A finalist in the James Morrison Vocal Scholarship last year, Simon Drew also produced and released his debut album, ‘Detour Ahead’, in 2013.
Now he returns to the Brisbane Jazz Club this weekend with his Quartet. He shares his top five reason for busking.
1. A bit of extra cash never hurt anyone. A lot of musicians just don’t realise how viable busking can be as a means of making good money. If you are good, and you are in the right area, the chances are that you will make much more money (per hour) than anyone working a regular part-time job. Some have even found that they make more money busking than they do at gigs! And let’s face it, we are musicians so we all need a bit of extra cash. If you’ve got nothing to do, just busk.
2. You’ll learn how to best interact with your audience. Busking is one of the best activities to learn how to treat your audience, because let’s face it, we want them to give us money! So you will definitely get better at interacting with people who love your music.
3. Throw out your performance fear/ anxiety. I was so scared to busk at first and put it off so many times. Finally my brother dumped me with my gear on a corner and said “I’ll be back in half an hour”. Best thing he ever did for me.
4. Boost your love life. True story. I met my last girlfriend while busking. I’m definitely no Casanova, but no mere woman can resist the lure of a crooner as he softly serenades her beneath a moonlit sky on a street corner.
5. You WILL get gigs. Unless you are busking on tuba or oboe, you will get gigs. A family from Melbourne heard me once which lead to two gigs down there. All flights and accommodation were paid for, plus the price that I asked for the gigs. Oh and a $200 taxi allowance. Sweet deal!
The Simon Drew Quartet play the Brisbane Jazz Club Saturday April 12.
