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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
 Posted - 04/18/2007 : 09:34:01 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by wcerto
Are the rest of you guys saying that I SHOULD throw money into the pot?
If someone's performing in any way in a public area I consider that to be a job and am grateful (assuming they have some degree of talent) that they've chosen to take a risk and share their talent with the world. To be honest, I'd rather walk around outside on a nice day and listen to/watch a variety of street performers than sit in a theater and listen to a concert.
So yes, if you like what you hear/see I would say you should throw money into the pot. Eye contact, a smile, and/or a compliment go a long way too! If you're uncomfortable opening your purse in a public area then you can carry some loose singles in a pocket (or shoe if you're pocketless). |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 04/18/2007 09:37:19 AM |
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Trev
Lokahi
United Kingdom
265 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 09:50:15 AM
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Hi Wanda,
I'm sure you didn't mean to give offence. And I've never been to Cleveland so I don't know what it's like. Perhaps there are always enough jobs for everyone there. There weren't in the North of England in the late 80's early 90s. Not even in the McDs.
No, I'm not saying you should give buskers money if you don't want to. It's your money and you can do what you like with it. As you say, a customer is there by choice. I'm jusr saying don't pre-judge them, that's all.
If someone is looking at me (or rather refusing to look at me) doing nothing offensive, but playing a musical instrument in the street, (or rather refusing to look at me) and as a result makes an entirely groundless assumption that I'm either some sort of low-life who intends knocking them over and stealing their purse, or some con merchant who lives in a big house in suburbia, well you have to understand that I'm going to get a bit upset about it. So would you be.
I remember the first time I went - I was as nervous as can be. But we'd had a bill come in we'd paid and had nothing left. My girlfriend was crying and saying 'what are we going to do'. So I picked up my mandolin case, plucked up my courage and said 'Don't worry, love, I'll get us something', and came back a few hours later with a bag of food and a pocketful of change. I'm proud of that.
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 11:50:42 AM
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quote:
I figure that if you need money so bad that you are willing to sit in a transit station and play with an open violin case, guitar case, etc., then you should be willing to take any kind of job...
It is certainly NOT the same as playing in a club or a coffee shop and getting tips in a tip jar.
I guess I have looked at someone playing street music as begging...and I guess I am idealistic enough to think that there are other things that can be done other than begging...social service agencies, welfare, even, if there is a dire need for assistance.
Wanda, I have to take exception with just about everything you said. Even though you apologized for using the term panhandling, your attitude that performing on the street is begging is misguided and your suggestion that street entertainer apply for public assistance is demeaning.
Street performers are part of a world-wide arts culture that goes back as far as history. It is a simple exchange -- I offer my talents as a musician/dancer/juggler in exchange for your time and your coins. That isn't begging. The fact that this noble tradition has become debased in our throw-away society is no reflection on the art and skill that has historically gone into being a successful street artist.
I worked for several years with a radical theater company based first in Salt Lake and later in Holland. We worked theatres-- big ones-- and we worked the street. Street performing was both an end in itself - to reclaim an ancient tradition, to break the stuffy preconceptions about art -- and a way to hone our stagecraft. Just about everything I know about being on stage I learned from the street.
We were part of a much larger movement that included such companies as the Friends Roadshow, the Living Theater, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, the Footsbarn Theater in Cornwall (I worked with them, too), the Amsterdam Festival of Fools, The Flying Karamozof Brothers, etc etc. Modern groups like Cirque Du Soliel are a direct outgrowth of this street art renaissance in the 1960s and 70s.
Why should someone who has studied and perfected their art take a low-paying dead end job slinging burgers instead of offerring to entertain, dazzle and enlighten passers-by on the street? As Bell noted in the story, he cleared 40 bucks in an hour and a half -- that's a heckuvalot better than minimum wage.
