I’d been strumming in the garden and paid a couple of [...]]]> A couple of weeks back we’d been in Essex visiting family, and after my recent wash out of a charity busk I’d been working on getting my skills up to get out and do some more busking for the coming Summer.

I’d been strumming in the garden and paid a couple of visits to my busking tree to say ‘hello’ and play it a couple of songs.

Busking Tree

It’s still looking a bit bare but the fields around it are looking much better now. It’s a great spot to make some noise and not get on people’s nerves trying to pull off difficult vocals that were a lot easier before I took a break from playing.

I set my Ebay shop on vacation settings and slapped an away note on my Artisan site which gave me some time to play instead of worrying about posting, promoting and dealing with customers for a week or two.

The sun had been shining for a few days and I thought it’s time to start getting out there and earn some cash busking in the local towns around where we were staying.

On the Friday afternoon I headed into Chelmsford to see what was happening, hoping to grab a good spot and make the most of the last few days of the Easter holidays. Town would be packed out and good crowds would hopefully mean I could earn a few quid for a couple of hours playing.

As it happens, town was totally packed along with the usual market and a music event going on. There was a few bands and singers playing with a proper set up in the middle of town so you could hear it over most of the central streets. It wasn’t too loud but making enough noise to dowse any chance of getting a spot within a couple of hundred yards.

There were also Fire engines and charity collections going on in other parts of town and another girl busker who was pretty good, set up towards one end.

I wandered about for a bit thinking there was no chance this is going to happen today, but after spending £4 on a parking ticket for 3 hours and knowing that if I went home I’d have wasted my whole afternoon when I could have been playing at home, I thought what the hell, I’ll just set up out the way and play for a couple of hours to get my practice in, without worrying about making any decent cash.

I walked right up one end of town near the banks where it was pretty much deserted – apart from a slow trickle of people wandering by, heading into the main areas.

…

Busking in these sort of places can be quite good as there’s not many people around to drown you out and you can relax and just get on with playing without thinking about it too much.

I set up and started playing. When you are literally the only one around and there’s not much background noise going on, people can see and hear you from quite a distance and often throw you some cash when perhaps they might not have if you’d been set up amongst the crowds in town.

Hassle the Busker

I played for about 45 minutes and racked up about £5 – 6 pounds with a few good comments in the meantime. When it’s quiet you always get one or two Pink Floyd fans strolling past hearing ‘Wish You Were Here’ and slinging you some cash with a smile.

Just as I’m getting in my stride, I see this scruffy figure, looking in a bit of a state, wandering slowly down the middle of the street, swigging from a can.

You know when you’re out busking, you are a complete target for anyone looking for someone to hassle and as he spotted me from 30 yards away I thought ‘Oh Yeah, here we go again !’

Worse for Wear

He wandered up to me, taking another swig out of his can and put it back in his coat pocket with it still slopping around. You could tell he had serious alcohol problems and was in a real mess.

In my past I’ve known many troubled people from different walks of life and I’ve seen some pretty bad states in my time. I’ve got a lot of empathy for people whose lives are in a mess, whether it’s alcohol, drugs or for a million other reasons and I never try to judge or treat anyone disrespectfully.

This guy, who ever he was, could have been someones father, son or husband and you never know what sort of life situations had put him there in the first place.

…

I was actually quite concerned because he was covered in this stuff which looked like dried blood, all over his nose and chin and it looked like he might of just had a beating or been involved in an accident of some sort. You can’t see it from the photo’s but he was covered in it. It was all over his shirt and his hands and nails were black and had about half a centimetre of grime under each nail. It looked like he had blood or dirt all over his coat aswell and I really wasn’t sure what had happened to him.

I kept on singing and with him only a couple of metres away and getting closer, he was shouting and motioning to me, sticking his hand out touching my guitar. Within a few moments I had no choice but to stop in mid song.

‘Alright mate ! How’s it going ?’ I gave my usual smile and happy greeting.

‘Nghot you flaying ffat *&!@# thrubbish for ?’ he grunted back in a slurry drunken fashion. Ng’ny *.@#.. and started churning out inaudible names of groups I’d never heard before.

I was like, ‘Err ! No mate, Sorry I don’t know that one, or that one….or that one..’

I haven’t got the greatest knowledge of musical history, but I seriously didn’t know any of them..I said, ‘Er.. How about Led Zeppelin, or Bob Dylan… is that any good ?.’

With that he started reeling of a drunken version of something I couldn’t recognise under the slurring, until he reached the chorus and with a little more clarity blurted out the end lines to Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowing in the Wind’. Within a few seconds he was pointing to my guitar and started trying to grab the fretboard, motioning to give it here so he could have a go.

‘Sorry mate,  can’t let you have a go’, I said holding on to my guitar, ‘I don’t let anyone play this …  it’s my only guitar..’  etc. etc.

He looked shocked and couldn’t believe I’d said ‘No’. Totally ignoring what I’d just said, he still kept on going for it, grabbing for the thing and getting really hacked off.

…

Now, it’s bad enough when someone who’s a bit drunk tries to grab your guitar, but this guy was totally smashed and covered in dirt. I’m not joking. I’ve had lots of drunks try it on in the past, and even when it’s some friendly happy chap who’s had one too many grabs your guitar when you’re off guard, you are guaranteed the strings are going to get a bad hammering or the strap will come off and there’ll be some sort of accident.

If someone who’s out of their head gets hold of your guitar, you’ve got a real problem and you’ll be lucky to get it back in one piece.

You don’t want to be kicking off, especially with an expensive guitar hanging round your neck and the poor guy probably didn’t know what he was doing anyway, so you have to keep the situation calm and get him to chill out.

I held onto it without getting aggressive but with a firm ‘No chance mate’… and with that he pushed himself right into me and squeezed into the gap between me and the guitar… so all of a sudden I’m like, practically hugging this guy while he’s squashed up in front of me trying to strum the thing like we are some sort of duet on Britain’s Got Talent.

I can handle many things, but this was pretty awful, and with the overpowering smell of alcohol and nicotine emanating from his clothes against my body, the black congealed blood like stuff all over his hands fingering chords and those long dirt ingrained fingernails strumming the strings… I was like  ‘WTF !..how did I manage to get in this position ?’.

