Busking on Rundle Mall Revisited
Last week I went back to Rundle Mall solo and played two similar sets. The first day I ended up between Dymocks and Esprit/City Chic, and the second day I played between the Myer Centre and City Cross.
Since these were both solo missions, I didn't get any pix or video, but I did record with my phone in my chest pocket, which yielded some of the best-sounding live audio I've come up with so far.
On Wednesday I was kind of in a secluded area, but still managed to draw some change. On Thursday, I was really fortunate to get a great spot and the support of some generous donors.
It probably helped that I made my sign a bit more specific, explaining that the Hutt Street Centre works to support Adelaide's homeless/vulnerable. People responded, and you can hear me almost lose track of the song in the second bridge of One More due to the kind woman who threw down a $10 bill here.
There's also a fun version of Consequential Matters here.
While it's unlikely that someone should read it here first, I should probably note that if you want to make a sizable contribution to the Hutt Street Centre, you should probably do it directly here. Gifts of $2 or more are tax-deductible under the Income Tax Assessment Act.
Setlists for both days were the same songs, in different order:
12/10/11
Disobey - Standstill - Consequential Matters - Freefall - Sola - Road Rage - In My Own Way - One More - Walking Into The Light - Compost Heap
13/10/11
Disobey - Standstill - Freefall - Consequential Matters - Sola - Road Rage - In My Own Way - Walking Into The Light - Compost Heap - One More
I plan to work up a few more songs to switch it up a bit, hopefully this week.
Busking on Rundle Mall
Recently I decided to go get an Adelaide City busking permit.
The idea was to get myself and my songs out in front of people, and maybe make some money for charity in the process.
After some googling, I picked the Hutt Street Centre for Adelaide's homeless and/or vulnerable to be my cause.
Amazingly, some of my colleagues decided to tag along, which delighted me, and I can't thank them enough for following me around Rundle Mall in multiple directions trying to find a spot to play, not to mention staying to the end. It was really encouraging, and helped me through something that would have been very daunting alone.
Halfway through, my lovely partner Emily arrived and took the accompanying photos.
It was Friday evening, and there were buskers everywhere. As soon as I thought I'd gotten far enough away from the last one, I'd see the next one.
Finally, I had enough, and decided to cut up an alley towards North Terrace.
Anyways, I played a half-hour, which is the maximum time allotted on the permit in one location, although I saw other people playing before I started and after I finished.
I had almost forgotten my permit, but thankfully remembered and ran back in to grab it, as Rundle Mall security did actually scope me out and check my credentials.
Here's audio of Compost Heap, complete with Security check.
Anyways, it went really well, and despite the less-than-ideal location, I did manage to rustle up a modest contribution from the effort.
I plan to do it again soon, probably a weeknight this week, when it should be a bit easier to find some prime real estate on the Mall. Hopefully I can rake it in for a good cause. I'll tweet when I'm relatively sure I'm doing it and where/when.
Setlist:
Disobey, Freefall, Standstill, Consequential Matters, Walking Into The Light, Compost Heap, Road Rage, One More
Live @ The Dan 22/6/11
My yoga class was cancelled this week, so I was able to head down to the Open Mic @ The Dan for the first time since last August.
Audio (a little guitar heavy) may be found here.
1. Standstill - I wrote this song last year, and played it once at the Dan, but didn't get audio that day.
2. Freefall - This song was written towards the end of March, after the company I was working for went under.
3. Consequential Matters - This song was intended to be on To Live Without Fear, but the recording wasn't working out at the time, so it was cut, along with a number of other songs which I still like and intend to release in the future.
I'm in the process of recording these, but didn't want to hold back until that's done, so try to act surprised when you hear the loud, full-band-sounding "studio" versions of them next year.