Requests and Duets

Today was one of those really fun days, and it was all because of the requests and a duet.
When a really cute little girl asks you to play a song during your "there are too many trains right now and I'm tired" break, you get up and you play. And when she asks you to play Nicki Minaj, well you figure out the chorus to "Super Bass" on the fly. Well, at least I do. And even though you are most decidedly not a fan of pop music, when she asks you to, you even sing "Baby" by Justin Bieber (of which you ashamedly know almost the entire 1st verse and chorus).

This is an important lesson for me and any aspiring buskers out there: if the song is popular, even if you don't exactly like it or think it suits your style, it's helpful to know at least the 1st verse and chorus. Hey, "Baby" even got me a dollar. ;)
(And if you're a black female, especially if you have locks, just go ahead and learn some Tracy Chapman. I suggest "Fast Car".)

Now, on to duets. Sometimes you'll get really cool people who ask to join you. This handsome fellow pictured below was one of those types. We did a wonderfully harmonized rendition of "Landslide" (1st verse and chorus) before his train came and I had to finish the song solo, sans harmony. I can't remember his name, but it was a nice one.

Busking is really great fun because you get to meet so many different people and you stretch and grow as an artist and musician every day. Basically, if you can work up the nerve to prop yourself up in front of dozens of strangers in a non-venue setting, then I highly recommend it.

Busker Face

There may come a time in the life of the busker when he or she may have to employ the "busker face". Essentially, this is the poker face of busking.

Example One: You are just getting into the groove of a song when you feel a piercing sting. You look around you. You have a choice to make. Stop and slap the offending bloodsucker of a mosquito that is attempting to drain you dry (once is never enough for them...), or employ your busker face, muscle through it, and tell yourself the dollars you make are worth it.
(My favorite bug moment was a couple Mondays ago when a cockroach decided to take center stage with me. I thought for sure I'd get a buck for not shrieking like a maniac when it paused by my mic stand...)

Example Two: Any time little kids or teenagers do something that isn't cute. Clearly the only option here is the busker face. No one actually wants to see you go off on some snot nosed little brat. They'll be much more impressed with and more likely to reward your saint-like restraint.

Now, one's busker face is unique to each person. It happens when you're trying to sell a CD to someone on the fence, or when you're fending off the occasional drunkard. It's in the smile you send the unsuspecting passerby who then feels obligated to tip you. It's in the moment you pretend you don't notice people staring at you and creepily taking pictures of you before sneaking off, and many other times. It grows, is shaped and then shaped again, and it is quite essential.

So if you're thinking of going down under, or even street performing, hone the craft of looking like all is easy-peasy even when you'd give anything to just go home but you haven't met your quota yet. :D

Outdoor Entertainment

So usually I busk down in the subways but this Friday it was so stifling down there! I was getting a headache, I was thirsty and running out of water, and pretty soon I would have to go pee anyway. A busker's dilemma. So when a fellow busker came by and offered to show me a good spot to busk outside I decided to give it a shot. 

When I got set up I was so nervous. This was the first time I had ever done outside performing in Boston. One song in, and the guy in the picture below comes up to me, scratching and burping, asking if he could sing. (He didn't look too happy about the pic so I left out his face.) Clearly I'm way too nice. Here I am trying to make an honest living and this guy is trying to talk to me while I'm singing, fully expecting me to stop what I'm doing and listen to him. This happens a lot, so be prepared for it if you want to start busking. I say yes, let him get his minute of busking fame and then deny his request for money. This also happens a lot. If someone asks to sing or play with you they either expect to share whatever someone puts in the case, or they expect you to give them something regardless. Uhhhh no. Not this time. There's a reason I'm singing my wiles on the street.

Well he left, slightly sad looking since his bid for extorting money out of me flopped. (I find I'm more inclined to give people a dollar if they just honestly ask for one and don't waste my time.) Then this guy came along, loudly touting about how I was the next Tracy Chapman. (I love these types... This was my second or maybe third Chapman reference of the day. I imagine every singing guitar-playing Black girl with locks has to deal with this.) He knows music, he says, and he's been around for awhile, having seen Chapman and others doing what I'm doing now. He says for sure I'll make it. While I appreciate them and sincerely hope the people who wish me well in this manner are spot on, I was hoping he'd extend his bid of confidence in me far enough to give me one of the dollars lining his dog's collar. I mean, this dog is bling-ed out. No such luck, but at least the dog is super cute, even if a little ostentatious. Check it.

