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Nature of the Business
Jan. 28th, 2009 04:04 pmI had a really good day today, bizarrely enough.
It started with getting the "prime" pitch in Pike's Place Market this morning. It was a drizzly, icky morning, but by my arrival at 10:30 the sun was out and the sky was clearing (Seattle weather forecasts are the most inaccurate I've ever seen). I had a good set, and then since there was only one person behind me in line when I finished, I put my place in line for the next set after him.
This is totally unlike me. I *hate* waiting for anything, especially busking pitches. I've waited a bit here and there (the Edmonton Fringe most especially), but I typically find it easier and more productive to just move on to another place. But it was lunch time, and Philip's hour set gave me time for a leisurely meal and some quality time with my book (a historical survey of ancient Roman society). As I was getting ready to head back to the pitch I met a lovely Mexican woman, Lillia, who told me how to busk an area of the market I'd considered but wasn't an official pitch (basically involving going to the office and asking nicely). She'd gotten busking permits in the past, being a singer, but has found that recently she'd lost her confidence for performing in public, as happens sometimes. And I knew exactly what she meant - every time I set up in a new place (whether it's a new city, country, or patch of sidewalk) I get so nervous my knees practically knock together. It's a struggle to set up, much less begin playing, and the way I cope with it is by almost ritualistically playing "Labyrinth", one of my favorite original tunes, to break in every new pitch I play.
The second set went well, and I headed back to the ferry. I busked the crossing back to the island, but as we approached the shore I was told by a deck officer that busking the ferries was not allowed and that the captain had told him to have me stop. He was incredibly courteous, and mentioned that he'd deliberately waited to approach me until we had almost arrived. He said he'd called into port to see exactly what the rules were but they hadn't gotten back to him on time, and I gave him my card. He even called a short while later to tell me where I could start a process to see about busking the ferries in the future, which is wonderful, but since I'm only here for a few more days I'll let it wait until my next trip to the area.
My audience of passengers was incredibly supportive. My heart was absolutely warmed by the response they gave to the situation, with many people talking to the officer to say how much the enjoyed my playing and several of them tipping me just after hearing that I wasn't allowed to accept tips. I came away from the whole thing with a glow about me, and I feel strangely good about the whole situation.
It started with getting the "prime" pitch in Pike's Place Market this morning. It was a drizzly, icky morning, but by my arrival at 10:30 the sun was out and the sky was clearing (Seattle weather forecasts are the most inaccurate I've ever seen). I had a good set, and then since there was only one person behind me in line when I finished, I put my place in line for the next set after him.
This is totally unlike me. I *hate* waiting for anything, especially busking pitches. I've waited a bit here and there (the Edmonton Fringe most especially), but I typically find it easier and more productive to just move on to another place. But it was lunch time, and Philip's hour set gave me time for a leisurely meal and some quality time with my book (a historical survey of ancient Roman society). As I was getting ready to head back to the pitch I met a lovely Mexican woman, Lillia, who told me how to busk an area of the market I'd considered but wasn't an official pitch (basically involving going to the office and asking nicely). She'd gotten busking permits in the past, being a singer, but has found that recently she'd lost her confidence for performing in public, as happens sometimes. And I knew exactly what she meant - every time I set up in a new place (whether it's a new city, country, or patch of sidewalk) I get so nervous my knees practically knock together. It's a struggle to set up, much less begin playing, and the way I cope with it is by almost ritualistically playing "Labyrinth", one of my favorite original tunes, to break in every new pitch I play.
The second set went well, and I headed back to the ferry. I busked the crossing back to the island, but as we approached the shore I was told by a deck officer that busking the ferries was not allowed and that the captain had told him to have me stop. He was incredibly courteous, and mentioned that he'd deliberately waited to approach me until we had almost arrived. He said he'd called into port to see exactly what the rules were but they hadn't gotten back to him on time, and I gave him my card. He even called a short while later to tell me where I could start a process to see about busking the ferries in the future, which is wonderful, but since I'm only here for a few more days I'll let it wait until my next trip to the area.
My audience of passengers was incredibly supportive. My heart was absolutely warmed by the response they gave to the situation, with many people talking to the officer to say how much the enjoyed my playing and several of them tipping me just after hearing that I wasn't allowed to accept tips. I came away from the whole thing with a glow about me, and I feel strangely good about the whole situation.