I was thinking ‘What the hell is this stuff ? – I hope it’s not something nasty’.

…

After about 30 seconds still holding my breath from the fumes, I managed to get out of this bizarre embrace and get a bit of space between us.

He then started mumbling about how he’s got loads of guitars at home and used to be in a band years ago, but within a few moments was grabbing for my guitar again like he wanted another go.

By now I had the guitar secured behind me, holding it with one hand pointing it down at the ground, but he was still going for it and I was having to defend my position, pushing against him to stop him forcing his way in.

The people in the shops over the road and cafes up the street had started to take notice and see if this was going to kick off.

I was still being as friendly as I could be and trying to divert his attention away from the guitar back to himself and his past days as a musician.

He kept saying the same things over and over again every few minutes. One moment being happy and reminiscing over his past musical days, the next bursting into choruses of ‘Blowing in The Wind’ which would ultimately lead back to him wanting to play the song and him trying to grab the guitar again. I was constantly being forced to deflect his actions in a firm but nice way. This would then lead to him getting aggressive and shaking his fist up to my face before switching again to some other erratic subject.

He was insistent he could make me loads of money if I would just give him my guitar… and that he’d give me loads of money if I’d let him have a go..then he’d search his pockets and find nothing, take another swig out of his can and start the scene all over again, saying he had loads of guitars and didn’t want mine.

…

I kept saying to him ‘Why don’t you go and get your guitar and come out here and make some cash for yourself ?’, to which he would shake his head, dismiss the whole idea and go for my guitar again.

This scene went on… and on …and on… and eventually I had to get  more serious and say ‘Look mate ! If you are a musician you should respect my wishes, and my guitar…you’ve already had a go so just leave it now, alright !’

I wasn’t getting aggressive, but just showing him I wasn’t going to put up with his bad behaviour much longer.

It did the trick for a few moments and as I backed him off a few feet saying ‘Give me a bit of space here will you’. He then started feeling my arms, going on about me being a bodybuilder or something (which I seriously don’t look anything like, trust me).

I was like, ‘No mate, I’m just tall’ which again led him into shaking another fist in my face in a manner you couldn’t tell was threatening or drunken silliness.

On a few occasions I tried to start playing again and within a few seconds just kept getting interrupted, but after about twenty minutes of hassle and trying to keep the situation happy, I said ‘Look mate, give us a break, I’ve got to get on with this and try and make some money, how about I sing you a song, Eh ?’ I thought if I can get on with some busking, he might get bored and wander off.

No chance.

So I started playing for about the fifth time, this time choosing ‘Wonderwall’ thinking whatever he does this time, I’m not stopping for anything.

I think he got the message this time, but instead of moving on, he stood there in front of me, swigging his can and and growling at people with his hand out, trying to get money out of passers by.

A busker’s worse nightmare is someone out of their head making a scene in front of them and I thought surely no one is going to give him anything.

Just then about half way through the song, a lady and her little girl of about 4 years old streamed out of the shop opposite, with a coin in her child’s hand looking all excited to have been given some money to stick in my case.

They obviously had been oblivious to this guy’s actions while they were in the shop as with that she walked straight into the tramp’s path and he took off his hat and lowered it to the little girl, who’s face dropped like a stone. There wasn’t really much else she could do but nervously drop the coin in his hat and scurry away quickly. I just thought ‘Oh no, that’s going to put her off buskers for life’ and as he gleered at the pound coin she had put in his hat I thought, ‘o.k, let’s see what you do with it’.

…

He played with it for a while, taunting my case with this coin while I was still singing the song, and although I didn’t expect he would maliciously steal it, I did think he would probably forget what he was doing and just stick it in his pocket.

By the end of the song, he was still taunting my case with it so I said ‘Go on then, stick it in’ with which he regrettably threw it in, finishing his fun for the moment with another shake of his fist.

A couple of passers by who had been witnessing the scene from the coffee shop wandered by shouting ‘Oi Noel, I thought you’d sacked Liam’ which was quite amusing , but I didn’t play another song after that. It just wasn’t worth it. I didn’t want him freaking anymore kids out and I have a little girl around that age so I know how things like that can affect them.

Although the whole scene being made wasn’t really ‘nasty’ as such, it was still quite unnerving for me and for passers by, and having to be on guard while his mood constantly changed, wondering what he’s going to do next or if it was going to turn nasty wasn’t doing any favours for my busking abilities.

Snuff

As we stood there, with him still acting somewhat erratically, he pulled out a tin from one of his pockets and opened it up to reveal a large pot of dark brown snuff.

He dipped his fingers in it and pulled out a huge pinch, offering me a dose.

I said ‘Thanks, but I’ll give it a miss’ and he raised it to his nostril and took a huge clumsy sniff, with half of it coating his nose and chin and the rest pouring down onto his coat, leaving his fingers and clothes covered in snuff. He then took another swig of his can without a care of the mess he’d thrown all over himself.

I could see then what all this stuff was he was covered in, and I was quite pleased that it wasn’t congealed blood or something worse as I’d first thought.

The antics continued for about another twenty minutes and by that time we had been there for about three quarters of an hour. I could tell that there was no way I was going shake this and the only thing I could do without getting physical or being mean was to pack up and go home. I thought of setting up further down the road but knew I’d probably be followed and the whole process would start again.

I packed up, still humouring him as pleasantly as I could and once I’d got my stuff together I said ‘See You Mate’ and started to wander off.

Once he realised I was actually going, he seemed to get quite offended and started growling more stuff at me, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Tolerance

I came away from that busking session feeling pretty disheartened and although he’d ruined my session, I wasn’t annoyed, I felt more disturbed about the whole thing and quite sorry for the guy more than anything else.

I couldn’t help thinking about the situations that lead to him getting into a state like that, and it reminded me of a program I saw a while ago called ‘Saving Ed Mitchell‘ about the I.T.N news presenter who had sunk from being a successful television journalist with everything going for him, to a homeless alcoholic down and out living on the streets.

The outcome of a person’s life can be determined by many things, and even successful business men, sports heroes and legendary musician’s lives can be destroyed by making a few wrong decisions in life.

