Monday, April 30, 2012

That's Enough Ringing (Strasbourg)

Coo coo, ça va?  Today, we busked in Strasbourg, France, twice!  As you know, we were sad to not busk in Paris.  But we still got to busk in France because of a quick change of plans.  I decided to zip off to Israel for a week.  My dear friend Sarah Y. lives there and I wanted to visit her while I was inEurope; and lo an behold EasyJet flies to Tel Aviv from London and Switzerland, where I was (back on a french AZERTY keyboqrd; hence typos:)  My flight is on Thursday.  Switzerland is so expensive; so I didn't want to traverse it too many times nor linger.  I looked at a map; and Strasbourg seemed like a good place to explore for a few days!  And here I am; voila.

Strasbourg is nice;but it'd annoyingly filled with tourists:  Like; its hard to see what the cty looks like without them.  But that's good for me.  Yesterday when I arrived I spotted a trio of ,iddle aged men on accordion; trumpet; and double bass.  This morning they were out again, as was a golden statue.  they were both set up by the cathedral, the main tourist center, so I sought a pitch there too and sure enough the trio packed up so I took theirs.

I thought that maybe I could pass for French; as far as dumb Americans know.  I planned to not use any signs; to hide all english; but kept the main SSS because i could have just chosen to use english for it; right? 

Monday, April 30, 2012, Part Un
1.  Right away, while I was still setting up, some kids flocked over.  Three siblings; two boys and a girl.  They were so chatty but of course we couldn't communicate!  Over and over I told them "Je ne parle pas Frances" and "je ne comprende," but they didn't give up.  The only word I recognized was "Botones."Would have loved to converse!  I need to learn French!  I passed them Flaca anyway, but none was super into her.

2.  As you know, I profile people  to choose songs they like.  One song that never gets used in profiling is Tico Tico; the Brazilian folk song.  It's hard to identify Brazilians!  But today, there was a large tour group amassing in front of me, with a guide holding a Brazilian flag.  They were standing around for awhile, but I didn't think of the possibility of finally utilizing this song until it was too late!  I did play it as the tour retreated, and I like to think a couple reacted; but the moment was lost.

3.  A woman cae up and asked, "What country?"  I guess I wasn't fooling her.  I asked her it it was really obvious that I am not French, and she said yes.  Merde!

4.  Someone called me "Tres jolie!"  Thatés a good thing, right?

5.  It was super sindy!  Luckily my earnings are still all metal, but Flaca and her box kept being blown slightly away.  Ii had to surrender her act and stick her in the box.  Also, my bangs were blowing everyzhere and I couldn't see anybody!  Borrowed a bobby pin from another part of my head to pin them up and finally see my audience.

6.  I've kept my audience waiting before, for a variety of things.  To drink water; to jot down notes for the blog; to eat a carrot; to text somebody.  Today; I kept a lot of people waiting while I put on sunscreen.  And for some reason this amused me.  I actually had nice sized crowds today, which added to the rush to get playing again.  I got hot and took off my sweater; thus exposing my already burnt shoulders.    This wouldn't do!  Pulled out the bottle and thoroughly applied the gooey white contents, hoping a mother would run over and offer to do my back; to no avail.  I like what this did to my image; (that was the first intentional semi colon in this post) the worst-case assumption is that i'm homeless and struggling to make ends meet and have way more important things to think about than sunscreen.  Or that I'm a ragamuffin enjoying my independance for the fist tim, or something.  That said; I felt like I broke out of both of those images by caring about the thorough application of sunscreen.  but thn my fingers kept sliding around!

7.  Some good news: I kept having to rearrange the tambourine to make it stay, but at one point I did something right and it stayed perfectly in place for the rest of the set!  Excellent!  Can't recreate it though.

8;  A lady blew me a kiss!  Yeah!

9.  Something that's difficult: playing different instruments at different volumes.  I'm getting better at focusin on multiple instrments; but of course it's good to play the accordion quietly while i'm trying to take a kazoo solo.  But that's really difficult neurologically! 

10/ More good news: you know how i want to get a neck harmonica holder for my kazoo?  Well this amazing French girl I'm staying with via couch surfing happened to have an extra.  So now I have one!!!

11.  I think today was the worst day for the ratio of photos posed for to tips received.  How do people think it's acceptable??  My "folow the culprit with my eyes" technique worked once today.  But vieos too, come on!

