The 21st Century Musicians Guide to Busking, vol1; Implementation
Oh 
yes…it is getting more and more real everyday, baby! Idon’t hink Malcolm Gladwell is losing any sleep over the possiblity of my book hitting #1 on the bestsellers list, but I’m happy with it!
I’ve been playing around with this book for 2 years! and this is just the first volume of 3; Implementation. Iwanted to write a book that was for laptop and electronic musicians because, my theory goes, if there is a resource to help them be the best they can be, then people wont freak when they see electronic artists playing onthe street. freaking is good, when its about the way the music makes people feel. its bad when it makes the cops come and scrutinize everything you are doing. its bad when people think that you are down on your luck because they believe that busking is for artists that couldnt “make it”. Busking is an art and it is my hope with these books, to create a resource that hopefully gets artists to do it properly and to respect each other and the space they are performing in so that people see that busking is not a last resort, but rather a viable additional artisitc outlet.
being that i am not endowed with loads of cash, i made the books myself. my way of saying thanks to those that contributed to my crowdfunding campaign. 5 people went for this particular perk so i will be mailing out 5 books later today. first i must make some spiffy clear plastic covers, to go with the bolted on binding, which is drilled. i want it to have the vibe of a users manual. the type of thing one would bring into the field and reference regularly.
using word to make it into a book was tedious, but not unneccessarily so. they actually have a folded book mode! hahaha! nice! i was able to adjust the inside margin and averything. yeah, i know thats nothing new or whatever, but its new to me and i found it cool.
I will write the next volume deep in the winter hibernation. I am working on integrating the beatjazz control system and a new busking system i designed, much more intimately and i will detail my finding in the next volume.
so now that this is done, i am compiling the DVD for the TRON campaign contributors. I hope to have that in the mail by monday morning. tuesday morning at the latest. once that is in the mail, i will officially begin the new campaign to pick up where the last campaign left off and MAN, its going to be some other ish! its killing me not to go into detail, but everything in due time. l8r.
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am keen to read this Onyx. in truth i have never gone busking i guess to some extent because i never felt that comfortable admitting that it’s not in some way a form of begging… (Of course i know it isnt and i often give cash to street performers but i think it maybe stems back to my teenage years where i didn’t know anyone who played a guitar or instrument…. everybody was an MC… and too cool for busking haha) dunno why but the idea always made me feel that i would feel awkward if a friend passed by and saw me but recently been toying with the idea because if anything it will improve my skills as a guitarist and performer… yeah… a late night outpoor of thought
cool idea bro!
busking is life. bombastic, i know, but true. let me explain.
busking, to me, is the same as cycling. cycling, while not as fast as a car or as glamorous, is fast enough, efficient, good for you and makes you a better person by allow you to get from point a to point b while simultaneously helping you stay in shape. there is a sense of freedom and a sense of purpose. busking is the same, if you let it be. many use busking as a means of regurgitating what they “think” people want to hear. but people dont know what they want to hear until you play/sing/perform/present it. although not as glamorous as big touring concerts and music videos, it has allowed me to stay in this business long enough to develope into the artist i always wanted to be. i shudder to think where i’d be had i taken some of the contracts offered to me in my youth. when all the hoopla over my controller and beatjazz dies down, i know i can still go to some non-descript underpass or street corner and express myself. celebrity is not the goal.
busking is a direct, personal connection from one person to another. you have to really feel comfortable with that level of intimacy. no one to tell them how great you are or that you won this this or this…just you, your art and a person who couldnt care less. to me, it is exciting to to transport people from their reality into mine. the buzz is palpable.
as for friends. my friends have seen me rock the streets and the concerts and they know the difference. if they judge you on this basis, they dont sound like very good friends.
take your art with you and let it free to interact with this world and i guarantee you will discover aspects of yourself and your art that you didnt know existed.
Great! I look forward to reading it.
looking forward to getting it out to you. thanks again!