By Roadjunky, Posted Sep 07, 2006
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 Photo Courtesy of David Gray’s Brighton Images |
The key to playing music on the street these days is originality.
Let’s face it: in today’s modern world of multi-media, fast-moving MTV images and video phones, the average attention span is pretty short. Gone are the days of the wandering bard who could draw a crowd by promising to recite a poem.
Whereas in the past musicians were akin to the priests through whom flowed the grace of music, these days you’ll have a hard time getting through to a generation walking around with their Ipods randomly scanning through 10,000 songs. A hippy bashing out Blowing in the Wind on a street corner might have worked in the 60’s, but is hardly impressive now.
Knowing how to work the slide guitar is always a plus http://www.flickr.com/photos/wetwebwork/
But however over-exposed and saturated the media and music market might be, it’s also pretty limited. Mainstream radio plays the same old canned junk over and over and the risk-conscious music business only supports acts that sound similar to everything else that sells. So when you turn up with a cello and start wailing Hungarian folk songs over it, it’s still cause for passers by to stop and gape. If you’re any good they might even fish in their pockets for a few coins.
Appearance and Originality
The key to playing music on the street these days is originality. Assuming you have some talent, you’ll need to package it in a way that is out of the ordinary. You want to make people go home and say ‘you’ll never guess what I saw whilst out shopping today..’
It doesn’t mean you have to dress up as a Harlequin before strapping on your guitar (though it might just work), it’s more about taking considerable time to think about your appearance and overall impression. Don’t head down to the nearest shopping centre wearing the clothes you woke up in.
Wailing "Daisy Daisy" on the Sax might invoke some nostalgia http://www.flickr.com/photos/8929612@N04/
If you want people to give you money you have to look like you’re worth money. Buy yourself a second hand suit or dress, brush your hair and try to look a little professional. Maybe get some amplification and create a stage for yourself. Record a CD and sell them as you play, Make it clear that you do this for a living.
Play What People Know
Eric Clapton could come down in disguise to a street corner and play the songs from his new album and only make $10 an hour. Not because his new material sucks but because no one knows it.
Any mature busker knows that if they want to make serious cash it will usually mean playing songs people know. It doesn’t mean they have to do Britney Spears covers but the songs have to resonate with the public or they won’t dig deep to show their appreciation. Sound binds with memories as powerfully as smell and if you play a song that reminds someone of a happy time in their childhood or a past love affair, they’re likely to stop and show their appreciation.
One way to stay creative is to interpret popular songs in your own style. If you’re a woman singing James Brown’s Sex Machine (“Get on up!”) or a man whining Sometimes it’s Hard to be a Woman, then you’ll at least have novelty on your side and that’s half the battle won.
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