12.  My French held up exactly as I thought it would: not at all.  I rattled off beautiful "merci beaucoup"s, but that was where it stopped.  People would say things and I would either just smile or, if it seemed important, confess, "je suis desolee, je ne parle pas frances."  Cover is blown!  One man got as far as this and asked my nationality.  I faithfully said "Scotland."  We talked about how great the highlandds are.  Oh yeah... love them; from all the times I've seen them!  I gave this guy a business card:  Ocurred to me later that if he goes on my website he will immdiately learn that I lied to him.  Oobs, as they say in Sweden.  One lady said "Bon chance," which i took to mean "good luck," right?  This comes up again; so remembr it.

I was playing across from the cathedral in front of a souvenir shop.  Ordinarily I would have deemed that pitch too close to a business; but the other guys had been there so i figured it was okay.  I didn't get complaints from the employees; whom i sometimes saw outside.  I quit after about two hours for their sanity, and to take a break.

Part Deux
Around 6:00 I decided to set up again; since folks were in slow dinner mode.  I decided to just take the same spot.

1.  Right as I was setting up, the trio from before walked by.  I successfully asked them, through sign language and facial expression, if they wanted the spot.  I was wary of being the new kid in town taking their turf.  They generously dismised this idea.  We determined that they speak Italian and that I am Spanish.  I think I may hav said "oui" to "Barcelona?"  Anyway; that was nice of them.

2.  Long interaction with two men, one standard young vague European with a camera; and the other a mad-scientist type with curly gray hair and round glasses.  The latter was posing with me for photos, but was not satisfied with the other man's product.  After giving them my Edinburgh lie, the older man asked if I knew any Irish songs.  Then he started singing "Wild Rover."  Yes!  I played it, (excellent with tambourine) and he was surprised I knew it!  Learned it on my first day with the accordion, my friend!  He speaks English, btw.  Later on he asked my star sign, and was very srprised to hear that i'm a cancer.  He said usually the musicians and composrs are aquarius or something else.  Mad astrologist?  Anyway; they said they'd email photos.

3.  An interesting looking old man came up.  He was a professor type, with a white beard, green corduroy trousers, and maybe even suspenders.  He started talking; and I had to tell him about my language restrictions.  He opened a bag to demonstrate the business he had with me: he was trying to get me to pay him two Euros for this dirty, ratty old red stuffed crab (as in plush toy, not the delicious kind of stuffed crab).  No thanks!  I did undertand the word "Mange."  Since he was obviously in need of it, I gave him my newest phrase: "Bon chance."  (Let's just hope it doesn't actually mean "Nice piano dress and puppet with matching piano dress!")

4.  Two police officers walked by.  Said and did nothingto me!  Hurrah!  I hadn't looked up busking laws here; so that was great news.

5.  A middle-aged man lingered for a bit.  He, too; right away asked my nationality.  Come on, people, at least let me think i can pass for French!  I told the truth this time and said I was American...bt I live in Scotland.  I added "It's less embarrassing to say Scotland."  Turns out his English wasn't as good as I thought; and he didn't catch this bit.  "Laserbara what?"  "Um its less embarrassing;$."  "Lass is a Scottish word, no?"  "Well yes but...forget it."  He had a bunch of questions, like if I play alone and if I sing while I play.  Sir, you're watching my act right now.  Can't you deduce these things from seeing it live?  I changed the subject and announced that i would play a scottish song, from my homeland; and he said i have to sing for that!  I compromised and picked up the kazoo for a rousing rendition of "Skye Boat Song."  Actually sounded nice!  Thanks for the encouragement.

6.  The fucking bells wouldn't shut the fuck up!!!  Seriously,they would just go off at random times.  The first wasn't random; it was 12:00 (this is out of order, sorry).  I counted along, already feeling impatiet after four dongs.  What's the right word for a unit of bell?  Nine...ten...eleven...twelve.  Thirteen.  Fourteen.  Come on!!  Sure enough, it went on and on and on.  I did my routine of alternating giving the entire cathedral exasperated looks and giving it a good "shhhh," all while looking at my watch so everyone knew why i wasn't playing.  Long time to wait; but it was so loud and out of key that there was no point in trying to play over it.  I was playing again when the clock struck 7:00, but this time I entertained myself for 0.025 seconds by figuring what note the bells wee.  Eb.  So I played my bit to a Kaiho song which is in Eb to pass the time.  I amused myself by saying to it, under my breath, "That's enough ringing."  This is an allusion to a babysittng anecdote.  Once; I was babysitting a family who had a little boy that was difficult with bedtime.  Finally he was in bed, zith the lights out, and i was gently rubbing his back and softly humming.  I was sure he was asleep, or very close to it, when he loudly an totally non-sleepily declared, "That's enough singing."  This line comes to mind often; and now I will say it to church bells whenever necessary.

