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Surly-Mac
2 posts
Oct 21, 2011
9:07 PM
TO ALL: You guys & gals are all great - after woodshedding this winter, I hope to have a coming out in the spring/summer. Thanks for the inspiration.

Last Edited by on Oct 21, 2011 9:07 PM
BronzeWailer
281 posts
Oct 22, 2011
12:59 PM
OK, I kind of feel like I'm hijacking this thread, but here's one more. Me doing solo harping/singing at night in the bohemian end of town. And having fun!

Miles Dewar
1139 posts
Oct 22, 2011
8:05 PM
hijacking? No Way!

Please, keep them coming!
jbone
669 posts
Oct 23, 2011
6:59 AM
we busk often but currently have no camera. we busked on cherry street in helena most of the day on the king biscuit friday. some folks did shoot some video but no matter how many cards you hand out people generally don't send any vid or pics your way after the fact. i ned to check back on youtube but last time i looked there was very little of cherry street this fest.

we want to get a decent video camera and i want to rig up a safe way to mount it out of sight and reach and just let it roll during a street show. while we do have some vids on youtube they are largely shot right here at home, technically not busking at all.

i'm hoping next tax return, or a lotto win, whichever comes first, we will have a camera ready for next season!
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
jodanchudan
442 posts
Oct 23, 2011
3:50 PM
Man, that amped harp sounds so cool outdoors! By the way, what amp/mic setup are you using?
BronzeWailer
283 posts
Oct 23, 2011
6:50 PM
@jodanchudan. Thanks. It's a Shure 520DX Green Bullet and a Roland BA330 amp. The Roland is pretty good; runs off 8 AA batteries. You can plug a geetar in as well.

Oh, and the vocals are through a Shure SM58.

Last Edited by on Oct 23, 2011 6:53 PM
Steamrollin Stan
123 posts
Oct 23, 2011
8:34 PM
That looks like good fun, ever used a smokey amp and bottle O blues mic?, any hassles with the fun police?
BronzeWailer
284 posts
Oct 23, 2011
10:01 PM
@Steamrollin S. I only have these two mics and one other amp, the Pignose 7-100. I use the Pignose when I want to be totally portable. The Roland is a bit heavy (20kg including the case).

The council rangers have told me to turn down/move along in Martin Place a few times. Pitt Street Mall is a drag with uniformed types. I don't go there any more. A couple of cranky residents have complained in Newtown but the rangers are quite relaxed. The first time I went to Newtown another busker started swearing at me and threatening to call his mates and have me beaten up; I just moved along to another spot.
Me and my Irish guitarist regularly get complaints in Redfern, but another guy who lives across the street from where we busk hired us to play in his cafe on Saturday! The Irish guy uses his blarney to avoid turning down the volume whenever possible.
E.g., a woman said 'I couldn't hear my washing machine today so I thought to myself, you guys must be too loud.'
He said, 'You couldn't hear your washing mahcine? Now what was it trying to say to you?' She laughs and forgets her complaint.
I think 95% of people are welcoming with a 5% minority who will never be happy, but we can't let them rule the world, can we?
Steamrollin Stan
124 posts
Oct 24, 2011
12:53 AM
Some people just want to be whingers, i live out in the sth west burbs where a bit harmless buskin gets shafted really fast, more vibrant about the inner city regions i think, you know what i mean. S.S.
BronzeWailer
286 posts
Oct 24, 2011
1:20 AM
You got it, SS. Some people are quite narrow minded.
Steamrollin Stan
131 posts
Oct 27, 2011
2:09 AM
Just felt like giving this a bump, interesting blog!
BronzeWailer
295 posts
Oct 27, 2011
12:52 PM
OK, this is a bit old but I took a few harps with me when I went to South America earlier this year. I played the same song in various locations, and even tried to busk at the markets in Buenos Aires, but some drunk hijacked me. Had fun doing it anyway, and it's a good method to train oneself to overcome reticence.

