“Hit me baby one more time!”
Busker David Fallarme belts out a familiar tune on his guitar, entertaining downtown Toronto’s Queen Street.
Fallarme experiments with the city’s busking community in his spare time. If you're a musician with a strong spirit, a persistent persona, and the passion to create a unique performance, then you have what it takes to participate in the local busking scene.
“It’s just like paid practice,” says the 24 year old. “I saw others doing it and it looked like a fun way to make some scratch.”
Busking involves performing on the streets, usually playing an instrument such as the guitar. The people involved in street entertainment are not what some may stereotype as homeless or panhandlers. Buskers are everyday people who want to share their gift and maybe earn a little spotlight – not to mention cash.
Fallarme, a guitarist of seven years, discovered that busking is not just music and fun. Before being able to perform in public, a busking license is required for street entertainers in the city of Toronto. For Fallarme, trying to obtain this permit was an unnecessarily long process full of tedious steps.
“I was surrounded by hotdog vendors and taxi drivers,” says Fallarme, who waited in line for three long hours at the Municipal Licensing and Standards Department in East York. After he purchased his $30.00 license, he was finally able to hit the streets of Toronto with his trusty guitar.
“You try to be artistic and it was the most un-artistic process ever. But it was worth it!”
After setting up his guitar case on a grimy corner of Queen Street, Fallarme strummed his first few chords in public.
“It was really weird because I didn’t exactly know how it worked. It felt so unnatural when you played, since no one was really listening to you.”
Despite the initial uneasiness, Fallarme earned $90.00 within the first 90 minutes of playing.
“I think because it was my first time I was the most excited to play, so I tried harder. It also depends on where and when you play.”
He discovered the best time to play is during the afternoon when the peak number of tourists and urban-dwellers are roaming the downtown core.
Fallarme found the hardest part of busking to be developing a crowd. A good busker entices curious on-lookers to become spectators and increases the chances of making money and promoting musical talent.
“Getting a good audience’s attention is the most difficult part of busking,” says Fallarme. “You must use a far-out technique to create a unique performance that people will stop, look at, and with luck, pay for.”
As part of his repertoire, Fallarme played a vast variety of music including songs from the Beatles and Britney Spears. The most popular songs are what catch a spectator’s attention and encourage an audience to hang around to listen – and throw a coin or two.
“Playing ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ got the most attention,” says Fallarme, in his best Britney impression. “I guess the pop songs that everyone knows make the most money.”
Part of his experience involved encountering rival buskers as well as panhandlers who eyed his guitar case full of change.
“One of the most important things a busker must have is ‘the look’,” says Fallarme. A “look” will guard a busker’s money and ward off any unwelcome audiences.
Fallarme plans to continue busking on his spare weekends to develop his performance skills. He takes away a valuable lesson, claiming that not just anyone can hit the streets busking.
“You need to have a strong stage presence or you’re not going to get any attention. More importantly, you need a backbone when it comes to finding a place to play. Stick with the philosophy ‘it’s better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission’ and you’ll be fine.”
**published by Campus Life Magazine