That's all I have written down, but I'm sure I've forgotten things!  I quit after less than two hors since things had seriously quieted down.  Mqybe I'll put it one more morning of busking; now that I knoz it's legal here!  A bientot.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Sunburnt in Bern!

Hello,
We are fresh (I mean it, shortest busking-blogging turnover time ever) from a quick busk in Bern.  But before we get to that, I didn't busk in Paris :(  I reeeally wanted to, for obvious reasons, and I was going to put on my best Amelie smile, hide my English signs, and let tourists think they had stumbled upon a real Parisian accordion player.  I only know three recognizable French songs, in addition to the Amelie soundtrack, but the popularity of the Twin Peaks theme in Europe indicates that that doesn't matter.  The weather was spotty; nice for the most of the day, then rainy in the evenings.  It wasn't particularly cold, and I could easily have gotten a good session in in that regard.  The issue was that I got sick!  I have been battling (ignoring) a little cold for a few weeks, and it just blew up once I got to Paris.  I tried to be a good sport, but in reality I ended up spending most of the weekend horizontal, under the amazing care of my friend Kristin.  (Turns out I had strep, go figure.)  It wouldn't have been a very fun busk.  I'll just have to go back to Paris once I've practiced more songs, anyway!

Now I'm in Switzerland recovering from strep, staying with old friends, and now doing some sightseeing.  I decided to go to Bern for the day, and brought my accordion along at the last minute.  For most of the day it was a big hassle, since I was lugging it over cobblestones, up and down hills, and hauling it over a million little staircases.  Who designed that city anyway.  And it was HOT.  I didn't want to leave it at the train station, since I was sure the perfect pitch would be at the other end of town, if I did that.

After getting my fill of sightseeing, around 3:30, I started looking for a spot.  There wern't a ton of tourists out, and it was hard to find a good spot since most of the people were on the shopping street (boooo).  There was a market, but I didn't want to get too close because I didn't know the laws about it, and vendors are more likely to complain/to know the rules than random passersby.

Finally I decided to head back towards the train station and find a place there, since day-trippers would be catching evening trains, I could just hop on the train when I was done, and there's generally a good hustle and bustle.  I set up on Spitalgasse (not unlike my last week) street in front of a church.  I didn't expect to make any money, and I didn't at first, but I actually did okay.  Paid for my ticket to Bern, at least!  That is the point of busking on the road!  Here's the dirt:

Friday, 27 April, 2012: Bern, Switzerland
1.  It seems the steps in front of the church next to my pitch have a resident drug addict.  I'm so used to them now that they don't even appear on the radar when choosing a spot.  This particular one was chatty, and had the worst teeth I've ever seen.  He had a lot to say, and I smiled and politely said "Wyisdj weoire rpoicjcx ylks," which was supposed to sound like "Ich spreche kein Deutsch."  (Copied that from the internetz, didn't actually memorize it perfectly.)  He kept talking, but included the word "English."  Yes!  English!  Kept speaking German.  Or maybe it was garbled English.  I picked up a few words: Mentality.  Angst.  Dark.  Oh, I guess he's talking about my act?  Over a few "conversations" this was the impression I got, that he thought my act was too heavy.  Or that this area, these passersby, were.  Hm.  He was pretty annoying, and kept getting up to talk.  I was less patient every time.  At first I listened for a minute, nodded, then said, in English, "Sorry, I don't understand you."  An hour later he would get up and I would right away say, "Nope, still not going to understand.  I'm going to keep playing!"  Sometimes he would talk anyway, sometimes he would sit down again and pass out in weird positions.  Once he stood up and kept standing right next to me as I played.  I had to be very assertive and attempt to communicate that he was in my person space, would he please sit down.  Eventually he got it, but not before dropping a bunch of cookie crumbs into my box.  Thankss.  Hey, I prefer that to him taking money out of it.  Finally he gave up on joining my act and having long conversations, so he started just offering me swigs of gin instead.  Of course I accepted; you know all about my combined affinity for sharing spit with dentally-impaired men on drugs and generally drinking straight lukewarm gin (especially while on antibiotics).  Great for my playing.  Anyway, that's as much space as this guy gets, moving on...

2. A couple of other people tried commenting in German, but I wasn't sure if they were determined enough for it to be worth confessing my non-spreche of the language.  I did a lot of nodding and smiling, and delivered my best "danke"s on many occasions.

3. I got so many smiles from elderly people!  Usually they're the ones that don't approve of my career choice (ahemmyowngrandma), and usually avert their eyes and don't reach for their wallets.  This, of course, excludes the types that vacation in Provincetown.  But today in Bern, they were loving it!  Big smiles!  Some tips!