The reason Josua Bell didn't attract a crowd is that he didn't know the first thing about performing on the street. He didn't do a show with a fixed beginning and end, he didn't shill -- call out to people to gather round, he didn't offer any communication -- heck, he didn't even look at the people who walked by. Of course no one stopped -- he ignored them. He didn't create an audience - that fundamental piece of the artist-audience exchange I mentioned earlier.
I used to make a significant portion of my income performing music on the street -- and I can tell you it was some of the most rewarding performing I've done. Why? Because if someone stopped to hear my show and put something in the hat, it was because I reached their heart. Directly, at that moment, with no preconceptions.
Anybody can hold a crowd of fans in a darkened theater. Try doing it outdoors, where no one knows who you are.
Mark
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Edited by - Mark on 04/18/2007 11:56:11 AM |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 12:28:25 PM
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| My eyes were openned to busking when I went to Europe -- back home a lot of what I heard in the streets was stuff I would just as soon not hear. (There were some exceptions - most often those at festivals and in areas where people was "licensed" or "approved" to perform. Seems to me some kind of vetting made sure a modicum of competance was present.) Then again I still remember a great performance by a soprano and a tenor accompanied by casettes who just chose a spot in downtown Milwaukee. Anyway -- the buskers I saw and heard in Europe generally appealed to me and offered me many moments of enjoyment. As I said, made me reevaluate my attitutde when I got back home. |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 12:29:13 PM
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My eight-year-old son is a pretty good fiddler and I take him to a major downtown park to help hone his skills in front of an audience. After several trips, and many dollars in unsolicited tips, he's learned to spot a potential audience coming down the sidewalk, swtich to a spritely tune and put a smile on his face. If he's read his audience alright, the family or group will stop and the audience may build to several people and he'll go right into another tune to keep the group rooted in front of him. I don't let him put out his case to gather coins because the local cops often hassle buskers based on some city ordinance. But generous people have walked up and tucked coins and dollar bills into his pocket or left them on the bench next to us.
He finished in third place at last weekend's regional fiddle contest. Dad and son couldn't be prouder. I think the entertainment training at the park paid off at the contest.
Jesse Tinsley |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 1:49:17 PM
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Bravo to both of you.
I can only hope for a similar experience sometime in the future. |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 2:11:56 PM
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Mark, Trev, et al., I stand duly chastised. This honest exchange has opened my eyes. Henceforth, whenever I see and hear a street performer, I will see it in a completely different light. Thank you for making me think and making me reconsider my attitude. It is truly appreciated.
Wanda |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 2:53:50 PM
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ahhh haaa 
I just had one of those moments 
Mark, you said: quote:
He didn't create an audience - that fundamental piece of the artist-audience exchange
We have had visiting professionals stop by our Open Mike for fun and joining in. The biggest thing they did, besides playing brilliantly, was to create that audience.
I'll have to think more about how to do that without being too wordy with my slack key explanations. Of course, I still need to practice a lot more.
 By-the-way, there was a terrific Discovery Channel piece, recently, on the Annual Busker Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand that was very entertaining and eye-opening. We were willing witnesses to the weekly Sunday afternoon buskers at two different venues in Christchurch. They had huge crowds of locals come by just to see the shows and the buskers were very good. |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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Davey
Akahai
USA
53 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2007 : 07:10:44 AM
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Creating audience can have as much to do with creating community -- if only temporarily -- as it does with effective crowd-gathering prior to performance.
Some musicians I've known call it Musicking -- the interactive process that happens when magic transpires between performer and audience. Under the auspices of Musicking, the listener is every bit as important as the player, and is made to feel so. Hmmm -- come to think of it, this sounds a lot like the Spirit of Aloha. 
Peace and Happy Musicking,
Davey
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Edited by - Davey on 04/19/2007 07:11:54 AM |
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hikabe
Lokahi
USA
358 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2007 : 07:50:04 AM
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Great article, but I think if Bell was playing an ukulele he would have gotten a different result. Or maybe if he played bluegrass.
