Went busking today and my lovely wife got a $5 tip..and she wasn't even there..!! Apparently a passerby overheard me telling a guy how lucky I was in that my wife is the single most pleasant person I've ever known and the passerby gave me a $5 bill and said.. "Here. This is for your wife."... And my wife IS the single most pleasant person I've ever known!!! 

Wait - your wife is single??

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Originally posted by Old Scratch

Wait - your wife is single??

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Good one!!! Yes, SINGLE.. THE ONLY ONE LIKE HER!!!!!

Do you remember how I'm always saying that every busking day is an adventure..? Well, today I was out and a locally famous Honkey Tonk piano player for the band "The Crawdads" Craig Brenner stopped by to chat while he was strolling his six month old grandson. As we chatted a young woman walked by and dropped what I thought was a $10 bill.. Turns out is was a $100....!! I politely declined such a large tip but she said it was for all the times over the years that she had seen me not tipped!!... SO.. It only took 7 years to get my first $100 bill... Of course it will be spent wisely..It may even cover the cost of a gallon gas!!!

Interesting milestone today.. My busking buddy Larry, and I often travel together to busk.. and He usually makes about 1/2 what I do..(Harry Hare helps me a Lot).. Well today was the FIRST time that Larry made TWICE in tips than I did.... I'm so happy for him!!

Buskers have a way of showing each other respect. I'll tip a fellow busker, and that busker will tip me..so we are both making a lot of money since we see each other often.... but seriously, buskers tipping each other is an indicator of comradery.....Not quiet the same when Larry and I take turns driving together to busk... We used to pay each other for 1/2 of the gas until we realized that it is just as well we didn't since we just took turns driving, but we DO always clink glasses of beer after a busking day..

HOWEVER.. now that gas is $5.50 a gallon ..that means that the first $10 of tips goes for transportation and IF we get a beer at a local watering hole, then that is another $7 each..  Seventeen dollars right off the top of a days busking can easily be 1/2 of the take.. Yikes... SO.. Our busking habits have changed....I'll be spending more time in my own town. This math isn't all that accurate, but you get the idea..

Almost forgot.. Yesterday at the Farmers Market.. Lots of kids crowded around to get their weekly Harry Hare STAMP on their arm..One little girl aged about 1 1/2  stood quietly a little distance away...When the kid crowd cleared the child's father carefully ushered her over to get her stamp.. Instead of stopping two feet away which is customary, this little girl just came up and cuddled with me.. Made my day.. Of course then she got her stamp, but the interaction  with her left me with something much more valuable than a stamp...

Do you and Larry ever busk together?



I'm guessing he sings and what not.

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Originally posted by ChickenMan

Do you and Larry ever busk together?



I'm guessing he sings and what not.

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We travel together.... but we keep at least a block between us....He has gotten pretty singing/playing his concertina..

Hmmm.. "we travel together...but we keep at least a block between us..." Must be a very large vehicle we travel in..!! Of course I meant we BUSK at least a block apart..!! duh.......

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Originally posted by TuneWeaver

Hmmm.. "we travel together...but we keep at least a block between us..." Must be a very large vehicle we travel in..!! Of course I meant we BUSK at least a block apart..!! duh.......

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       A couple of observations I've made this busking season.. It is not uncommon to come across little kids who are becoming bilingual because their parents are Hispanic, but just this week I met people who were talking to their children in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan..and spoken in many other countries. Also encountered was a family who were teaching their children to speak Farsi..which is a western Iranian language...
       Another observation is that THIS year it seems that there are a lot more ladies/girls wearing strong perfume and men wearing cologne... I smell those things daily this year whereas if was rare in the past. I consider the odor to be a Covid test for meAs long as I can smell it, I probably don't have Covid..

Great Snuffy Smith cartoon recently
"Wadday ya doin Judgaid?"
"Its called Buskin' Unka snuffy" "If folks like what I'm uh playin' , they throw money into my jar."
"What if dey Don't like it? Do dey git to take some out?"