Whether a person’s downfall comes about for reasons beyond their control or are self inflicted due to addictions to substances like alcohol and drugs, none of us really know what’s around the corner and unless we keep checking ourselves and keeping our lives on the right course, we could easily find ourselves in the same situation a few years down the road.

…

I’m often exposed to weird situations when I’m in the street and sometimes the easiest option would be to threaten or whack someone who’s giving you attitude or hassle. But that’s not the way we do things, and one of the rules I live by is never to strike someone unless it’s in self defense and absolutely necessary, and even then, only if that person is a genuine threat and not just someone who’s had a few too many drinks or just winding you up.

You don’t have to back down or let people abuse you, but just be firm but also tolerant of people in these sorts of situations. Understand that being exposed to the general public will undoubtedly lead you into some weird scenarios and you should only ever resort to ‘kicking off’ when it’s the very last option available to you and you literally have no other choice.

Being tolerant of the general public is something all musicians have to get used to and whether it is in the street, in the pub or on stage, it’s all part of the process.

On this occasion I thought I’d do a street busk to promote the Neimann Pick Children’s Fund. It wasn’t [...]]]> A couple of weeks ago I promised to kick off my part in the 100 challenge and do some busking to raise a bit of cash for charity.

On this occasion I thought I’d do a street busk to promote the Neimann Pick Children’s Fund. It wasn’t a big public promotion event, just a personal busk hoping to hand out a few leaflets and chat to people about the disease alongside a couple of blog posts to raise awareness about Neimann Pick Type C.

Take a look at my last post on Neimann Pick Type C if you would like to find out more about the disease and children who are affected by it. Also, if you are in the mood to do something good and want an excuse to get out and play, join up for the Musicians for Charity Challenge here on Street Musician and organise your own charity event. It doesn’t matter what you do or how you do it, just think of something and go out and do it.

I’ll be doing this again in a few weeks time, so if you live in my area and can play or just want to do some collecting, you are welcome to come out with me and we’ll arrange a bigger street busk to raise some more cash (as long as the weather is better than it was this time).

Anyway, here’s how things went.

Neimann Pick – Charity Busk

Over the last few months I’ve been so wrapped up in other things that I’d been seriously neglecting my playing, so this charity busk was the first time I’d been out performing in the street for about 6 months.

I was pretty happy to be getting back out there and also to be kick starting my busking doing something for a worthy cause.

…

The one thing I’ve been having trouble with over the last few months is trying to find the time to practice regularly. No matter how much I order myself back to a decent practice regime, after a few days everything else starts to get in the way again and my guitar takes a back seat while I deal with business, customers, paper work etc.

Being out of the picture for so long, I really needed get back to street busking and also get a few pub gigs in before Summer.

The great thing about promising to do something for charity is that once you have committed yourself to an event, whether it’s a small personal challenge or a big charity do, you know you’ve got to do it or you are going to let people down.

This can be a great way of making yourself do those things that you’ve been meaning to do for ages.

I’ve been practicing on and off this year without really making that proper commitment to hit the streets again on a certain date, but promising to do a busk in aid of Niemann Pick Type C ensured that however much work I had on, and whether I felt like it or not, I made sure I got my guitar and vocal practice in for at least a few hours a day for the couple of weeks leading up to it.

…

Friday came and I was looking forward to getting out there and playing again after so long in the wilderness, but typically, the one day I needed to get out and do something – the whether was miserable and it was pretty much a gamble whether the rain would hold off and let me get out and play.

It was one of those days when it’s half raining, half drizzling and misty round town, which is about the worst you can hope for when you’re intent on going busking. If it’s not raining hard enough to cancel the busk completely, but drizzling enough to get your guitar wet and mess with your electrics, then unless you can get a pitch that’s under cover, you are pretty much screwed.

The last thing a musician needs is a rusty, warped guitar with water in the eq. Messing up a £400 guitar for the sake of earning a tenner is just not an option.

I spent half the morning watching the rain come down thinking ‘There’s no way I can play in that’, then after a while it eased off to a drizzle, making the choice even more difficult.

The one thing that does my head in is when you have to cancel something because of the rain and then the sun comes out and makes you feel bad for missing out.  It’s even worse when you risk giving it a go and then after spending ages getting into town, setting up your gear and waiting for a break in the whether, it just drizzles all day and you stand around looking stupid when you could be doing something else more constructive.

I bought some strings in town and while I was out the drizzle stopped. I thought ‘Let’s just do it anyway and see what happens’.

I took the car up to Dorchester and as I passed out of my home town, it started hammering it down again. The roads were foggy and I knew the conditions were going to be pretty bad when I got there.

Don't go into the fog !

By the time I got to Dorchester, parked the car and got my gear into town it was still raining and pretty bleak, but once you’ve come all this way you’ve just got to hope there are no other buskers or people collecting in the only sheltered pitch in town, or it’s game over.

Luckily there was no one else stupid enough to go out playing in this weather so I set up in the M & S alcove which gave me some protection from the rain, put my case down and slung 50p in to kick the session off.

…

I kicked off at 12 to an almost empty street, which was a bit weird because there are normally quite a few people about at lunchtime but after a while the the streets started filling up and the umbrellas came out.

The problem with busking in the rain is that it doesn’t put people in the best of moods for giving. When I’m in town, if it’s raining and I see some poor busker standing there in the rain, I think ‘poor sod !’ and give him some cash, but most people are too cheesed off to put their hands in their pockets. It’s funny, because that also seems to happen when it’s too hot. Blistering sunny days can often be just as bad for your earning potential as miserable wet ones.

Not many people about

After about an hour of playing I’d had a few coins from passers by but it still wasn’t looking great. Luckily there were a few pound coins in the case and a couple of 50’s which helps. I’d rather have a few pound coins than masses of 2′ps. When you have a case full of coppers, people tend to think you’ve made loads of cash and stop giving when actually it only amounts to a couple of pounds.

Still Empty After An Hour

By now there was plenty of people about but not much cash throwing going on, which didn’t surprise me, considering.

Most days when you are out busking, people come up to you and chat and you get a few smiles from passers by, but in this sort of weather people keep their heads down and rush on by, probably thinking ‘What the hell is he doing out in this weather ?’

