Adventures in Winter Busking

Yesterday being a wash-out which cleared away most of the snow, and today being an unseasonably warm 50 degrees and sunny, I decided to spend a little while playing for money at a spot that looked to me like it had a lot of potential when I walked by it a couple of weeks ago.

This is the entrance plaza to the bow bridge at the south end of the boating pond in Central Park. The bridge is one of the most photographed landmarks in the park. The picture gives you an idea of what the bridge looks like, though today there was no snow there. There were plenty of people though, most of them being European tourists.

At the south end of the bridge there is a little "plaza" where 3 foot-paths converge. One path goes north over the bridge, the second goes east towards Bethesda Fountain, and the third goes west towards the west park drive. There was a guy selling hot dogs there already, standing right next to the place where I wanted to be. So I stood on the other side of the path, which wasn't bad, facing the sun with my back to the pond.

I only spent about 45 minutes because I had to be downtown. I made about $6.50. This was a bit disappointing, compared with my experiences further North in the park. Some of this may be down to bad luck; my experience is that donations come in spurts, highs and lows. I think I may have experienced a low, but then didn't hang around long enough to experience a high. My other theories are:

1) Maybe there is not as much traffic here as first meets the eye. Although the spot is always crowded and bustling, I saw a lot of the same people going back and forth. This seems to be a spot where people hang around, taking in the view, taking photos and eating hot dogs. So there may not be as much total "throughput" as some of my other spots.

2) There seemed to be a lot of European tourists. Maybe they don't appreciate American folk and country music as much as the locals do. And maybe they don't feel the same need to throw money around during the holidays as Americans do (not that I was playing Christmas songs).

3) There was a lot of photographing going on. People love to take pictures of the bridge, especially Europeans, many of whom are extremely enthusiastic photographers. So maybe everyone was thinking about taking in beautiful sights, and no one cared much about the beautiful music.

One guy, Italian, I guess, kept pointing his camera at me, then backing off. And he kept kind of staring at me. So finally I nodded and said, "It's OK," thinking he was being shy about taking my photo. (Yeah, right. Shy people don't walk around with 600 pound cameras and stare at you.) He just nodded back and then didn't take my photo. Now I think he really wanted a certain shot of the bridge and the pond, and he wished I wasn't there. I'm sure he can find a nice postcard with the shot he wants. But when's the next time he'll hear "Hey, Good Looking," performed live on a D-28?

By the way, in the traditional Indian pueblos they always restrict photography. Many don't allow cameras at all, or only with a permit; they tell you to photograph people only with permission, and they never let you shoot their cemeteries or traditional temples called "kivas". (Often they won't even let you get near a kiva). I can't tell you exactly what bugs me about Europeans with big cameras in Central Park. Maybe I'm just part Pueblo Indian.

Songs I remember playing:

Don't Think Twice

Peaceful Easy Feeling

Jambalaya

Your Cheating Heart

Clipper Ship

Hey Good Looking

Blue Ridge Mountain Blues

Buckets of Rain

Heartaches By The Number

They Might be Giants!

Interesting feature on New York based group they Might Be Giants, ran today on New York 1:
http://ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/features/110093/-i-one-on-1-extra---i--they-might-be-giants-extras?ap=1&Flash

St. Francis Gig

My friend from Washington Square Park was gracious enough to invite me to accompany him on a gig yesterday afternoon. This was in the basement of St. Francis church, on 31st St between 6th & 7th Ave. It was a nice room, with a few big tables. The performance was at 1pm, put on for a group of seniors (about 25), who were also served sandwiches and coffee (unfortunately I didn't have time for either, as I was working my butt off, then had to leave for an eye test).

People were very appreciative, both with their applause and thanks. This was mostly Pete's show, but it had much of the spontaneous charm of our performances / jam sessions in WSP. A third guy joined us, who is excellent on the keyboards, flutes, cigar box uke, and who also does magic tricks. Two of us dressed in black slacks and white shirts, the other dressed in black slacks, a black shirt and red tie. (I was thinking of wearing a tie too, but the last time I did that was when I got married, and my neck is still a little irritated.)

One high point was Pete's performance of Blowin in the Wind towards the beginning. His singing was strong, and because it is a simple song that we know well, we were able to back him strongly. I'm also happy with the medley that I sang (Pete's conception, my execution) of "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Will the Circle be Unbroken", and "I'll Fly Away". There was also a bunch of Christmas songs, which I enjoy, especially knowing that they'll only be around for a few weeks.

P & G Cafe Open Mic

I did a set at the P&G Cafe open mic last night (located on Upper West side of Manhattan). The open mic is very friendly and low key.

