Tondeleo: The first time I met Doc Stevens and Marilyn they were busking or as the Yanks call it, street performing. Busking is an almost unknown word in the States. I could hear them of course before I could see them, and as I turned the corner, I could see a crowd of maybe 20 to 25 people standing and listening. Some of them were singing along and some were doing impromptu dances at Doc's urging, which is very much like commanding.
People were laughing, talking, drinking, dancing and clearly having a good time. Doc was at his most "liberated," meaning he was interacting with the crowd, as he likes to do. He would tease them, flirt with the ladies, poke a little fun at the men and make sure everyone was having fun. Some people tossed some money in his "collection box."
After the show I talked with him and Marilyn. I was surprised he was as approachable as he was. But, then, I had noticed how he kept an eye on any male who was in the vicinity of Marilyn, so I kept my distance and talked mainly to Doc. That was the beginning of a long friendship and the beginning of this blog.
Doc and I were talking about street performing and I got out my digital recorder so I could capture any of his hints and tips that may be useful. Here they are, with topical dividers that I inserted.
Doc: Well, first off, playing in the streets aint like playing in a bar. I done plenty of both. Drunks is at both places but on the streets it's different. During the day you aint runnin' into too many drunks, but at night you do, because a lot of them are lookin' for handouts and they go where the people are - just like you're doing. You aint got no bouncers on the streets, so you have to be friendly to them but take control at the same time.
DRUNKS. Like, if there's drunks trying to get you rattled.... I always try to be friendly and then challenge a drunk to a dance contest. If he is getting on my nerves, I say, "Lemme see you dance. C'mon man, I can tell you're a dancer. Give us a show and I''ll play you something good." Usually a happy type drunk'll start dancing for you. Mostly drunks is bored and want attention. I'll get the crowd cheering for him or her and now I am his hero. That also helps me get a crowd, when he's dancing and the people is clapping.
Here is some more things about if you're gonna be a street musician. Learn to sing without a mike. You gotta be heard. Street singing aint about a beautiful voice it's about being heard. You gotta be louder than a bus going by. Get over your shyness and sing out. You won't sing out if you got a mike.
EQUIPMENT. LESS IS BETTER. You gotta travel light. I seen street musicians with drums, mikes, amps, two or three guitars and a big wagon to haul them in! That's good for playing indoors, or if you got some store giving you a regular place and electricity, but I aint got that. How are you gonna carry all that stuff when the cops run you off? You gotta be able to carry everything in one trip.
Sometimes, we don't bring nothing electric. I bring my dobro and Marilyn brings her harp and a money collecting container. That's the lightest weight and is easiest for riding the bus and getting moved by the cops.
If we're going into a louder area, or into a club area at night, I bring either a Pignose amp or a old Peavey battery powered amp. The Peavey is heavier, but uses D cells so it last longer than the Pignose. It's louder, too. But it aint got a dirty channel, so I can't get the sounds that the Pignose does, for distortion.
I got a guitar, a small amp, and my wooden stomp box for the beat. I got a mike in it, and plug it in, too. One of my stomp boxes has a tambourine screwed to it. Got a VW hubcap and a screw going through it to fasten it to the box. You gotta have a strong beat, and I don't carry drums with me. If Marilyn's with me, she likes to use a mike for her harps.
With that little set up, I can move along if the cops ask me to and set up a block or two away and be back in business in five minutes. Marilyn just brings her harps and a container to put money in.
When we play in Washington DC, we take a bus and then the Metro, so we travel real light. One guitar I use aint got a case. It's got a handle screwed to it on top of the body. I got a old WW2 duffle bag what I use for a case sometimes. We ride up on the bus and come back on the bus. No problem.
COLLECTING MONEY.You need a money collector. Marilyn passes the hat, which is better. If you look people in the eye and pass the hat they are more likely to give. We pass the hat after every two or three songs. We aint out there because the world aint being entertained enough. We are out there to make money.
Marilyn jingles the collection box and after each person, she says a loud THANK YOU. It makes people think everyone else is putting in money and that helps fill the pot a bit quicker. Sometimes she will tell them they are very kind or something like that. It keeps us sounding successful and people like that.
