Stand Up Charlie

Stand Up Charlie

Montreal, Canada, 2011

It's a warm monday evening as I step out of the Club Soda, a nice old cabaret theater on Saint Laurent Boulevard, where I sometimes volunteer on National Improvisation League game nights. Improvisation matches are quite popular here in Quebec, for this is where it all started back in 1977 before later gaining popularity in other French speaking countries such as France, Belgium and Switzerland. It is modeled on hockey games and takes place in a small imitation ice-skating ring, with two teams of six players each, a referee, and even a guy playing themes on the organ, just like in an actual hockey game! The themes and rules of each improvisation are drawn by lot by the referee before each round. The audience votes for the winner by show of hands with cardboards to the colours of the teams. Today's game opposed the Greens to the Oranges. Although it does rather sound like a fight between fruit and vegetables, it was another great game with no shortage of wit and laughs.

I decide to take a walk up to Parc Lafontaine, in the heart of the plateau Mont Royal, one of my favourite places to go to and work on my songs in the evenings. Photogenic twisted staircases ornament the colourful brick plexes bordering the streets along the way. The eclectic architecture of Montreal makes for a most interesting walk, with more hidden gems around the corner than first meets the eye. Colourful victorian houses, gothic revival cathedrals, castle shaped fire stations, art deco monuments, roman catholic churches and modern glass buidling all stand side by side, fighting for spotlight in this patchwork urban landscape. Montreal feels like several cities superimposed into one, and yet it does work beautifully, nothing here feels out of place, however unlikely the mariage.

The historic park welcomes me with a cool breeze. I am about to pick a spot in the shade of a century old poplar tree by the side of the lake when I hear notes of blues harmonica in the distance. That has to be Simon, I say to myself, and so I decide to go on and follow the sound of music through the park's winding pathways. Finally a lonesome figure sitting on a washed up wooden bench appears from behind the hedge around the corner, and surely enough there is Simon, giving all he has to a Big Bill Bronzy tune, his all time favourite. We exchange a knowing smile as I grab my guitar out of its case and sit down by his side to join in the blues. It has been that way ever since we first met in this very park, about four months ago ; Simon has been my brother in soul, and we have shared many great jams under the shade of the old trees. I then go to the first chord of one of my own songs, Stand up Charlie, I know it is one of his favourites. This is a song I wrote for children who are war victims of left over landmines from conflicts, who either die or end up losing limbs when all they were doing was playing innocently in a field. I also wrote it with the humanitarian action of NGOs such as Handicap International in mind. Simon once told me he simply wouldn't get it if I didn't make it big time with that song; that song was gonna be my big break, he was adamant about it. There is also room for an extended harmonica solo at the end of the song, allowing him to play away to his heart's content, with inspired solos that would lift the song to a whole other level.

There's something about Simon. He has a beautiful soul, one of a true poet. He works a variety of manual jobs during the day -gardening, painting houses, construction work-, all so that he can free his mind for his writing once the work is done. I find this approach inspiring: many times have I noticed that some of my best songs came out of the blue after my body and mind had been devoted to a completely different task. Simon's best friend died suddenly about a year ago, and I can tell how deeply still this loss affects him. Both philosophers at heart, two kindred souls sitting on a bench, we'd spend hours wondering about the meaning of life and singing the blues. Other times we'd head off towards the subway to do some busking, either at Sherbrooke or Saint Laurent Stations, passing by Square Saint Louis and its colourful Victorian houses of purple, red and blue. There in the subway, under the blue lyre that marks the spot, we'd sing and play our hearts out, our melodies riding the waves of the crowd at rush hour, hoping our little songs could maybe ease some of that stress away.

My internship here in Montreal is coming to an end, and I 'll be leaving Canada soon. I bought a guitar during my stay here, a nice little parlor size acoustic from Simon and Patrick, handmade here in Quebec. This is the guitar I have been busking and songwriting on for the past seven months, it is really lovely, and I am very fond of it, but I already have a guitar to take back with me on the plane. Simon once told me he would like to learn blues guitar someday; this little parlor would be perfect for that. And call it destiny, she even bears his name. These two were clearly meant for each other. So I have decided that I'll leave her here in his company, she'll be in good hands.

*****

Stand up Charlie

In a world that's undermined

By the greed and the hatred

Of the human kind

Where bastards build bombs

Killing children of the world

Making money at all costs

No matter if it hurts

Stand up Charlie

Don't give up hope just now

There's still good to be found

In the human kind

People dedicate their life

To humanitarian cause

To whom human life

Can still be about joy

Stand up Charlie

Get yourself up from the ground

There may not be no heaven

Here on earth to be found

There's a better place for all

Behind the deep blue skies

Not the heaven we hoped for

Not as bad a place for sure

Stand up Charlie

Meet the Devil in the eye

And free your own angel

To those deep blue skies

Prove wrong those who

Turn the light into shade

That the smile of a child

Is enough to light up the day

Back to the Roots

Back to the Roots

Montreal, Canada, winter 2009

A cold biting wind raises swirls of snow in the dim light of the deserted street, its quiet complaint the only sound to be heard in the ghostly landscape surrounding us. Mounds scattered along the street mark the spot of cars buried under the white blanket of snow. It's the first storm of the season on a cold december evening in Montreal, and it feels as though the whole city has just shut down for the night. My brother Matthew and I could just as well be on the moon, for there isn't another soul in sight in the surreal stillness of these streets.