Steamrollin Stan
139 posts
Oct 27, 2011
6:45 PM
That was fun to watch, not sure if playin harp under a misty waterfall or ridin the rapids is gonna get many tips however.
lor
17 posts
Nov 03, 2011
8:58 AM
This probably doesn't quite qualify as busking, as there was no street and no passers by, but it was in public. My first time.

I had only been practicing about 5 months and brought my C, A, G, and Bb harps with me backpacking into the wilderness where I made camp on the sandy shore of a lake among the pines high up a mountain in the Sierra Nevada's. It was hot, I was alone, a quick skinny dip, and decided to practice on my favorite harp, the A, still naked.

After a little while warming the reeds and wetting my lips I plunged into a fervent improvisation in a slippery minor tone. I closed my eyes, as I sometimes do, to concentrate on the sound, trying to stay in the pentatonic but heeding the advice from Miles Davis, "When you hit a wrong note it's the next note that makes it good or bad."

I was weaving around to the rhythm, bare toes in the sand, for maybe four or five minutes, played out a nice crescendo and retreat to an almost sad ending. Opened my eyes.

Ten feet in front of me were three young women jumping up and down clapping and cheering wildly. All three were totally nude.

I'm hooked. They came over from another camp around the bend when they heard my harp. I don't care, if I busked for a thousand dollar day, it couldn't beat that.

I'm still working on a recognizable repertoire, but I will try.

Sorry no video.
Steamrollin Stan
157 posts
Nov 03, 2011
11:44 AM
@ lor, like they say, the harp guy always wins the chicks, you just proved it, so what happened next heh,heh,heh,........
KingoBad
975 posts
Nov 03, 2011
11:58 AM
As read in Penthouse...

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Danny
lor
18 posts
Nov 04, 2011
11:16 AM
I suppose it would be more interesting to delve into the erotic fantasies you might imagine, but they were proper, smart, and friendly, with professional careers involved in social service. The nudity was a simple fact. It was a beautiful moment but I didn't go crazy. We exchanged some background and philosophy and contact numbers, and have corresponded briefly via the Internet since then. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. Some thanks goes to Adam for my good luck.

I do look forward to busking one of these days.
Miles Dewar
1150 posts
Nov 04, 2011
5:41 PM
What part of the Sierra Nevadas was this, and When can we go? ;)
BronzeWailer
313 posts
Nov 04, 2011
5:59 PM
Casts the term "Hill Country Harmonica" in a new light.
Steamrollin Stan
159 posts
Nov 04, 2011
8:29 PM
@ miles Dewar, i've been thinking that if you go to this neck of the woods, find a nice sandy creek,skinny dip, play the harp, it might be some kind of mating call that we haven't fully understood.
Miles Dewar
1152 posts
Nov 05, 2011
11:00 AM
Lmao.
KingoBad
976 posts
Nov 05, 2011
12:56 PM
I think if you go to a blues bar, get up on stage, play harp and shake your hips a bit, it is a mating ritual we DO understand...

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Danny
Steamrollin Stan
160 posts
Nov 05, 2011
1:26 PM
@ KingoBad, Naked or not?....i'm about 220 lbs.
lor
20 posts
Nov 05, 2011
8:48 PM
@stan: ain't it what frogs do? they got their own harp, tho', from birth.
@miles: This was in Lassen Volcanic National Park, by Snag Lake, check google earth, several hours hike into the wilderness with a 45 pound backpack. Not so far as to discourage healthy young women, nor old men with youthful exuberance and a harp like me.
lor
22 posts
Nov 05, 2011
9:12 PM
@guys: let us not forget ... the fallen... ah, no, that was yesterday... now i do not forget that this is about busking.

I was in public but, being nude, they had no pockets, and carried no purses, so all they could bestow was applause.

Does that appreciation make this incredible experience in public qualify as busking?
Steamrollin Stan
161 posts
Nov 06, 2011
3:14 AM
@lor, you qualify as a busker and thats what counts.
But gee wow!!! it was a good tale to tell us about.
oldwailer
1773 posts
Nov 17, 2011
9:43 AM
Here's a busking tip I recently discovered--for playing in the cold.

