The Sidewalk Performer Traveling On A Dime.
-vagabond techniques in frugality and safety en route.
"Busking is a young man's game." -The Late Great Jim Cellini.
Today we are going to focus on the close up street performer who decides to take his show on the road.
In my opinion the backpack performer is the truest definition of the word "Busker."
He is truly a searcher.
In my youth I traveled the world with only a back pack. It held my rig and my belongings. I made enough to buy whatever else I needed.
If you are a smaller act on the street, chances are you may not make the money that the huge Circle Shows do.
If you're a small magic act like mine, you may need to travel to get fresh faces to watch you. Local audiences will only watch a short magic show so many times.
You may also want to travel to see the world, and get a tighter act that has more universal appeal.
Many close up performers travel to gain more material to build up, and create their own circle shows.
But the number one reason all buskers travel is to get to the highest paying spots in season. Such as a resort town during an important festival.
Whatever the reason, one must remember that, for the close up performer, traveling is expensive and dangerous.
One must learn to do it safely and frugally.
Buskers are adventures, but one must never forget that travelling on a dime is dangerous.
Always be aware of your surroundings.
Learn to move briskly through city crowds, blending in when traveling.
Try not to pause looking around like you don't know where you are.
Always be looking around for bad people who may try to approach you.
If you're a sidewalk performer who's worth his salt, you should have a rig that packs small, but plays big.
The name of the game here is Stealth And Mobility.
Travelling is stressful, because of the perpetual unfamiliarity and constant inconveniences, pitfalls, and frightening surprises.
You cannot afford to be caught standing on a street corner with more than you can carry, broke, and with nowhere to go.
If this ever happens, you will need to do some quick shows to get money, and seek lodging.
You will need to keep an eye on your stuff while you work.
Do this quickly, because you are vulnerable to crooks and cops.
Which brings us to shelter.
When you're on the road, you don't know what the day will bring you.
Some days you can afford to stay in five star hotels, other days you're wondering if that overpass will be safe for the night.
Once years ago in France, I was working the sidewalks at The Canne Festival and I missed my train to Nice where I had a hotel room. I had plenty of money, but all the hotels were full in Canne and I ended up sleeping sitting up, on some rocks overlooking the bay.
Not a situation you ever want to be in, I could have been robbed or worse.
I had been homeless many times in America, but it was the only time I was ever homeless in Europe.
Which brings us to being frugal.
The less you spend on the road, the more you can send home to the family.
So here’s some tips on how to do that.
RVs and Vans. In the U.S. pitches are usually 500 miles apart and unreliable, when you get there it maybe impossible to work for one reason or another. The vehicle is my number one preference for the U.S. It is both a transportation and a home. If you can't work the spot, you get in the van and go where you can work.
If you don't have money for a hotel room, no problem, you can sleep in the van.
I prefer the minivan instead of an RV or full size Van, because the mini van is stealthy and cheap on gas. It is harder to live in a mini-van, for sure, but I can literally go twice as far for the same money.
Living in the U.S. the threat of being homeless is a very real threat, so a van can prevent this.
If you are not a busker, living in a van gets old real quick, because it demands a purpose, but a busker can go years living like this, because it has a purpose. But only someone who has done both can really understand this.
The trick is to get hotel rooms once a week, and get showers at truck stops or camp grounds.
One could even live in a car, but this can be pretty uncomfortable over time. Life is already hard enough when working on the street all day, its nice to look forward to staying in the van.
I set mine up so well, when I go on the road and visit friends I still prefer to stay in my van, than to stay in their house.
Hostels in Europe are great, but in the U.S. not so much. You can choose to bunk with strangers in a dorm for a discount, or try and get your own room for an extra charge, but it is usually still a lot cheaper than an actual hotel room.
The older you get staying in hostels, the weirder it starts to look, but if your desperate that's what they are there for.
Skid Row Hotels and Motels, you know the type, they're rundown, super cheap, and usually house bed bugs, prostitutes, drug users, and ne'er-do-wells.
Oh and yeah Buskers. It also houses Buskers.
I have stayed in thousands of these. My favorites are the ones owned and run by people from India.
There's a good reason for this.
Sure the hotel is usually rundown, but it's always an easy check in, cheap, clean, and I've never had bedbugs yet.
The other thing is, they aren't so judgy about Buskers, and they know how to deal with their clientele.
I’ve found them to be safer places to stay than the others.
They are usually old school, cash savvy, and family oriented, right up my alley.
If I don’t have a van I also like to rent by the week in places like this, because they usually give a discount.
There always seems to be one in every town.
Whenever staying in a skid row hotel, If you have a nice car, be very careful, make sure you park right outside of your front window, and keep an eye on it all night. I only had to deal with this problem once, it wasn’t my car, I was riding with a friend who had Champaign taste, and beer income.
Sleeping on Buses and Trains, the trick is to book it for a long ride at night to a reliable pitch that you know makes money. You will sleep all night and when you get to your destination, you hit the ground running, banging out as many shows as you can, to get lodging for the night.
You want to start working right away, because you will need time to hunt down a room when you're done working. Finding lodging at night can be tough, and if you do find it, you wont have much time to sleep, because of check out time.
Squats are abandoned or blighted places that homeless people live in. Laws and customs vary from country to country.
Squatting is a networking thing, your safest bet is to ask your fellow buskers if they know of a Squat and the legality of it.
In some countries especially in Europe there's not a big stigma on it.
I've even seen offices that provide you with the addresses and a key.
But beware it is illegal and dangerous in the U.S. unless the Squatters have permission from the owner.
Most Squats in the U.S. are only squatted a night or two, because of the huge risks of jail or owners with a gun. This is serious I'm not joking.
Homeless Camps, are dangerous and ill-advised unless you have a group of friends with you. Even then you are going to be roughing it pretty baddly, and this will certainly weigh on your ability to look and perform well in the public eye the next day.
You start getting bummy and it could scare people.
Wildlife Camp Grounds are tough, because they are usually too far from the high traffic tourist zones.
My buddy Niko Leo traveled across the country on a motorcycle and stayed in a tent in the bushes off the road in secluded areas. In the morning he'd just ride his bike into town and go to work. With this its safer lodging and you can still use truck stop showers and get hotels from time to time.
I hope these tips were helpful and you can leave me a tip at Buy Me A Coffee.
Happy Hunting
Your Pal Jimmy