Matthew's plane landed just in time at Trudeau airport, just hours ago as the storm was coming up. He is visiting from France on my last week here as an exchange student in Montreal, and we have a busy planning ahead of us, with a trip on the East Coast to the cities of Boston and New York, where we will no doubt catch a couple of basketball games by the Celtics and The Knicks. But for now we are much like Scott of the Antartic, leaving deep footsteps in our wake as we venture out in the snow coated city in the storm. And by the looks of it we are amongst the very few crazy enough to be wandering out here in these extreme conditions, stopping for a warm cup of cocoa in every Tim Hortons coffee house that comes our way! Those footsteps lead all the way back to the heart of the Plateau, at the crossroads between Rue Saint Denis and Avenue Mont Royal, where Matthew and I ate Poutine earlier on, in a retro looking diner open twenty-four seven, a little place that has made its reputation on this unlikely dish, a perfect winter treat of French fries, cheese and gravy for those cold canadian nights. And not far off on Rue Saint Denis is the place I have been calling home for the past five months, a tiny bedroom with washed up walls, squeezed between the bathroom and the laundry room, with just enough space for a single bed and a desk, on the third floor of a house shared with no less than seventeen roomates, students for the most part. The place gets so crowded with continuous visits from relatives and friends that to this day it is still hard to tell who actually lives there!

Those same footsteps led us all the way down here in the heart of the old town, at the foot of Basilica Notre Dame, where we now find ourselves staring up at luminous trumpet playing angels against a waterfall of blue tinsel, in what turns out to be a perfect christmas fairy tale setting beneath the falling snow flakes. We decide to seek shelter inside the Basilica for a few minutes and warm ourselves up a bit before stepping back out into the cold. I decide to show Matthew what has come to be known as the Underground City, or Ville Souterraine in French, as we make our way back towards the city center. Montreal indeed has an extensive network of underground streets, tunnels and plazas that run for over 30 kilometers between subway stations, shopping malls, art centers and residential buildings. They provide a much welcomed shelter during the long winter months, a true blessing on nights like this one. Colourful souvenir shops and neon signs of a variety of fast food restaurants welcome us as we enter the warm and well lit dark brick tunnel, where we start wandering through the maze of corridors, feeling like refugees from some kind of holocaust in this quiet underworld, although there are still more people to be found down here than outside. We decide to make our way towards one of the subway stations and take the train to Berri Uqam station, a gateway to main arteries like Rue Saint-Denis and Rue Sainte Catherine, and after a short ride we find ourselves greeted by the now familiar smell of warm pepperoni pizza that takes over the entire station, all because of a little stand in the corner! As we climb up the steps leading towards one of the many corridors, we catch sight of a guy sitting in a cardboard boat, a fishing rod hanging at the front, a most unexpected scene in a metro station, or any other place for that matter! He is singing and playing the guitar, circled by a much intrigued crowd, one of many great buskers to be heard in the maze of underground stations here. Affectionately known as « Les musiciens du métro », they are a much appreciated part of the life of the city.

This is where it all started for me, playing music in the metro and in the streets, also known as busking. Back in France I had been songwriting and playing gigs in bars for a few years already, but it had never crossed my mind to go out and play music in the streets. But many seemed to be doing it successfully here, and both the musicians and the audience of commuters passing by seemed to enjoy it. The underground also made for a safe and comfortable environment to try it out, and so, standing by the blue lyre panels which mark the spot where musicians are allowed to play, those windy hallways are where I learnt my trade as a busker.

I quickly learned that busking is serious business, especially for those that make a living out of it, and that when there is good money to be made at a given spot at rush hour, buskers could get quite competitive amongst themselves. Every morning, from as early as half past five, musicians come and write their name down for a slot on a little piece of paper that can be found tucked behind the blue lyre panel, and it is first come first served basis. Given the distances between stations and the train schedules, this alone can take up to a couple of hours if you want to play in different spots. Now even though busking is officially admitted and spots clearly marked out throughout the stations, none of this paper schedule system is official. It is simply implemented by buskers amongst themselves as a means of regulating spot allocations. So sometimes you would find somebody else occupying your spot because your name was no longer found on the little piece of paper which had most likely been switched at some point by someone whose favourite slot had already been taken! So yes, it's not always flowers and hippy love, but still most buskers I have met here were really friendly and happy to help.

Coming out of Berri Uqam through the heavy revolving doors, we find ourselves greeted by the fierce cold wind once more, so we quickly put on our woollen hats and decide to head for the Bistro à Jojo a bit further up on Saint Denis street. You can't miss it: with its giant guitar and gold letter sign, this place is a blues institution here in Quebec, and has been my refuge on many a cold evening! It's everything you'd expect a canadian blues bar to be: dark wood furniture, dimmed lights, blues memorabilia, guitars hanging on the walls, and of course a selection of Coors and Molson draft beers! The musicians take center stage midway through the bar, that is where the magic happens on a daily basis. And tonight Frede Freedom is the one pulling tricks out of his guitar. We take a seat at one of the round wooden tables in the corner as the show gets on the road, rageous notes screaming out of the guitar as the whole band kicks in. Ripping through a repertoire of blues classics and original songs for over an hour, Frede groans and moans the blues, backed up by a heavy rhythm section of bass and drums, while the keyboard player goes crazy during solos, climbing on his Hammond organ as all hell breaks loose and the crowd goes wild. There is an older couple sitting at the next table to ours, and we quite naturally engage in conversation. They so happen to be Frede's parents, and they are very proud of their son. And quite rightfully so, they should be, he is putting on a hell of a show! As we get to talking I let them know that I am a musician too, and that I can fully appreciate their son's performance here tonight. At which point Frede's mom leans towards me and almost whispers in a secretive manner: «To me he is as good as Clapton and all these other greats, he should be right up there with them!» This instantly puts a smile on my face, for I know this is exactly the kind of thing my mum would think about my own guitar playing! You can always count on your parents to be your greatest fans, and who knows, maybe they are right!

