Local council have it in for double bassists

[neepheid]

Aberdeen City have a short but sweet section on busking on their website:

Busking

There is no licence required to busk or perform street entertainment in Aberdeen City, however it is advisable you contact Grampian Police to ensure that you are not/will not be causing an obstruction.

[url="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Licences/licensing/lic_busking.asp"]http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Licences/li...lic_busking.asp[/url]

Fill yer boots.

[james_guitar]

Scotland sounds tempting, but it's quite a trek for me. Not sure if it would be worth it after the train fair

I decided before I got the article in the paper that I wasn't going to compromise my music in just to be allowed to busk. If being allowed to do it means playing my instruments aggressively and shouting instead of singing softly, then I'm not interested (I'm not a rockabilly bassist/Oasis strummer and I play quiet classical pieces like Cavatina and sing finger-picking ballads like 'Vincent' by Don Mclean). Plus I've already invensted in high-end battery amps.

This weeks local paper had a lot of local responses in my favour and people are still adding comments on the online version of the article, so I'm biding my time on this one. Once I've got a bit more support, I'll contact the TCP again and see if they have a change of heart. If not then I have other ideas.

Incidentally, the Peruvian Flute Band were on the high street today with their unique brand of new-age, pan-pipe karaoke. They had the full PA set-up and were loud as usual. The council/Police must have turned a blind eye as I saw them on my way to a lunchtime gig and they were still at it when I'd finished a couple of hours later...

[quote name='TheRev' post='1320239' date='Jul 29 2011, 11:30 AM']I'm in RedLemon, we were last there about a month ago. I completely agree about the patrons, The Raglan is the only venue where we get cheering for playing Robert Wyatt and Leonard Cohen songs. Hope that they're back on their feet soon.[/quote]

Hey Rev - just found your RedLemon Myspace page via the Raglan one and am digging your version of 'A Change Is Gonna Come'. What is it with Bristol producing such good soul singers/bands? You're spot on with your point about the Raglan encouraging more left-field song choice; I even know a couple of very commercial singers that play there who really have to go out of their way to find less obvious/commercial material when they gig there.

[joolsax]

HI im new to this site, and happy that i've come across it, all the comments i have read have just shown me
how the councils have set us against each other, of course devide and rule!!
iv'e been a pro street entertainer for 6 years and more, and yes i use an amp,backing tracks, and play a sax for my liveing i do no other job,im not on welfair,live in a truck, and yes i have an audition licanse, if i could go out with a band like i did all around europe for 2 years 20 years ago i would but its just not possible
so does that mean i have no right to play music as my job?does using any of the above mean i have to stop
doing the job to feed myself have to stop!! because the councils have introduced licanses that are breking
the european law of feed movement of trade and services? well you ask your self WHO OWENS THE STREET i thing you will come to the same decision as me the PUBLIC! they decide wat you are worth?
they dont care wether you use an amp,backing tracks,ect but what i can say is that some busker's dont do themselves any faviors, they play over 2hrs that's enougth of any ones music no matter how good you think you are,many lie about the time that they started to play, so no wonder the council are wanting to regulate
street entertainment,many shop keepers have much reason to complain! we need a better code of conduct with are selves,we need to support each other! and stop bickering and playing i to the councils hands
THINK ABOUT IT? and i totally agree with the bass player i've seen the changes to weston iv'e been playing
there for years and no one as ever complained to me or fallen over my case. play for your liveing IT WILL
CHANGE YOU WHOLE PERSPECTIVE OF WHATS HAPPING TO OUR STREETS

[thisnameistaken]

Funny you bumped this thread today:

York had a new attraction open a couple of months ago (a chocolate museum) and last week they applied for permission to operate a cafe space in the street outside their premises.

