Christian Jones

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Name: Christian Jones

Hometown: Boyup Brook, Western Australia

What Do You Do: I drive a school bus, work on farms and vineyards, eat peaches and enjoy the country life.  My first banjo was given to me by a farmer friend who found it in his shed. He said he thought his grandmother used to play it. I took it to a luthier who told me it was 85 years old. I taught myself a form of slide banjo on it. To be honest I never read the book at all, so I have a very unorthodox method of playing, but I love the sound.

How Long Have You Been Busking: After visiting the Buskerworld website I went busking over the Christmas school holidays in the city of Perth (West Aust) and had an absolute blast.

Favorite Busking Location: My favorite spot was in Hay Street, Perth. I parked my kit under a tree where no-one else went and was never asked to move.

Why: I got to connect with a lot of people, made some good coin and put my band together.

Most Memorable Busking Moment: I use a kick drum and play the banjo, while sitting there tapping out a beat. All I notice are legs walking past, then I pick up they are all walking to my beat. There was a time when I saw these legs walking straight past me and I know the lady was obviously focussed on something else.  I gave the drum a double kick and she stumbled… stopped… and looked straight at me with this grin, like we both knew what just happened. She threw 10 bucks in the case and took off. It was very cool.

Influences: I listen to and enjoy everything from Bony M to Punk Thrash. I’m listening to The Swell Season at the moment, very laid back and cool, these two are great songwriters.

Equipment Used: Mostly what I play comes out grungy acoustic style blues. Generally I’ll sit in front of my jazz half sized kick drum, with a banjo or acoustic guitar and belt out original tunes. I’m pretty loud so I never used any amplification on the street.

Best Busking Tip: The best thing I learnt from busking is to relax and enjoy and to come from a heart space. The freedom that comes from playing music in a public forum, is worth far more than any coin you can collect.