Why does it always rain on me ?

It’s always quite amusing singing Travis’ ‘Why does It Always rain On Me’ in weather like this. You see a few smirks on people’s faces. The song always gets a few people chucking coins at you when it’s raining.

I thought I’d get one of me in but couldn’t really hassle people in the rain and ask them to take photos so I took one myself.

Would You Give This Man Money ?

After a couple of hours or so the skies opened up again and as the lunchtime crowd had gone back to work I thought I’d give it a few more songs just to round things off and then get the hell out of there.

Singing in the street subjects your voice to much more strain than practicing at home and I hadn’t been singing too badly considering I’d not been busking in a while, but after two and a quarter hours my voice started to sound pretty ropey and no one had thrown me a coin for the last half hour, so enough was enough. Normally I’d stick it out for another hour but there is only so much your voice can take until you build up to it again and with everything getting more soaked every minute, it was time to go. By now it was torrential rain and people were trying to shelter in my alcove too… should have charged them to get in.

Soaked

I’d managed to keep my guitar from ruin as I was under an alcove and off the floor, but my busking case and bag had been on the ground for over two hours with the rain coming in at an angle and everything was wet through. There was no way I was going to put my guitar back in a waterlogged felt case, so I tried lining the case with my coat which wasn’t much good.

That didn't work

In the end it was either me or the guitar and with only one coat between us, the guitar came out on top.

I put the coat the coat on my E.S.P, picked up my bag and empty case, dumped the wet coins in my pocket and did a runner back to the car.

…

In the few minutes it took me to get back to the car park I got a real soaking but when you’re carrying your only hope for success wrapped in a wet coat, the only thing you are worried about is getting it back to a safe place and getting your guitar dry again so you can busk another day.

Back into the fog

Taking the back roads home, the fog was still lurking around. I swear there was something strange in that fog.

Grand Total

I’d hoped to raise about £20 from the session and by looking in the case I estimated about £10 -15. When I got home I had a quick count up and the grand total was….

..wait for it…

£13.27

Wey hey – steady on !

Well, that’s not too bad for a rainy day.

I’d loved to have stuck around for longer and passed out lots of information on Neimann Pick Type C, but to be honest in that sort of weather people weren’t going to hang around and chat. I think unless you’ve got full rain kit and waterproof leaflets you need a reasonably good day to effectively promote your cause from a buskers perspective.

Leaflets would have been soaked and stopping people in the rain to talk wouldn’t go down too well, but the good thing about this mini charity mission was that just by getting involved and learning about children’s alzheimer’s, it spurred my last blog post about Nieman Pick Type C, which will be read by literally thousands of people over the coming months and also, even though I didn’t get a chance to get the message across to people in the street,  just taking about it to my family and friends over the last few weeks has really touched a few nerves and brought it to the attention of many people who would otherwise never have known about it, and that’s got to be worth something.

…

The small amount of money I raised was donated on the same day via PayPal to Brisan and Parker’s Charity Fund as it was their inspiration that led to the busk taking place in the first place, but there are many branches of the Niemann Pick fund around the world that all raise funds for research and to help families coping with the disease.

If you are interested in raising money for this or any other charity of your choice and at your leisure, just as I have today, then read my post on the Street Musician 100 Musicians for Charity Challenge or head over to the 100 challenge group on Pledging for change and join in.

I’m thinking of giving it another go in a few weeks time. Hopefully if the whether is better, I’ll stick a few signs up, hand out some info, play for a few hours and spread the word a bit more.

If any one else wants to come out and join in, just send us an email and we’ll put something together.

I was a bit worried whether I was going to be able to hack it today as I’ve had a cold and a sore throat for a number of days, and after canceling a gig in a local [...]]]> World Busk Fund Raising Totals

Just got back from my Musequality charity busk in town.

I was a bit worried whether I was going to be able to hack it today as I’ve had a cold and a sore throat for a number of days, and after canceling a gig in a local restaurant a few nights ago, thought I might have to bail out of today’s busk as well.

But heroically, with a just cause to will me on and without a moments thought to my own fragile well being, I fought through the searing heat, spluttering cough and scratchy throat for just over two hours before finally calling it a day and completing my world busk.

Town was pretty deserted for the first half of the session as the main focus of the town today was the armed forces celebrations for the War Veteran’s Festival going on all this weekend.

I was half an hour late getting to my busk as I ran into the memorial service taking place on the seafront while heading towards town and my busking spot. With the military bands playing and prayers taking place for the countless lives lost in the wars, it was only right to take a few moments out and join in with the thousands of people watching, praying and taking part in the ceremony.

Veteran’s March and Remembrance Service

Living where I live, just off the seafront, means we are always smack in the middle of anything that goes on in this town and it’s nice to know that whenever a war commemoration service or D – Day celebrations take place and other events like carnivals and summer fireworks, it’s always happening literally a hundred yards up the road, so it’s easy to join in and you never miss out on much.

Busk

Once the main service was over I eventually got to my spot in town, put my posters up and got the busk underway.

Town was pretty dead as most people were still watching the various bands marching up and down the front during the morning’s events. The only cash to come in for the first half hour was the 50p I put in to start with to kick off my busking pot.

With my voice straining and no cash coming in, I thought it was going to be a complete disaster until I was saved by one of my mates in town seeing me and on hearing it was all for charity, stuck in £3.50. I was really pleased with that and it made up for a bad start, but even with strategically placed World Busk ads behind me and moving them around every now and then for better visibility, the fact that the busk was for charity didn’t seem to make as much difference as I’d hoped to the earnings.

It seemed people weren’t really noticing the ads, and as I thanked passers by for their donations and stated that it was all for charity, it was only then they realised it was a charity busk. I think if I had stuck a huge wall of posters behind me or a giant World Busk poster, it might have made a difference and people would have been more aware of the cause. It may not have made a difference to the level of donations but then again who knows. Next year, I think I’ll make a 4 foot sign and stick lights on it, just to make sure.

12 o’ clock came and went and after getting a photo of me busking and a signed witness statement saying I was there and completing the required half an hour for the World Record round the world busk attempt, I got on with the job of getting the public to sling a bit of cash my way.

