Saturday, March 10, 2007

Busking

I made today my first busking day of 2007. I got down to St. Lawrence Market at about 9:30 this morning with my button box and played until just after 1:00 (with a lunch break). There was already a guitar picker there, but we get on well, and seem to coexist in our spots in the north building pretty well. A cello player also set up between the doors to the north building after I got started. She plays a classical set and sounds very nice. It was a real workout on my fingers today, and towards the end, I was having a bit of trouble making my fingers negotiate a couple of the fast pieces I do. I added in three tunes I wasn't playing in 2006 - The Reno Waltz, a Cajun number; a very nice corridinho (a fast Portuguese dance tune) that I don't have the title of, and a Basque Paso Doble. I've only just committed the paso doble to memory, so I felt a little shaky playing it today, but I did play it a few times without major disasters. Paso dobles are in 2/4 time, like polkas, but have more of a march feel about them. This one I learned from a selection of tunes used in some kind of Basque cultural club in Idaho. A player from Boise who I met at Button Box Camp sent them to me.

I play one Newfie tune busking, called The Star of Logy Bay, and three times today, somebody came up to me grinning after hearing it and said something like, "Star of Logy Bay....are you from Newfoundland"? Almost every time I play I'm surprised by somebody recognizing that song.

7 comments:

* (asterisk) said...

A friend of mine used to busk in my hometown way back when, and he used to make a tidy sum on a Saturday afternoon.

mister anchovy said...

I have a great time doing it...I meet lots of interesting people....and some days I do quite well. It isn't easy, though. On the button accordion, your fingers have to move around fast and accurately. I usually play for about 2 hours then take a lunch break, then play for another hour or so. Sometimes if I'm getting tired, I'll play an extended version of a song that is easy to articulate to give my fingers a break. The tune I like for this is sort of a medley between a Swedish waltz (Sailor's Waltz) and an Irish tune (Black Velvet Band). I play two parts of the waltz then segue into a faster Black Velvet Band. It's one of the easier pieces I play, but people like it, I think because The Black Velvet Band is like a surprise emerging from the waltz.

I'm saving my busking money for a new button box I've had my eye on for some time, an Italian-made job by Guerrini with 3 reeds on the treble side.

Gardenia said...

Awesome - those missing this wonderful treat on their streets should be directed to the market, forthwith....

zydeco fish said...

Hmm, every time I am there, I end up seeing a rather boring saxophonist...but maybe that was the south building.

Anonymous said...

A sure sign of spring!

mister anchovy said...

hey Z-fish, I plan to be at St. Lawrence on Saturday....hoping to get there about 9:00 a.m. as I have to leave by about 12:30 or 1:00 at the latest....so if you're in the neighbourhood, drop by. If I can get the spot, I like to play along the south wall of the north building, just to the east of the middle doors....if somebody beats me to it, I could be almost anywhere I can stake out.

* (asterisk) said...

That's cool that you're putting the proceeds back into the business, so to speak.