Diary Of A Busker Day 333 Monday March 4th 2013 Winchester High Street, opposite O2. Time: 11:35-1:05pm
I’ve come in a bit earlier today as I have agreed to meet Lucinda and Siobhan again, to assist them further with their college project. At least the temperature’s up a bit; it’s still cold but the sun’s out for once. Maybe that’s why people appear more generous. A woman comes up after Girl – ‘It’s nice to hear a Merseyside song.’ ‘Right…you liked that one, did you?’ ‘Yes, I’m from Liverpool…and Norwegian Wood.’ ‘Ah yes, from the same album, Rubber Soul?’ I don’t know why I’m asking her as I know they’re from the same album. I reckon I must be testing her to see if SHE knows. ‘Yes…are they? and was that Lennon or McCartney? – they both had quite different ways.’ I dispense a microscopic portion of Beatle-ology – ‘They’re both Lennon songs, and he also had Nowhere Man, all on the same album. That album was a high point for him.’ She then says ‘And then there was, what was it…For No One.’ ‘Yes, from Revolver – the album after that, from August 1966.’ ‘Yes, Alan Civil on the horn part.’ She knows the session player – I’m impressed! Very good, full marks and all that. ‘Yeah, Alan Civil,’ I confirm.
One of the girl charity workers walks by and says what I take to be ‘Are you in a sentimental mood?’ which is a bit weird, although I have been keeping it rather quiet as I don’t reckon anyone wants to be blasted out on a Monday morning…and, of course, it’s all old stuff – maybe it does sound sentimental. Anyway, I’m not sure exactly what she said so I ask her. She says ‘I said I’m In A Sentimental Mood – Duke Ellington, do you play it?’ ‘Oh right. No, sorry. I thought you were asking if I was in a sentimental mood!’ ‘Haha!’ she laughs – ‘Oh, we’re ALL in a sentimental mood, aren’t we?!’ SHE might be.
A man with his wife(?) correctly identifies my Mister Sandman as a Chet Atkins arrangement and we chat awhile about the fingerstyle technique. He says he could never get the hang of it; his thumb worked alright but his 1st and 2nd fingers wouldn’t do it, and he never got on with a thumbpick. Cue the Focal Dystonia part of my Hard Luck Story. After the HLS, I play Chet’s little known La Vie En Rose arrangement; little-known, that is, in the pantheon of Chet recordings but very well known around here. Man and wife walk off, stop at a safe distance and…cue news flash: They CLAP at the finish. I don’t often get that. And George has turned up by now – who wants to hear Mister Sandman. No bother (a request is a request and all that), I play it again…and mess up the middle bit. Then some 18 year olds shout ‘Play SpongeBob!’ which confuses George so I have to inform him that there was an arrangement of The Third Man in that silly film and that they’ve clearly heard me play it, possibly hundreds of times before. I ask George if he’s going to the Tommy Emmanuel concert in Basingstoke on Wednesday. and he says he doesn’t even know who he is! I tell him he’s great – ‘He’s a CGP. He’s played and recorded with Chet, George!’ George is now impressed – ‘Ah…oh…right.’ ‘He’s Australian. He does stuff like…(I play, or attempt to play, T.E’s arrangement of Lady Madonna)…he does that, he’s brilliant! He does all the Chet stuff!’ George is now definitely impressed and goes off to try and buy a ticket on the computer. I reckon he’ll be lucky. When I booked mine a couple of weeks ago, there was nothing in the stalls but I managed to get an aisle seat upstairs.
A woman of about 60 comes up during Yellow Bird and asks if it’s on my CD. I apologise and say it isn’t. She says ‘Oh’ but she still buys one, after having a damn good look to see what IS on it. Fair enough. She hands me a £5 note, then her friend turns up and gives her £2.50 in 50p coins. ‘We’re sharing it’ she says, so I say ‘Right, you’ll have to split the songs as well, won’t you? There’s seven songs – you’ll have to cut one in half.’
Earnings: £25.67 (including 1 CD)