, that is the nicest pair of shoes we've seen on anyone who has ignored us so far today... may we dedicate a song to you?....)
3.) A polite "thank you" is a must anytime anyone drops a tip. This encourages others to do the same. If you're in the middle of a song, you can sing the thank you. I have also seen buskers who have thank you signs attached on top of their hats, and they just bend their heads down to show the sign when anyone throws a coin.
4.) Dress to catch the eye
5.) Put up a sign that says people who want to take photos have to pay you.
6.) Salt the tip jar (if you want people to drop money in the guitar case, put some coins and bills in there at the start to give them the idea).
7.) Also, funny signs about tipping usually increase the income (e.g. "all proceeds will be used for badly needed music lessons")
JPF Member Lynn Harrison has a great blog about her experience doing this in the Toronto Subway. Check it out.
Most important - have fun with it because that's what it's really all about.

[This message has been edited by Stu (edited 05-04-2006).]

[This message has been edited by Stu (edited 05-05-2006).]

hey Stu, thanks ! Some cool ideas there. I hadn't though of throwing a bit of comedy in the mix.
As far as local statutes, I called our IPL office (inspections, permits, licences ), and they had no clue what busking even was lol. They referred me to the works dept, which immediately referred me to IPL lol.
IPL said as long as I didn't have a sign asking for money, I "probably won't have a problem". I guess I should just stop a cop in the area I plan to busk and ask if it's ok.
It's Ky Derby weekend here, and I figure with all the out of towners and events, it may be a great opportunity to make a few bucks.

Thanks again for the cool tips

Tony

Great post Stu! = )

Tony-
If you "stop a cop" and ask him/her whether you can do a street performance, you run the risk that the cop will say no, even though the cop doesn't have any idea whether what you are doing is legal or not. If you have read the local statutes and ordinances, and are confident that there is nothing to prohibit street performance, and that what you are doing is not contrary to vendors licensing requirements, you should be OK. Another - and perhaps better- way to do this would be to approach a local merchant, and ask if they would allow you to play in front of their establishment (for some reason, take-out-food-restaurants, barbershops and hardware stores seem to be the easiest to approach). If the proprietor says it's OK, and a cop decides to bother you later, the cop will usually back off if you can tell him/her that the owner told you it was OK. They generally don't want to hassle merchants who may be trying to attract attention to their business establishments. There may also be special rules for public parks and public areas so be sure to check those as well.
Have fun, and give us a post later on your experience.

[This message has been edited by Stu (edited 05-06-2006).]

Just found the ideal amp for a busker. It's made by Pignose, but it's not the tiny battery powered guitar practice amp. This one is 30 watts, and it has an 8" speaker. It has a rechargeable battery, and runs about 3 hours on a charge. It has two inputs, so you can use a mic and a guitar. Very light weight. Great sound. Wish I had one of these in London a few years back. Probably could have made more money. Certainly would have been easier to grab a crowd.

Yep. Read the rules.
and have a copy of them inn ya pocket to show the cop if he tries to move you on or extract a toll from ya.
My experience with cops is they often expect a cut of the take.
I had a rather rugged childhood and have yet to see aa great deal to convince me cops are good people to deal with when there is a chance for them to make a buck.
Graham

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http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/grahamhenderson_music.htm

Hey Stu, you are probably right about the cop idea. I'll see if I can find the ordinances and statutes.
There is a trumpet player that busked along one of the bar strips here in town. I used to drive a taxi, and I'd see him quite often. Two or three summers actually, so if he was doing it that long, it's probably cool to do it here.
I also recall seeing a clarinet player busking downtown during luchtime one summer.

And yes, I'm hip to that amp. Carvin makes a battery powered amp and Crate makes 15 30 and 50 watt models. Fender makes a small one, but the price is ridiculous for the wattage. The carvin is 100 watts and is available with or without effects. It also has 4 channels and you can install a second battery to double the time.

A friend suggested I just get a power inverter and use my crate acoustic amp, but that would tie me to my vehicle.

btw, we had some family come in for the weekend, so I didn't get to work the derby idea. The news coverage did show a fellow playing a jimbe in the infield, and he said he was doing quite well. Also, in Sundays paper, there was a picture of a kid who played his violin near one of the entrances to the track, and he did well too.

Thanks again, I'll let you know

Hi Graham, I'll check it out and see what's on the books. I've seen a couple of buskers around town in the past, but never asked them if they ever get hassled because at the time, I wasn't interested in doing it myself.

Hopefully it won't be a problem.

Heck, if I could make 75 bucks a day after bribes, I may quit my day job

Great feature article on NPR about Buskers in Germany having to pay to rent their spaces. Here's the link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5415979

Great question Tony, and great info, Stu.

Does anyone remember the busker in San Francisco who popped out of a box and played trumpet. Or more recently, how about the Naked Cowboy in Manhatten (he stole my idea, I guess.)

Good stuff.

Mike

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You have to practice improvisation. -Art Tatum

Mike Dunbar Music

I think the guy you're referring to in San Francisco was the guy who called himself the "human juke box." As I recall, he was inside a packing crate that had a money slot and a song list. When you put the money in he asked what you wanted to hear and he stayed inside the box and played it for you.

Oh Mike, I'm sure Nashville could handle their own Naked Cowboy

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Steve West
Steve's Website

Stu, that's right! It amazed me that he stayed in that box even on a hot summer day. Thanks.

Steve,

Why, under all these clothes...I AM naked!

Mike

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You have to practice improvisation. -Art Tatum

[This message has been edited by Mike Dunbar (edited 05-20-2006).]

Busking is all about the performance you put into it. People can hear sidewalk singers all the time, but you have to make yourself stand out.

Check out Thayer Street in Providence, RI, folks - nice spot on a Thursday or Friday night.

- Alan Hague
www.myspace.com/alanhague

Interesting page here on busking and street performing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busker

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BuskerAlley - art and video BuskerCentral - reference and video

Hi Folks,
I just wanted to add a bit about buskering. For almost 7 years I made my living as a street performer with a group called Portland's Family Circus Theater Collective. We sang, had a marching band, jugglers, complete clown face and costumes, my clown name was 'oh-oh!'. The marching band and the juggling attracted the crowd and then a couple of us would step forward with concertinas in hand and sing a song or two...passing the hat was the mode of the day and 10 to 12 of us made our living this way.
We dealt alot with 'cops' and did everything legal, but they still found their ways to harrass us, because of our politics. Anti-nuclear power, feminism, gay issues, David and Goliath, pigs...I'm sure you can fill in the blanks, but we made it work.
Chris VonTanner

[This message has been edited by vontanner (edited 07-30-2006).]