G’day from the wild wild west! I’ve gotta admit I’m feeling pretty high right now after a series of interesting events which is showing me that busking is weaving its way into the hearts and minds of many.
But before I share the good busking news, here’s a quick rundown on why I’m sitting alongside the Indian Ocean and penning this blog…
For the past 3 Novembers, I’ve conquered the 5 day drive or the 6 hour flight from east coast to west coast so I can experience the warmth of Perth and its people, as well as the glorious south west.
Thanks to my lovely ‘sandgroper’ missus who is originally from the west and knows this side of the country like the back of her hand, we come back each year to perform a few Johnnie Mac city gigs and then head south to busk in the lush Margaret River township and surrounding area. And while we spend most of our days wandering through giant forests, swimming in awesome beaches, visiting wineries to sample West Australian vino and taste a variety of scrumptious food, it’s incredible to know that a few hours of busking each day will cover all my costs to this magnificent part of the world.
Which brings me to the some interesting busking news… a few nights ago BuskerWorld crashed. The guy who helped me put the website together needed to increase the bandwidth (whatever the hell that is) to fix the problem and called me to ask what I had done to attract 2400 visitors to the site in one night. “I can assure you – nothing at all”… after a day of wine tasting, I was way too jolly to be straining myself thinking of computers and websites! A bit more investigation and he discovered that there was an article posted online called ‘5 Ways to Get Rich (Without a Single Discernible Skill)’ which had received 1310 diggs (whatever the hell that is) and as a result was posted on hundreds of social networking websites.
The exciting news is that the guy who wrote this article decided to include street performance as one of the 5 ways to get rich and covered my busking experience in the article. He even included a link to back to BuskerWorld which resulted in busking receiving more positive exposure and even better – a huge amount of new BuskerWorld members! As I plan to introduce a forum to the website next year, having an enormous database of members is going to be a fantastic resource for all us busking enthusiasts and of course street performance newbies.
And while I’m on the subject of positive busking exposure…. get this…
I received a phone call a few weeks back, that not only took me by surprise, but made me realise that more ‘everyday’ people are finally waking up to the art of busking. During my 20 years of busking escapades, I discovered that it was mainly ‘arty’ alternative types who truly appreciated buskers and their talents. But this totally unexpected phone call again showed me that a shift is happening in mainstream society. And all I can say is… Hooray! It’s about bloody time!!
The phone call was from the casting director of ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ – a television programme that is similar to American / Australian Idol. They asked me to send an invite to BuskerWorld members asking them to audition for the programme. I had to smile… that call made my day… maybe even my year! Buskers being invited to perform on a TV talent show! and what made it even better is that the invite came from mainstream commercial tv. Now that’s great news if you ask me. The more exposure that buskers receive, the more acknowledged our art will become which can only result in more respect, more opportunities, bigger audiences, more income – which means MORE FREEDOM to live an exceptional lifestyle!
Some of the main things I wanted to achieve with the creation of BuskerWorld was to offer simple tips, advice and valuable information so that artists would feel confident to take their art to the streets and then get wider public exposure and recognition. Even more exciting was the possibility that BuskerWorld – in particular my blog – would help to improve the image of buskers – from downtrodden beggar to creative artist. To my delight, the latest turn of events is proving that the hard work is paying off.
So if you were on the ball and had your name on the BuskerWorld member list a few weeks ago, you would have received an email from me with all the details of the auditions. The enormous amount of feedback I received showed that buskers were excited to finally be acknowledged by the mainstream and recognised by the commercial media as having ‘talent’.
A heartfelt thanks to all of you for visiting BuskerWorld and helping to build a website that has lifted the image of buskers and the art of busking and street performance. If you have the slightest interest in this artform, then I encourage you to sign up for the free ecourse which gets your name into the member database and then keeps you up to date with all the latest busking news, tips and stories.
Until next week when I announce the new busker of the month, cheers from the breathtaking south west of Australia
Johnnie Mac
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Johnnie Mac is a world class, professional, leading street performer, turned celebrated musician. He is the only Aussie Professional Busker who provides a fast, reliable and sure-fire Busking System that can transform any busker into a well paid and highly acclaimed entertainer enjoying a remarkably exciting lifestyle. To discover 101 Essential Tips to Have More Fun and Earn More Money Busking visit http://www.BuskerWorld.com/theBuskersBible
