Playing guitar on the street

I'm with you on that, Jager. Unfortunately, this attitude is all to common.
They learn three chords and think they are Bob fuckin Dillon or some shit.
Or the typical stoned hippie kid standing on a street corner, playing a draggin'-ass version of "Wish you were here". Yawn....
They end up just disturbing the peace, and making a bad name for street performers in general.

 

new art comes from the wild street . people who play to the money are rarely that free . they play to expectations . on the street , free artists who play to expectations are making an obviously stupid joke of an idiot public and everybody's sucking car exhaust . i won't sing much on the street anymore or play the flute like i once did . last night i just played a buffalo legbone tapped on the concrete in a tight algebraic rhythm t tt t ttt and happy . there guitar and fiddle and tamborine and two singing saws too .

 

Wow, way to inspire some aspiring musician who just learned his/her first 3 chords.

I think it depends on the person; some folks play better with a buzz on, some don't. I don't think I'd want to get baked before performing; on the street, at a festival, or at a club, but if I don't calm the nerves a bit before-hand, my hubby only gets a squeaky timid mouse for back up instead of the big voice that so well compliments his.

 

Too many wannabe's out there...very little talent.
This world is crammed full of mediocre music.

That is why there will always be a demand for good music.

If you can make music for the heart, mind and soul,(and body!) you will be successful anywhere!

Believe me, there are a lot of people out there that have never seen a real person, playing real music, on a real instrument, in real time!

Lets try to give the people what they need. Show a little effort, have a little pride. Don't just go out there and fuck around and expect people to dig it...


P.S; As for the nerves, the best nerve tonic I know of, is being well prepared for the performance. Practice, practice, practice! Intelligent practice, not just repetition.

 

Westport is where it's at!
KC says hello

 

Hmmmm, obviously you haven't been to Austin...lots & lots of talent; very talented musicians actually & so many world-class musicians have been found on the streets of Austin...like Carolyn Wonderland & Carrie Rodriges (bad spelling, sorry).

Thing is I've watched talented musicians grow-up, had them swipe my albums to play at raves, or had them watch my hubby play the streets and them watched them grow into musicians who now play with some of the best in the world. And then there is my hubby himself, having his music played on satelite stations & being heard around the world; considered one of the most talented musicians to play the streets of Westport

Zombiewolf, if you're not having fun then what is any of it worth? My hubby's best sets are the ones where he's fired up & totally in synch with his guitar & his audience

PS-Prep doesn't make a bit of difference when you have an anxiety disorder....a bit of smoke or dr. prescribed valium...think I'll go with the smoke but tks for the advise just the same. I think the talented Willie Nelson would agree

 

What is having fun anyway?

For me it is the delayed gratification of having practiced hard and knowing I'm giving the best possible performance under whatever circumstance.

If you are in my band and I find out you are getting stoned or taking valium before the show, you are fucking fired, doctors note or not!
Sober musicians only, please...

Being a little nervous before a show due to anticipation is normal. "Performance anxiety" is directly related to confidence in ones self and ones ability's.

If you have anxiety disorder, maybe the stage is not for you....

To close, you have no fucking idea what Willy Nelson thinks...

 

i have heard of real, grown musicians who use marijuana, but for sure not when they're learning or doing seriously , just to cool down and practice in relax. may be good for them . pot impairs muscular coordination of a lotta people, causes disgraceful memory failures (fancy if our stoned guitarist forgets his only three chords, lol) plus may trigger anxiety which isnt good either. I think that *a little* booze is better, one (1) cocktail will cut off much anxiety while keeping you reasonably sober. oh, and wont get you busted. but i imagine that these things are highly subjective.
but for me:

:sifone:+:nopity:= :ack2:

 

Busking takes a type of balls not commonly found. In some ways it might be the most honest feedback you'll get as a musician.

Though I am a regular pot smoker, praise the Lord, I think performance nerves should be dealt with straight up. It would suck to feel I needed to have a drink, or a smoke, in order to do a show. The high should be an enhancement, not a safety blanket.
The way to do it is by repetition. I used to have performance nerves so bad that I couldn't even record a guitar track without getting too nervous to play well. I went from that state, to being able to busk on the sidewalk, long before ever discovering the wonders of this great gift marijuana.
Marijuana will never make a mediocre talent extraordinary, but as a magical plant is more multi-dimensional than just the field of a musician's talent. There are other dimensions to operate and access than just playing higher and faster. Though certainly not dogmatically required, as an entheogen marijuana in its pschoactive form exists for that very purpose.
And it always bears mentioning that we are talking about hemp, and extremely valuable fiber and fuel your government refuses to allow production of, because, God forbid, we might end up with whole generations of jazz musicians, artists, and beatniks.
Although I will say - there are strains of cannabis I wouldn't want to smoke and perform with. A lot of people don't realize that there is a very wide range of effects from cannabis depending on strain, it's impossible to even talk about "marijuana" as one type of drug. It's literally something more like marijuana A-Z.
I think maybe some musicians are hostile to pot-smoking musicians because of some kind of frustration. A sax player on a good sativa is operating at a much broader bandwidth, other musicians sense that, and some have a bad reaction. But then of course it all depends on the player and the place/time. And you don't actually need anything to go there. It's a help. It's a good friend to humanity, the spirit of this plant.