4. One in particular was a clean-cut elderly gentleman who did tip.  Then, he grabbed the flag outside and brought it into the church.  Closing time!  I've now been tipped by the person in charge of a church!

5. I didn't set up Flaca's area, since I didn't know the rules and wanted to keep a relatively low profile.  Also, I had to be able to grab everything and run from the cops, if need be.  She still sat, smiling, in the box, but I didn't give her to the few children who stopped.  I can fake that conversation in French, but didn't seem worth the confusion.  Tanz, puppen, tanz!

6. Once again, I was practicing my one-woman band routine.  This really helps business so much!  I've booked a trip to Tel Aviv, where my friend has promised me markets, so I'm dreaming about all the possibilities for ankle percussion I might find.  I know that's more of a Turkish thing, but hopefully the Israelis will have a tradition of strap-on bells!  It will make it so much easier.  The tambourine just isn't staying put.  It didn't fall off as much, but it was sliding down so the jingles were pressed against my toe and thus muted.  Even worse!  Also, the kazoo seems to have broken.  I need some gear.  Excited to really practice/perfect this act!  A couple times I had to remind myself that I do still play the accordion, and people do like it, so I gave my foot a break so I could squeeze better.  Sounds so empty though without the percussion.  The best song to use all three is still "Call Me!"

7. On my bus from London to Antwerp, "The Final Countdown" came on the radio.  It occurred to me that this will be the perfect song for me!  I can do the dramatic chords and "melody" on the right hand, and the catchy instrumental line on the kazoo.  I played around with it a little today, and totally got a tip for it.

8. Swiss lady singing along with La Vie en Rose!  That is all.

9. There were a ton of buses/trams going right in front of me, which was fun.  It's nice to see my reflection every once in a while (the kazoo looks so dumb), but mainly it's fun to make eye contact with passengers.  This time of day, many are cranky and going home, so I like to think it's nice for them to see something different ou the window.

10.  Everything is super expensive in Switzerland.  I like to think the inflation there helped me, and I do think people were more heavy-handed with the 2- and 5-franc coins.  One just isn't enough!  Oh, that's another thing to celebrate: my third currency of earnings!  Although I don't know what I'll do with a bag of CHF coins, since my days in this country are numbered.

I think that's all, enjoy this sunshine if you have it!  Next busking: Munich, probably.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Alstublieft in Antwerp!

Greetings from Antwerp, Belgium! Today was a glorious day of international busking; exactly what I had hoped for on tour.

I've been super lazy about busking. I did it in Liverpool, but then skipped London and was planning to skip Antwerp, simply because there's so much sightseeing to do!

(Disclaimer: I'm writing on an iPad for the first time, so I will certainly fall victim to autocorrect at some point! Too late to proofread this post. Also I'll be leaving out apostrophes not done by autocorrect because I cant be bothered to go to the other screen to get them!)

Anyway, todays busking began wth a phone call with my dear friend Sasha last night. I was telling her all about my travel plans, and she asked the question, "how are you paying for all of this?". Oh yeah. I'm supposed to be paying for it through busking.

Midday today I was walking through Antwerp planning on just sightseeing. but then a sound filled my ears! It took me a minute to find the source, but sure enough a young map was playing an upright piano on Meir street, the big shopping street. It was so lovely! THe piano was a bit beat up, and he had evidentially wheeled it along the sidewalk. I talked to him for a bit, and he said Saturdays are great for busking in this city. Apparently theres another piano player too! I was cursing myself for not bringing my accordion along, just in case. As I kept walking, I saw another busker: another accordion player. That did it. I decided to go get my accordion and put in a day's work. It was a gorgeous day, I was rapidly losing money, and I missed it! I hadnt played my songs in over a week (except for Happy Birthday several times last weekend and a quick concert for Freya's grandparents). I figured out the tram and went back to my cousins house for my gear. On a whim, I brought along not only my kazoo, but also my never before used mini tambourine. More on that to come.

I was going to go back to the shopping street, regardless of what I learned in Liverpool. Luckily I talked to my second-cousin-once-removed Ive who suggested I go on Hoogstraat, near the Groenplaats. In the historic center, touristy. I did, and it was great! I am quite satisfied, and here's why:

Saturday, 14 April, 2012
Right at the top of the straat was a frite (French fry!) shop that was closed. I didn't bother looking further, I had some space with no one to piss off, it was right near a big church and city hall, and there were passersby aplenty! I was directly under the sun, which is noticeably higher than it is. Edinburgh, and I was down to just my dress a couple of times. There are two big things that I want to talk about: percussion and languages.