We then just sit back and let ourselves get carried away by the music, tipping the waitress as she brings us our drinks, as is the rule here. We make a toast to the begining of our canadian adventure together, and to a fantastic first night!

I have been working on a new song lately, about my blues nights here at the Bistro à Jojo, and until tonight I was still missing the lyrics second verse, but now I have them!

*****

Le Bistro à Jojo on a Montreal night

For $8 a beer you get the music right

From 10pm 'till very late at night

The blues meets the rock

And the blues rock rocks the house

With -20°C it’s cold outside

But inside it’s warm

as the guitar plays slide

The pints of beer keep you in the mood

To sing in tune and get back to the roots

Going back to the roots

Going back to the roots yeah yeah yeah

Going back to the roots

Going back to the roots yeah yeah

The Bistro à Jojo listen to Frede Freedom

His mama and papa

believe he sounds like Clapton

Listen to the music

he plays and screams and moans

You know in your heart

you’ve finally found your home

With -20°C it’s cold outside

But inside it’s warm

as the guitar plays slide

The pints of beer keep you in the mood

To sing in tune and go back to the roots

Busking in Antwerp

The city of Antwerp has been another one of my regular busking destinations in Belgium. I usually head over there by train and arrive at the Central Station, probably the nicest one in Belgium and considered to one of the most beautiful stations in the world.

There is a very nice zoo right next to the station, and if I don't get to distracted by the idea of going and say hello to the animals, then I can head into town in search of a nice busking spot. A fair share of the center is pedestrianized, which is nice for busking.

It starts with the huge shopping street, the Meir, which starts not too far away, in a straight line from Central Station. It is quite wide and busy, you probably need to be amplified to play there, unless you're busking as a band, or playing loud instruments maybe. The thing is from what I have understood amplification is not allowed in Antwerp, and you need a permit to busk, which you can ask for online, but the whole thing is in Flemmish with no translation, kind of tough for foreigners. So far personnaly I haven't bothered with the permit, and have played with amplification in various parts of town, including the Meir, without beeing bothered by the police. But I think I've just been lucky maybe, not to fall on the wrong cops, because I have been told that they can be strict with those regulations at times. I guess as always it depends on who, when and where.

I don't know whether this info is still valid but here's wha tI found on the web about the permit and regulations:
- you can fill out a form at the Office of Safety at Sint-Pietersvliet 7 and you then have to wait a few days to get it
- the permit is free and would be valid for a year
- as a general rule you should only play at a given spot 1 hour at a time

In De Wilde Zee

One of my favourite busking spots in Antwerp has been a quiet little square at the end of Wiegstraat in De Wilde Zee. But it is also many other buskers favourite spot so often busy. Everytime I played there I got great feedback from shop owners around, anda few of them even bought the albums to play in their shop, which is nice!

I have played in a number of other streets and places around that area, and it seems to be appreciated. Sometimes people in the vicinity, whether they are shop or restaurant owners, would be a bit weary when they see you set up nearby. But once I started playing then they seemed reassured and even enjoyed it. In this one place where I was just setting up, the lady in the shop opposite came out to ask me whether I intended to play for long, because after a while it gets tiring for her. I reassured her that I would'nt be playing for more than half and hour, 45 minutes max. So I went on with my gig, and after about 7-8 songs I asked her as she came out of her shop if it was ok and whether I should continue playing or not. She said it was lovely and that I could play all afternoon if I wanted, which felt nice! At the end as I left she gave me a pair of earrings (she owns a ethnic/fantasy jewelry shop), and now everytime I pass by her street she asks me to stay and play there! The lady in the shop next to her was really nice also and offered me cup of tea. It happens from time to time with café and restaurant owner's nearby, as a thank you for crowding up their terrace!

All in all this goes to show that you are not, as a busker, the nuisance that autorities make you out to be. More often than not, people are keener to ask you stay and come back than to get lost! This I have witnessed almost everywhere I go: if what you do is nicely done, and not to loud, people will enjoy it :-)

To end on a musical note, here's a link to a little Facebook video of me busking in Antwerp, the song is called Flower Serenade:
https://www.facebook.com/ruud.tax/videos/10207190080368944/

Busking in Brussels

I often busk in Brussels, as it is my hometown when I am not on the road. I always enjoy it a lot, people nice and keen to take the time to listen. And you get to play for the whole world, as there are many tourists all year long.

Busking at Place de la Monnaie 

But there are many rules to busking in Brussels. You need a permit, and that permit states where and when you can play with unbelievably painfull precision. As a general rule you can only play at a given spot at even hours, and the spots where you are allowed to play are specified on the permit. In the UNESCO zone, ie the walking center of the town, only the spot facing galery St Hubert seems to be worth it really, and everybody fights over it. There used to be a nice spot behind the Bourse, facing Sint Niklaas Church, but they removed it recently (the spot, not the Church). Instead they created a new spot in front of La Bourse on the new walking street that is now Boulevard Anspach, known as Le Piétionnier. I have busked there a few times but the whole atmosphere isn't the same, I miss the old spot. Then there are a few spots around the UNESCO zone but still in the center, at Mont des Arts, Place de La Monnaie, and in the shopping street that is Rue Neuve, in front of the church.

