I’m so exhausted! It’s 2.7 miles to where I busk and 2.7 home, and nobody is in town so I walked both ways with a guitar on my back. I’m ready for an endless nap. It started raining after about an hour but I made $46 so that’s good. I did have to walk home in the rain for a little while, which was unpleasant, but not too bad.
Kimberly the hot dog seller has a brother who is probably around 40. He is mentally challenged but a very sweet man, and when he saw me today he gave me a big hug. He told me had a job yesterday and he was supposed to be meeting the guy here to get paid, but the man was running late. He told me that he had worked thirteen hours yesterday and that the man was going to pay him $50. Who would ever try to take advantage of someone like that? The greed in this world is despicable. I reminded him that if the guy tried to screw him over, Kimberly would put him in his place. He agreed.
There weren’t many people downtown today since it was cloudy, but people were walking at a more leisurely pace, not to mention they were all feeling a bit more generous on the weekend. I met someone today who buys and trades guitars, who told me my guitar was very unique and beautiful. I agreed. He is bringing me a new set of strings on Monday since I told him I didn’t have a car.
I am happy to be in my hometown but I wish I had a car so I could go somewhere. Even just a drive would be nice. None of my friends are here.
Back in Charlotte and busking again! I missed it. Brings back feelings I haven’t had in awhile. Namely, I reclaim the ability to trust anyone I see. Being a busker gives you the opportunity to not suspect everyone around you for fear for your safety. As a small woman it has been metaphorically beaten into me that I should be wary of everyone around me. And of course, more likely than not I have been led out of harms way by this attitude. However, with a guitar on my back or around my shoulder I feel inclined to smile at everyone. I feel a sense of openness that I find difficult to obtain in any other context.
Despite its extreme inconsistencies, there are still some generalities I have picked up on from doing it for so long. I always sound worse in the first hour, and I always make less money in the first hour. I have to remind myself to keep a positive attitude because if I just enjoy myself and enjoy the company of the passersby, the money will come naturally. Believe it or not.
Today I made $80 and bought a diet coke from the nearby hot dog seller (Kimberly) because I want her to know I support her business (and to try to make up for her poor ears listening to my obnoxious voice for so many hours a week), and then an almond tea cake from the bakery across the street.
It’s supposed to rain tomorrow. We’ll see.
thepriceofbeingawolf asked: Hi. Did you ever busk in Richmond? Having trouble finding any info. Hoping you could help. Thanks
Yes! The best place to busk is outside the Byrd theatre while people are waiting in line for tickets. I busked there over the summer when it was warmer but I was there this weekend and the line is still very long. Everyone has cash because they are buying tickets to the movie, so it is perfect. Hope that helped!
I played for about two hours underneath the arch in Washington Square Park, but spent a lot of it just hanging out and talking. I missed New York! I ended up meeting and making friends with a girl from France and seeing someone again who I met last time I was here! A group of very talented people set up their PA system towards the end of my set and we played a couple of songs together before I passed over the baton. It was a really fun night. And today is my birthday!
Gross earnings for the day: $79
Gross earnings so far: $2561
I played in front of Nacho Mama’s for 45 minutes, from 11:15 to 12. It was nice because I had amplification this time around, and they let me put out my case. Obviously passersby were not expecting to give tips at the festival, but I still did fairly well for 45 minutes. I met a very cute guy who is playing at 1:45! Gonna go to that.
Gross earnings for the day: $27
Gross earnings so far: $2482
Played the first line at the Byrd and then tried at the second one. Turned out there were few people there so I just sort of wandered down the street to the area where those two Frozen Yogurt places are right next to each other. There’s a really nice spot with great acoustics in front of a rug place (why are there so many oriental rug places in Carytown?) so I played there for maybe thirty or forty-five minutes. There exist some videos so I’ll post them.
I am/was feeling pretty low-energy for some reason and getting annoyed with a creep who was creepin’. What else is new? One thing I will enjoy returning to Chapel Hill is being less surrounded by creeps! Anyway, it was still a nice evening and I really didn’t play all that long. Probably about an hour and a half in total. I need to get some good sleep and be somewhere with lots going on. Us extraverts absorb energy from the outside world, and at least for me, I start losing energy after a long period of not a lot of engaging circumstances.
Gross earnings for the day: $98
Gross earnings so far: $2455
