Topic: Why (and where) we play.

[slideaway]

..to me youtube is just a big ol worldwide open mic for me too!

.. performing live can be like a drug sometimes, lotsa free adrenaline and so on ... other times its the last thing i want to do ...

i do still get an unexplainable subversive kick out of playing some CB tunes to people who dont normally listen to it, and see them enjoy some 100 yr old song .. and its fun to change lyrics miid song depending who is walking by, .. ie I cant be satisfied .. 'i feel like snapping .. er .. a camera in your face' .. i'm a busker mostly, love the freedom of it ... only about 30% of my busking sets is blues/old time, theres only so much CB and such strangers can handle i think .. and mostly the bouncy happy ones ..

[Norfolk Slim]

I've read the replies with interest.

Of course there is a big difference between people trying to do this as a living, or to make income and us hobbyists.  I fully appreciate that those doing the former have little option but to take those rotten gigs in rotten places, and try to make them better and reach an audience over time.

I think its also right that some people are naturals.  Goog gigs or bad, some people just love doing it, and feel right at home on a stage.  Others do not.

I go through phases of "Really should get out there and play for people" mixed regularly with "If I really dont want to, what's the point?"  Often, immediately after a performance, I couldn't even say with any certainty whether I enjoyed doing it or not.

[steadyrollinman]

It seems to me that those of us who don't play out for a living, are doing it for the sheer enjoyment and challenge of doing it. Since we have to push ourselves to some extent to expose our musical capability, and deal with the adrenaline that presents itself when standing in front of an audience, then the reward of our performance being well received outweighs any effort. It's also good to hear feedback from other musicians regarding one's performance. Goes to prove that underneath it all, we really want to be great Country Blues performers. Well, I do...

 

[Stumblin]

Comfort zone? I don't believe I've ever been in one of those.
Sounds a bit boring. Nice, but boring.
A few years ago I was invited to play in a school for seriously disabled children, some with very challenging behaviour, freaked me the flipping heck out. Over a year later I was told that they still talked about my visit, which gave me a strange, warm, feeling and made the whole experience very worthwhile. I guess that was my most uncomfortable experience in fornt of an audience.
Busking, as Muck says, is just a job. Just go and do it when you need some money, don't worry about the "audience," mostly nobody's listening anyway  - they're just walking by, going about their daily lives.