To get the permit you need to head to the town's "Service de la Culture" on Rue Sainte Catherine, but beware of the opening hours which are very limited, to say the least: opened on Tuedays from 2 to 4pm!! Almost as if they didn't want you to busk...

To get the permit you need to comply with either one of these two conditions: you have an Artisitc Degree, or you have to pass an "audition". Don't worry about the so-called audition though, they basicallyu just check whether you are capable of playing or singing and that you won't be too much of a nuisance and scare people away...

Once you get the precious permit it is valid for 1 Month, after which you need to head back to "Service de la Culture" and ask them to renew it. This can be done 3 times over the course of a year, 4 times if you live in Brussels. And don't expect to get your new permit on the same day, you have to come back the week after to pick it up. Oh and bring a photo and a copy of your identity card.

The one good thing about busking laws in Brussels is that you are allowed to play with amplification, which is rare enough to be mentionned.

Now, can you risk it without the permit? Yes and no. In the UNESCO zone it's a bit tricky, and it's anyone's guess whether they'll bother you or not. It really depends on which cops are on duty that day: some won't mind and won't bother you, some are extra zealous and will stop your performance and give you a warning. They won't fine you if it's your first warning though... it's once you've been warned that it gets tricky. In rue Neuve it depends on cop patrols also, they have already bothered me there. Elsewhere as far as I can tell, if nobody complains and calls the cops on you, you should be fine!

You can always e-mail me if you have any questions about busking in Brussels, and here is the link to the city's page for the busking rules and permit:
http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm?id=5273&404;http://www.bruxelles.be:80/5273

To end on a lighter note, here's a little video of me busking at Place de la Monnaie last November:

Busking in Burlington & Boston - US Coast Cycling Tour summer 2015

During the summer of 2015 a friend and I went on a cycling trip between Montreal and New York, and of course we took our guitars and busking equipment with us ;-)

So we stayed in Montreal for a few days after flying in from Brussels. Having spent a year there back in 2010 as an exchange student I knew about busking in the city, and so we had planned to play a bit before leaving for our journey. The weather was nice so rather than busking the subway we decided to try our luck outside, and so we went to busk a couple of times on Rue Prince Arthur, a nice and cosy walking street on Le Plateau Mont Royal!

We would have loved to busk more, but getting prepared for trip, buying all the equipment we needed including the bikes and trailer, took much more time than we had foreseen! But after four days of running around town like crazy, our trusty steeds were finally ready to hit the road!

We headed south for Vermont and the Lake Champlain, on a beautifull "Route Verte" that took us accross the charming town of Chambly and it's lake. From there we followed  the Richelieu River down to the US Border.

An injury forced us to stay put for a week in a little american town called Rouses Point, right at the border with Quebec.

Rouses Point

Busking the Farmer's Market in Plattsburgh

This forced stay in this unlikely town pushed us to get creative, and gave us time to explore busking opportunities in the vicinity. We quicly found out that there was little to do in Rouses Point, and little point in busking there. So we went down to Plattsburg, a relatively bigger town south of Rouses Point on Lake Champlain, and luckily enough happened to be there on the day a little farmer's market was taking place. After asking around if it was ok to set up there, I got to busk a bit with Folk Vagabond, in nice and relaxed atmosphere. We felt very much welcomed, and actually were asked whether we could come back and play every week when the market took place, which was very nice of them. But although by that point the injury situation didn't look so good, and our chances of ever leaving Rouses Point by the means of bicycles seemed bleak, we still had hope of getting out of there someday!

We then headed to Burlington for a couple of days, one of the two places with Boston during the trip where we had the time and opportunity to get some busking action! Burlington seemed very promising: the heart of the town was a busy walking street called Church Street, perfect setting for us. Too perfect to be true. After finding a very nice spot in the shade of a tree, we'd been playing for about a quarter of an hour withvery promising success when we were stopped by the dreaded police patrol. "You need a permit to play. And I don't think you're allowed to use an amp". Oh bollocks. (yes I always picture Hugh Grant standing next to me in these kind of situations). We are told that you can ask for a permit, and after having being sent back and forth up and down the street between different administrations for about an hour, we finally knocked on the right door, at Church Street n°2. There we are nicely told that we have to come back at noon to pass an audition. We comply and do so next day. At the end of our audition song, the two shrews officiating as judges and who told us to come and  audition the day before looked at each other before finally telling us that they no longer can deliver permits for people just passing through for a short period of time...

Busking in Burlington

Undeterred and determined to busk, we decided to go on a search for a busking spot outside of Church Street, and we did find a beautiful spot in the end, on the promenade by Lake Champlain. Actually on the most beautiful busking settings I've ever played, especially at sunset!

Burlington Promenade, Beautiful Busking Setting!

Eventually we left Rouses Point and cycled back down to Burlington. Being 10 days behind on schedule and wanting to make sure we would see New York, we decided to drive down to Boston from there, having figured out how to fit all of our stuff in the rented SUV!

