As most of you know, I recently ran my first 3 day workshop to help independent musicians learn how to use the power of technology to move forward with their careers rather than waiting to be ‘discovered’.
The most inspiring experience from workshop, was having a few BuskerWorld members in the audience – one guy flew from interstate to attend.
So the first thing I noticed was that the buskers were the first to create atmosphere in the room. Jason Temple asked a question shortly after we started and threw in a joke as well. Instantly the room relaxed, he broke the ice and from that moment on we all felt comfortable. Thanks Jason!
Then it was the buskers who put their hands up first for any challenge. We discovered that it was the buskers who were staying in the ritzy hotels just down the road. The buskers were quick to take part in anything that was going to move their careers forward… whilst the others um’d and ah’d, there was no hesitation from the buskers.
It was the incredible Stanmore Pheonix, busker extraordinaire who came and asked me to play his music video during the breaks and here’s what we watched…
WOW! Everyone in the room was more than impressed to say the least. By the end of the 3 days, the buskers stood out as the most outgoing, most persistent, most inquisitive and most willing to take the biggest risks. These guys totally blew me away!
Then to top it all off, all of them joined my inner circle coaching program and will be working closely with me for the next 12 months. We’ve been having lots of fun nutting out some new concepts and ideas and I’m excited with what these guys are going to achieve. Watch this space for updates on their success stories.
So you might have noticed that the RISE workshop in July was supposed to be the only one on the Gold Coast (Australia) for 2009. However, since then we’ve received a flood of phone calls and countless emails asking “will there be another Gold Coast workshop this year?” I’ve gotta say, it’s really inspiring to know that there are many muso’s (much more than expected), who want to learn how to take control of their indie music careers.
So I’ve given in! I’m pleased to let you know that the final Gold Coast 2009 “RISE” 3 Day Workshop will be held on 9-11 October – at the same venue – Quality Hotel in Mermaid Waters. Unfortunately we have a limit on numbers in the room and tickets are selling fast, so if you want to join me, then I strongly suggest to go check out the website for all the details. Address is below.
There will be workshops in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth later this year, but if you live in Queensland then this is your last chance to learn how to take the reins or your music career and find out for yourself what all the buzz is about.
We will be putting 1 lucky musician on the hotseat again this time round and will also be having some inspiring guest speakers who will be sharing their music biz knowledge, experience and tips to help you make music your full time career
Check out www.MusicSuccessExplained.com for more info.
I’d LOVE to see more buskers again at the next one.
Cheers
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
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi. Just played the vid of “Stanmore Phoenix” and I could see straightaway that he was not in a busking situation. It was indoors for a start and he had a drums etc backing him! How can you present this as busking? He did not have to stand in the cold and play guitar and sing until his hands froze into paws. Also, where was his audience? A lot of busking performance comes from crowd response. The sombre song would not be popular either. People like stuff with either a strong beat or strong melody and this dirge had neither. Your average tourist does not have music per se as a major part of his/her life but you have to give something that will make them listen and give money. This would not do that.
Thanks Albert appreciate your comments. Stanmore Pheonix is a busker from Sydney. He is doing what many buskers I know, myself included have wanted to do. Take there act from the street to the next level. In this day and age that can be on stage, via video or by creating an effective online presence, which is what this blog is all about. I found the response from buskers at this conference to be more enthusiastic than other more professional musicians. The buskers had a greater desire to succeed with there art and in many cases this had arisen from their experience on the street.
Stanmore has had great success as a busker and whilst he still busks he also performs on stage and creates recordings/videos of his music to help increase his profile and income, something all buskers should consider if they dont make enough on the street.
The term DIRGE could become quite a useful description of a form of rock music (as with grunge) so I will pass that on to Stanmore. You are right in saying that people prefer up beat melodies on the street but that never has stopped me playing what I love or making a lot of money in a short space of time by playing unfamiliar punk songs when the moment is right. Perhaps this song isnt for everyone but it certainly impressed 60 plus attendees at the conference.
The lesson here is the right song at the right time and Stanmore’s music has a good following. His job, as with all of us is to find those that will like our music whether on the street, on stage or on line. Stanmore does all three admirably, whether I like his music or not is never the issue, Stanmore is finding those that love his music successfully as a busker and as a musician and there the kind of performers that struggling buskers/musicians love to hear about and emulate. Not everyone wants to take their act off the street, I stayed there for many years quite happily, but for those that do this blog offers them a story of buskers and other performers who are doing this successfully.