Walking down the steps into the station, the sounds of a familiar finger-picked song introduction echo between the in and outbound Ts. Armed with a guitar and smooth voice that puts a new spin on the Grateful Dead classic “Friend of the Devil,” recent Berklee College of Music graduate Lucas Carpenter busks on the Green Line platform at the Park Street Station as Boston’s nine-to-fivers make their way home.
Carpenter, who has been busking in Boston for the past three years, said he usually plays during rush hour because it introduces his music to more people.
“I thought it would be a good way to get my music heard and to make some extra money at first,” he said, “but then when I did it, I had so much fun watching and talking to random people on the subway.”
“Plus, you find that people who normally would travel home from their jobs in their own little security bubble and not talk to anyone, smile, talk and sometimes even sing and dance,” he continued. “Even if I don’t make much money I always walk away feeling happy to be alive.”
Depending on his read of the audience, Carpenter will play anything from original material, to Beatles and Nelly Furtado covers.
“From what I’ve seen, a lot of people like pretty music, maybe because many of them want to be soothed after work. If they can sing along to it, they’ll love it,” he said. “I will often play covers based on the people in the station . . . for instance if I see a group of 18-year-old hipster girls, I’ll play a Rilo Kiley or a Death Cab for Cutie song, then wait for the squeals.”
Along with the “squeals” he receives, depending on the T station, Carpenter gets on average $10 to $20 an hour and the occasional phone number in his guitar case.
Still, Carpenter, along with a number of fellow street musicians, say the money is merely an added bonus — they perform to perfect their art and build a network as they try to break into the music biz.
“Its been a good way to make some extra money,” Carpenter said, “but even more so than that, tons of people who wouldn’t normally hear my music have visited my website, picked up my CDs, and come to my shows all because they heard me play on the subway.”
“It also can help for performance anxiety,” he continued, “if you can get up in front of several hundred total strangers, many of whom care about nothing but getting home and watching Friends reruns, you can perform in front of anyone.”
LESSONS LEARNED FROM FANEUIL HALL
Singer-songwriter Owen Plant has been testing new material on crowds at Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall since 2003.
After friends recommended the venue, Plant, who has since busked in the streets of Paris, London and Liverpool, auditioned and was chosen by a panel of judges to perform in the Faneuil Hall food court and surrounding area outside.
“People expect buskers there and it’s private property so there’s no competition,” he said. “The subways can be pretty rough, I think [Faneuil's] the best spot.”
Plant specifically chose Faneuil because the atmosphere allows people to listen for longer periods of time.
“You get a mellower crowd,” he said. “People sit and listen for longer. They end up being exposed to music for a longer time. I write pretty intricate stuff, sometimes, depending on the song, and I play some covers and get people to sit and listen for a while.”
Plant said although the profit varies, he makes most of his money by selling his CDs while busking.
“I once sat there for four hours and made 30 bucks,” he said. “Another time I’d make between 250 and 350 dollars. I make most of it in selling CDs . . . It’s not online. At my shows, 70 percent of the people have already bought the CD. I sell a few . . . But with busking, no one’s heard of you and you still sell.”
However, according to Plant, since the late 1990s, Boston-area buskers’ profits started to decline.
“It was already declining when I joined the Faneuil program,” he said. “I used to make more money but the money’s going down now in busking because of the economy and gas prices . . . I used to make almost double than now. It’s OK, but it used to be more.”
Still, like Carpenter, Plant said busking is about the experience and exposure — crediting his Faneuil Hall performances with improving his musical ability and spreading his music around the country.
“It has improved my chops a great deal, because I went from performing, at most, an hour a week to performing hours and hours and hours . . . my voice got more powerful, my fingers got faster.”
FROM NOLA TO BEAN-TOWN
After a 13-year stint in New Orleans, busker and professional musician Jeremy Lyons moved to Cambridge following Hurricane Katrina and performed his melodies in Harvard Square.
Lyons said street-performing’s appeal to aspiring musicians is its independent-nature.
“I liked the directness of the experience of playing on the street,” he said. “There was no middle-man, namely a club owner or manager or promoter. You didn’t have to sell drinks or worry about how much the club was making. You couldn’t get fired, unless you were run off by the cops. You just set up and played and the people gave money if they liked it.”
Lyons, who made anywhere from $30 to $100 a day, said a large part of being a successful busker is understanding the vibe of your audience.
“You have to learn how to talk to an audience,” Lyons said. “If you do it all the time, you get a lot of practice time, and if you’re like me and you’re playing all the time, you learn new tunes all the time to keep from getting bored. You can take risks because it’s an informal setting. And if you’re trying to do it for a living, you have to get good fast or do something else.”
A VETERAN BOSTON BUSKER
Like Lyons, Gonzalo Silva, who has been street performing in Boston for the past 10 years, said it is his way of getting his music heard without professional management or representation.
“I play out in the street because I don’t have management,” he said. “It’s the only way to expose myself . . . I’m still chasing the dream as I get older, not only for money, but to get music heard.”
Although Silva admits that another job may bring in more money, he said he’s made enough in busking to support himself and his daughter.
“It’s been a really legitimate avenue as far as livelihood for me,” he said. “I probably could make more money doing another job, but I wouldn’t have the people I make contact with.”
On top of this Silva said unlike musicians who play in bars and clubs, street performing gives you the opportunity for constant play.
“A lot of people who have paid jobs or temp work and play on weekend, make little money at coffee houses and clubs,” he said. “Also, if you’re playing part time, you can’t expose yourself that much.”
Silva, who mostly plays in Red Line and Green Line T stations, said people respond to the unexpected.
“There will be a Monday when it’s completely pouring, but those are the days I make an impact and sell a lot of CDs because it’s so unexpected,” he said.
According to Silva, earning between $50 to $100 is a “good day,” although, some days he’s earned as much as $300.
“I get paid practice,” he said. “[But] for that kind of money, it requires constant play. I cant kick back for a while.”
Silva also said although he only plays his own material, universal rhythms draw a larger crowd.
“I do just my original music, because it’s really why I’m in music to begin with — because I’m a writer. I used to have really good time with a drummer. He would a provide universal, good beat. I do have my own. but it’s a lot harder to appeal to people.”
