JanetB Says:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @9:42:43 AM

Chris Keefer, the talented one-man band. Do you ever busk? Dave Hum made his living from it in England before he passed away a couple of years ago. He's have a track going on and play his banjo ever-so-skillfully. He's a favorite on BHO. I've got two of his CDs.

Chris Keefer Says:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @5:43:13 PM

Yes Janet, I used to busk ALOT! I raised my family on busking for over a year during one run. I like for steady income, but honestly it gets tiring because for me to pull in the most money I can per day it would just be a huge psychological game, meaning I would have a repertoire of phrases and parts of songs that I knew certain types of people like or would catch their ear, I would never play full songs unless people were stopped to watch, but most of the money comes from people passing by in more of a hurry, and I learned how to capture their attention quickly. The other BIG thing I learned is eye contact, sometimes even creepy eye contact is a must, and of course a friendly smile. Lots of other tricks too, even the presentation of your case, sounds wierd but its a formula to make a full time wage busking, you have to treat as a work schedule though, 6 hour work days. I busk Primarily with a fiddle and sing loud with the fiddle, I play a ton of instruments but fiddle/vocals is the #1 for me for making money, Ive tried everything too, every combination of one man band stuff you can think of, banjo, kazoos, harps, everything, but nothing trumps the steady income of the fiddle. Someday If I get my eggs in a basket I plan on writing a small manual for busking, ive talked about it for a while and have no idea where to get started. Im out of work right now and plan on getting back out there, thats really why I have been recording my album, because if you have a nice album to sell while busking it almost doubles your income and you sell more than you ever would just online or local stores and what not.

Chris Keefer Says:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @5:47:03 PM

And the odd thing about making more money with the fiddle is that I am WAY better banjo player than I am a fiddle player.

JanetB Says:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @6:10:19 PM

That's interesting about busking and your challenges and successes. A busking book would be a great project, but difficult to do if you wanted to produce something you could market. The CD is a fantastic idea.

Dave Hum would sell his CDs while busking. Even though he's passed away every once in a while a video of his will be re-posted with links to his website where CDs and tab are available. He played with a band for a long while and also had a debilitating hand disease which he overcame enough to continue playing -- a heroic, well-liked fellow on this website, which is the only way most everybody knows him. Another thing Dave did was to bring his family with him. The videos he shared here are full songs showcasing his banjo skills. Sometimes his daughters would be on the videos, too. Have you seen any? Here's a link to one, just in case you haven't: youtube.com/watch?v=MR-ncVpeEIk

A professional musician is a hard row to hoe, but many of them seem to have a calmer, more peaceful demeanor etched in their faces than many of us elementary school teachers, who -- like you -- work very hard. Your smile looks calm and warm.