In Boston we got round to do a bit of busking too for a couple of days, downtown in the walking area around Summer Street, Winter Street and Washington Street. Busking there was ok, nothing extraordinary, but at least the cops didn't seem to mind or bother us. Well, on the second day I was doing a Folk Vagabond set in Winter Street when a cop stopeed me to tell me it wasn't allowed here. I told him I was kind of surprised, given that dozens of other policemen and police cars had passed us by in the last couple of days and none had anything! Funny thing is he seemed kind of surprised and taken  abck by that. That's when he told me that basically this was his precinct or something like that, and that he had been away and just came back that afternoon.I said ok. Just as he was walking away he turned around and said I could go on, what I was doing was nice and that so far, there hadn't been any complaints or anything, but that if he did receive any he would have to give me a ticket... Not quite sure what to do with that I did a couple more songs and then wrapped it up for the day, I was almost done anyways and it was getting late. So all in all downtown Boston seemed pretty relaxed for busking.

We did also try to busk a bit in Cambridge, but we couldn't quite find the right spot that day, between the street noise, the burning sun and heavy wind. I did play a bit of Folk Vagabond in a little parc though and had a very nice time there. I actually got a priceless  souvenir out of it: someone gave a sticker with the following words handwritten on it: "Keep it up, you are amazing". This motto I know keep on my guitar Tanguie, and I try to remember it during hard times, when I'm maybe  feeling a bit blue about what I am doing.

We didn't have much time to try other spots in Boston, from what we gathered a popular busking spot is Quincy Market, but there is an audition system with permits going on there as well, only held once a year during April if I remember correctly. So we didn't bother.

After Boston we cycled all the way down to New York and busked a couple of time along the way, however we didn't get round to busking in the Big Apple as we arrived there shortly before having to head back home, and we decided to spend the couple of days we had visiting and enjoying the city. But there will definetly be a next time! Meanwhile, I'll try and post a video from the cycling trip soon!

Busking in Göteborg

The swedish town of Göteborg was the final busking destination of my "One Girl Band" busking and cycling trip during the summer of 2013.

I spent 3 days there, catching up with an old friend back from my days as an exchange student in Montreal, and just wandered around this wonderfull city, my inner busker always on the look out for the perfect spot! The weather during my stay wasn't always the best, but amidst the dull grey skies, the city offered me one of my favourite pics from the entire trip:

The second day I set my heart on the Haga neighborhood, with it's cosy walking streets and handicraft shops. So I decided to set up shop in Haga Nygata:

My busking times in Göteborg are amongst my favourite memories from the trip. In the last couple of days I had been writing a new song, entitled Child of the Universe. I got the inspiration for this one a few days before, back in Norway just before entering Sweden. I had left Fredrikstad and was trying to find a way around to Norway. Coming up to the crossroads I pause to take a look at my maps. This  friendlyguy comes up to me asking me whether I am lost and would need any help. After letting him know that I am ok we start chatting, me telling him about my cycling adventures, and him telling me the story of how he ended up staying in Norway after coming up here as an exchange student from Togo. When I asked whether he missed his homeland he said: "I am a child of the universe,everywhere I am at home". And later as we parted and I was pondering upon which route to take, either the most direct and slightly boring one, or the more scenic/hilly/windy one along the coast, he kept on repeating: "you got to take it easy. I guess he meant I should take my time on the scenic one, which I ended up on.

These two phrases: "I am a Child of the Universe" and "Take it easy", and the philosophy behind them, stuck in my head for the remaining days of the trip to Göteborg, and so on my first day there I put them into a song called "Child of the Universe".

Anyways that day busking in Haga was my first time performing this song to anyone. And I had been playing for a little while by the time I got to this one. But as it came to an end, one of the shop owners nearby just jumped out of here store like a jack-in-the-box and came up to me to tell me she had been listening to me from the beginning and really enjoyed it, but that for this song in particular, she felt she needed to come out and tell me how wonderfull it was, and how good it made her feel. That meant the world to me, it doesn't get much better than that when you play a new song for the first time and don't really know what to expect, or how people are going to react to it. It felt pretty good!

The second day busking in Haga I also remember quite fondly, because that's the day I met Chao Chen, another wonderfull encounter and stranger who happened to make my day. Chao took amazing pictures that day, one of which I later used as the cover for my One Girl Band album.

I don't know what the rules are for busking in Göteborg, but I wasn't bothered by police while I played overthere, but then again I didn't use amplification so I don't know... All I can say is Haga is a nice and friendly neighborhood to be busking in!

Busking in Munster

I stopped for a couple of days in this smaller but very nice city. When I told people I was heading for Munster they told me "Ho you are going to love Munster it's great for cycling, it's like the number 1 german city for that, maybe the only one that compares with cities in the Netherlands." And truly enough there were bicycles everywhere! As usual I headed for the Altstadt, the Old town center, on the look out for a nice walking street where to busk. Here I found two streets: the first was the main shopping street with all the usual shopping stores, pretty busy and noisy. The second one was a smaller and quieter shopping street also, with less passage. This allowed me to conduct a little experiment in Munster: first I busked the main busy shopping street, and it went great, it was a good busking session in terms of income. But it was also streneous for the voice and not that enjoyable because of the noise level. Then later on in the evening (sometime around 6pm I think) I did a quieter session in the smaller and less busy street. Actually at first there was so few people that I wondered whether it was worth it. But as it turned out it went great, and it was much more enjoyable for me too! People would interact more, stop to listen in, and although fewer people gave money in the end it came out the same as my afternoon busking session on the main street because people gave more each time (actually got a couple of 5 euro bills, which goes to show how much they appreciated it). I even allowed myself, for the first time, to do really quiet songs without the whole cajon and tambourin set up for a change, and to my surprise also people listened in and gave a little something for these songs, so that was great! It was also nice to play something else than the major hits I usually play when I am going for making money, because although I enjoy these songs it's nice to play something different every now and then! This is also how I met Ludwig and Julie, who kindly filmed and took pictures :) So all in all Munster was great for busking, and the whole experience got me thinking about my busking strategy: I think from now on I will try and go for more intimate setting in quieter walking streets if possible, rather than the main busy street which, although it brings in money too, doesn't make for such an enjoyable busking experience. Plus I like the fact that people interact more and feel more ate ease to stop and listen in in a quieter setting.