Once the morning parades had finished on the sea front, town filled up a bit and a few coins started rolling in.

Busking for The Musequality World Busk

I gave it just over two hours, and got some good donations and a few nice comments. I normally busk for about 3 or 4 hours but with a dodgy throat I could see I would really wreck myself if I pushed it any more.

A couple of flyby’s from WW2 Hurricane and Spitfire planes at around 2pm signaled the end of my busk and I packed my stuff and wandered back along the seafront.

The veteran’s festival was in full swing with tanks, armoured vehicles, servicemen and stalls all along the beach and promenade on yet another scorching hot day in sunny Weymouth.

Here’s a few photo’s of things going on.

Tank Crew

WW2 Vehicle Line Up

Big Guns

It’s all going on in Weymouth over the Summer, we’ve got the Olympics here in 2012 and a couple of days ago the Queen and Prince Philip stopped by to say ‘Hi’.

Here’s couple of photo’s I took on the way past.

HRH arriving by train and getting in the bomb proof Bently.

Penny for the busker Ma’am

I should have hassled her for a few quid aswell.

In fact a few hours later as she left Weymouth after a bit of sight seeing, a boat trip and a wander round the beach, she pulled up about a meter away from my daughter and fiancee at the traffic lights and waved at them as they waited to cross.

Anyway, back to the busk. On the way home, I stopped in on a few of our neighbours in our street and hassled them for a coin or two to stick in my case. As always they were happy to oblige and added a few more coins to the pot.

There’s still a couple of people I’ve yet to collar, and I’ve got to add what we collected to the £10 I’ve got on my donations page, but so far in real cash we made….wait for it…

£ 23.54

…plus £10 from my donations page

That makes £33.54

It’s not bad… better than a kick in the teeth anyway, and hopefully we’ll get a few more pounds over the next couple of days to add to it.

Thanks to all of you who’ve been kind enough to donate to the cause this week and all the buskers who have taken part and done their bit around the world.

I’m not sure if we’ve broken the record for the most simultaneous buskers busking around the world but I’ll let you know the results when I get them in from the World Busk team.

Once again, if anyone feels like adding to the charity busking fund over the next few days, check out my donations page over at Justgiving.com or send me an email.

Here’s the Musequality website…take a look at what else they are doing around the world.

Quick Update

Here’s a vid from the British Antarctic Survey team, who did their busk in the middle of antarctica. It didn’t take long for their gear to freeze. Well done guys.

…and here’s a quick summary of how the busk went and some links to more You Tube World Busk vids sent in by other players.

http://www.worldbusk.org/index.html

Cheers.

Posted 14.06.09

Other Posts of Interest

What Equipment Do I Need ?
Busking
Busking Permits and Permissions
Busking Earnings
Famous People Busking

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This is a good question to answer and depends greatly on a few main factors.

1. The size and type of gig you are looking to provide [...]]]> I’m often asked the best ways of powering your equipment when out busking or gigging at outdoor events where power is an issue.

This is a good question to answer and depends greatly on a few main factors.

1. The size and type of gig you are looking to provide sound for.

Are you looking to provide an acoustic set for a beach party of 20 – 30 people, a full metal or rock gig in the middle of nowhere for 200, power for you and a couple of band mates in the middle of town or just for a small busking set up for yourself. It all depends on the equipment you need to provide power for and how electronically sensitive it is.

2. Budget.

How much money do you have to spend on the set up. If you have the cash then there are plenty of options available to you. A tighter budget lessens your options, but you can still build yourself a really effective power system without spending too much.

3. Usage and future requirements.

How long do you need to play for and how often are you going to use it ? If the gig is a one off, you can get away with a less robust system or think about hiring a generator, but if your daily income relies on it, it has to function effectively and efficiently for years to come.

4. Your technical capabilities and logistics.

Do you have the ability to safely install and carry your power equipment to and from your intended locations ? Installing generators, earth rods and lugging batteries around can be heavy work and technically demanding. If you get it wrong, you could end up frying half your band.

Small Systems and Lightweight Outdoor Power Applications

If all you’ve got to cope with is a guitar, a couple of battery powered fx units and a mic, then all you need is a decent battery powered busking amp with a couple of inputs. Get yourself a charger and you can easily power your equipment with ordinary shop bought Ni-Mh rechargeable batteries and you should get a good 4 to 8 hours playing time or more depending on the volumes you play at, the rating of the batteries (A/h) and the age of the rechargeables.

Busker Hadar Manor – 2008’s Queen of the London Underground with her portable busking set up.

The two types of consumer rechargeable batteries generally available are Ni-Cd (Nickel Cadmium) and Ni-Mh (Nickel metal hydride)

Take a look at my guide on which batteries to choose and why.

Ni-Cd or Ni-Mh ?

I go for the Ni-Mh.

Heavier Duty Power Supplies

If your equipment doesn’t have the facility to run off normal batteries or you want a heavier duty rig that is going to provide a much greater output and be capable of powering bigger speaker systems, P.A s and band set ups – then you could be looking at purchasing or renting a portable or stand alone generator or if your power consumption is not too substantial then you could also consider a set up along the lines of 12v Deep Cycle or Marine batteries, combined with a power inverter and a multi stage charger to run your equipment.

Read my battery guide and posts on inverters and battery calculations to get you up to speed with these.

Generators and battery systems each have their advantages and disadvantages. Once you have worked out how much power you need for your system, and how much cash you have to spend, you should be able to choose one of the options below to suit your needs.

Generators

Generator technology has come a long way over the last few years, and nowadays there are many companies out there making top notch noiseless and fumeless generators designed specifically for the entertainment and leisure market.

Years ago, having a generator powering your set up was a noisy and brutal affair. Having a generator chugging away in the back ground, spitting out gas and fumes everywhere meant you had to be staging your own mini Glastonbury just to be able to hear your own tunes over the noise.

Nowadays you can spark up a noiseless portable generator, stand next to it and barely hear the thing running from more than a couple of feet away.

Honda have always been the market leaders in portable generator technology and have made a name for themselves creating some of the quietest and most reliable equipment in the market.

You will often see professional buskers and musicians with grand set ups in the street blaring their music over the whole town or at outdoor events and you will almost always see the trademark red casing of a Honda generator slaving away in the background.

