In reply to Anonymous. Although most buskers are often "out there for a reason," as one busker I met would say, I don't really see many of them hounding innocent civilians. I'm probably the busker you saw. I was the only one out on piano for the month of September and I pushed out from James Bay, busking anywhere from the inner harbour all the way to Government and Yates. I just bought my piano at the end of August after looking at and phoning about several.

I'm just an 18 year old musician who enrolled in a recently created jazz program that I didn't really enjoy for various reasons(just not what i need right now... what i need is hardcore practicing more than anything else, really). I haven't studied classical music for over four years and would just like to clarify that I'm one of the few people out there playing jazz standards and my own solos and variations on them(not that I look down upon classical music). The only talking I do while playing is typically to briefly say thank you, but i seldom stop in the middle of a piece, even when being robbed. I'm often hounded by "sketchy" people, while I'm often praised by others. Some people ask to take photographs, others just take them and buzz off. Although often playing solo, I had the most fun the five or six times I played with an acoustic bassist and/or saxophonist, like I would do in "normal" situations.

Up until busking, I had been gigging at various private parties and events, a local restaurant, and a few other occasions, while going to high school. I continue to gig and have stopped busking for the year, but will be out again in 2005. I am currently raising funds to study Jazz at a post secondary institution such as Capilano College or McGill University, starting Fall 2005. I'd say the only real downsides to busking are that as a busker you're exposed to "all elements" out there(non-living and living), your busking cash flow is often unreliable and can fluxtuate considerably, and if you push something around that is heavy it may or may not hurt your back.

Thank you, I really just wanted to clarify that my performance repetoire consists of mainly jazz and its related genres, not classical music(not that I have anything against classical music).

Myles

PS: I've been looking at your photos and I am quite impressed. It's definitely neat to see intense local photography.