I play guitar, with harp on a stick when I busk--and in the winter in the NW of the US, it gets too cold for my guitar fingers at about 55 degrees or so. Of course, you can still play the harp because your fingers get warmed by your breath, but my thing requires guitar for most everything I do.

Well, last week I went to busk Pikes Market in Seattle--I used my wool half-gloves as usual, but this time I had some of those Hot-Hands thingies that you just shake and they get hot. I stuffed two of them into the palms of my half-gloves. It works great, but you do need to wrap the hot things in a layer of Kleenex or something--(they get hot enough to burn your palms). I found that I could play just fine with this rig on my hands. Between songs, I just tucked my fingers into may palms to warm them a little more.

I think I could manage to play down to about 40 degrees now--which is a big improvement for this area, since it almost never gets lower than that during the day. One set of these things lasts a whole day--you just need to take them out and shake them from time to time to get them heating up again.

I do find that the half-gloves are a hindrance to getting a good cup for playing just harp--but, when busking acoustically (Pike's market doesn't allow amps), you don't really want a hell of a lot of cup--you just want it as loud as it can get. . .
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Oldwailer's Web Site

Always be yourself--unless you suck. . .
-Joss Whedon
BronzeWailer
352 posts
Jan 05, 2012
1:28 PM
From my latest "paid practice" session. A song I am currently working on, in this case, in Hyde Park, Sydney. Just threw some lyrics in the other day.

isaacullah
1715 posts
Jan 06, 2012
3:21 PM
I'm just getting ready to head out to downtown PHX to busk at the First Friday art walk. I'm bringing a friend along, so I hope he can get a little vid of me out there doing my thing, and I can post it up here! Stay tuned....

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== I S A A C ==
Super Awesome!

View my videos on YouTube!
Visit my reverb nation page!
Miles Dewar
1181 posts
Jan 08, 2012
4:20 PM
Yes indeed, do get a video!

"'Paid Practice' session" ;) nice.


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---Go Chicago Bears!!!---
isaacullah
1719 posts
Jan 08, 2012
10:01 PM
I've got video! Not only that, I've got high quality HD video! And not only that, I edited the video! Below are four clips from my busking session last Friday night at the first Phoenix First Friday Art Walk of 2012. I didn't make as much $$ as I have at this event before, but I had a load of fun because of my new street rig: Beheringer XM8500 mic, Zoom G3 multieffects and looper, and Pyp PB1 battery amp. With the G3, I finally could do my looping stuff live out on the streets! I bought the little Pyp PB1 amp used, and I think I need to get a new battery for it, but it lasted for about and hour and half or so, and got me enough volume for what I needed to do... Also, XM8500 handled great, and geave me a great amount of versatility for beatboxing, clean tones, and dirty cupped tones. All together, these three bits of new equipment made for a lean mean street music machine! I'm very happy with this super lightweight and portable rig.

Alright, enough with the preamble: here's the vids!

Clip 1: The first couple of jams of the evening. I started out simple with just some basic solo harp playing. No loops or beatbox. I'm using the G3's Super Reverb amp model (EDIT: it's a Fender Deluxe Reverb model in the G3) with an analog delay model and a spring reverb model. First half of the clip is a slow blues, and then I break into an up tempo shuffle groove. At the end I find out that a fellow harp player had noticed me and was watching!



Clip 2: Harpboxing and Hiphop. This is a harpboxing ditty using a Bb natural minor (Solist Pro). After I did the groove, a young MC came up and asked if he could spit some rhymes over my harpboxing, so I said "hell yeah!". Go to about the 2 minute mark to see what happened next! He stuck around for a couple of other numbers, and rapped over some beats and grooves I laid down into the looper... Awesome!



Clip 3: Looping. Now this is what I really wanted to be doing out there for the first time! Live looping to the people! Here's a couple little looped ditties I did. I came with several pre-composed loop songs in my mind (same ones that I've recorded on my YouTube channel), but what came out were some new songs sort of inspired by those pre-composed ones... Lot's of fun!



