Dave Gwyther

Busking/performing on the street is a great way to get your music out to the world and have a fun time doing it. It takes some initial courage to just take out your guitar and start playing it, but when you do, the rewards are most definetly worth it.

I didn't really busk in England when I lived there, mainly because I had only just started as a musician and didn't have the confidence yet. I did to it twice, once on the Exeter high street and once at the bus station at Heathrow Airport, and it was ok. But recently whilst in Korea I have taken to the streets more often. This is in part due to the fact that I have quite a few CD's left after the initial batch I made and I don't want to have to take any home with me. So I have been giving away my CD for free whilst I have been busking.

I busked again in Insa-dong towards the end of my time in Korea, but this time I busked at the end of the road, away from the main hussle of the shops. The response was considerably less than what I usually got in Insa-dong and it definetly seemed like I had chosen the wrong spot.

Date: 7th August 2008
Location: Hywea, near the park, by the theatre
CD's given away: 77
Info: Usually when me and Rainy Season busk together I play about ten songs and then he plays about ten songs. However this time we changed to me playing two, then him playing two, then me playing two, and so on. It worked really well. Quite a few people listened again today and the crowd response was good. I didn't try and sing as loud this time and my voice sounded much better. However I have got bored playing the Apartheid song as I think it's too long and there are no chord changes.

Date: 3rd August 2008
Location: Insa-dong, on the street
Cd's given away: 105
Info: The streets of Insadong were crowded as me and Rainy Season sat down to play. Instantly people snapped up the fre CD I was offering. Quite a large crowd gathered to listen. However it seed that this initial crowd disppersed after the free CD's ran out but this was shortly replaced by another crowd who were just there to listen. I regret not listing my website on the box of CD's as many people seemed dissapointed that after they had listened to me they could not get a CD. It's always fun playing in Insadong as the crowd is always really into it. However, recently when I have been busking my voice has not sounded that good. Perhaps it is because I am trying to sing loud.

Date: 1st August 2008
Location: Hywea, near the park, by the theatre
CD's given away: 73
Info: I returned to Hywea with my friend and fellow musician Rainy Season. It was a lot of fun and (especially wen Rainy Season was playing) quite a few people gathered to lsiten.

Date: 28th July 2008
Location: Hywea, near the park, by the theatre
CD's given away: 56
Info: Hywea always seemd like quite a musical place and I had seen some good street musicians there so I decided to take my guitar there and play some music. It was cool and from time to time a small crowd gathered to listen to me play.

Date: July 2008
Location: Suyu, along the river
CD's given away: around 50
Info: Me and Rainy Season spent a relaxing evening jamming next to the river (more like a stream at this time of the year) in Suyu. Most people listened as they walked by, and unlike busking in Insadong, a crowd never formed to listen. But this made it very relaxing and people did take a free CD.

Date: 5th May 2008
Location: Sinchon, in the park
CD's given away: 19
Info: Sinchon seemed a bit quite. I busked with a friend in a small park in the middle of Sinchon. Quite a few people listen, but the response was less than I hoped for. It was just nothing like Insadong. No one really seemed interested in taking a CD, perhaps it wasn't obvious enough that they were free. It was alot of fun though and some people definetley seemed to enjoy it.

Date: 18th April 2008
Location: Insadong, on the street
CD's given away: 100
Info: Insadong was amazing! From the moment I started playing people just seemed to be drawn towards the music. Loads and loads of people stopped to listen and take photographs and the crowd that gathered really seemed to enjoy it. I gave away 100 CD's in less than 20 minutes! One shop keeper however was very angry and kept trying to get me to move but I stayed where I was and continued playing. The response from the crowd and the atmosphere was truly awesome. Insadong is definetly the place to busk!

Date: Somewhere between October and November, perhaps.
Location: Insadong, on the street
CD's Sold: 1
Info: Loads of people were taking photos and videos of me playing on the cold and busy Insadong street. I wonder why so many people were interested, maybe busking isn't really done here. And someone bought me a biscuit.

Date: Somewhere between October and November, perhaps.
Location: Outside Hyewa subway station
CD's Sold: 2
Info: Not many people really seemed that interested. Though I was recorded for some student project/television show. Someone bought me a doughnut, which was really nice!