Category: What’s Happenin’

A big THANK YOU goes out to Ellise and Lidia at the Westfield shopping centre at Westlakes.  They have kindly given permission for me to busk INSIDE the shopping centre in inclement weather.  Several other buskers have also taken advantage of this opportunity.  Of course, permission must be sought and gained from the management, but I have found them to be very accommodating.

Here’s me at Westlakes with my new(ish) Martin six-string acoustic and my also new(ish) Roland AC-33 acoustic amplifier.

Now this Roland amp is just the best thing since sliced bread, for the busker who wishes to retain the acoustic sound of their instrument whilst enhancing their vocals with a chorus effect that works just great.  It’s a true stereo amp and so the chorus operates by splitting the output between the channels and altering the phases relative to each other, to give a huge ‘wide’ or ‘broad’ sound.  Oh yeah, it runs on either mains power OR eight AA batteries.  I use rechargeables and I get at least five hours out of them without showing any signs of fading, so I have no reason to doubt their quoted life of over 8 hours of operation.

Add to that the Fishman controls on the Martin (which does it’s own phase-shifting trick) and this setup sounds so professional, yet so natural too, WITHOUT being unnecessarily loud (an important consideration with other traders closeby).

I know this must sound like an advertisement, but I have no association with either company but I DID research heavily before making my purchases.  Having done that, I could not be happier with the setup I now have!

I spent much of the weekend at the recent Tall Ships Festival in Port Adelaide busking on McLaren Wharf.  Saturday August 31 saw tens of thousands of people come to see the ships.  On Sunday (September 1st) I did a couple of hours in my usual spot, under the lighthouse.  During the morning the tall ships departed, a sight not to be repeated very often in Port Adelaide I guess.

Then just after the ships departed, I heard an amplified didgeridoo, and I realized Willydidj was over in the busker’s pitch.  I had met Willy several weeks before but not heard him play until now.  All I can say is WOW!

I’ve heard a fair bit of didj playing in my time, and I have to say that Willydidj performs to international standard.  He has a CD out and it’s well worth buying if you like awesome original music.  Check out his website thedidgeridoohunter.com.

Willy was also kind enough to use his performance to bring awareness to the plight of dolphins in Japan.

In inclement weather market management are kind enough to allow me to busk inside.  The traders seem to enjoy it as it brings more people past their wares, and they get to hear tunes they may not have heard in years!

The photographer in this case is Ben Lee, from Hong Kong.

Back in April 2013 I was busking in my usual fair-weather spot, when I noticed a senior gentleman and a younger woman taking a keen interest in the Australian songs I was singing.  Then in a very strong German accent the gentleman said “That is Banjo Paterson isn’t it?”.  I nodded that he was correct.  Then between songs, the pair approached me and introduced themselves as father and daughter (or granddaughter?) on holiday from Germany.  Dieter (the gentleman, with the woman translating) then told me that he loved Banjo Paterson poetry but that he had not heard so many of them put to music before.  He probably knew more Banjo Paterson poetry than many Australian youth, a sad indictment on our education system.