All Discussions Tagged 'century' - Minstrel Banjo2024-03-28T21:16:14Zhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=century&feed=yes&xn_auth=noBusking and Play-for-Pay - Our Experience; What about yours?tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2015-04-02:2477478:Topic:1254312015-04-02T18:45:46.996ZCharles Edward Leehttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/CharlesEdwardLee
<p>I'm part of a trio, and we do mid-19th century music at events and historic sites in Louisiana, east Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. We charge for our services; and we do not only music, but a number of other period entertainments. The list is long: poetry recitations, Temperance meetings or rallies, preaching (comedic sermons on Saturday, serious on Sunday), medicine show pitches of products we've 'developed', Phrenology readings, and we're working on several others.…</p>
<p>I'm part of a trio, and we do mid-19th century music at events and historic sites in Louisiana, east Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. We charge for our services; and we do not only music, but a number of other period entertainments. The list is long: poetry recitations, Temperance meetings or rallies, preaching (comedic sermons on Saturday, serious on Sunday), medicine show pitches of products we've 'developed', Phrenology readings, and we're working on several others. We don't make Beyonce money; or ZZ Top money; but we do get paid enough to continue to make it worth our while.</p>
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<p>Events aren't all that plentiful within our travel range; and many events and sites hire bluegrass groups for $50 or $100 - these are antebellum and Civil War venues, mind you - where $100 won't cover our gas there and back - sometimes not even "there" for the more far-flung events. So we sometimes create our own mini-event by busking.</p>
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<p>If you're not familiar with the term, "busking" is a slang term from 1851. Its several meanings include selling articles or obscene ballads in public houses; playing music on the streets; or performing as a sort of informal comedian in pubs. Playing music on the streets (of New Orleans) is what we do sometimes, between playing contracted performances.</p>
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<p>There are lots of rules about busking in some places; less so in New Orleans, from what I understand, than most. Though no one owns a "spot," it's funny how fast you find out that lots of folks own "spots" on the streets. If I played one corner for 22 years, I'd be a bit proprietary, too. There are lots of folks playing modern music - they're the ones who get the occasional $1 tip in their instrument cases. They play for their own enjoyment - they play to be seen. </p>
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<p>If you want to make a little money busking, we've had success by dressing as we would for historic sites: in attire of the 1850s - and using instruments reproduced from period instruments. Our instruments include two Boucher banjos, both by Bell & Son (one was a kit, and the other was completely finished, with all the bells & whistles - no pun intended - thanks to the generosity of Mr Bell); plus two gourd banjos I made, using necks I got from Bell & Son; and a reproduction Sweeney banjo that made its way here from somewhere in Nebraska, I think it was. Those, plus limberjacks and two reproductions of an 1856 CF Martin guitar, plus a reproduction of a 1790 violin, round out our principal instruments. We also have tambourine, bones, spoons, harmonica, and jawbone.</p>
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<p>The sound of the banjo, and our peculiar costumes, draw the most attention. Folks come for our novel appearance; they stay for the music. They pay for pictures - voluntarily, without our even suggesting it - and of all the things we're asked about, the number one 'puzzler' to so many folks is "What is THAT?!" (as they point to the Boucher). The clothes are eye-catching - three fellows in black frock coats & trousers, black top hats, vests, wearing scarlet secession cockades with a brass 1851 badge in the center of them - but the sound of the banjo carries very well, and the song selection is so alien to so many folks. We p[lay nothing newer than 1864.</p>
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<p>(Oh - if you have CDs, you can't sell them on New Orleans streets without a business license. BUT - you CAN accept donations; and you can say "Thank you" (for the right denominations of donations) by giving the generous donor a CD. Donations of $15 gets a CD, for example; we have three titles, and we give deals, too. (A donation of $15 gets your choice of any one of the three; but if you donate $30, you can choose any two; and if you donate $45, you can choose ANY THREE - now THAT'S our kind of deal!...lol). And most of the money you'll make will come from people having their photos taken with you by their family or friends or passersby. Those are the $5 and $10 and $20 tips.)</p>
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<p>We donate a few performances, and we do limit the number of times we'll do that per year. </p>
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<p>That's our experience. What has yours been?</p>
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<p>Chuck Lee<br/>Elder Lee of Roscoe, Lee & Abadie<br/>Denham Springs, Louisiana</p>
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