As other posts have indicated, I do a lot of busking. Being out in public you get to see so many things and experiences that you dont get by playing music in any other way. Many of these things I make a quick tweet or fb post about and then it disappears into the ether
Well no more I say!
I'm going to start putting them in blog format, then maybe one day, if I have enough, I can get someone with real skills in written English to compile them and make it cohesive and interesting - then put them into an e-book
Here is yesterdays tale...
I was playing Matty Groves and a woman and her lad (a toddler) came by. The little boy stopped, started a little dance, then stopped and stared, rapt, taking it all in
I finished the song and said "do you like Jungle Book?" and started playing King Of The Swingers before getting an answer. He started crying
I stopped and said "do you want another 500 year old song about sex and murder?" and he nodded
In other news, I've been recording lots of demos lately. Initially for the purpose of me being able to hear them back and figure out any changes, I then decided to start posting them as I've got more than enough for an album and would like your help in deciding which are the better ones to go on the album
You can listen to them all here http://www.reverbnation.com/lewbear
I've got 4 songs that will definitely be going on that I'm not demoing and 2 more that I've yet to record. Also, it'll likely be March before I get the chance to record them properly, so a fair bit of time to write more yet too, so keep popping back and checking for new ones.
So, if there's any you like, make sure you let me know, coz I want your favourites on it
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Busking - not just a way to make a few pennies!
I've been busking a lot over the past year. It's great - I can get some fun money, usually making enough to get a few beers for going out etc, buy a few new books or some treats in town on the way back.
In fact, if I could stop my fingers or voice burning out after a couple of hours, and get out most days of the week, I'm sure I could make a reasonable living off of it
Taking out the money, I've had some brilliant experiences - moments that have touched the musical soul that'll stay with me forever. Times like when I saw a bunch of primary school kids on an outing and I quickly switched to King Of The Swingers and watched as they all danced past with big cheesy grins on their faces, or the time while playing Stand By Me that an old fella stood opposite me with closed eyes, gently swaying in time to the music, before coming over at the end with watery eyes and saying it'd brought back memories for him. Not to mention all the little times of "is that your song? Cool!" or "great voice" that pep you up every time
Anyway, this is the past. Today I've nudged towards a future. Legally you cant sell cds on the streets (unless you happen to have a street vendors license) but you can give them away. I put a stack of cds out on top of a sign saying "Take A CD" and most people who took one averaged between £2 and £3 as a donation in response (you'll always get tight arses, like the guy who put 5p in)
Now, I didnt mind risking this as an experiment because I kind of over-ordered on copies of my album and if it clears a few out, great. However, would I order extra copies of an album to sell in this manner? No, I probably wouldnt
Would I make a special sampler cd of 4-5 tracks in a simple plastic sleeve with tracklisting, websites and contact details printed onto the cd for this? Yes I would!
You can get cds printed in such a manner for as little as 50p each (never even nearly a £1 each, even if you only order 10 at a time).
Take into account the tight arses who'll wander off with 1 for nothing and you might average £1-1.50 minimum per cd, which contains profit which is all good - BUT you're not just selling them a cd!
In making a sale, you've found someone who, if they like it, will go home and tell their friends, who will then go and check out your website, maybe just clicking like on facebook, or following you on twitter - maybe buying a cd or a download on itunes. The original person may look to buy more of your work, getting every cd you ever release from there on in even
Who knows? Maybe nothing will happen on most occasions, but hell, there are musicians paying money to be advertised in magazines, or online, or even for radio play and nothing is guaranteed then either. This way, you're being paid for the chance that someone will be listening to your cd in the car, pick up their mate who'll say "who's this?" at which point a tale is told of how they came across you while busking...and any tale that is a little different is an advantage to being remembered
This is all while achieved while you're making a bit of money on the side, having fun rehearsing and performing in front of people instead of doing it in your bedroom
If any of the people who've bought my cd after seeing me busking are reading this, thank you so much for putting the money in the pot and for showing interest. It's people like you that keep music and musicians going and it means the world to me x
In fact, if I could stop my fingers or voice burning out after a couple of hours, and get out most days of the week, I'm sure I could make a reasonable living off of it
Taking out the money, I've had some brilliant experiences - moments that have touched the musical soul that'll stay with me forever. Times like when I saw a bunch of primary school kids on an outing and I quickly switched to King Of The Swingers and watched as they all danced past with big cheesy grins on their faces, or the time while playing Stand By Me that an old fella stood opposite me with closed eyes, gently swaying in time to the music, before coming over at the end with watery eyes and saying it'd brought back memories for him. Not to mention all the little times of "is that your song? Cool!" or "great voice" that pep you up every time
Anyway, this is the past. Today I've nudged towards a future. Legally you cant sell cds on the streets (unless you happen to have a street vendors license) but you can give them away. I put a stack of cds out on top of a sign saying "Take A CD" and most people who took one averaged between £2 and £3 as a donation in response (you'll always get tight arses, like the guy who put 5p in)
Now, I didnt mind risking this as an experiment because I kind of over-ordered on copies of my album and if it clears a few out, great. However, would I order extra copies of an album to sell in this manner? No, I probably wouldnt
Would I make a special sampler cd of 4-5 tracks in a simple plastic sleeve with tracklisting, websites and contact details printed onto the cd for this? Yes I would!
You can get cds printed in such a manner for as little as 50p each (never even nearly a £1 each, even if you only order 10 at a time).
Take into account the tight arses who'll wander off with 1 for nothing and you might average £1-1.50 minimum per cd, which contains profit which is all good - BUT you're not just selling them a cd!
In making a sale, you've found someone who, if they like it, will go home and tell their friends, who will then go and check out your website, maybe just clicking like on facebook, or following you on twitter - maybe buying a cd or a download on itunes. The original person may look to buy more of your work, getting every cd you ever release from there on in even
Who knows? Maybe nothing will happen on most occasions, but hell, there are musicians paying money to be advertised in magazines, or online, or even for radio play and nothing is guaranteed then either. This way, you're being paid for the chance that someone will be listening to your cd in the car, pick up their mate who'll say "who's this?" at which point a tale is told of how they came across you while busking...and any tale that is a little different is an advantage to being remembered
This is all while achieved while you're making a bit of money on the side, having fun rehearsing and performing in front of people instead of doing it in your bedroom
If any of the people who've bought my cd after seeing me busking are reading this, thank you so much for putting the money in the pot and for showing interest. It's people like you that keep music and musicians going and it means the world to me x
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