Nanaimo Busking on Myspace
Posted by Super Admin on
Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 3:23pm.
Hey everyone, if you are looking for the myspace page dedicated to The Beat of the Street, and Busking in nanaimo, you can find it right here.
I thought it might be an idea to get some dialogue going about street entertainment.
Are buskers professional entertainers? I think so. Can professional entertainers be buskers? Web definitions of professional http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:professional&ei=3qmeS5SNLoSIsgOemvR9&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAYQkAE
Wow! That is a mouthful of definitions! I like the one that says “A person who belongs to profession; A person who earns his living from a specified activity; An expert ;of or pertaining to, or in accordance with the standards of a profeesion; that is carried out for money, especially as a livelihood. What makes a clown, or a magician or an acrobat or any other street entertainer professional?I can speak for me, but I would love to hear your opinion! As a busker in Nanaimo for 25 years, I truthfully have not managed to make a living at it. My busking income has varied over the years. Once upon a time, in the good old days of playing at the Terminal Park Liquor store, I could make $65.00 an hour. It would have been a good wage indeed ; if I had the ability to play for more than two hours. First of all, two hours of standing with a guitar and singing on concrete is exhausting; secondly ,there were others who also needed to make some coin. Busking etiquette dictates that we give way to others who need the space. There was a renaissance on the streets in the mid 1990s, when there were a great many buskers who were extremely talented. The Nanaimo waterfront boasted a number of “professional” people who busked. I say professional, because these players, had a good repertoire, played well, and knew how to deal with the public. As the economic situation got tough, some who could barely play, a few with two strings on their guitars decided to enter the market. This brought the ire of the general public and business people. Bylaws were brought in limiting the numbers of good spots and creating dissension with buskers who were relying on donations to make ends meet.In my own opinion , any musician who does not keep their instrument in tune, and does not respect the audience, as well as their peers, is not professional.Perhaps I defining professional buskers as I write here. Some say that gigging musicians are not professional buskers and should not be pegged as buskers at all. I disagree. I am still a busker when I choose to be, but more often than not I am paid to work in venues like bars and restaurants. The going rate for a person playing in a band situation is about $25,00 per hour. This is a pittance compared with my old “liquor store” wage of $65.00.
I have to work, and lately for me , I get respect from the community at large if I play in paid venues. I am considered “professional” in the eyes of the paying public. The other perks include, shelter from the wind and rain, as well as no harassment from “bylaws” or other regulatory bodies. I also get to dress up in fancy clothes and use a decent PA system. Does this make me a professional ,even though I am a busker at heart? I cannot make a living as a gigging musician either. I don’t play five nights a week. I have often subsidized my playing with other jobs.I think one can be both a professional busker, and a professional busker who gigs.Please feel free to visit this site www.thebeatofthestreet.org and express your opinions and relate your experiences. Th
busker
The gigging musician
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Hey Cathy, what a cool myspace page
Posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 3:24pm.