Honda EU2000i Noiseless Generator

The problem with portable generators is that they can be seriously expensive ranging from a few hundred pounds to anything up to a couple of thousand. Their output also ranges from a few hundred watts to many kilowatts depending on the price you pay.

If you’re lucky, you might be able to pick your self up a bargain second hand generator for anything between £150 and £300 (a quick Ebay search revealed a few weeks ago), but then you never really know what you are getting for your money or how long it’s going to last.

In my opinion, a second hand generator is a gamble, so if you have a lot riding on your set up and want guaranteed results, it is always better to rent or buy new.

If you can’t afford to buy one yourself, get your band mates to chip in. A few gigs or busking sessions and it will soon pay for itself.

Using Leisure/Marine – Deep Cycle Batteries And Inverters

If you can’t afford a generator, another reliable and cost effective method would be to determine the power output you are going to require and put together a heavy duty battery and inverter set up.

See my post on batteries for more information.

Deep cycle batteries provide a large power output and an almost endless supply of replenishable energy. When used in conjunction with a sine wave inverter, a clean supply can be achieved to power almost any electrical or electronic system with confidence.

When connected in parallel, deep cycle batteries can be stacked up to almost unlimited potential and if looked after in the correct manner they can last for years.

Deep Cycle Battery

See my post on battery connections for more information.

Depending on your requirements, you will more than likely need some form of sine wave inverter (either a pure SWI or a modified SWI to convert the dc output from the battery terminals into ac for use with your equipment.

See my post on sine wave inverters for more information.

A decent multi stage battery charger is also a must if you are considering this type of set up. As I’ve explained in my batteries page, battery life and capacity can be seriously compromised if they are not charged, discharged and stored in the correct manner. To get the best out of your batteries you will need to take care of them, or you’ll end up wasting your money.

Take a look at my guide on batteries to get an idea and see my guide on battery calculations to work out what you might need.

Using Standard Car Batteries to Power Your Busk

Powering your set up with an average car starter battery may work well for a while, but is not really advised they are not designed to be constantly charged and discharged without being permanently topped up by a charging alternator.

Standard car batteries generally loose their ability to hold charge effectively after a few deep discharges but may suffice if all you need to power is a little busking amp and it’s kept in a good state of charge when not in use. It is generally the way you care for your battery that effects it’s longevity and effectiveness, so even if you are using a crap battery, it will last much longer if you look after it.

I have met quite a few buskers and market traders who do use bog standard car batteries to power small busking and stereo set ups, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a long term solution. The efficiency of the set up will most likely become an issue in the long run.

Running Car Amplifiers From A Battery

Although car amplifiers are not designed to mimic the specific traits of traditional guitar amps and high powered P.A systems, many audiophiles do use them in outdoor situations in conjunction with deep cycle batteries to produce very effective and efficient sound systems capable of producing reasonably loud outputs with low power consumption.

An advantage of using a car amplifier is that it is designed to run straight off a 12v car battery, so you don’t incur losses from the inefficient conversion of dc to ac through an inverter, then back to dc through an amps power supply unit.

Conventional stereo amps and speakers designed for music respond differently than guitar amps due to the nature of frequency filtering that goes on inside each unit. If you play your guitar through a stereo amp, it might not sound great, but if you can eq it to sound good for your application such as an acoustic or busking gig in the street, you may achieve good results.

Using the car amp and speaker set up as sound reinforcement in conjunction with your other guitar amps and equipment could be a cheap alternative to buying an expensive high rated inverter and running everything off that. Purchasing a lower rated pure sine wave inverter to run the sensitive stuff and a running a car amp separately might save you some cash.

Bigger Events – Hiring Your Equipment

If you are looking to power a larger set up needing anything from five thousand to hundreds of thousands of watts you’d be better off renting a commercial generator from a hire company.

Commercial stand alone generators range from wheel barrow size to a huge great things brought in on the back of trucks. Any noise or fume pollution is kept to a minimum as they are normally set up a good distance away from the entertainment areas.

One thing you have to be sure of when dealing with larger power demands is that your generating equipment and mains boards are properly earthed. If you are out in the middle of no where this can mean driving an earth rod or number of rods deep into the ground to ensure good earthing is achieved. It may even be necessary to water the ground in the vicinity of the earth rods to ensure better conductivity and less ground resistance if the area is dry.

The safety and speed of your trip switches and circuit breakers rely on good earthing practices and infinitely low ground resistance values which can be tested via specialised equipment. If you are not comfortable with the situation, get a qualified electrician to ensure all safety precautions are adhered to.

If you are hiring from a respectable company they should have qualified people able to train you how to install and rig up the generator safely. You should also be able to get them to deliver it, set it up and take it away, all as part of a hire package. It’s not worth the worry and risk of frying a few of your mates, just to save a few quid and do it your self.

Generator Load

When the demand on your generator drops from high load to practically zero between song breaks and silent periods in your gig, it will have difficulty supplying the tiny amount of power needed to keep the electronic gear on stage functioning correctly, and may start to ‘hunt’ for power i.e ‘revving high and low’.

To keep the generator producing a constant supply of power and avoid fluctuations, a constant load of 200 or 300 w should be placed on the generator at all times. This keeps the sensitive electronics supplied with a constant current source and can be achieved by simply a plugging in couple of lights as a permanent load through out the duration of the event.

Public Events – Contacting The Council

If you are thinking of setting up a gig in town or in a public location, you may find contacting the local council and organising a mini event could solve your problems. There are always certain places in town where power can be made available to merchants and traders for markets and street events etc. Give the local authority a call and they might be able to supply you with power for a few hours.

These power outlets are often hidden from public view at height, above shops, on ledges or in armoured boxes at street level. You wouldn’t notice them unless you were looking for them, but they are there. As an ex-electrician, we were always being contracted to connect up power supplies for street events like Christmas lights and carnivals etc. using these hidden sources.

If you choose to do a gig on the beach or in a park or bandstand, there will always be power available somewhere in the vicinity, just contact the area’s caretaker.