I. Percussion.
As you know, Edinburgh is gearing up for the annual Fringe Festival in August. So many street performers will flock in, so I will really hav to be able to compete! My goal is to be a functioning one-woman band, plus Flaca dancing on her own. I will henceforth add kazoo and tambourine to many of songs. As you know, I quickly bought a wooden kazoo, a mini tambourine, and a bunch of elastic before hitting the road. I experimented with the kazoo in Liverpool, but the tambourines was so far employed exclusively to confuse baggage handlers. Today, however, I though I'd try it out. It was a big success!!

The idea I had had was to strap it to my inner ankle. I tried that, but it took a lot of effort to make it sond, and it kept sliding down. Next I moved it to the top of my right foot. This worked well, but far from flawlessly. I'll list the problems:

A. It still kept falling off. I hadnt yet sewn the elastic into a loop, so I just wrapped it around my foot a few times and tied it. It held it on, but didn't survive the constant shaking, so it was always falling out.

B. It was also digging uncomfortably into my foot.

C. Since my right leg was percussing, my left leg held all my weight. This made for a sore hip joint! It is more natural to alternate tapping both feet, so the solution is to get a second one for the left foot, and they will pass off the percussion duty at my hips' disposal.

D. Took away from my accordion ability, since it's a lot for my brain.

It was totally worth these problems. Here are the advantages:

A. It gave my songs a great fullness. They definitely sounded more complete with percussion.

B. Lo and behold, it helped me stay on rhythm! I am terrible about speeding up, which i never seem to notice on the spot but which drives me nuts watching recordings. It is easier to hear impurities in rhythm in a rhythm instrument, so the whole act stayed in tempo much better!

C. It drew attention. When it's just accordion, people are okay walking by and listening. But when it's accordion and tambourine, people look up to see how it's done! I definitely noticed more attention.

D. It kept me smiling! I do much better when I'm smiling throughout, but often I space out and forget to. But while negotiating the tambourine, i was having fun and couldn't help but smile! And the crazy rattlesnake finale I was doing on every song is just so silly that I had to smile. And i was losing my balance and falling over a lot, which is always funny.

E. It was just so inspirational in terms of building my act. I am so sick of my songs and my routine, so I'm looking forward to honing this new act!

Here are the mechanics:
On some harder snags, like Beyond the Sea and Fly Me to Your Mom, I kept it really simple, just keeping the beat. But on other songs, like Werewolves of London and Vieni Sul Mar, I wet a little nuts and did some complicated stuff. Much more interesting. I discovered that it helped the endings of sings to give the tambourine a real shake on the last note, wheni a I also attempting tremolo on the accordion. Also used this in the middle of some songs. I started out keeping my heel on the ground and just tapping my toe, but thAt got painful. I realized that I had way more volume and control if I lifted my whole leg, leaned forward a bit, bent my knee, and slammed my whole foot down (think of the posture of the guards in Athens with Pom poms on their toes instead of tambourines). It really made me look serious about it! Even when the tambourine fell off mid song I could still make a sound by stepping on it. Tis will require some crafting to figure out how to make it stay, but it will make my act so much more effective! Can't wait.oh and I did use kazoo a little. Mainly on "House of the Rising Sun," which officially marks my first number as a one woman band, since I used al three nstruments! Also tried using the kazoo on Ring of Fire again, for the brass bits. I really need to get a harmonica holder. The other song on which I used lots of kazoo was "Call Me," the greatest hit by Kaiho, my Edinburgh band. I just love this song! My intention was to practice my bit, but I ended up doing Sas' and Mel's parts on kazoo and tambourine!

I believe that's all about percussion. Now...

II. Language.
Today was my first day playing in a country where English is not the primary language! I had avoided doing this because I want to be able to understand the funny comments. I gave that up, which was disappointing since I had a lot of gibberish thrown at me ("Est vinkle!"), but it was very interesting. The first concern was how I was going to thank people. I ended up just appreciately nodding, and sometimes said "thank you" in a funny accent. There was one phrase people kept saying when they tipped. I tried to recreate it for my first-cousin-twice-removed-in-law (seriously) , but couldt remember it. Bt then our waiter at dinner tonight used it, as did a character in the musical we saw after! The phrase is "Astublieft," and it pretty much means "here ya go.". My first Flemish! Other times, patrons would say things more substantial, so I would have to say " I only speak English.". That just felt so lame, and it's also untrue, so to sound more European I started saying "I only speak English and Spanish." with another half hour, Spanish would have been first in that list. Obviously most people started speaking English then, but one older man responded with "Has terminado jugando?" " si, voy a cenarme con mi familia!" but then we switched to English. Of course, once My secret was out everyone asked where I was from, and I decided to lie! "I'm from Scotland." I had to put a slight twinge on to make this believable, but accents are not a talent of mine. Everything I attempt just turns to Indian. So my story is that I grew up in Spain and now I live in Edinburgh, but I have an inexplicable Indian accent. One man said something, and when I hesitated responding he asked "Nederlandish?" or something. I responded, "Scottish.". He said "English?" I said "no, Scottish!" before realizing he was talking about language, not nationality. I know well enough to not accept being called English if you're actually Scottish! Sure enough a similar interaction happened later where the person actually did mean nationality, and he knew not to accuse me of being English! Most people who stopped to talk were speaking Flemish/Dutch, but there was one English lady and two sets of americans. The group of American ladies giggled at my secrecy, which they vowed to protect, when I caught them up on my identity scheme. I also talked to one man who had lived in ireland, and I was worried he would catch onto my Indian/American accent.

