I’ve always had great success playing my own original songs and obscure covers that I love when busking. As a result, I have great interest in a topic of hot debate at times amongst street performers relating to which songs you could/should play when busking.
I’ve found that there are a number of very strong opinions from street performers and in busking literature stating what you should play when busking. Some of these, I would argue, could easily mislead and/or even discourage people from busking and I’ll be adding more to this debate in the near future.
But for now there is an important tip here that has been passed onto me by many successful buskers, musicians and other music industry buffs that states ”First the song”. By this they mean that if you don’t have a good original song written then you can have all the talent in the world and still find it difficult to get your music heard, or even earn a buck as an original songwriting busker. The song is everything unless you’re happy to imitate or play in covers bands.
I have witnessed many extremely talented musicians struggle to get their act to a level of success that allows them to keep performing because they have been unable to pen a powerful song. Often these musicians give up on original music and unfortunately we lose yet another great performer to a concept/covers band. That great song for other artists I knew was just around the corner. As they persisted with their song writing skills they eventually achieved success.
Australian singer songwriter, Paul Kelly is a classic example. His success was by no-means overnight, he had played in bands for at least a decade before he had a hit and could easily have given up at any time before he found success. Paul has gone on to become one of Australia’s greatest song writers.
I recently heard one of the big wigs of Sire Records comment on his signing of Punk band the Ramones. This came at a time when no one took the Ramones seriously. In fact they received a lot of criticism for their style and ability or as their critics would say “lack of ability”. In spite of this they were signed by Sire because… “they wrote great songs”. I don’t care whether you like the Ramones or not, music… like a piece of art, is always bigger than an individual’s subjective opinion.
The Ramones wrote great songs in the style and genre they played in!! The dude from Sire recognised this and knew he could find the market that would agree. Anyone care to argue with the statistics over the 30 year history or so that followed. (Check out the Ramones Movie). The important tip here for all buskers (and indeed any musicians) who aspire to performing original music on the street is to work on your song writing skills and never underestimate the power of the original song.
I’ll be focusing on the issue of “first the song” a bit more in another blog over the next few weeks but for now here are a few ways you can test if your songs are any good. Busking has played a major part in selecting my original compositions for recording and playing live on stage.
Many buskerworld fans enter into song writing competitions. This can be a useful endeavour if you have a healthy fan base or big mailing list who will vote for you. However, please don’t be offended if your good original song is rejected from one of these competitions. It’s more about your marketing ability (i.e. how to use your list/fans) than the quality of your song. This may seem a bit cynical but it’s a harsh reality of the music industry. It doesn’t mean good songs don’t win but it often means that there are better songs that don’t get heard or have an even chance of winning.
I use to play my songs to my mum and she’d always say “Oh that’s lovely dear” (even for my uglier aggressive songs) but she loved anything I did so it wasn’t quite the right test. Playing your songs to friends who you know are critical or selective of the music they like is a far better indication of where your song stands. Hopefully they won’t be too hard on you but at least you will get some honest and constructive feedback.
For the sensitive and those of you who don’t respond well to criticism of your original songs then performing your songs on the street is a great way to ease your songs out into the public eye. Firstly in this day and age people won’t notice they’re your songs. If people don’t like your songs in this environment then you’ll just go home with a bit less cash. If you play your songs on the street, watch for public reaction. Busking is a brilliant way of testing the power of your songs. Often you’ll receive a good tip for a good song. The fact that people have never heard it before and respond well to it is a great benchmark for a new song.
I remember singing one of my songs (The Colours of her Mind) once in a train tunnel in Amsterdam. A guy came past and put 5 Euros in and walked away, suddenly he turned and came back and put another 10 in and said “that’s a beautiful song, I think you deserve more than what I first gave you”. This wasn’t the only time this happened with this song and other songs I’ve written. This song had to be on my next CD and it gave me the courage to sing it more often to friends who also commented positively about it.
Submitting your songs to various websites that review them (check out tracktesting.com) or have fans offer feedback on them is a great way to test your material. Also getting feedback from social network sites is really important. However this needs to be done in a way that you know you’re getting feedback from people who like your style of music.
There’s not much point sending your country flavoured songs out to a heavy metal fan base expecting to get good reviews. This may seem obvious but it is the ad-hoc way many artists currently operate.
I see a lot of musicians targeting the wrong market with their music. Many musicians just send songs out blindly in the hope that the right people/market will find them. The “message to market match” is an old yet powerful adage that all musicians and buskers should adhere to.
Recently, we have been showing musicians how to find their market and then start to manage their songs and social networking sites with a great deal more success. I’ll be including more on this subject next week and the information I will reveal will greatly assist original independent artists and buskers with an online presence.
So what gives me the right to rave about the power of the song. Well I’ve had 2 of my songs in the spotlight again after my recent chart topping success, this time getting scores of rave reviews for my hard hitting songs The Chant Of Namatjira and Nicotine Dream (see a few examples below). Not only is this inspiring news for buskers but indeed provides great hope for all musicians who want to do things independently and write original music. It is also setting an example of how an independent original songwriter/musician can make a living in a day and age when everyone seems to be getting music for cheap or even free.
I’m putting these reviews in just to highlight what’s achievable for all of you out there. These reviews came via Djs and identities from Triple j radio station which is the leading youth and independent music station in Australia with a national distribution.
Triple j has the ability to reach all corners of the country and indeed some other parts of the globe. The great thing about getting a few good reviews is that it gives you confidence in your song writing and builds your credibility as an artist. If prominent leading Djs review your songs well other reviewers are going to want to hear them and add their opinion. We’ve recently had an offer from Billboard (USA) to review my album The World Seems Happy.
This is a rare thing for the USA to OFFER to review an AUSSIE artist. Most local artists here struggle to get recognition of any kind overseas so getting a few good local reviews can be a great step to gaining worldwide recognition and taking your art/music to the next level.
Cheers from Johnnie Mac
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ratng: 5/5 * * * * *
A cross between Midnight Oil and Yothu Yindi is an apt description. This is Australian rock as it should sound, full of energy, passion and interesting atmospheric sounds.Technically flawless. clever and creative. This is one of those moments where everything works!
tomatrax, SuperUser 9 Apr 2009
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Song-The Chant Of Namatjira
rating: 5/5 * * * * *
Well done Johnnie, it’s a great thing that your tracks are finally finding flight from your beautiful spot on the north coast of NSW and taking their rich melodies and powerful lyrics to the rest of the nation. Onya mate.
Robbie Buck, Breakfast Show Presenter, Triple J Radio 01 Apr, 2009
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Song-The Chant Of Namatjira
rating: 4/5 * * * *
Great rhythms ,themes and chants in this song. Great use of the dig and vocal sounds of our own outback…One for the travellin’ safari trousers..
trouserboy, SuperUser 9 Jun, 2009
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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
