First Busking Experience

This Sunday (that just happened) - I took the advice of my very lovely and brilliant Wife. She said "you've been talking about playing on the street forever, so here's my idea.

• I'm going away for a couple days - so practice your favorites
• Then go to a neighborhood where no one knows you
• don't tell nobody
• Play 10 songs, and if its a terrible time - you can bail and noone's the wiser.

So, I did exactly that. I practiced a couple songs, and made a list of more than 10 songs to maybe do. and I fiddled, I faddled , I dawlded, and I procrastinated harder than ever - until sunday afternoon, after doing all the laundry, cleaning the floors and doing the dishes like 3 times. So I was at my computer listening to the Great Rev. Gary Davis, and reading about his life. And how he played on the street for more than 35 years. and I just felt "If I don't go now, i'm never going to do it"

So I jumped up and ran out the door and immediately caught the bus going downtown, I hopped off in Lower Queen Anne, and walked up the Hill - To work off some of my nerves. At the top, i stopped across from a safeway, where the food traffic would be heavy-ish, but I could be set back from the sidewalk.

I was pretty nervous so I started with Corcovado and played that a million times so I wouldn't have to actually sing. And then, i tried "lonesome whistle" - But it took me a million tries to find the right note and the right first chord...

I was playing a bunch of country songs, and San Andreas (which I could play forEVER) - but generally the stuff that seemed to put the strollers by at ease and enhance the pleasant ness of their day were the instrumental stuff. To maximize money from that crowd it's definitley less John Cale and more John Fahey.

I did make some money - the first in my life that I've ever made from music. I made eight dollars fifty cents. The first dollar was from a lady what that walked by her dog wanted to pee on my guitar case. She was successful in diverting the pungent amarillo stream away from my trusty case - to which i'm eternally grateful. After securing the incontinent beast she scurried over and dropped the first dollar in to my hat. Thanks much Lady.

I ended up playing about two hours...I included some GoA stuff, and just going until my fingers hurt, and my voice was blown out, and then I left. Feeling pretty triumphant.

More later!