Busking in dusseldorf

On the road to munster I decided to stop in dusseldorf to try out a littlr bit of busking inthe altstadt. It fell a Monday so I wasn't expectng much,but still it was the holidays and there are always people in thr streets. In the early afternoon I found a nice busking spot at the intersection of the two main shopping street. And things started out prrtty well: the location was good because people could see me well, and I ve found that to be pretty important with the one girl band thing because it is also a goodvisual act. There were benches too close buy and people started sitting down around to li st en in. I got a request to do Mrs Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel, and so I improvised something and the chap who had requested it seemed very pleased. Then as I was talking to some people two women from the city council street surveillance service or whatever came and say hi. They explained the rules for busking in the city, which I already new, as I had now learned that the half hour busking rule applied to many pla ce s in germany.like in Koln you can busk bf from every half hour till half past, thrn you have to stop and look for another busking spot 200m away at least, and you can start busking again nth at the start of the next hour. As it turned out they had bf fallen on me at a timr when I was allowd to busk so all was good, I was respecting the rule and all. But they were sort of aggressive about it, repeating like the three times that If they caught me la ter on at that same spot or playin the other half hour or smtg they would confiscate the guitar. It was kind of harsh and it didn't feel very welcomingy! Even the people who were sitting and listening in were ki nd of shocked and took my defense,saying like "yeah ok it s cool she got it you know, she won't play when she sh ouldn't and all" :-) so that was kind of nice! Anyways the problem was th at this spot turned out to be the only good one for me that day, as the others didn t work as well, but I definrtely couldn t take therisk of going back to it after that, although the rule isn't quite clear on whether you can come back to it later on in the day... The thing is I realised lat er that day that local buskers didn't respect these rules at all, so I don't know either it was just bad luck or th ey we re ju st bluffing because hey knew I wasn't from that town! So in the end busking wise dusseldorf was average for me, but the ci ty itself was nice enough and definrtely worth thr stop for a day ;-)

Busking in Koln

My first stop along the Rhine route was the beautifull city of Cologne, where I spent 3 days busking, and meeting all kinds of great artists. Yeap Cologne is defintetly a great city for busking, but there is also a lot of competition. And so you need someyhat of an original performance act in order to stand out.

The busking rule in Cologne (and apparently so in quite a few german cities), is that you can start busking every roudn hour for a half hour, which basically means that you can play from 5pm to 5.30pm, but then  youneed to wait until 6pm to start playing again. This is kind of a strange rule and it takes some getting used to, from a logistics point of view. Basically during the second half hour you go and find your next busking spot, and because there are so many street musicians in Cologne you must get there early for the good spots.

Good busking spots in Cologne generally are the main waliking and shopping streets like Hohe strasse (but it is very crowded and loud), the platz around the Dom cathedral area (but again without amplification it is a great open space so for unimplified ac ts it can be tough to  get heard).

My personnal favourite which worked best for me in the evening was playing on the promenade along the Rhine known as Leypstadel if I remember correctly, because it is quieter, the whole setting is quite beautifull and all in all it seemed better suited to my act.

I met great buskers with great acts in Cologne, especially guys who take down a piano to the streets. First I met Constantin and Jacob, who respectively played the piano and cajon, with a full  size acoustic straight piano: Needless to say this makes auite an impression in the streets. On my second day I had the greatest busking and jamming session on the promenade with these two guys. We had an amazing crowd (actually their were so many peoiple who stopped to listen that others couldn't paas by the promenade any more, so they just had to hang out and listen in too!! I was an incredible night, and the audinece participated too, as Constantin would invite people from the audience to come and sing or play songs of their choice.

On my third day I met Marcel form Netherlands, who takes the concept even one step further by üushing a full sized grand piano in the streets!!! Very very impressive of course, and his playing was brillaint too, so all in all ´he did more than ok ;-) pretty damn well actually!!!

This is what I love about this kind of adventure and travel, it's that you meet so many great people, with so many great ideas, sometimes all crazier the one than the other!!! 

I like the idea of busking with a piano though, I am going to look into that for sure ;-)

And the next stop: Dusseldorf!

Busking in Maastricht

Leaving Belgium, Maastricht was my next stop, and a promising busking location as I had read blogs from other buskers about it.

I arrived there fairly early on on a friday afternoon, so after checking in at the Youth Hostel StayOkay just alongside the river and not far from the town center, I had time to go out and try out a first evening busk.

I found a great spot immediately right at the entrance of the old town, on the street that continues from the walking bridge. There was lots of passage and once again a closed store location made for an excellent spot!

Maastricht didn't disapoint one bit: after the first song, which was Out on the weekend by Neil Young, a crowd had gathered around in a circle, applauded at the end of the song, and money started flowing in! I played there for about an hour and a half and had one of my best busking sessions to date :) Things seemed very promising for the week end to come.

