Day 14: Ear-shattering bagpipes

Today, I went out after work. I got there just as a guy with a bagpipe was packing up in the Pit, so I set up in front of Au Bon Pain. About 10 minutes later, Bagpipe-Man came back WITH ANOTHER GUY WHO PLAYED BAGPIPES and proceeded to drown my performance out entirely. My last song in that location was about ten miles off key because I couldn't hear ANYTHING. It was like they plugged their bagpipes into Marshall amps and turned them up to 11.

I moved to Winthrop Park, where I quietly played for another 2 hours. I didn't make much, but I had some interesting conversations with people who sat nearby to listen.

Day 13: A performance in hell

On Tuesday, after starting my new job, I went to Harvard Square to perform. Unfortunately, it was well over 90 degrees, and apparently reached 105 in some parts of Boston. I played anyways, and made about $15, but it was extremely uncomfortable.

One man brought me a cup of ice water from Au Bon Pain shortly after I started, which was incredibly nice. A few other people stopped to inquire whether I had lost my mind, playing out in such heat. I assured them that I was, in fact, perfectly sane.

So basically, I never want to play in such heat, ever again.

Day 12: The worst day

Today's attempt at busking cannot be described as anything but a complete and total disaster. After rushing to grab a prime spot, I had two sets of batteries die in under 15 minutes, leaving me with no other option than to go home. I made just one dollar, from a drunk guy who insisted on singing terribly, and very loudly, into my microphone. Also, the painter set up across from me kept yelling that I should play Sinatra, instead of "that crappy screaming stuff."
From here, the only direction is up.

Day 11: Forgotten parts and Rick Rolling

Today, I went out at about 11:45 to catch the lunch rush, which was a good idea, as I made about $35 in just over two hours. However, in my rush to leave, I forgot my demo CDs that I was planning to hand out, as well as my capo, which is essential to playing certain songs. I rearranged some of those to work without the capo, which worked on some (for example, "The Only Exception," by Paramore, which fit much better into my vocal range with my on-the-spot alterations), and less so on others (Coldplay's "Viva La Vida," which stuttered and didn't work at all).

Today, I used my platform as a busker to execute something of a prank on unsuspecting passers-by. Rick Astley's song, "Never Gonna Give You Up," has become an internet phenomenon, by way of something called "Rick Rolling." Urban Dictionary defines Rick Rolling as the following:

"A method in which a prankster makes a fake link to the music video of Rick Astley's Never going to give you up. To be rick rolled is to be the victim, rick rolling is the act of being the predator. The prank is considered funny because of the horrible dancing in this music video. Sometimes the bar tender is seen to be funnier. Over one million people have been rick rolled and counting."

I engaged in a variation of the prank, in which I sang the song (while dancing just a little). Most people seemed not to notice, but a kid my age and his girlfriend both fell off their seats at Au Bon Pain when I began singing the first verse.

Day 10: Make Music Harvard Square!

Today, me and my brother Andy (as the band Mimic the French, myspace.com/mimicthefrench) played in Harvard Square in the street festival Make Music Harvard Square. The festival is modeled on the Fete de la Musique which originated in France, and this is the third year it has been organized here (though the last two years were under a different name, Make Music Cambridge), and the third year we have participated. Our music was far louder and more raucous than my busking typically is, and Andy was using our homemade, buckets and pans drumset, which got some stares. We were given about $20 by passers by, $5 from a woman who insisted on paying us for the demo CDs we were giving out free.

We had a great time, and I think we got some people to listen to music they might not normally gravitate towards - the middle age women who stopped to listen probably are not huge fans of My Chemical Romance or Avenged Sevenfold.

Day 9: It's a beautiful rain...

Yesterday, I played in front of Au Bon Pain for about two and a half hours. It was a perfect day - overcast, warm but not too hot, and mostly dry. I say mostly, because around 4:45 (just over 2 hours after I started playing), it started drizzling. I continued to play, as I was having quite a bit of fun, and there wasn't too much rain, but after a while, it got heavier, and I stopped after finishing a version of Bush's "Alien" (which includes the line I used for the title). I met several other musicians who stopped to say hello, but overall, had very few of my "interesting moments."

I made about $30, which was a pretty good sum, given the soggy weather at the end. In any case, I look forward to playing more as school wraps up.

Day 8: Harvard graduation and shirtless men

I'm a bit late (more than a week) on this one - I've been very busy writing some end-of-semester papers and recording a set of demos.

Last week, I played in the Pit during one part of Harvard's graduation ceremonies. The money wasn't great, and I got a terrible sunburn, but I had lots of fun. I played, for the first time in public, my version of the song "Falling Slowly," from the movie "Once," and, though I forgot the second verse momentarily, I got a generally positive reaction from passers-by. The song has a very high note in the chorus, which I can only hit if I shift to more of a scream, but I made it work.

A crazy, shirtless guy came by just after I started playing and got in my face, trying to get me to sing and play louder, despite the fact that I was playing an original song that has to be quiet to get the full effect. He then proceeded (once I had gotten a little louder than I would have liked) to encourage people to give me money, and later sang with me on a cover of "Use Somebody," by Kings of Leon.

Overall, it was a good time, but I need to use more sunscreen.