DRESS & APPEARANCE. You also got to LOOK like you are interesting. People don't pay for same old same old. For us it is this easy. We are from down south and dress like the folks down here in the country. But when we go to the city, like Washington, you aint seein' folks dressed country. They is all office boys and suits and ties. Up there, camo stands out and so does overalls and work boots. Marilyn wears that skullcap rag on her head to keep her hair under control. If it's cold we got gloves with the fingers cut out.
People look at us like we are from the mountains or something. We aint dirty, but we don't look like no city people and we don't want o, and we don't like we are playing at no opera house later on. We aint look like winos, but people is always asking us where we is from. We aint tell 'em exactly where we are from, but we just say down Southern Maryland, down the country.
People like to use they imaginations. If you look like you is a professional musician and are just out there practicing because you got a gig that night, you aint gonna get no real money. Lotsa street musicians I see are dressed too nice. And they aint make no money. Don't dress like you got somewhere else to go. Dress like this is all you got.
SHOWMANSHIP. You don't want to look like a looneytoon or a nutcase or a alcoholic or drug addict. If you look psycho, ain't nobody wants to get close enough to give you money. You want to look like you are sober, and not a escapee from the psyche ward. And you gotta be happy, and really having fun.
Play with the audience, like I said. Tease them a little bit. Whenever you catch me and Marilyn playing in the streets, I flirt with every woman, but don't NEVER talk dirty. Just playful. If I see a lady and her teenage daughter, I will ALWAYS ask for her and her SISTER to come over here and let me see them up close, cause it's odd for a family to have TWO pretty girls in it at the same time. They know I'm messin' with 'em, but God aint made a woman yet what don't need a compliment.
I can get by with more stuff like that because with Marilyn with me, they can tell I am pretty safe.
GET THE MOST OUT OF IT. Always find a way to make more money than what you are. We always make a little sign with our name and our cell phone number on it, since we finally got one back in the fall. Now we got email, so I put that on there too. Use to, we put my friend Bruce's number on the sign and he would pass the message. For a while I had a beeper and we put that number on the sign.
Sometimes people call us and pay us to play at their family reunions and bbq's or parties. It don't cost nothing to do that. We got that stamp made up with our names on it and phone number and all that. Me and Marilyn both hand them out and put them on bulletin boards when we take a break like at Burger King or McDonald's.
People have called us because they had a friend what VCR'd us or took a picture with their cell phone and then they read our number off that sign! Now they know our name and how to get us to play.
We have played at high end hotels for wedding parties. Like in DC, and Arlington, Virginia and Alexandria, too plus other places because they knew who we was and how to get ahold of us. People what hear us then pass us on to their friends.
MUSIC SELECTION. Last thing I can think of is songs. Sing and play fast songs mostly and songs what people know and what got a real good beat. Also move with the music. You got to be INTO it. We aint that good. But we put on a good show, if you catch us live where we aint too outclassed by the audience.
We act like we aint got too much sense which aint hard for us to do, also, people like slide guitar with a little distortion. Play slide, distort it a little and you will get a crowd. I got this old piece of crap acoustic guitar what I got outta a dumpster, and put a pickup on it and only three strings, like they do down in the hills. When I play songs what people know on that guitar, which sounds distorted because it has a bolt for a nut and a piece of molding for a bridge, it gets a crowd every time. They can't believe you can get real music out of a piece of garbage. I look like a redneck idiot up there in the city, but they go for it. Specially them Japanese tourists and English people.
SHOWMANSHIP. Somebody said it like this. If you get on fire enough, people will come just to watch you burn. People come to watch us more than they come to hear us, and we are musicians. We move around a bit, and we tease people, we make it a experience and a show more than just playing some songs and hoping people dont think we are too bad. We don't care if we sound bad as long as people have a good time and give us money. If they FEEL GOOD, you don't have to BE that good. Or, maybe you ARE good, if you can make them feel good.
It aint about being technically good, I know that. If people wants good music, they can turn on their radio. It is about connecting with the people and helping have a good time and to make a memory. Tourists love us. Especially Japanese ones. We look like the American country people what they see in the movies but what aint wandering the streets of DC when they get here. So they take pictures of us and give us money for posing. We'll take it all! We are there to pay bills and we never forget that.
That's all I can think of right now. Turn that recorder off.