When you play in a concert, whoever is talking or making noise will be ushered out because tickets were sold. When you perform at a restaurant or club, you cannot expect everyone to be attentive because admission is free. When you perform on the street, good luck getting any attention, talented or not.
I can follow the music while having a quiet conversation. It only looks like I'm not paying attention. Kids can't do that. They stop and stare. Then again, I have heard 2 prominent slack key musicians say that if you fall asleep during their performance then they are doing their job as it is relaxing and calming. Or boring!
In 1985, I once went to Ghiradeli Square SF and put my Casio keyboard on milk cartons and made $6 in 15 minutes. I didn't need to busk but I wanted to be able to say I did it after admiring the work of the other street artist there. Then I gave that money to the human juke box guy, an engaging trumpet player standing inside a cardoard box playing anything people wanted him to play. He was great. I always give what I can to busking musicians.
I have heard RJS perform and if I saw him busking on the street I would definitely give him at least 5 bucks. Raymond plays well. But don't be upset about the loud crowd. I know how you feel. I was singing He Moana Ke Kai once at the Hukilau in SF and all of a sudden the back table burst out in happy birthday. So I switched key and joined them to a big crescendo and applause and went back to He Moana Ke Kai. I don't know how I am coming accross to people until they leave and tip or sy hi and thanks for the music. You cannot tell if the people passing by like your music, but they do.
Another job hazard is having to emote happiness when the real world is harsh and relentless. My heart is crying sometimes while I have to perform songs like The Little Brown Gal. We have to shut out the bad vibes. |
Stay Tuned... |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2007 : 08:00:33 AM
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It is also worth noting that in live classical music, it is normal for the performers to have a somewhat "aloof" demeanor whilst performing. It seems to me (based on the Video snippets I watched) that Joshua Bell brought some of this demeanor into L'Enfant plaza with him, and of course this "lack of interaction" with "the audience" is an interesting factor in the event itself.
Which brings up Andre Rieu, who currently presents classical and semi-classical works in a manner diametrically opposed to conventional classical presentation, with somewhat over-the-top (some would say gaudy) showmanship.
And of course there are those new wireless Rock performers who wade-into-the-crowd with their axes while playing!!
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2007 : 12:02:08 PM
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Well, I guess I have to join a minority opinion on this one.
I was a performing musician in 4 & 5 piece bar bands through the 70's. I played out for almost 10 years. But, like Wanda, I also feel a bit "pan-handled" when being ... what was it ..."shilled". Because I often have no other route to take, I often feel like a salesman just put his foot in my doorway. I really don't want to dis any musicians, I love em, but I do not like to be solicited.
However, I learned a new and better word, "Busker", and I do understand the different points of view. I also see how it would be a valuable learning experience. Still, I don't like it when strangers want money and I am being made to decide.
Bob |
Bob |
Edited by - RWD on 04/19/2007 4:02:18 PM |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2007 : 12:18:27 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Haole_Boy
Still, I don't like it when strangers want money and I am being made to decide.
I take it you're not a big fan of capitalism then.  |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2007 : 12:20:59 PM
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Either way it can go too far...
Yes- I have felt inflicted upon by a "street performer" from time to time as well!
In fact, right now at pier 49 San Francisco, there is a street performer who hides behind a bush (actually a fake bush), and then leaps out at people making surprising and scary noises. He then does it again on other unsuspecting people while those in the know can take photos.
Is this Music? (there is sound involved) Is this Theatre? (there is acting involved) or is this just intimidation!
As is often the case, things can be taken to extremes...
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2007 : 12:46:44 PM
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good comment cpatch. I'll try to feel guilty about what I said the next time I go into a music or electronics store. 
And Lawrence, it probably is the extreme that causes the negative feelings. For instance, if there is a wide enough area to pass without being confronted, then I would not mind. On the opposite end of the spectrum, don't put me on a narrow street with a mime in my path that wants to put me in an invisible box. I would need special guidence from above to get through that. But now we are talking about my personal issues |
Bob |
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