I've made you read a lot of text! Sorry! On to the fun part, the numbered list:

1. This is a boring one to start with, but the aforementioned English lady came by and said that she had been listening and wanted to see who was playing. She said I had a "variety of peace.". Hm, I had only played "blowin in the wind" once!" The funny thing is I even wrote down "variety of piece(s)" in my notes, which makes much more sense.

2. It was so strange, everyone was tipping Flaca! Really a strong majority! Usually people don't even notice her setup, but today her box kept filling up so I had to empty it into my box so I looked like a contender. Do they love miniatures in Belgium? They didt even comment on Flaca. Maybe they somehow missed my big box.

3. Speaking of money, I learned to love two euro coins! They look so much like one euro coins that people are more likely to throw them in accidentally than they are the very distinct two pound coins. I had 17 of them at the end, which is definitelyf more than my usual haul f two pound coins.

4. I heard the sound of music, and saw a man walking around by the patios of restaurants with one of those slender electric violins with a beautiful brass megaphone thing attached. Of course I feared that he would be competition that would not readily move along, but instead he came over to talk and to listen. He actually tipped me! Turns out he's Romanian. Best of luck to him, for being nice.

5. On the subject of territorial street musicians (me), I had a difficult interaction with anoher musician. This kid (19?) walked by with a guitar and a yankees hat. Trouble. After a minute he was seated like twenty feet from me playing his guitar and singing. I wanted to go tell him off, but didn't want to leave my stuff. In a bit, I talked to another American family, and decided to trust them to ask them to watch my stuff while I went to take care of business. These guys were total jerks! The guy and his friend. They said they were sitting at the cafe having a beer and they moved across the street to be in the sun. I politely told them they had to be fifty meters away. "what, is that the law?". " yes, it is." "I think I know the law. " "then you should know that buskers must be 50 meters apart." "I'm not singing for money." "that doesnt matter, it makes it difficult for me to do my act, and I claimed this pitch first.". I forget the rest, but they hurled aggressive comments back, and I finally walked away because I didt want to leave my stuff any longer. I guess they're either sensitive on the inside or afraid of the law, since they did go back to the cafe side and stop playing. Oh, I never looked up the busking rules in Antwerp. But that is the law everywhere else I've played or researched, so it probably is here. Oh, just remembered more. He said "I have friends that busk this close together and they're a lot more illegal than you!". And he had been playing "hit the road, jack," and suggested I just give in and play along with his songs. Tempting.m

6. A man came over and we did the shuffle of figuring out a language. He said, in English, that he had been over by the restaurant. Of course I got nervous that it would e a complaint, but he said he was asking. Me a favor. He had painted a banner, and he wanted to walk with it behind me while I was playing. Fair enough. They walked by, I played on, but I snuck a peek at the banner. It read, "Contemporary art sucks." Ha! What a cause! That was almost the title of this post, by the way.

7. An older gentleman who looked lik Pavarotti walked by with hs violin in a case. He said something I didn't understand, and I was worried I was in hs spot. But they he just told me to play, so I played Fly Me to the Moon and he Sang along!

8. Bells! Bells! More bells! The bells at the Groenplaats church ring for like ten straight minutes, in addition to a little interval at the half hour. I had to wait at 4:00 and 5:00. Loud, and hard to play over! I made a big deal and dramatically glaring at the chuch, looking at my watch, and sighing.

9. I spoke to a man named Joann (?) (yo-AHN) for quite a while. He lives in holland but he used to live in Antwerp so he was here for a visit. Long gray hair, glasses, big smile. Like that German teacher on the Clark website, not like Bob from the Black Lodge. Speaking of which, no one recognized Twin Peaks! I was surprised since Europeans from everywhere recognize it in Scotland.

