I’ve recently gotten back into the habit of affixing my phone to the headstock of my guitar with a flexible tripod (bipod now), which has allowed me to record my walks between pitches, and here is my cover of “Pumped Up Kicks” while my kicks remained relatively un-pumped.
It DOES make my guitar top heavy (like my old Gibson SG Special), but it’s nothing I cant overcompensate for by some swinging to say hello to passerby’s.
Here is a cover of “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” that I performed on the streets of El Barrio Antiguo in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
I remember the first time I heard “The Smiths”, sitting in the backseat of my friends mom’s minivan that she would drive us all around in, listening to her cd player that was being fed to the car radio via a cassette tape adapter.
I was always wary of how people might react to my singing, but around two years ago, I stopped caring, and I can surely tell you that my life’s gotten better since.
Can’t get better at a thing if you’re too afraid to do it.
I used to play with this thing on while hiking to track my rhythm-keeping progress while walking, then the tripod broke, and I never bothered fox it until recently, and now we’re back at!
Here is the second half of “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers, recorded on the streets of El Barrio Antiguo of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
I used to hike with a Yamaha JR 1 and my phone attached to the headstock to record whatever I could manage to play and sing at the same time while ALSO walking up a mountain. On this day, I got winded walking up the stairs from the Metro, BUT that just motivated me to keep going until I DONT feel like I’m running out of air.
It took me awhile before, and it will take me awhile again, but I WILL be able to sing walking upstairs soon.
Anyway, here’s a cover of “Feel Good Inc.” by Gorillaz that I opened my busking set with once I got to my favorite haunt (a tree, with shade, because sunlight).
I’ve finally fixed my tripod and was able to attach it to the headstock of my guitar, so I can record my walks from the metro station to my usual busking spots. AND I get a cool angle to record my set from, which has been super fun.
I’ve finally fixed my tripod and was able to attach it to the headstock of my guitar, so I can record my walks from the metro station to my usual busking spots. AND I get a cool angle to record my set from, which has been super fun.
There are a lot of people visiting Mexico right now on account of the World Cup, and so far, this has been the best interaction. I love when this happens.
I’ve been busking regularly since moving to Mexico, and I’ve met amazing people, musicians and artists of all sorts, and I wish I had started street performing much earlier than I did.
It’s never too late.
Here’s a snippet of me and a friend (who I met while busking) covering Greenday’s “Basket Case”.
I LOVE playing the ocarina in between guitar sets, especially when I see someone walking past with a Triforce tattoo, or in this case, a No Face one.
I met Pako while busking in El Barrio Antiguo in Monterrey, Nuevo León, and now, he’s always willing to play guitar and usually sing along with me while I go through my list.
We had some great versions of Toxicity and Chop Suey, but hadn’t noticed that my phone was out of space… SO, You’ve got this cover of Hotel California instead. 😅
If you’re hesitant about busking, I urge you to give it a try, it’s a lot easier once you get started, and extremely satisfying once you get into a groove.
My friend, who I met on Reddit back in the livestreaming days, was in town and she met up with me while I was busking. We recorded some songs together, then I walked with them to their parking lot and we sang and played music along the way.
This is a snippet of that lovely commute. I love busking in Mexico. 🇲🇽
Waaaay back in the early 2020’s, Reddit used to have livestreams going on the front page! I made it there a few times with my hiking/music playing, and I met my close friend Yan through the chat.
Fast forward to me moving back to Mexico, and being able to actually meet Yan in person! The world is only as big as you let it be.
Here’s an impromptu (I don’t know the chords) recording of “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” by the Smiths.
A cover of “Creep” by Radiohead performed on the streets of El Barrio Antiguo in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
I met my friend Pako here while busking weeks ago, he works at one of the restaurants I play in front of, and will often ask to play the guitar and sing with me!
I’ve made so many friends over the last two years, and all because of walking around with my guitar.
I get photographed everytime I’m out busking, and most times, it feels like it’s in good spirits. This is an example of a time it felt great to be photographed.
Sometimes, they leave money in my treasure chest (you can see it hanging clearly in my Song Of Storms video I uploaded recently), and sometimes, I get candy, other times I get photos of myself performing! (Okay, this has only happened THIS one time, but still, pretty cool).
Every day is an opportunity for amazing memories, and busking has been one of the best experiences of my life.
May the streets be filled with the sound of music, and our hats filled with memories and opportunities.
It started raining real hard while I was busking, so I put the guitar down and started playing the ocarina.
I usually have my chest open for donations, but I did not want to wet my winnings. 😅