As usual I hadn't really inquired about the rules for busking in Maastricht: I had read stories from other buskers and nobody seemed to know exactly how it works. As usual nobody seemed to bother with a permit and didn't seem to have had any issues, although some said you needed one and it cost about 20 euros, which is a lot!

So anyhow I went back the second day, it was a saturday, to set up my busking rig in the same street as the previous evening, only a bit higher up so as not to bother too much the same shops twice. Again a closed  shop provided a great spot for me.

I'd hardly started setting up that some kind of street patrol guys (not cops) came and asked me if I had a permit. In this kind of situation the only rule is to play nice, and say that basically you didn't know a permit was required to play there. If you are nice about it there usually is no problem, and all you have to do is ak where and how to get the permit, and pack up your stuff. These guys were nice about it and so there was no problem, although they told me that the permit in fact does cost 20 euros. This sort of put me off a bit, but then I thought well maybe this is worth it if I make as much momey as the day before. But the real setback came when I asked where to go for the permit, which is basically the townhall, and they told me it was closed on weekends.

My week end of busking in Maastricht was thus over, as I couldn't get the permit before monday, and monday I had to get a move on towards Germany. This left me fustrated, mostly because the busking would have been great probably, but still I couldn't take the risk to go back without the permit if ever I fell on the same guys again, for this time I would get a fine! (I don't know how much)

It is a matter of luck really, but I learned my lesson in Maastricht: for a big and potentially profitable city on weekends, whenerver it is possible, I will enquire about permits and stuff before hands. Had it fallen in the middle of the week it would have been fine and I would have been able to get the permit, but as it turned out...

Still I got a great busking session out of it anyway, and then made the most of it visiting the town and its surrounding during the week end, thus spending most of my busking sessions earnings, but hey, that's what it's there for right ;-)

Busking in Liege

The next stop in Belgium on my summer busking tour was Liege.
After arriving there in the late afternoon and checking in the local HI Youth Hostel I went on to do my research for a nice busking spot on the next day. I found a couple of walking streets right in the center of town that would seem to do just fine. On the one, called rue du pont d'isle, there was an abandonned shop location wich seemed just about perfect, at the crossroads with another street. Acoustics seemed promising too. So I decided I would try this spot in priority the next day, provided that it would be in the shade in the late afternoon.

I usually busk either during launch time, say between 11h and 13h, because then people come out of their offices and into the street to grab some launch, and so they have both a bit of change on them and some time to relax and enjoy the music. This time I chose my second favourite  time of the day, somewhere between 15h and 18h, which is time of busy shopping and also snack time, so again people have a bit of change to spare maybe ;-) But there I choose it because my elected busking spot was in the shade, and that counts a lot!!!

Busking was good, a bit better than in namur, and I must have made around 35 euros for a bit less than two hours busking. I never do more than two hours per day really because of my voice: I have no amplification and it can get quite tough on the voice singing in open spaces like these, above a cajon, a tambourine and a guitar ;-)

So anyways I would recommend busking in Liege, in either one of the main walking shopping streets. Once again I didn't enquire about a permit or anything but it was ok, I didn't meet any police or anything and had no complaints from local shops, so that' s good!

Folk Vagabond Bicycle Tour 2013 (following Eurovelo 3)

I have finally decided on a route for this summer's "One girl band kind of deal" busking trip! I'll be going along Eurovélo route 3 from Ohain in France (my hometown) to Trondheim in Norway starting mid July 2013, which is in just 2 weeks from now! 

The idea is to busk (play music in the streets) in the town I'll be traveling through, and sort of finance the whole trip that way. A travelling on a shoestring kind of deal really! 

Below is a map that shows the main routes for the busking trip so you can get a broad idea of the itinerary. And who knows, maybe we'll meet along the way!






Afficher Folk Vagabond Bicycle Tour 2013 (following Eurovelo 3) sur une carte plus grande

Folk Vagabond:la naissance

Je voulais vous parler un peu de la naissance du projet Folk Vagabond.

Folk Vagabond a été conçu à Montréal, et est né en à Calcutta, avant de grandir en France. Les premiers 6 mois de l'année 2011 je me trouve à Montréal pour un stage, et j'y fais la rencontre de deux amis musiciens passionnés.
Le premier, Simon, est harmoniciste et l'on s'est rencontrés au parc Lafontaine, à deux pas de ma collocation de l'époque près de l'avenue Mont Royal. Il est en train de jouer du blues à l'harmonica, assis sur un banc, quand je passe près de lui. J'ai ma guitare sur le dos, alors forcément, c'est un indice. Il me demande si je veux jammer, je lui réponds que oui pourquoi pas. Il me demande si j'aime le blues: je sais déjà qu'on va bien s'entendre.. On commence alors à jammer Big Bill Bronzy style pour lui, Clapton style pour moi, et l'on ne s'arrêtera plus pendant les 6 mois qui suivent, nous retrouvant régulièrement au parc et dans le métro pour chanter et jouer le blues au milieu des passants. Je joue à Simon quelques unes de mes compositions, dont Stand Up Charlie, qui devient instantanément sa préférée. Nous en enregistrerons une démo chez un ami montréalais, qui pose les bases de la version qui se trouve sur l'album Folk Vagabond.
Geoffroy est violoniste, il est stagiaire dans la même boîte que moi et il y a une super entente entre nous. On se  retrouve également pour jammer et je lui joue une autre de mes compos, Songs to set you free, et la magie opère lorsque Geoffroy vient poser du violon dessus. C'est à ce moment là vraiment que germe dans mon esprit l'idée d'enregistrer un album de mes compositions avec la participation de mes différents amis, et je dis à Geoffroy qu'il faudra absolument qu'il vienne enregistrer Songs to set you free lorsque nous serons tous deux de retour en France.