 

Close-minded people really crack me up. Not once did I try to tell anyone how to live their life, yet you zombiewolf not only like telling other people how to live but you put people down without thinking twice.

This statement, the one I've quoted above, I think it's a crappy statement and does absolutely nothing to inspire a young musician, which is what I thought this thread was about.

You are certainly welcome to have a sober band, but you're living with blinders on if you don't see that many of the greatest musicians ever have used a variety of drugs, many during the height of their careers. There are also a great many musicians who have mental conditions and take medications for them. Like Roky Erikson, for him being sober means that he falls into a schitzophernic world where he doesn't take care of himself. I certainly wouldn't kick Roky out of a band for taking his prescribed meds, but you can if you want; not that Roky would join your band when he has a wealth of talented musicians to play with in Austin.

As far as Willie Nelson goes, he is a supporter of marijuana legalization. His feelings about smoking pot are published & well known.

My whole point here is that you seem to be a rude & bossy person, zombiewolf, with a very closed mind.

(ps, I do have a mild anxiety disorder & could get a prescription for any one of a number of depressants but I choose not to. I used that statement as an example to see what you would say, and you certainly exceeded my expectations. As Brad Paisley says 'I'm so much cooler on-line' LOL )

 

Kiss my ass.

 

Zombie....I pretty much agree with what everyone else is telling you. Regardless of whether or not you smoke and play, many others do for multiple reasons, so trying to downplay something that clearly is present and influential to music won't prove anything, other than your ignorance. I mean sure, in your situation like you said you don't smoke and play before a show (do you smoke at all? ever play after having smoked?) which is fine, but that doesn't mean what is right for you is right for everyone.

If you indeed haven't smoked and then played I'd honestly recommend it. Obviously it's not going to make you "better", but just as bud helps to tear down certain biases formed by our sub-conscious mind it can also help you to see, hear, feel or experience all of these sensations in a more accepting way. By accepting I mean that sometimes it just seems as though you're more prone to utilize that enhanced (herb is an enhancement drug in every sense) ability to recognize what those senses had not previosly picked up on in order to create something new. Clearly it doesn't just have to do with anxiety, in fact the only times I've felt nervous while playing have been after smoking, I have however experienced a musical form of writers block many times.

 

Bthizle, I have been smoking weed longer than you have been alive.

If you think pot enhances your performance, do this simple test; record yourself stoned,
then listen when you are straight. Now record yourself straight and so on, reverse and repeat.Draw your own conclusions.

Here are mine;

Dope increasth the desire...but taketh away from the performance.

Or..
weed is good for the creativity but bad for the execution.

In my not so humble opinion!

ZW

 

No thank you

I'd be happy to give you a hug tho, if it will help your attitude

:grouphug:

And thanks for proving my point once again.

 

I tried for the first time today. Thats how I found this thread. I started playing outside the liquor store, kind of dirty but oh well. I stood there for about 10-15 minutes and then the clerk told me I had to go. I made about $4in that short time. Maybe Ill get a bag of chips....or find a better spot.

 

Dig it...:sifone:

 

While I have never preformed on the street, however much I might think about it (I'm kinda shy...), during our Riverfest in Wilmington, NC, there are quite a few people who will sit on the curbs with their guitar and play or sing-or both- for the passing crowd. I believe that once I even saw two men playing the sitar and bansuri, not so sure of the bansuri part, but it looked and sounded like one. I would be all up for it, but I would need more musical experience before I would even try. I would imagine it would be fun, especially if you bring some friends along and have a little band thing going!

If you do try, please tell me how it went, as I would love to experience the feeling too!

Cheers :cheers2:
Michael

 

I did it for over 20 years, went around the world.
I always suggest to start at the start and read up on it as much as you can.
www.BuskerCentral.com for beginners...you'll find there are thousands doing it worldwide

 

I love street music. I have lived in university towns for many years and there are always buskers out and about in the summer. They have made a little gas money from me

 

I performed Tucson in the Speedway underpass that leads to UA...ha ha
great acoustics...didn't fare too bad
also the alcove in the shops just off the west side of the campus
someone took issue and I got booted a few times...no biggie
4th ave was total ghetto...except during the street fair, of course...where I raked it in