From the “Whattaburger” thread -
Deere_Crossing wrote -
" Hard to earn a living, but now that I’m retired, I’d be interested in “Panhandling” at various small restaurants, old-folks homes, in addition to playing church venues. Not much money involved, but the fun of playing is well worth it."
I’m here to tell you just how right he is!
I had a board meeting tonight, and when the notice went out the Chair jokingly said “Joe will provide entertainment with his banjo.”
Well, I rose to the challenge & took my banjo to the meeting. Mind you, I am very much a Beginner.
When the Chair asked when I wanted to play, I replied, “If you want a short meeting, I can play now.”
When the meeting ended I offered to play “Music to Clean Up By.” First I gave a little dissertation on the history of the banjo, talked about some famous banjo players and I invited them to hold the banjo for a moment. Everyone that picked it up had the same reaction. “Ohmigod! It’s heavy!”
So I picked out “Cripple Creek” and “Old Joe Clark,” did a bit of a softer piece I came up with while noodling and closed with “Amazing Grace.” I was stunned when they applauded!
You really can fool all of the people some of the time!
Deere_Crossing is right. There’s no money in it, but playing in front of people is a lot of fun.
They have low expectations and no idea how badly you screwed up. The banjo mesmerizes them!