Solefull Soiree

Hey There! So Friday the 8th I played at the Solefull Soiree (@solefull_lounge), a lovely event full of artsy hipster fashionistas/fashionistos. Can't say I'm terribly broken up over the fact that I stuck out like a sore thumb. But they gave me a shirt so now I'll be all nice and fashionable :). They really have nice designs.

There was live art going on for the entire event, with people painting, and the house band played really well.

I really like this piece, mostly because of the vibrancy of the colors. I really liked what she chose to work with.

I also really liked this guy's work. It was very strong, and you could almost feel the energy of the figures he presented, it seemed.

  This artist was really nice. What stood out to me about her work here is the way she played with light and layering, using a really simple palette to bring out a really beautiful idea. The piece was themed around the intersections between dreams/hopes and the unknown/darkness. She also wanted to express the importance of the beauty and transformation that happens in the midst of uncertainty. Basically I loved it.

Here I am singing. All around jolly good time.

Green

This post is all about how many puns, phrases, innuendos etc. I can write using the word "green" while giving an update on my life as I currently see it.* Prepare to be made green with envy(1). Obvious opener, I know...

So, times are hard in the Label/Dilbert/Fletcher household (me my mom and her boyfriend all have different last names) and so we're a little short on the green(2). Since my mom and aforementioned boyfriend aren't the green(3) types, there isn't any recycling or separation of anything, not even to help out the people in our area who do go through the trash to cash in on empty bottles. About the only thing green about them is the boyfriend's thumb(4), evidenced by the plethora of plants competing with us for living room and balcony space.

Clearly the inflow of green stuff(same as 2) must be augmented, because here in the U.S.A. you have to have cable, internet, at least two gaming platforms and corresponding games, a flat screen HD tv, a smartphone with a data plan, and any other number of "necessary" items. My current master plan to make moolah and thus furnish the acquisition and retention of such items is singing in the subways, where I employ all four years of my hard-earned college degree to bolster up my ego as people glance at me pityingly or condescendingly. (The real purpose of the moolah is to fend off the collectors of my college loans...) Occasionally I'll get some nice smiley types. It's the only temp job so far that my mother has given me the green light(5) on, since there's the possibility of my being discovered, becoming famous and filthy rich, and thereby solving all of our problems forever, without anyone else having to do anything. Hopefully I'll have the rub of the green(6) soon. (I looked up that last one up. Apparently it's British.)

At any rate, many of these posts will cover the joy that is being a subway performer. And trust me, it's a joy. Oh, and do bear with me. I'm green(7) at this whole blogging thing.



*Some green references have been left out because they don't fit, I don't want my mom to read them and get mad at me, or I didn't know about them. :)

1st Post

Clearly I should be able to think of a more creative title. Whatevs.

I am once again attempting to enter the world of blogging. This is kind of like jumping into the middle of a train of thought, but I figure y'all will figure it out (and figure me out) as we go along. Here we go. I am now home for Fall Break and excited to meet up with family and friends, work on music, do some homework/thesising, and at some point, rest.

Music is about the only thing worth updating at the moment. I am learning how to play the piano! I've tried various times in the past and let me tell you, it wasn't working. I've decided to approach this the way I approached the guitar: memorize chords shapes and don't pay too much attention to theory. Who needs to know annoying little things like what key you're playing in anyway? Right? Right.

So as of oh, two days ago, I wrote my second song for the piano. The first, which I literally wrote the week before, is called "Don't Ask Me". This piece is a reflection about how romance can be seen as salvation, as what will make everything better. The second is called "Other Woman" or "Time Heals Us All". I haven't fully decided which title to go with. As the title suggests, it is a reflection from the point of view of the other woman.

I've basically been teaching myself this instrument irregularly as part of a school project. I'm amazed at how much more fun the piano is now that it's just me and the keys. To be fair I am drawing on previous knowledge. Still, I'm progressing much faster on my own. I'll be plunking out masterpieces in no time!

Well, that is all.

Ciao