I've got to get a better marketing director..!

Lol Tuneweaver, enjoying your busking stories here!
One day I want to travel around eastern and central of Europe and play with my dog next to me. We have reached the level where the dog wants to be me next to me or at least close to me when I am playing, now I only need a van, a travelling partner that could get along with the dog, lots of money and enough vacation to be away for a couple of months. Oh yes, and a portable fence while busking to protect my public from my guardian :-p


I took a small step towards my dream. Yesterday I gave my black painted violin shaped object to the local music store and they will have a look at the finetuners and see if they can replace them. This way I can take it with me when I go hiking with my dog. So soon at least I can play for the wild boars and deers and foxes and badgers.

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Originally posted by Quincy

Lol Tuneweaver, enjoying your busking stories here!
One day I want to travel around eastern and central of Europe and play with my dog next to me. We have reached the level where the dog wants to be me next to me or at least close to me when I am playing, now I only need a van, a travelling partner that could get along with the dog, lots of money and enough vacation to be away for a couple of months. Oh yes, and a portable fence while busking to protect my public from my guardian :-p


I took a small step towards my dream. Yesterday I gave my black painted violin shaped object to the local music store and they will have a look at the finetuners and see if they can replace them. This way I can take it with me when I go hiking with my dog. So soon at least I can play for the wild boars and deers and foxes and badgers.

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I suppose one of those big dog cages might work..! You certainly have the right attitude. Good luck with it all.  The Hangout has had threads about playing for animals and they were all good stories.! 

Another exciting day busking. Father's Day.. Picked a spot about 40 feet from a large outdoor dining area and was there for two hours. .Just as I was about to leave, a homeless guy ..with a sign, came and started yelling at me claiming that I was taking his money by being on the same block he is on..( he was ACROSS the street on a distant corner.. ) Apparently, he was in the sun and not making money on a usually good spot. I told him that if he didn't leave I'd have to call the police. He said, Do IT!....which I did.. By the time the Officer arrived the guy had hightailed it. Having called his bluff, I suspect that he won't be bothering me again...This was only the 2nd time in 7 years that I had to call the police when I was busking.

A funner story!.. A young girl of about 12 years old sat about 20 feet away and watched for several minutes, and then approached to get a rabbit stamp when she saw other kids getting one.. She came back later with two of her friends and she wanted to try to play the fiddle..which I let her... THEN< later still she came back with a 5X9 colored pencil drawing of Harry ....and THEN, she came back with her family to say good bye!!! Pretty sure that girl will be a fiddler!!! She showed a lot of interest..
Another day, another story!!!

Well, I guess I'm gonna do the farmers market. If I can't get a buddy or not, I'm gonna use a banjer and looper, to play along with. Only 2 hour stretch. Shouldn't be too bad. Recently been singing and playing a mandolin, but every instrument I pack is another instrument . If you get my drift. I could sang over a banjer. No Mike but I gotta have an amp for the looper. More Later!

This week has been quite for me as a busker, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to post a video of one of my all time favorite buskers... commonly called a "violinista callejero'' which translates to STRAY violinist..
I guess that that is a good name for us buskers...'strays'..!! Enjoy..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma_B2pzyit8&list=RDW7qX1eo8jPM&index=2

All of his puppet's activity is controlled by the violinist's feet.

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Originally posted by TuneWeaver

This week has been quite for me as a busker, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to post a video of one of my all time favorite buskers... commonly called a "violinista callejero'' which translates to STRAY violinist..
I guess that that is a good name for us buskers...'strays'..!! Enjoy..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma_B2pzyit8&list=RDW7qX1eo8jPM&index=2

All of his puppet's activity is controlled by the violinist's feet.

