Posted by Bruce Sanborn on March 31, 2012 - 12:03pm
busk
[buhsk]
verb (used without object)
1.
Chiefly British . to entertain by dancing, singing, or reciting on the street or in a public place.
2.
Canadian . to make a showy or noisy appeal.
Busking. I've been doing it a lot lately. That makes me a busker. You may see us a lot of us around, most notably at Venice Beach and at the Santa Monica Promonade. We're also on street corners in Times Square and down below ground in the subway stations. Musicians with the case kicked open, playing to the world, pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and dollar bills being tossed to them. Some are great, some not so much, some are famous, most aren't.
The most recent example is John West who had been playing on the Promonade for over three years. A couple of months ago he signed with C.A.A. and landed a recording contract with Mercury/Island Def Jam Records. His first singles are now out. Now everyone will know how flaccid his music is.
There are some great stories about busking. My friend Michele-With-One-L was in Provincetown, Massachusetts some years back partying, drinking, carousing during the warm summer night. She happened upon a man playing guitar and singing, his case thrown open, maybe ten bucks in it, his baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. Something about his voice sounded very familiar. She stopped to listen, then figured it out. She approached the man, peeked under his cap and said, "I know who you are." He peered back at her with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Don't tell." he said. It was Jimmy Buffet. He'd sailed up, moored his boat, grabbed his guitar and started busking, just for the fun of it. She stepped back, listened for a while, smiling to herself about the secret she was sharing with him, watching people walk by oblivious to the talent right in front of them. After a while, she tossed a dollar in his case. He said thanks and she went on her way.
Another time the Washington Post did sort of an investigative piece on busking. They had the brilliant violinist Joshua Bell dress in street clothes and take his violin down to the city subway where he played for three or four hours. They wanted to see if anyone noticed. No one did. I think he made like sixty bucks.
When we're playing it's weird to see the various reactions from people. Some smile and stand and listen for a while. Some start to dance or bop along the street. Then there are some who walk right in front of you, ignoring you as though you didn't exist, never making eye contact, embarrassed almost. Those are the ones I really don't get. As though their reality can't accept the fact that someone is playing music right in front of them.
We usually have an extra tambourine or maraca or shaker for the kids to play. When they do, parents whip out their cameras and tape the whole event, big smiles on everyone's face. We like those parents. They always tip.
Then there are the ones who try to engage you in conversation while you are singing. Something along the lines of, "Hey, is that a Johnny Cash song?" And when you don't answer right away that, "No, it's an original", they talk louder, as though you just didn't hear them. I hear they do the same thing to foreigners.
Then there are the people with no life who hate what you're doing. When we started, every day the cops would show up demanding we show permits, which we did. Someone had complained about the noise. Last Wednesday, a man approached me and asked me to stop playing so he could finish his burrito. I did. He left. I continued.
Busking, street performing, whatever you call it, is a noble profession. And there's no better way to improve as a musician and no harder audience to play for. So if you see and hear somebody out there busking, if you like the music, let them know. Toss 'em a buck. Or at least smile and give them a thumbs up. You might see Jimmy Buffet smiling back at you.
B
TheBruceSanbornBand.com
[buhsk]
verb (used without object)
1.
Chiefly British . to entertain by dancing, singing, or reciting on the street or in a public place.
2.
Canadian . to make a showy or noisy appeal.
Busking. I've been doing it a lot lately. That makes me a busker. You may see us a lot of us around, most notably at Venice Beach and at the Santa Monica Promonade. We're also on street corners in Times Square and down below ground in the subway stations. Musicians with the case kicked open, playing to the world, pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and dollar bills being tossed to them. Some are great, some not so much, some are famous, most aren't.
The most recent example is John West who had been playing on the Promonade for over three years. A couple of months ago he signed with C.A.A. and landed a recording contract with Mercury/Island Def Jam Records. His first singles are now out. Now everyone will know how flaccid his music is.
There are some great stories about busking. My friend Michele-With-One-L was in Provincetown, Massachusetts some years back partying, drinking, carousing during the warm summer night. She happened upon a man playing guitar and singing, his case thrown open, maybe ten bucks in it, his baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. Something about his voice sounded very familiar. She stopped to listen, then figured it out. She approached the man, peeked under his cap and said, "I know who you are." He peered back at her with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Don't tell." he said. It was Jimmy Buffet. He'd sailed up, moored his boat, grabbed his guitar and started busking, just for the fun of it. She stepped back, listened for a while, smiling to herself about the secret she was sharing with him, watching people walk by oblivious to the talent right in front of them. After a while, she tossed a dollar in his case. He said thanks and she went on her way.
Another time the Washington Post did sort of an investigative piece on busking. They had the brilliant violinist Joshua Bell dress in street clothes and take his violin down to the city subway where he played for three or four hours. They wanted to see if anyone noticed. No one did. I think he made like sixty bucks.
When we're playing it's weird to see the various reactions from people. Some smile and stand and listen for a while. Some start to dance or bop along the street. Then there are some who walk right in front of you, ignoring you as though you didn't exist, never making eye contact, embarrassed almost. Those are the ones I really don't get. As though their reality can't accept the fact that someone is playing music right in front of them.
We usually have an extra tambourine or maraca or shaker for the kids to play. When they do, parents whip out their cameras and tape the whole event, big smiles on everyone's face. We like those parents. They always tip.
Then there are the ones who try to engage you in conversation while you are singing. Something along the lines of, "Hey, is that a Johnny Cash song?" And when you don't answer right away that, "No, it's an original", they talk louder, as though you just didn't hear them. I hear they do the same thing to foreigners.
Then there are the people with no life who hate what you're doing. When we started, every day the cops would show up demanding we show permits, which we did. Someone had complained about the noise. Last Wednesday, a man approached me and asked me to stop playing so he could finish his burrito. I did. He left. I continued.
Busking, street performing, whatever you call it, is a noble profession. And there's no better way to improve as a musician and no harder audience to play for. So if you see and hear somebody out there busking, if you like the music, let them know. Toss 'em a buck. Or at least smile and give them a thumbs up. You might see Jimmy Buffet smiling back at you.
B
TheBruceSanbornBand.com
Comments (2)