But their premises is on Kings Square in York, one of the best busking pitches in the city, quite small but it makes for a great atmosphere with an audience of 50 to 100 people, we get jugglers and escapologists and all sorts there (The Clash actually busked there back in the day). Anyway the local buskers protested and their petition was [i]massively[/i] supported by local residents. The chocolate museum insisted that their application had been misunderstood by the buskers but today they withdrew it. Don't mess with York's buskers.

[Chris2112]

How draconian! There is a bloke in Newcastle called Steve who busks with an electric bass and amplifier. Loud, and bloody brilliant! It seems a little silly not to let you use an amp for something like a double bass, something that would sound lost with it. But then I suppose if you start letting someone use an amp whilst they're busking things could soon get out of hand.

The buskers in London really impress me, the ones with the good spots (like in busy tube stations) take it really seriously!

[thisnameistaken]

You'd be surprised how far the sound of a double bass carries without an amp. It easily keeps up with an un-amplified acoustic guitar and can be heard much further away. The original reason I bought one was for busking.

[stoker]

You should come to Glastonbury and do some busking. We're packed with tourists at the moment and loads of amps on the streets.

[oggiesnr]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1311787720' post='1318513']
Try a different town if Weston is making life hard for you.

Here in York you can use amps so long as you're reasonable about your level. The council ask that if any nearby businesses or the police ask you to turn it down or off then you should do so, and that you should move your pitch at least every 2 hours so you don't wind up local businesses, but IME you don't get any trouble if you're sensible about it.

The council do have a stupid busking badge system though, there's no charge but you have to be licensed, and it's hard to get a badge because the women in the office that deals with applications are all lazy fat old witches. I think it's a reaction to an army of smackhead beggars with penny whistles playing Annie's Song on every street corner a few years back, and it would work if the council admin heifers weren't so sh*t.
[/quote]

Slight correction, there are some parts of the centre that you can't use amplification in, St Helen's Square/Davygate and the Minster are two. In all fairness to the council lasses they were working hard today trying to sort out pitches for the overflow of buskers that descended (some en route to Edinburgh) and banged a couple of heads together to get agreement to share pitches.

There is some sh*te about though. A couple of weeks back I had the buskers from hell next door to my pitch for five hours, two out of tune guitars, two out of pitch voices and a no sense of music with small amps turned up to eleven. My customers ended up playing "guess the tune", well it did take us two minutes to realise they were playing "Wonderwall".

On the other hand, The Y Street Band were playing a few weeks ago, three guitars, DB and djembe, between one and five voices, no amps and were great and got an appreciative crowd who were standing near enough to produce a bit of buzz.

Steve

PS If you want to sell CDs in York it will cost you £35 a day for a Street Trading Licence, they've also run pretty well all the grifters selling dodgy gear with Pedlers Licences out of town as well.

[thisnameistaken]

The geezer with the autoharp is often outside the Minster with his pair of little Peavey combos - how does he get away with it? To be fair he's never very loud but an amp's an amp and he's got two!

[oggiesnr]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1344625087' post='1767376']
The geezer with the autoharp is often outside the Minster with his pair of little Peavey combos - how does he get away with it? To be fair he's never very loud but an amp's an amp and he's got two!
[/quote]

I'll ask tomorrow, it may be that there are some bits yea and some bits nay, wouldn't surprise me

Steve

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1311756061' post='1317969']
Manchester allows amplifiers, but limits the Db.[/quote]

Wouldn't think so when you hear that old bloke who plays Market St area. He's good mind, I do wait & listen a while though I do wonder with all that he has on the backing tape how much is him.

[oggiesnr]

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1344633439' post='1767504']
Wouldn't think so when you hear that old bloke who plays Market St area. He's good mind, I do wait & listen a while though I do wonder with all that he has on the backing tape how much is him.
[/quote]

It's the same with the pan pipers. Some (not all of them) are miming throughout which is why they can dance and keep going all day.

Steve

[rockabillybob1]

you could always get a proper job working for the council and sell the bass and then change the rules as to busking