Mais avant cela j'ai une autre escale: Calcutta (qu'on doit désormais appeler Kolkata normalement, mais bon l'habitude!). Je vais y passer les 6 premiers mois de ma dernière année d'études de commerce en échange académique. Je ne m'attends pas à faire beaucoup de musique folk, blues ou rock à Calcutta, je compte plutôt acheter un sitar et en profiter pour apprendre les rudiments de cet étrange instrument. C'est d'ailleurs ce que je fais en compagnie de Paul, un ami musicien rencontré là bas et lui aussi, en échange. Quelques jours après mon arrivée en Inde me voici donc l'heureuse propriétaire d'un magnifique sitar, et je me projette déjà dans les longues heures d' apprentissage que nous allons passer ensemble. C'est sans compter sur le fait que le week end approche et que pour la soirée d'intégration et d'accueil des étudiants en échange, le groupe de reprises rock du campus cherche un guitariste soliste. C'est le début de la fin de ma carrière de sitariste, et le point de départ d'une de mes plus belles aventures humaines et musicales. Je fais la connaissance de Nishad, Arjun, Sam et Ram. La magie opère, en une soirée on devient célèbre, au sein du campus (oui faut pas exagérer quand même), et on devient le groupe Purple Cow. Pour ses trois mois d'existence le groupe Purple Cow connaît une chouette aventure: le campus accueille en effet une compétition genre "la France a un incroyable talent" pour les étudiants indiens. Le campus de l'IIMC a en effet un très bel amphithéâtre et accueille donc la compétition pour la région du Bengale.
Sur la centaine de groupes participant au concours dans toute l'Inde, nous sommes l'un des des deux seuls groupes à avoir un musicien étranger dans nos rangs! Forcément cela se remarque, et en plus on joue à domicile! On franchit les deux premiers rounds éliminatoires regionaux et on se qualifie pour les demi-finales nationales à New Delhi! Chouette aventure! Le seul bémol est que la demi-finale tombe en plein milieu de nos partiels de fin de semestre et il nous faut demander à l'administration du campus un report de passage d'examens pour tous les membres du groupe, sauf moi car par chance je n'ai pas de partiels ce jour là, et c'est tant mieux car cela aurait était beaucoup plus compliqué à reporter étant donné que peu de temps après je prenais à nouveau mon envol.
L'aventure s'arrête aux demi-finales à New Delhi. Faut pas pousser mémé dans les orties non plus, ça finit par se voir qu'on est juste un groupe pour taper le boeuf aux soirées de l'école! Mon exotisme ne suffit plus. Mais que de bons souvenirs et si on m'avait dit que je vivrais une telle expérience en Inde je ne l'aurais sans doute pas cru.

Le temps d'un week end de Novembre, après être allés en taxi en ville avec des amis, j'écris coup sur coup deux chansons: la première Taxi Driver, relate l'expérience inoubliable et camicazo-suicidaire que représente le fait de prendre un taxi dans la jungle urbaine qu'est Calcutta. La seconde, Flower Serenade, parle du marché aux fleurs sous le pont de l'Howrah.
J'ai décidé que de retour en France j'allais sortir un premier album de mes compositions, et je veux enregistrer ces deux chansons sur place avec Paul et Purple Cow. Il ne reste pas beaucoup de temps avant de nous séparer et c'est ce week end ou jamais. Je trouve un studio en plein centre de Calcutta, qui a un créneau de libre ce week end là, de 6h du soir à 6h du matin! Beaucoup de café, et hop c'est parti pour 12 heures d'une folle nuit de musique. On a 3 morceaux à enregistrer et mixer en l'espace de 12h. Votre mission si vous l'acceptez. En plus de Flower Serenade et Taxi Driver, on enregistre Purple Cow, single éponyme du groupe composé pour le concours.
Vers 5h30 du matin l'ingé son nous réveille pour nous dire qu'il à terminé le mix et nous faire écouter. Nous étions tous endormis dans le studio, allongés par terre, dans le divan, sur la chaise... A peine alertes et pas encore franchement réveillés il nous fait écouter. On n'est pas en état du juger, on trouve ça génial, et nous repartons avec notre copie des trois titres sous le bras. Après un réécoute plus lucide dans la journée nous y retournerons toutefois le soir pour apporter quelques corrections au mix, mais nous sommes très contents du résultat!

Quelques mois plus tard, de retour en France, je contacte mon ami Mike à Fourmies pour enregistrer le reste de l'album dans son home studio. Je lui apporte des pistes enregistrées à droite à gauche, dans ma chambre, à Montréal, et j'invite mes amis Geoffroy rencontré à Montréal et Gérard, ami Lillois de longue date et excellent percussionniste, à participer à l'enregistrement de cet album. Goeffroy enregistrera le violon de Songs to set you Free, et avec Gérard nous enregistrerons le live Back to the roots, ainsi que Present Forever to last. Mike, en plus d'enregistrer participera à l'arrangement de nombreux morceaux de l'album.

De prises à droite et à gauche, de rencontres aux 4 coins du globe, d'une inspiration musicales puisée en de lointaines contrées, l'album Folk Vagabond est ainsi né.