The only thing you might have to watch out for is if you do end up organising or sorting out any type of event involving the local council, even if it is just a one off street gig, you will probably have to secure some sort of public liability insurance covering you for around 5 million pounds. Councils are always pretty hot on health and safety issues.

Go Acoustic

At the end of the day, if it’s all too much hassle, just consider going acoustic. If you’re intent on performing in town, most people don’t want to be blown away by a bloody great rock gig anyway, and you’ll probably make just as much money busking with an acoustic set up as you would any other way. It’ll also save you a lot of effort and lugging your equipment around.

Other Posts of Interest

Battery Guide
Battery Calculations
Battery Connections
Inverters

Posted 01.06.09

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Batteries can be connected in two ways, series or parallel.

Connecting two batteries of the same voltage together in series effectively converts them into one bigger battery [...]]]> Powering equipment via batteries often means connecting them together in a battery bank to gain a higher voltage or amp hour rating.

Batteries can be connected in two ways, series or parallel.

Series

Connecting two batteries of the same voltage together in series effectively converts them into one bigger battery doubling the voltage rating of the battery bank, but keeping the same amp hour rating.

e.g. Connecting two 6 volt 30 Ah batteries together in series, will give you one big 12 v battery with a 30 Ah rating.

Connecting three together in series will give you an 18 volt battery with a 30 Ah rating.

Below is an example using 3 x 12 volt batteries with 100 Ah ratings.

Connecting In Parallel

When connecting batteries of the same voltage and amp hour rating together in parallel, the amp hour ratings of the batteries are added together, and the voltage across them stays the same as an individual battery.

e.g Three 12 volt 100 amp hour batteries connected in parallel would give us one large battery bank of 12 volts and 300 amp hours.

As you can see, both circuits still kick out the same amount of power – 3600 w.

As the equation for power P = VI shows, connecting in series or parallel affects the voltage and current ratings across each circuit. They are inversely proportional to each other.

Be aware when connecting batteries together in packs. It is always advised to connect batteries with the same voltage and amp hour ratings together so as to keep their voltages and rates of discharge as even as possible. This avoids voltage drops across one battery affecting the others, prevents strain on the pack, improves battery life and and keeps the system balanced.

Other Posts of Interest

Batteries
Battery Calculations
Busking & Gigging Power – Outdoors
Inverters

Posted 29.05.09

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If you are intent on buying a marine or deep cycle battery at some point as part of an inverter, battery and charger system to provide power for your equipment outdoors, then there are a few things you need to be aware of when calculating [...]]]> for use with

Inverters & Portable Power Systems

If you are intent on buying a marine or deep cycle battery at some point as part of an inverter, battery and charger system to provide power for your equipment outdoors, then there are a few things you need to be aware of when calculating battery life, capacity, losses and discharge rates etc.

These issues are mostly covered in my sections on inverters, batteries and busking power, so have a read through them to get a better understanding of the different variables involved. You might then want to do a few calculations and see if this sort of set up is the right option for you.

In this section we’ll go through the basic things you need to consider and then work through some simple calculations to help you get an idea of how to go about choosing your system.

Here are some units of measurement you might need to know before you start.

Battery Capacity in Amp hour (Ah)
Current drawn in Amps (I)
Time taken in Hours (H)
Voltage of power source in Volts (V)
Power in Watts (W)

Battery Ratings, Variables and Losses

An approximate measurement of a battery’s ability to provide energy i.e it’s charge capacity, is it’s rating in ampere hours (Ah) or amp hours.

So a 100 Ah battery will produce 100 amps for 1 hour.

This capacity can be divided up any way you choose.

100 Ah could produce 1 amp for 100 hours, or 50 amps for 2 hours, 4 amps for 25 hours or 25 amps for 4 hours etc.

Battery capacity (Ah) = Current drawn (I) x Time (H)

or you could cross multiply and get..

Time = Battery capacity / Current drawn

Current drawn = Battery capacity / Time

So when choosing a battery for your set up, you need to know how many amps you will be drawing and for how long.

There are other things that also need to be taken into consideration when calculating a battery’s useable capacity.

When you discharge a battery by consuming the power stored in it, you should never discharge it beyond a certain point, otherwise you risk damaging it’s future storage capacity.

The maximum discharge level depends on the type and quality of the battery.

A true deep cycle battery from an RV, golf cart or forklift truck etc. can be expensive but should have a discharge capacity of up to 80%. Leisure batteries and marine batteries will be much less at around 50%, but no matter how good the battery is, if you want it to last and not pack up after a few months of use, it is generally accepted that you should never discharge a battery by more than 50% of it’s capacity.

You must also take into account, the battery’s listed ‘amp hour rating time’ when you buy it, and the speed that you intend to drain the battery when you use it. These two factors can dramatically affect the battery’s capacity. These are covered in my page on batteries.

Inverter losses also come into the equation when selecting batteries. This is also covered in my section on inverters and worked through in our calculations below.

Batteries are usually sold in voltages of 6v, 12v or 24v

To work out how much power you can get out of a battery you can use the equation..

P = V I

Power (Watts) = Voltage of battery (V) x Current drawn in amps (I)

The world’s first manned plane powered by 160 AA conventional dry-cell batteries. Produced by Japan’s Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

Worked Example

Say we were in need of a power set up for a small outdoor gig and we needed enough power to enable us to play for at least 4 hours.

Firstly we work out how much power we will be using at our gig by adding together the power consumption used by each piece of equipment.

I have given an example of how to do this in my inverters guide.

Say the power consumption of all our gear put together is 400 watts rms (per hour)

Batteries become less efficient as they get older and the level of inefficiency really depends on the way you look after them. If you choose to take this into account you can always add an extra percentage (15 – 35 %) to your power consumption needs for a future buffer.

In this example we won’t worry about that too much, purely for the reason that we are not going to be drawing 400w constantly for the whole 4 hour event. As we are dealing with live music, the power consumption will vary greatly with volumes and song breaks etc. and as our batteries will be newly purchased, they should perform well.

As stated previously, for longevity it is unwise to discharge any battery to below 50% of its full capacity, even if it is a deep cycle battery capable of being discharged by up to 80%

So if we need to get 400 w of power using only half of our battery’s stored energy, it means the full capability of our battery bank should be able to supply at least 800 watts an hour over that 4 hour period. This would leave us with half a tank by the end of the event.