I was the only guitar player there who did not have a pick-up built built into the guitar. So they had to mic my guitar, which sounded OK, except when I unknowingly moved the guitar to the right, so that the mic was directly in front of the sound hole. This causes some nasty feedback. Luckily I found this out between songs, not in the middle of one.

This was the first open mic I have ever done. But I have played in front of much bigger crowds than this. The main thing that surprised me was that you can't see a damn thing up there. The room is small and darkish and the performer doesn't look spotlit. But what they do is put a blue spotlight on the performer. You hardly notice it from the audience, but it's blinding from the stage. To me it was a little disconcerting to play to people who I know are there, but can't see at all, except dark shapes, and faces very close to the stage.

The songs I did were:
Mursheen Durkin (traditional)
River in the Rain (Roger Miller) / Into the Mystic (Van Morrison) medley
Lost Highway (Leon Payne)

All "covers", but the Into the Mystic thing is an original treatment, with a special bonus refrain.

This is mostly a singer/song-writer crowd, with mostly original material. Good by open mic standards. I would love to contribute more original material, but I would love for it to be really good. I know you have to start somewhere, of course. A lot of singer-songwriter stuff that I hear recently sounds similar and a little boring. I sometimes wonder whether one guy with an accoustic guitar an earnest heart and guts is still a formula for success in the modern world. But then I think of my favorite singer-songwriters--Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Guy Clark--and I think the medium can always work if the songs are good enough

A lot of what makes a song good (meaning lots of people enjoy listening to it) is to have some words that are easy to remember (less is more). Like "Bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry...", or "Hey, good lookin', what you got cookin'?" combined with a memorable musical line. Songs can have all sorts of sophisticated lyrics, but there has to be something for the audience to hook onto easily. A good song should be jovial and easy to enjoy. Even a sad song, or an angry song, at least has to have a melody line or rhythm that you want to listen to.

I would like to write a really good song like that. I don't have much interest in going on a stage and performing bad songs. I don't have much need to express myself, or make my voice heard in the form of mediocre music. But I know, you have to start somewhere.

In conclusion: this open-mic is friendly and supportive, and there are some interesting singers and performers. Most everyone is serious about what they're doing, and I will go back.

More Adventures in Busking

Just got back from about 2-1/2 hours of busking in Central Park. My take? $26.50. I guess this activity earns me something like minimum wage (though no tax is withheld). But for me it's not really work--it's fun and good practice.

This time I took a spot that I have seen a friend of mine use in the past. Near the Delacourt Theatre, at the southwest corner of the great lawn. This is another spot with a lot of foot traffic, where three paths come together. There is a cobblestone area next to the path, which makes a great "stage".

My rough estimate is that 95% of the people passing by simply ignore me. The other 5% either nod, say something or give some money. Actually, it's much more unusual for someone to say something than for someone to give money. As I said in the previous post, some people show no sign that they are even listening to music, then discretely drop a dollar into the hat. If 5% of the people give an average of 50 cents each, then if 100 people pass each hour, I'll make $2.50. If 1000 people pass each hour, I'll make $25. So having a spot with lots of traffic is key.

As usual, kids love music, even toddlers in strollers. Some persuade their parents to stop. Sometimes a parent will try to get a kid interested in the music. Most of the kids are interested, once they stop paying attention to the squirrels, or whatever else is distracting them.

A couple of people sat on nearby benches and listened for a while. One older gentlemen, after listening for about 20 minutes, came over and said "You're GOOD." That felt nice. It made up for the two yuppies who walked by talking on cell phones while allowing their dogs to sniff at my money. (I chased one dog off by acting like I was going to kick him. Next time I may kick the owner instead)

I shattered another pick, this time in the second or third song. But I had plenty of replacements this time. I also shattered one in Washington Square Park last weekend. Most guitar players break strings, but I break picks instead. Today I played my Ovation guitar, just to get used to it. I will probably use it for a gig next week, because it plugs in. My main guitar, a Martin, sounds MUCH better. The Ovation was slipping out of tune a little bit, which the Martin does very rarely. It makes sense; if I sold the Martin, I would have enough money to buy ten Ovations.

If I busk every weekend for the next year, and save all the money, I should have enough for another Martin, or maybe a Taylor.