Clip 4: The end of the night... As the battery in my little amp was running down, I decided to dial back the volume, and go back to some simple solo harp playing. I had just enough juice left for another slow blues. As I started playing it, somehow a little bit of the hook from Adam's "Mr. Cantrell" found it's way into it! As good a way to end the night as any!



All in all, it was one of the most fun nights out busking I've ever had!
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== I S A A C ==
Super Awesome!

View my videos on YouTube!
Visit my reverb nation page!

Last Edited by on Jan 09, 2012 7:05 PM
BoogieSTBlues
5 posts
Jan 09, 2012
7:22 AM
Isaac how long did you play at Roosevelt for your recent YouTube videos?
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L. "Squeeky Ray" Robinson
oldwailer
1816 posts
Jan 09, 2012
8:45 AM
Hey, Isaac! Good job--getting it out there! And bringing back videos to prove it! Good job!

-----

Oldwailer's Web Site

Always be yourself--unless you suck. . .
-Joss Whedon
isaacullah
1720 posts
Jan 09, 2012
9:49 AM
@BoogiSTBlues: This time I only played one stint of about an hour and a half. Typically, I play two or more stints of about an hour at a time, switching locations each time. I do these hour time-blocks because that's about how long I can go before I really need to pee (you have to drink a lot of water while playing outside!). This was a short stint because it's my first time out in a while and I've lost my stamina.

@oldwailer: Thanks man! I appreciate it!

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== I S A A C ==
Super Awesome!

View my videos on YouTube!
Visit my reverb nation page!
electricwitness
10 posts
Jan 09, 2012
10:51 AM
My first video post on the forum, I hope it works! Here is a clip of me doing some busking last summer 2011.


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electricwitness.com

Last Edited by on Jan 09, 2012 10:54 AM
Pistolcat
103 posts
Jan 09, 2012
1:02 PM
Nice job Isaac! I could only watch the first two videos before YT broke down but that was really nice. Cool of you to let that kid jam with you.

I love this thread. I always check the new videos whenever it is bumped to the top... I have to come back for the rest of it later. And electricwitness's too.
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Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
oldwailer
1817 posts
Jan 09, 2012
1:19 PM
@electricwitness--Very nice job! I liked the Jaw Harp a lot--damn, I just gotta get me a looper! Nice harp and even a good guitar groove to steal.

My wife told me to tell you she liked the Jaw harp a lot too--and she doesn't even care much for blues.

This is my favorite continuing thread. . .
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Oldwailer's Web Site

Always be yourself--unless you suck. . .
-Joss Whedon

Last Edited by on Jan 09, 2012 1:21 PM
BronzeWailer
355 posts
Jan 09, 2012
4:43 PM
@Isaac. Great stuff. Electricwitness too. Very inspiring.
isaacullah
1721 posts
Jan 09, 2012
6:37 PM
Thanks dudes! I've cut together more of me playing with the rappers, and uploaded it to YT. If y'all are interested, I'm considering starting a separate thread to solicit feedback on that collaboration...

@electricwitness: Great stuff! Love the jaw harp!
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== I S A A C ==
Super Awesome!

View my videos on YouTube!
Visit my reverb nation page!
electricwitness
11 posts
Jan 10, 2012
11:44 AM
@oldwailer Thank you to you and your wife! I LOVE my looper, so many possibilities, and you just gotta love the jaw harp! haha

@bronzewailer and @isaacullah, Thank you too, It's fun to see your videos as well! Keep on busking!!!
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electricwitness.com
tookatooka
2637 posts
Jan 15, 2012
7:05 AM
Something like this will be my next project. Should be able to fit my MicroCube onto the rear pannier rack just nicely.