Needing 800 watts capacity to run our gear, and using a battery – inverter set up, we must also to take into consideration the inefficiencies of the inverter, this is explained in my inverter calculations guide.

Allowing for inverter efficiency of 90%, therefore using an inefficiency factor of 1.1 we would need to put

800 x 1.1 = 880 w

into the inverter to get 800 w out the other side.

So all in all, we need to buy a battery that can deliver 880 watts per hour for 4 hours. This will allow us to compensate for inverter losses and to only have to discharge the battery to 50% every time we use it to power our gig rig.

If we purchase 12 volt batteries and need 880 watts for 4 hours, then we can work out the Ah rating of the batteries we need to buy.

Battery Capacity (Ah) = Current in Amps (I) x Time (H)

We need to establish the current drawn (I) by our system.

P = V I

Power (watts) = Voltage (V) x Current drawn in Amps (I)

I = P/V

880/12 = 73.333 amps

So our battery capacity in Ah would need to be

Battery Capacity (Ah) = Current drawn (A) x Time (H)

4 x 73.33 = 293 Ah

In this instance, you would need to have around 300 Ah of battery power to do the job, cover losses and take care of your battery life.

You could achieve this with 3 x 100 Ah 12v batteries connected in parallel, giving you 300 Ah at 12v.

See my page on connecting batteries in series and parallel to find out how.

You might find in reality this gives you a much greater capacity than you actually need as we’ve originally calculated for a constant supply of 400w. The noise levels and power used in a live music situation is going to vary greatly over time so your average draw is probably going to be less than you have designed for.

In a live situation though, having a greater battery capacity than you need is never a bad thing.

More Compensations to Watch Out For

One thing you may have to watch out for is your ‘amp hour rating time’. This subject has been covered on my batteries page. We will assume the capacity figures we are given for the batteries we buy will be rated under the 8 hour amp rating time and not the 100 hour rating time. This means our batteries’ labeled capacities are accurate for our needs as they were tested and rated in similar circumstances to how we intend to use them.

(Had they been rated under the 100 hour amp rating and not the 8 hour time, then we might have had to compensate our final capacity by up to 20 %)

Also, as our batteries are to be drained to half their capacity over a 4 hour period (simulating an 8 hour full discharge) we don’t have to compensate for an excessive or quick current drain. Peukert’s law suggests that consuming a battery’s charge at very high current rates (i.e draining the whole cell in 1 hour) can reduce the capability of a battery by anything up to 50%.

In our case, none of the above conditions need to be considered. As long as you are aware of them, you can take steps to compensate if they arise in future.

The Easy Method

Let’s not forget the easy method of doing things. Using a clamp on ammeter, which you should be able to get for around £20, set your equipment up in your own home and measure the current draw on a normal household supply. Use the results and a few power equations to calculate the correct sized batteries for your needs.

Now you know what sort of battery bank you’ll need, go and check out my inverter page. You’ll also need to find a good charger to keep your batteries topped up.

If you need to step up your power requirements to greater levels, then increase the amount of batteries you use or if you’ve got the cash, go out and buy your self a honda gas generator.

By the end of my power guides, you should have a good idea of what will best suit your needs.

Other Posts of Interest

Batteries
Busking & Gigging Power – Outdoors
Battery Connections
Inverters

Posted 29.05.09

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I have received just about everything you could imagine from melted chocolate [...]]]> Every time I venture out to do a bit of street busking, I am always surprised at the wide variety of objects people seem to offer me or place in my guitar case instead of a simple coin or two.

I have received just about everything you could imagine from melted chocolate bars, cans of beer, broken biscuits, love letters, telephone numbers, job offers, grapes, skittles, m&m’s, drugs, burger vouchers, cigarettes, wine, coffee and half eaten sandwiches to name a few.

Some people are just taking the mick, and others will generally go to the nearest shop and buy you a bunch of grapes or a bottle of wine just to say thank you for playing a few of their favourite tunes.

Sometimes it really does bring a smile to your face and today, I had a couple of new ones.

After playing in the street for about an hour and a half, a guy came up to me and said ‘Hey mate, do you want this sausage roll ?’ He had bought two from the bakery a few yards up the high street, had one himself and offered me the other.

It was still hot and he didn’t look like the sort of bloke who would hide something nasty in it, so I said thanks and put it behind my busking case thinking ‘what a nice guy !’ At the same time I was cautiously wondering whether or not I should eat it later or dump it – just in case.

Continuing on with my session, around an hour later, some kid about 8 years old walked up to me (after obviously taking a trip to the local Iceland store) and stuck 3 of those freezy pop things in my case. You know, the ones you used to get when you were a kid with loads of dodgy E numbers in. It was a really hot day, and unfortunately they weren’t frozen, but the thought was there, and it’s the thought that counts.

It made me laugh, cause no one’s ever given me a freezy pop before, especially when out busking.

Twenty minutes down the line, a girl approached me, and with a smile said’ I hope you like chocolate !’ and placed two of those green shiny yo yo mint chocolate biscuit thingys in my hand. ‘Great’, I thought, ‘that’s dessert sorted !.’

On my way home, after packing away the freezies, and still pondering whether or not to eat the sausage roll, I thought of all the funny things people have given me in the past, and thought it would be a great idea to start a page on the things people give me while I’m out busking.

I thought in a few months time it could make for some interesting viewing.

So here it is…

The Street Musician Alternative Busking Pot

Last time I went busking, somebody gave me a Mc Donald’s fruit bag, but I’ll start the pot off with what I received today.

A Sausage roll..

..3 freezy pops..

..and 2 mint Yo Yo type biscuits..

Not bad for a days work.

I do really appreciate all the cash and gifts people place in my guitar case when I’m out busking, and every time someone throws a coin, gift, note or whatever in the pot, it really does make my day.

Just so our readers don’t feel left out on this one, the Street Musician Busking Pot is also open to postal gifts, parcels, emails, donations and anything else you feel like sending.

Take a look at my contact page for details of how to reach me.

Check back in a couple of weeks to see what else I get given by all you strange (but wonderful) people out there.

Posted 24.05.09

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