I had someone contact me from Reddit suggestions about busking by bike along the west coast.
Hi Michael-
Thanks for reaching out!
A few thoughts:
Grocery stores. Always good flow of traffic and you can make money there. Not a lot of competition.
Do you have a battery powered amp? If you can afford one, I would recommend bringing one. Helps to be heard over the sound of traffic and street noise. Alto busker amp is the cheapest option. Probably haven’t heard that one but heard good reviews on it. Otherwise, if you can afford a Bose S one pro or a JBL on one compact or an electro voice everse 8, those will be better.
Adds 20 lbs to your weight, but will make it much better to busk.
Invest in good rain gear and dry bags. Cause you never know.
The wharf in San Francisco Is a good place to busk. Fisherman’s wharf. There are a certain number of open slots and open spots. You should check their website. I think it’s on the Port of San Francisco website somewhere if you Google busking program, San Francisco.
Downtown BART stations are good spots.
University Avenue in Palo Alto and Castro Street in Mountain View are good spots.
Santa Monica pier and promenade are good busking spots, but you have to be buried in and audition and pay for a permit unless you renegade it.
The ride down the coast is super beautiful. I've only done from SF to San Diego, but the whole coast is beautiful.
Never pay for a place to stay unless you have to. Make friends. Camp in back yards.
Just say you need a place to stay when you're busking after each song until someone comes up and says, "hey i have a couch you can crash on."
Make up a song about needing a place to stay for the night and how you're on a bike tour.
Or you can borrow mine:
Who's going to let me stay on their couch tonight?
Who's going to let me stay on their back porch?
Don't need much but a little patch of floor..
I'll do your dishes and cook you breakfast, and maybe I'll do a little more!
Well I'm broken hearted 'cause my lady done kicked me out
I ain't got no place to stay
I'm getting by on the music that I play
and tomorrow I'll be on my way
cam straps. use em.
farmer's markets. play em.
figure out the fastest way for you to start playing and the fastest way to pack up and skedaddle in case of the law or fights.
late night bar crowds are big tippers sometimes due to drunkeness, but they can also be jerks.
try to barter and finagle as much as you can. play for your coffee, play for your supper, play for your breakfast, play for your lunch, play for a place to stay.
bring some kind of merch to sell. stickers, magnets, CDs, USB drives with your music, little cartoon books, story books, lryic books, original artwork, hats, t shirts, something that you can hawk so you make more money busking. hopefully these things are small, lightweight and you can re-up on them easily by having a friend ship them to you or you can just make more of them while you're on tour.
extra tube, patch kit, bike pump, extra spokes, extra brake pads, anything else that might break. be self sufficient.
bring a stove, cutting board, knife, spork, etc.
have fun and go on wild goose chases and epic detours to hot springs
OK I think that's about it for now. write back if you have specific questions.
may the wind be at your back!
-Joey
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home,
And may the land of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.
Original Message:
Message:
Hi Joe,
I made a post on reddit about busking in California. Someone brought up your name. Thought it would be cool to reach out.
Any tips? Any good busking spots in the Bay Area?
I'm planning a busking bike tour for next year. I plan on cycling from Bellingham, WA all the way down to San Diego, CA and busking along the way. I write repertoire is made up of fingerstyle guitar arrangements of popular rock songs (Beatles, Nirvana, Neil Young...).
Thanks!
Michael