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KC69
195 posts
Jan 15, 2012
7:36 AM
I ride a 500 mile bicycle ride across Iowa each summer called RAGBRAI . There is 10 to 15,000 riders per day for 7 days. I play as I ride thru the towns and the locals really enjoy. I stop at the towns that have bands and generally get asked to sit in. I play with with local DJs set up along the ride. i have been lucky enough to play on the main stage at one of the over night stops, for thousands of, Beer Drinkin, fun, bicycling fans. I would like to equip my bike this year with a Pig Nose on the luggage rack and build a harmonica holder that mounts to the handle bars. The Pig Nose is plenty of extra weight when riding 500 miles. I thought of a neck rack and a Strnad mic., but that would be a "pain in the neck". I have some ideas for a harmonica holder to mount to the handle bars. Such as a clamp on the end of a flex mic stand holder. Asking for any other ideas. remembering weight and comfort is priority.
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And I Thank You !!
K.C.
castlehomes69@yahoo.com
BronzeWailer
366 posts
Jan 15, 2012
1:37 PM
Hi KC! Sounds like a lot of fun. I also love riding my bike, but had limited success playing while riding. I have had a few crashes even without using one hand to hold the harp so probably should quit tyring.

I saw this on the net the other day while mucking around. It is a magnet holder that screw into a mic. Maybe you could use/modify this.


http://www.harplock.com
KC69
196 posts
Jan 15, 2012
3:06 PM
Thanks Bronze Wailer. I was on the last day near the Mississippi River, bumpy, curvy, downhill, too fast and too scary with one hand on the harp. Won't do that again.Hey: thanks for the tip. I think I can make this holder work along with a stem and brackets for the handle bars. Have to make sure the harp is fasten solid. It can get pretty bumpy on those skinny racing tires.
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And I Thank You !!
K.C.
castlehomes69@yahoo.com
BronzeWailer
367 posts
Jan 15, 2012
3:28 PM
K.C. No probs. I would love to see video of you riding and blowing! Maybe you could get one of your bike mates to use one of those helmet-mounted cameras.
KC69
197 posts
Jan 15, 2012
4:33 PM
Bronze Wailer:Actually my riding buddy has one. He's into high tech, good equipment. But the thing really is a pain. That little bit of weight on your helment does'nt help. Its also hard to hear the beep when recording. If he where's it this year I'll post a clip. This is always a favorite trip. On my round about way from Ohio to San Antonio to Iowa and back. I always stop in Austin and hang with Jimi Lee. Him and Courtney are quite the hosts. It becomes a muscial trip.
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And I Thank You !!
K.C.
castlehomes69@yahoo.com
BronzeWailer
368 posts
Jan 15, 2012
4:41 PM
Thanks KC. It sounds like a whole heap of fun!

Cheers!
toddlgreene
3504 posts
Jan 26, 2012
6:45 AM
Here's Big Blind Ray gettin' it...I found it on Facebook and had to re-post it here.


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Todd L. Greene

Photobucket
BronzeWailer
402 posts
Feb 16, 2012
1:52 PM
Me (again, sorry!) with my mate Matthew busking in Sydney the other day.

This song "Gonna Ball" is usually popular, tips-wise, so I like to play it a couple of times an outing.
mr_so&so
576 posts
Jun 29, 2012
7:26 AM
Time to revive this topic for those of us in the northern hemisphere.

Well, I was not so much busking yesterday, as "n'asking" (not asking). I'm normaly on the move, walking, when I play in the streets, but yesterday afternoon I was just sitting and playing on a park bench by a busy downtown Toronto street, and had a nice experience. Most people going by appeared oblivious. But eventually a native north american fellow wandered by and stopped dead in his tracks for a minute watching me. He then asked if he could sit down with me on the bench, and I said, "Sure". We had a nice chat about blues being "real" music and all the later music that wouldn't have existed without it. As we chatted, I kept chugging away when it was his turn to speak. He then sang an improvised song to my playing about a rough part of Toronto where he lives (Regent Park). Then took a swig from a bottle of whiskey I didn't notice he was carrying and we shook hands as he parted. My harp was a bridge to connecting to a fellow human traveler in a truly open and meaningful way who I might not have met otherwise. I think I'll do some more "n'asking" (I should trademark that term) in future. No license needed (yet) for n'asking.
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mr_so&so

Last Edited by on Jun 29, 2012 1:08 PM


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