Song selection is funny stuff. What would you guess was the big "hit song" while Monsignor Tater was down-stroking down under (I'm talking about Australia... mind out of the gutter!)?
That said, song selection, IMO, is the most underrated attribute of great musicians. I can think of a number of players that burn up the fretboard but that can't pick a song to save their life (or their show... or their records). Brian On Jan 12, 2:49 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: > Long time lurker. First time poster. I've had a few lessons at the > Tater Institute of Technology. > > I spent the summer busking on Church Street Marketplace in Burlington, > VT with my mandolin, guitar, banjo-uke, and harp. It was a great > experience that I recommend to any performer. You have to audition to > get a license to play. There were musicians, mimes, jugglers, > acrobats, sketch artists, and even a poet for hire. The music ranged > from a husband and wife clarinet/tuba dixieland combo to fiddle and > banjo to solo guys like me. No amps were allowed. I had a little > folding camping stool that I sat on. Some days where tough because I > would end up on the same block as the guy who rode his unicycle on a > high-wire while juggling. That's when I would think of Mr. Bell. > > I usually did about two hours before my voice gave out. Without a PA > you really have to project your playing and singing to get over the > ambient city noise. After a while I figured out that there were > certain songs that were big money makers. > > "You Are My Sunshine" on the mandolin was huge. It would be > interesting to see if Tater played it whether you would have a Joshua > Bell situation where people would be completely oblivious to what was > going on. > > Boston has a lot of music at the T(subway) stops. High turnover of > customers. When I was younger I used to watch this little blonde girl > named Mary Lou Lord at Park Street sing Syd Barrett songs. She told me > about her boyfriend in Seattle and that I should meet him when he came > to Boston with his band to play. I never made the show but when the > mood struck him he played a old D-18 and did a pretty mean version of > "In the Pines" :>) > > Regards, > Jim Berkeley > > On Jan 12, 10:52 am, "Mark Seale" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > This is a very astute point. Setting up in the subway where your potential > > listeners are bound to a schedule isn't a recipe for general success. But, > > if you set up in an area where people are spending free time, you stand a > > much better chance of catching their less focused attention. Some of the > > biggest fiddlers' contests we've had, in terms of listeners, have been in > > shopping malls. > > > On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 11:11 AM, Trey Young <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I've always noticed in my times of playing for folks, it seems like young > > > children and the elderly are almost always the most appreciative of live > > > music...this story definitely shows how hit or miss busking can be. Last > > > time I was in New York (City!) there was a dixie land (ish) band playing > > > in > > > Central Park. I sat and watched them for about an hour and they always > > > had > > > a crowd standing there of about 30 or so and they had to stop twice in > > > that > > > hour to empty out the tip bucket. I guess if you set up to play where > > > people are there primarily to get some where else... > > > > <http://www.myspace.com/mudmusic> > > > > ------------------------------ > > > *From:* 14strings <[email protected]> > > > *To:* Taterbugmando <[email protected]> > > > *Sent:* Sunday, January 11, 2009 7:45:05 AM > > > *Subject:* Re: Something to think about... > > > > Read some more on busking by Danny Barnes (an excellent musician and > > > songwriter) > > > >http://www.folktronics.com/web/node/121 > > > > Perry --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
