Buskers in the City

I have to put in a word for the very talented Kate Mior (stage name Kate Awesome - katemior.com). She's usually Toronto-based, but she brought down the house on the Birdland Bosendorfer at Jim Caruso's cast party with a "classical piano mime" act.

@ But that wouldn't actually qualify as busking, would it? An organized event in a set venue? Isn't busking about performing on the street for spare change?

I saw a "living statue" near the park but I'm having trouble locating her specifically now. I know she had a website that explained what she does and why. Here's another website of some other living statue performers, to give you an idea of what they do, though this particular one was a bit more arty than these folks:

http://www.nystatues.com/

Sorry, Uraniumfish - I meant to say that she's a street busker normally (currently at the Milano Festival), but was specially trying out a new stage show at the Cast Party - she does a mix of walk-by, living statue, and stage shows, with a preference for the former.

I was about to say, ajadedidealist, that a busker is someone who performs in a public place for tips and gratuities. So, if the person you saw was doing some kind of performance outdoors, they are considered buskers.

I see buskers all the time when going down certain streets on the West Side. I also see them plenty of times when going into certain subways.

Saw a guy in a corridor of the 4/5 train who had attached metal plates and stuff all over his body and was doing a percussion act by smacking himself. I had to smile passing by, it was so weird.

I saw an entire choir once. Now that was some busking...

Did you guys know busking used to be illegal in NYC before poet Allan Ginsberg came along and challenged the law as being unconstitutional? Buskers also overcame a ban on electronic amplifiers in the subways in 1990, though I sometimes wish they hadn't....

@BroadwayBK: I didn't know busking was at one time illegal. Thanks for bringing that up.

The Union Square station and Grand Central are both extremely popular with buskers.. I remember reading that the MTA actually holds auditions to award permits to buskers to play at Subway stations.
http://www.mta.info/mta/aft/muny/
I personally favor the Andean group Agua Clara
Here's a blog of a an NYC subway musician and a musical saw player! have yet to see her...
http://sawlady.com/blog/?p=349

@ BroadwayBK Yeah, I did know that about Allan Ginsberg but had forgotten it! @ uptowngirl I had no idea they actually hold auditions. That's really great.

Speaking of buskers, I think I saw the worst busker ever today. It was an old man with an electric guitar (and amp - that's right, BroadwayBK, I sometimes wish they hadn't too) playing it as though he was a real rock-n-roll dude. Really into it, with gusto, and singing too in between riffs. The only problem was, he COULD NOT SING and COULD NOT PLAY, not even a little bit. Not even one tiny little bit. It wasn't only that he had no talent, but it sounded like he had never actually touched a guitar before in his life, and was just pretending. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.

Yowch - that's rough, @Dblack. My most random busker moment was an opera singer in the subway - he was actually pretty good

Wow, DBlack. He probably knew he couldn't sing or play the guitar. All he wanted was for people to feel sorry for him so he could collect money. Some people do it for that reason. i wonder how much money he collected during his time at that location.

@everyone I usually enjoy the performances of the buskers but sometimes when I am stressed /in a hurry I tend to get irritated by them. I don't tell them to shut up or anything .. I just quietly steam away and hope that the train comes quickly to transport me away .. uncharitable isn't it ?

@uptowngirl No, I can relate. Especially if the performance is not that great. Not everyone that owns a guitar and totes it to the subway is a hugely talented artist. Really loud buskers especially annoy me - some of us are trying to listen to our This American Life podcast, jeez!

@DBlack Why do I actually feel sorry for that guy? That sounds really painful for everyone involved, but it pains me to see someone so oblivious.

@ Everybody, Yeah, it was less painful since everyone matter-of-factly passed him by without a second look. I think I was the only one taking in the scene, the others around me were commuters, probably irritated, the way uptowngirl described.

@DBlack Haha, did you know that Alice Tan Ridley, the famous busker you posted about at top, is the mother of the girl who starred in the film "Precious"? There was just a feature on her on national TV, and the connection between them.

How much do buskers (decent ones) usually make, I wonder? My friend was talking about sometimes getting 500+ dollars a day doing living statue work, but she's not from NYC...

@Uraniumfish The girl who played Precious, I presume? That's the most random fact I've come across in these forums.... You don't happen to know what channel that was on, do you?

@ajadedidealist I've heard tell of people pretending to be homeless making a killing begging for change, too.... I'd be curious to know just what buskers do make in a day.

@NeverSleeps I came on the clip in a Yahoo news update site, but for some reason couldn't get the link to post here. Dang. and now I don't remember the channel, but it was a national story. Here's one of the many articles mentioning it, though:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-balfour/actor-gabby-sidibe-proves_b_344387.html

@NeverSleeps, ajadeidelaist Alice Tan Ridley said in interviews she earns enough performing three nights a week to pay the rent and all she needs to live.

Anyone seen Precious? If so, do tell...

You learn something new everyday, just by reading the posts. Wow. Now I know where the girl got her talent from.

@Uraniumfish that's quite a meaty mumber then.. does she have to pay tax on her earnings? guess its all cash income??

My guess is that they don't pay much in taxes. There's really no way for the IRS to track how much they make. I actually really like the buskers -- some of them are incredible. The people that get me are the Mariachi Bands and Pole acrobats that actually ride the subway with you. Drives me nuts. I'm just trying to read my book and they're practically on top of me.

Must be nice to sneak under the IRS radar. And I could do without any accordions on my subway ride, thank you.

I enjoy it when a busker shakes up the subway car a little, especially if they've got even a little bit of talent. Otherwise the rides can be so dreary sometimes.

I was recently walking at Penn Station around 9 pm and saw no less than three busking groups that were pulling down some major crowds. And this was at a time when i would have wanted to just get myself home as quickly as possible, yet people stopped in the station to gawk.

For some reason I enjoy busking more when I am abroad. I actually liked the guys who appeared all over the Paris Metro with their accordions. It just seems like there are a lot of buskers who would be doing me a favor by not busking. Especially singer-songwriters who tote their amps along to the subway stop. I really love the sound of live drums, too, but not during rush hour - sometimes these people add to the anxiety of traveling when the train is crowded.

@JenMac: As a certified IRS tax preparer, I can tell you this. The cash that is collected is only taxed if they report it. The only way cash can be counted for is if a receipt is given. A paper trail has to exist for the IRS to know about it. So, let's say she made $10,000 in a week. And that was all cash that she accumulated during the 5 days. She wouldn't have to pay tax on that unless she became a very self-conscious person and felt bad about the IRS and decided to pay her fair share of taxes on it anyway.

Hey, I received a roll of $100 dollar bills once for doing a guy a favor. It turned out to be $1000. Since it was cash, I didn't claim it. I put much of it in the bank to let it earn interest. The rest I spent on whatever I wanted.