Sunday, May 27, 2007

A Good Hustle

Dressed as a pirate, I fiddled downtown on the opening day of Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I did it three separate times, first between about 11:00 and 12:00, then again between 2:00 and 3:00 and finally between 6:00 and 7:00.The best time was between 6:00 and 7:00, and I found out that if I hang out in front of the elevators to the parking lot across from the theater, the music they blast can't be heard and I have a captive audience while they wait for the elevator to come down. I brought in $60.00 and change! Lots of people said they enjoyed the tunes, and tipped between $.25 and $5.00. The best compliment I got all day, though, was when a bum said, "You have a good hustle," and gave me $.50. No police harrassment this time, either, and I met Mimi Ngyuen, the Downtown Stockton Alliance recruiter of street musicians who told me to come down to get my paperwork started.Man, it's addicting! It is like fishing, in a way, and you can see the fish smile, reach into their pockets, and take out the money. I see a lucrative summer of busking ahead.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Busking In Downtown Stockton

This afternoon, the boys and I tried to scrape up some money by busking in front of the City Center Theater by the waterfront. There were two other street performers there besides us.One was a Tevye lookalike named Jesse, short for Jesus, dressed in a blues brothers suit playing a Willie Nelson style acoustic guitar and singing oldies like Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison. The other was a mime in white face blowing up invisible balloons and fashioning them into various animals. Seth and Saul did a light sabre routine while I played Star Wars theme music on the violin. Several teenage girls giggled and watched for a few minutes and put a few dollars into the coffee can we had set up. Another group of young kids showed interest and begged parents for quarters to put in. The Tevye character came over and I invited him to play a few songs with me, and a bunch of people put money in his case. He had a permit, I didn't. Then later, a policeman told me I had to have a permit to play and to ask Tevye where to get one. I told him I had already asked him, and he told me to mosey. We made about $10 total, and the kids spent their money on icecream while I opted for the busker's choice of beverage, Tecate. I promptly researched what it would take to get a permit, and applied online. Jesse, told me he made $100 last night in the same place, so I am going to try it this summer and see how much supplemental income I can make playing on the streets of downtown Stockton. Stockton is great! Take a look!

Monday, May 14, 2007

Saul Versus Allan

Mother's Day

Saul wrote a special Mother's Day message on the backyard fence yesterday. The idea caught on with his two older brothers. Seth took it to the extreme. I think his local fire department could use him! What nice penmanship!