For Love or Money?

[ALAKAZAM]

I was just wondering,there are lots of folks out there who say that they are performers for love of the art form. On the other hand there are performers who do it for the money.I think that if i couldn't make a living street performing,i don't think i'd want to hang around pitches for hours waiting for a show that's going to make me no money and watch the bigger acts go out there and cash in.
But then there is the people who are brilliant who make no money,everyone loves to watch them[ performers included ]but when it comes to the hat,everyone pisses off.I just want to know what drives these performers.
Tell me what you think.
AL

[Brian Wilson]

Do what you love and the money will follow.

Personally I love doing shows, and people pay me for them (street and/or corporate.) It all works out nicely.

[The Pretty Good]

OZ,
Im not too sure how I ended up doing it. But I now know that I do it for the girls. Oh and the yeah the girls.

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www.angelfire.com/ma3/brendantheprettygood

[Frisbee]

I agree with Brian...I have always believed do what you love and eventually the money will follow...

[jester]

I once went to a street performers festival in Bournemouth UK and did my show in the company of "big" performers from London.

All anybody talked about was methods for collecting money, "bottling" etc.

I was so disappointed and made penny's but met a very sexy girl who I had a marvellous summer fling with.

I met my wife as a street performer and she loves what I do (although she doesn't want to watch it anymore).

I do it for both the love and the money. Now I have a family and I know of no other way I can earn the money I do to pay the mortgage and keep the family.

I would do it for the girls, but I'm married and overweight. I still get some girls chase me but I know what I look like so I'm scared of those tasteless weirdo's.

[The Pretty Good]

Did anyone but me notice that 1/2 of the people so far do it for the girls? Just a thought.

[em]

Not me.
I do it for the boys.

[scot]

ahhh

[This message has been edited by scot (edited 04-14-2001).]

[scot]

I think Al's talking about me. I like to go out to a pitch, camp out all day. Not make any money. I'm not in it to make money. I want to learn what I can do and what people like. The most entertaining thing isn't always moneymaking. I want to be a good, well rounded performer. I have, in fact been going out and bombing on purpose, seeing how long I can keep a crowd. Bad habit yet fun. The money is just to support my education of the streets. I often get comments about being the best performer on a pitch from someone who gives me a dollar. That's what I want.

Ps: thanks for the advise in boston, Al

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scot nery
mailto:scot@juggle.comscot@juggle.com</A>
deadjugglers.com

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[ALAKAZAM]

Hey,I do it for the girls and i'm the one who started this thread,but also for the wicked life style that only a street performer has.
AL

[martin ewen]

I just make enough and I've wondered why. i've spent so much of my life in strange places pulling faces, I've done mega parties and been paid very well but also done sparse antwerpian streets with gun toting 12 year olds where I had to seriously think about eating fortnightly instead of weekly.
I think us medium to small hatters are probably damaged proud pathetic melincholics with an overdeveloped sense of our own cultural catholisism.

[Bri]

Martin, you're the quintessential artist, willing to starve in order to maintain your artistic integrity.. supplemented with an occassional gigs for rather large cigarette conglomerates.

Used to do the whole performing thing for the girls (back when i was in high school) but now its more for the FUN. Doing shows fights boredom, for myself and the crowd.
And as Al says, the lifestyle can't be beat.
What did you do today??

[martin ewen]

Quintessential?
Isn't that like essential divided by something?
Cigarette conglomerates are our friends.
Only losers get cancer.
Cigarette companies just help point them out and remove them from our breeding stock.
Anyone who'se ever coughed up phlem will tell you.
Camel is the tastiest.
I cannot sit idly by while our friends in the fashion industry are so missunderstood.
Is not smoking a cigarette a performance with a beginning a middle and an end?
Are not people who smoke in public street performers?
Should we not drop coins at smokers feet to encourage them to innovate as artists.
All this tireless bullshit is giving me a headache.

[AJJames]

Hey Al ,nice thread ,one of my favourite subjects, it was touched on in the busking questions and answers topic,
my 2 cents worth...for love or money....can you do both? I believed not for many years ...but now I'm sort of getting a handle on it...I've been where scot is ..blowing out shows in the name artistic progression, and I was exhilarated from the experience until I got to the super-market...but now I know the key is to go out and do your stock routines first,make money ,then when you have some "insurance money" go out and play, with the pressure off...this has occured to me since being a parent...oh that was very funny about Martin the starving artist doing his Camel -corporate gigs

[young raoul]

I just wanted to give something back to
the community...no....really.....