10. Flaca finally got some action! She only did her thing the once at the end, under the control of a little toddler named Rosalie. But one of Flaca s stringed came untied, I have to fix her. I handed Rosalie the tambourine when she was done with Flaca, and she just turned and ran off with it.

11. Last but probably best...the bachelor/être parties. So much more appealing here than in Scotland! First there was a group of women with devil horns. Then there was a group of women in Spanish flamenco outfits. Then there was a group.of men. They all wore home made tshirts except for the groom, who wore a dog costume. They were all so dignified and polite, people you would actually. Want. To marry unlike the drunk hooligans I see in Edinburgh. The groom posed for a picture with me, and the group responded when I played "here comes the bride.". Lasty, a group of women walked by in polka dot skirts with a general retro look. I got the beginning of the song out as they walked by, just in time for them to notice. But not stop or tip! But then...they walked by again and asked if they could take a video, and if I could play "you are my sunshine.". Yes and yes! They got in a choral. Formation, with the bride conducting. So different and nice! I asked them to send along the video, I hope they do!

That is all. I could writes little conclusion but I don't even want to say what time it is here. Might do it again tomorrow if the suns out again! If not, catch you on the next stop. Sry for all the typos! I'm sure I didn't catch all the auto corrects. Xxx

Next day edits:
1. I forgot about the Hare Krishna lady! She rode by on a very decorated bike, with a colorful outfit and braids. She was giving out cookies, which I almost went for, but I declined.

2. It turns out it wasn't just Any frite shop I played in front of, but the best one! My hosts were going to take me to the best place, but it was closed. Mde the connection today that they're one and the same. Unfortunately, it's closed forever due to tax fraud. Well, good for buskers!


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Liverpool!

Greetings from the road!
As you might know, I am currently on a two-month Europe tour. I have brought along my accordion with hopes of busking every once in a while to help cover my costs, but mainly to have more stories. I busked for a few hours last week in Liverpool, and it was mildly interesting, if not lucrative! Here's what happened:

Thursday, 5 April, 2012:
There was a very nice map online of busking pitches in Liverpool. I wrote them down, and consulted with the owner of my hostel about good ones. I ended up on Church St., which was certainly bustling! The problem was that it's in the heart of the shopping district, which, as we learned in Edinburgh, sucks for busking. It's the wrong kind of people. I should have explored the other pitches more to find an ideal one.

1. Someone asked if I can play "Patsy Fagan A.E." Nope.

2. Two men stopped and lingered for a bit with their fancy cameras. I actually talked to them quite a bit, and one has emailed me his photos. He came by as I was packing up with his wife, and they were super nice! The wife said, "Hope you get a good easter egg!" As if the easter bunny finds nomadic gypsies!

3. A family stopped, and I introduced Flaca, extending her out, assuming it would be the little girl who picked her up. Instead, the older brother grabbed her! He's definitely older than my male customers usually are. Nice.

4. I should mention the kazoo. I've been thinking about how to expand my act for the festival, since there will be so much competition. I've decided that in addition to rigging up Flaca's pulley-dance-system, I shall become a one-woman band. I bought a kazoo and a mini tambourine to start experimenting with on the road. Ideally, the kazoo will take melodies and the right hand of the accordion will accompany them. "House of the Rising Sun" is a perfect example, since you can do a nice flowy accompaniment on the right hand. Here's a video of my first session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfYLKxQ-m-Q

I'm disappointed by the kazoo. It's wooden, and it cost more than the plastic or metal ones in the shop, so I thought it would be really awesome. The tone isn't great, though, and the range is small. I had such an amazing kazoo as a kid, and I've been unable to find ones equally good! This one won't do. I still played around with it on other songs, such as "Parlez-moi d'Amour," "Ob La Di," and "Ring of Fire," giving it the trumpet bits! With practice, it'll be a good addition. Regardless of it not sounded good, it certainly got me more attention! Not more tips, but more lingering eyes. That's a good sign! Just imagine when I also have the tambourine attached to my ankle!

5. I should also mention Beatles songs! Of course, I wanted to play them in Liverpool. I already play "I've Just Seen a Face," "Ob La Di," and "Let it Be." I had practiced "Hey Jude" and "Eleanor Rigby" a bit, and tried to wing "Eight Days a Week" and "From Me to You." I promised some folks on FB a video, and there is one of "Hey Jude." I just have to get it from my hostel friends!

6. Had a standard drunk guy. He came up, reeking of ether, and noticed that I was playing Adele, which I sometimes do these days. He started singing along, and came up right next to me, a bit closer than I preferred. He said that he's actually been looking for a female singer, would I want to sing with him. Nothaaaanks! I was glad that my hostel friends showed up to confuse him, and he walked off.