Songs I can remember playing:

Streets of Laredo
Weary Blues from Waiting
Peaceful Easy Feeling
My Buckets Got a Hole in it
When the Saints Go Marching In
Cheating Heart
I'll Fly Away
Heartaches by the Number
Hey Good Lookin'
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Like a Rolling Stone
On the Road Again
Don't Think Twice
King of the Road
She Ain't Goin' Nowhere
My Hometown
Murshin Durkin
The Bottle Let Me Down
Folsom Prison Blues
Working Man Blues

Adventures in Busking

So I decided to do some actual busking today in Central Park. It was about 55 degrees, with a low autumn sun. Many of the trees are bare now, and there are leaves and acorns lying everywhere. There is still plenty of color though, and I saw a few spectacular autumn trees.

The one other time I made some money in Central Park on purpose I sat on a bench near the row boat pond and played some songs with my case open in front of me, on a late summer afternoon in 2008. I got a couple of contributions, and 1 guy who sat down and listened for a long time. That was a pretty low key form of busking.

This time I decided I wanted to find a fairly busy spot, stand up, make noise, and make it clear that I was entertaining for cash. I found a very pretty spot on top of a hill near the statue of a Polish guy on a horse. There was a lot of foot traffic there, but no benches or other seating place. I found a nice spot on the edge of the path. I put on my guitar, and the strap slipped off the back. I fixed the strap, stood up and started to play. I did Bob Dylan's Dont Think Twice. Then I put out my hat in front of me and put a couple of dollars in it. Some guy walking a bicycle almost ran my hat over, but swerved at the last minute. I decided that it would be better to stand back on the grass, and put the hat out in front of me so that it was right at the edge of the path. Also I stood back a few feet from the hat, so that people could slip in money discretely, without coming "up on stage". It made me a little nervous to leave my money out in the open like that, but no one tried anything the whole time.

I did Blue Ridge Mountain Blues and got my first contribution from a 3-year-old girl. Very often young kids are mesmerized by street musicians, and they get their parents to stop, and then their parents give the kid money to give to the musician. I got some other contributions, and made a total of $12.50. I didn't play for very long, probably about an hour. But I was playing the whole time. I kind of decided that I would try to just keep going. A couple of times I had a hard time thinking of what song to do next. In that case I would just repeat a verse of the song I was doing, until something occurred to me.

I think my spot was pretty good because there was a lot of foot traffic, but it was not so great for attracting a crowd. It was not a narrow path--this was a pretty wide area, like a little plaza near the convergence of 3 paths. But there were no benches or other place to sit and relax. I think next time I would like to find a similar place with benches nearby. My longest most devoted audience was a young Japanese couple with a toddler, probably less then 2 years old. They stayed for 2 songs, gave me some money, and the toddler started to cry a little when they carried her away. But over half of my contributions came from people who were just walking by, some of whom didn't even seem to notice me, until they swerved to put a dollar in the hat. I'm afraid some of these people gave me money more out of charity than out of appreciation. But who am I to question another's motives? If it gives him pleasure to give me a dollar, I'm happy to take it!

What finally stopped me after an hour was that my pick broke. This never happens when I'm playing at home. It has happened to me once or twice in Washington Square Park. I think it happens from trying to play as loud as possible, especially when I'm doing a bassline. At home I don't feel the need to hit the strings so hard in order to project. Normally I carry about 3 picks in my pocket, but for some unknown reason I only had one. When the pick broke, only 1 corner broke off, so I started playing with the other unbroken corner. Two songs later, what remained of the pick split in two, and that's where it ended today.


(these are the songs I remember playing--I probably forgot 1 or 2)
My Bucket's Got a Hole in it
Omaha
Dukes of Hazzard Theme
Hey Good Looking
Don't Think Twice
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Folsom Prison Blues
Lost Highway
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
On the Road Again
Heartaches by the Number
Cheating Heart
The Bottle Let Me Down

Some Songs

Here are a few songs I have been attempting lately:

My Home Town (Springsteen)
Tom Russell : Blue Wing, US Steel, Gallo del Cielo, Veterans Day
Pub on the Crossroads (Off Dubliners CD)
Hava Nagila
Early Morning Rain (Gordon Lightfoot?)
Summer Wages, Ian Tyson
American Pie, Don McClean
Guy Clark: Build Me a Boat, That Old Time Feeling
David Francy, Banks of the Seaway
I’m 18, Alice Cooper
San Antonio Rose, Bob Wills
Colorado, Flying Burrito Brothers
Grateful Dead: Bertha, Tennessee Jed
Tequila Sunrise, The Eagles
My Old School, Steely Dan

Advice from Thelonius Monk

Shannon sent me a link to the following good advice from Thelonius Monk:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/immane/3089745386/sizes/o/

Video: WSP May 2007

This video was recently posted on youtube. It's nice to have a reminder of a beautiful Spring day in the middle of winter. Thanks to the Richard from Berlin for sharing it, and Pete for finding it.