 

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Yeah, that guy is very impressive. I've posted his videos on Facebook a couple of times. 

couple of interesting things. Today at the Farmer's Market ..a little girl of about 7, and her mother and father watched for a long time and eventually the father left.. The mother said that last year, Harry had inspired the little girl to want to play a violin.. So, they signed her up in a Suzuki class.. The father returned WITH the fiddle and this 7 year old played along with me and Harry as we played some Suzuki tunes.. Even at 7, her wrist action was to die for.. Suzuki certainly is a good program...

Secondly, later in the afternoon I went downtown..Since it is a weekend, these days, the homeless people can't get meals because the help center has had to close due to security and volunteer shortages..So, on weekends there are extra unhoused people on the sidewalks. Today I saw some of the most distressed, poorly clothed, ragged, desperate looking guys on the sidewalk.. I spoke to a couple and they were extremely polite.. I gave one guy a dollar..I know, big spender.. but it was distressing to see what some people go through, and NO it is not always their own fault..I seriously think that next weekend I'll get some premade sandwiches and take them with me for those guys, when I busk.

from the "you can't make this up" department..As I was walking past an art gallery where I know the owner, that owner happened to be out on the sidewalk chatting to a college aged woman.. The shop owner introduced me to her 'media consultant'.. I said, "Media? Well I've had an article about me in the local BLOOM magazine.''.. That innocent media consultant apparently wasn't good at math and figured that 2+2 must be 5.. She thought, "He's a violinist, he lives in Bloomington, he performs publically and there was an article about him in BLOOM magazine...So this guy MUST be Joshua Bell." Funny.. I'll consider that to be a compliment to Joshua..!!! I just found out about this misunderstanding today.. We had a good laugh..Even the shop owner was confused for a minute and actually thought , "Wait! THIS guy is Joshua Bell? I thought his name was Lee."
Never a dull moment.

Come on, Lee, you're not fooling anyone: we all know you're really Joshua Bell just slumming ... ! (I spotted right away that "Lee Mysliwiec" is an anagram for "Joshua Bell"!).

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Originally posted by Old Scratch

Come on, Lee, you're not fooling anyone: we all know you're really Joshua Bell just slumming ... ! (I spotted right away that "Lee Mysliwiec" is an anagram for "Joshua Bell"!).

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GOT ME>. Joshua and me have FOUR things in common.. Two arms and two legs

Promise.... it will be about busking.. Just returned from a vacation in the UK... I'm not saying that the plane I flew out on was old, but the graffiti on the back of the seat in front of me said, "Wilbur loves Orville."
So.. There was this GREAT fiddler busking with a guitar player.. Over the top talented..I enjoyed and was inspired by his playing but was NOT inspired by his busking technique.. See, he didn't ( at least while I watched) say "thank you" to the people who tipped him. Granted, some busking performances make it difficult to stop and thank every one, but this guy COULD have...ok..
Then, (have to mention this) in a public toilet in England, above the urinal (sometimes I've been know to stretch the truth for 'effect', but Not this time).. above the urinal was a sign that read, "CCTV active in this area!!" Really? Can't people have just a LITTLE privacy? Truth is always stranger than fiction.

They 've got all our data, do they have to watch us pee too?!?

And yea, I agree ...rude to not thank/smile/nod/acknowledge people who tip.
I do see buskers who are like that though, like maybe they've been playing 4 hours and just can't be bothered, or something...they are off in their own mental musical world (or, just exhausted).

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Originally posted by NCnotes

They 've got all our data, do they have to watch us pee too?!?

And yea, I agree ...rude to not thank/smile/nod/acknowledge people who tip.
I do see buskers who are like that though, like maybe they've been playing 4 hours and just can't be bothered, or something...they are off in their own mental musical world (or, just exhausted).

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With some forms of busking, like a magic show or juggling, it is impractical to give a "thanks'' sometimes and I understand that.. I figure that if a good fiddler can Sing and play he can work in a 'Thanks, Ma'am"..