7. Two men came by with an accordion and a saxophone! They were friendly buskers looking for their pitch. One checked my left hand and asked if I was married. Okay.

8. The kazoo was lying upside down in the box, and a little girl with full face-paint looked in the box and asked "What is it?" I said, "It's money!" She said, "No, the wooden thing!" Hm, there's so much stuff in there, I was surprised she had noticed. Gave her a little demo.

9. Some people told me they had seen another female accordion player out by the docks. Her name is Jenny and she just started busking in Liverpool. Cool!

That's all I have written down. I thought about going to the train station early when I had to leave the next day to busk more. Figured I'd play tons of Beatles, which would be good for both people coming into the city and those leaving it. But then I didn't!

I want to busk here in London, but the weather's shaky and it seems that I'm getting sick! Standing out in the cold generally isn't a technique for re-gaining health, especially if it's threatening to rain, but we'll see. We'll busk again one of these days!

Cheers,
S^3

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Goodbye for now, Edinburgh!

Yesterday was our last Saturday here for a while! I didn't play for long, and thus don't have much to report.

Saturday, 31 March 2012:
Finished choir rehearsal around 1:00, and decided it was too late for it to be worth setting up at the Farmer's Market. But then I thought about lunch. The plan was to have some haggis at the market to fuel me until I got back to Scotland. I figured I would swing by the market just for haggis, then go set up on the RM. Then, I remembered that I had literally no money on me. It was clear that I had to set up next to the haggis and play just long enough to purchase lunch! I was glad to see that the usual haggis guy was back. He'd been gone for many weeks, and he explained that he had driven his lorrie (that's a truck, right?) to Porto to see his daughter, and drove it back full of granite slabs or something. Must have been rough on the ol' transmission!

1. I had another visit from baby Amelie, who shook her rattle in perfect rhythm with my music. She put money in Flaca's little box.

2. Since choir rehearsal had just let out nearby, I thought I might see some folks. I did see one singer, whose name I don't know, as well as the double bass player in the orchestra. Cool!

3. About that: my dress was a big hit at rehearsal! Of course they all thought I wore it specially for the Messiah. Their eyes widened when I removed my "cardi" and exposed the entire dress. Lots of jokes about playing it.

4. The highlight was my weekly visit with Clara and her family. She is the awesome 4-year-old I've mentioned before, with the nicest parents. They hung around for a bit and treated me to a hot chocolate! Clara had a ballet recital the previous weekend, and she showed me some ballet, to the delight of some passersby. She had seen Amelie tip in Flaca's box, and explained to her parents that the small box is for babies to put money in, but she had put money in the big box. Her parents were very supportive about my upcoming trip!

Time to pack up and....the haggis was sold out! Nooooo! I continued on to the RM which was terrible. There's an older chap who plays his bagpipes on the corner of High St. and Cockburn, where I like to set up. Damn. I went one more block down, but people weren't tipping. Packed up pretty soon after.

5. I hate the stag parties so much. This group had annoying matching t-shirts, and the groom, with a beer in one hand and cigarette in the other, wore a white veil and a ball and chain around his ankle. Real classy. I know it's all for fun, but who would marry a guy who finds that funny?

6. Guy driving a car got my attention and threw a pound at me. Had to chase it a bit, but it was one of like two tips.

7. Know what I hate just as much as stag parties? Child leashes. One little toddler toddled by on her leash, while her oblivious parents tugged her along. She clearly wanted to listen, and just resorted to waving as she was dragged along.

8. A guy walked by and held up two middle fingers. It turns out it was for his friend walking by me. Later he came back and said, "I walked by but didn't put anything in. It's not much, but here you go!" So generous and friendly for a guy who flips double-birds!

That is all. Then today, Sunday 1 April....

I spent most of the day at my new choir's post-concert luncheon. Some ladies suggested I bring my accordion, so I did and was introduced as the entertainment at the end. Played a few songs, and everyone sang. Pretty normal, except that this is a good choir of like eighty people! They produced such a beautiful, powerful sound, complete with harmonies! The Scottish songs went over especially well. I wanted to just stop playing and listen.

On the walk home, it was beautiful out and I had my accordion anyway, so I set up for a bit even though I wasn't piano dressed! Set up on Princes St. at Castle, and it was terrible. Lots of people. Two tips. It's really the wrong crowd. Total waste of time because I should be packing for.....


My tour! Leaving Tuesday morning for a two-month tour of Europe. It'll mostly be just visiting people/tourism, but I do want to try to busk in a few places. I'll keep you updated!

xx