I jumped up and act a fool and did it again.
I went back to what I learned is called a "
pitch" back on Queen Anne and tried my fingers and throat again at busking.
I went a little earlier in the day this time, and wasn't as thorough with the sun screen, so i have odd burned patches on my right tricep and neck. I was there not quite as long - about 1.5 hours (i had some time constraints) and i earned nine dollars sixteen pence in tips. Not bad!
I gave one dollar away to a homeless dood who boozily wobbled up to me and said he played guitar, and that he'd had 7 guitars stolen from him down town (indeed sad), asked if i thought the pizza shop would give him a slice if he asked - I said "take a shot, who knows?" he came swaying back with a hot slice of cheezy goodness and then asked me for a dollar out of my hat. Well, friends - it's hard to say no to somebody who had such a story and seing as how we were both looking down at the hat with it's couple bills and shiny coins all arrayed just so I said, sure - take a dollar. Small price to pay for some karma i suppose. I got blessed by the cheese filled slightly yeasty smelling fella who then headed off to more adventure no doubt.
No dog pee this time. that's a plus.
I worry i'm getting greedy...I spent some of my pay pretty quickly down at the Arab Festival going on at the Seattle Center - and it sort of stung! I either need to not spend my take or maybe move to a higher traffic area - I don't want to get locked in to thinking "busking = that one pitch on queen anne" y'know?
Musically i had a good time - i need a broader collection of songs and instrumentals to shake it up for me, but I, on the spot, figured out two Dylan "licks" that I'd been wondering about forever. one is that quick hammer-on pull-off thing he does in in "Hollis Brown" and the other is the G variant chord in "Billy 1 - 4" . I was thinking he did it with an open tuning, but it turns out its the same chord/lick trick that's used in "Girl from the North Country", "Spanish Boots..." and Tom Paxton's "last thing on my mind" where you've got the G chord and you move your fingers into a C with your 1st and 4th fingers on the G on the high and low E strings...you know what i'm talking about. {
jguitar lists it as possibly a G 6th, suspended 4th - which makes sense harmonically - i'm in love with Jguitar.com}
Also - I'm working on my own version of this song below. I can't top this - ever, but i can try and that second chord is such a pleasure to play. I could play that second chord ALL day. RT does it here with thumb and 2 or 3 fingers and that gives it a very "English" sound. Since i'm still learning the American country blues finger picking style I'm doing it with thumb and index finger. but anyone whose heard
Rev. Gary Davis knows that those two fingers can bring on a FLURRY of notes.
Richard Thompson,
man. I used to think that Jimi Hendrix was the most creative and possibly the greatest guitarist to have lived - I don't think that as much anymore.
Last thought - whose living room is that? How do I get Richard Thompson to come to *MY* living room and play one of the best songs in the universe?
