The Craziest Gig I Have Ever Done In My Life!

A month ago I was approached by a local night-club to play at their new themed event called "WTF" - full of crazy, quirky, nonsense things happening at the night simply because "why not?!" And Zebra playing the classical piano at the club night seemed crazy enough to give it a shot. Now frankly enough - when you go for a mad idea and have an open mind, suddenly you get a mind strafe of even more ridiculous and insane ideas... I had no clue what I signed up for! 

To begin with the weather - it wasn't one of those pleasant and lovely nights by the sea. Complete opposite - the rain was hammering down like a machine gun and the wind raging up to 80mph was not a joke at all!  Especially when you get to push a trolley with your piano and all the electrical equipment on it. Can't have an umbrella either - it will be blown away in seconds. Just watch where you going, add to your pace and pray your piano won't get soaked under the cover. 

Only 10-minute-walk down the North street, straight through the Old Steine and take right after the traffic lights to get to the Revenge club. Seems possible when you plan your journey at home with a warm cup of tea. Not that much of a fun journey when you actually get out there. Running through the rain with a heavy load, swearing at myrself for not thinking this through enough, stopping to adjust the straps of my trolley now and then and almost crashing into the girl who slips in front of my trolley at the end of the North street - what an adventure! Honestly...

Got to the club around 11:20pm all soaking wet, at least piano seems fine under the plastic cover. Security guards very helpful, quickly let me in and help carrying the gear to the second floor. I can now catch my breath while they are looking for Steve, the guy who runs the night. The music is banging through the space, lights are flickering around the hallway where I am supposed to setup and play. "Too loud though, not sure if people will be able to hear anything I play..." - I thought to myself. Steve comes around and I can see from his hesitation he now thinks the same. "There might be a better place upstairs..." he says and takes me through another set of stairs to the third floor, past the arcade machines to the narrow hallway leading straight to the glamorous Unisex Toilets. I'm laughing to myself thinking this is one of the craziest ventures of my life and at the same time it all makes perfect sense: it's way too loud downstairs, despite the actual purpose of the space, it seems more peaceful in here, the room has great acoustics and relaxing piano music would be a nice background for what people are meant to be doing in here... 

Steve is looking at me with a great hope in his eyes, but not trying to push me into it. I say: "OK, let's do it! It's going to be one of the craziest things I have ever done, but that's what this night is about!" I see relief on his face and once again he is all excited about the whole night. We get the gear into the toilet, I quickly set up, change into my Zebra onesie and do a quick sound-check before I start. The man working in the club toilets looking at me while I put my mask on, hit the piano keys and go for it like never before! The toilets fill up with the sound, surprising everyone present; Steve is laughing and I hear him saying "This is great!" 

The next two hours have been as random as "zebra playing the piano at the toilets" itself. As the night picked up, more and more people were entering the toilets every time totally amazed by what they see. Mostly youngsters - some of them confused, some of them laughing openly loud, girls in short dresses taking selfies with me; crowds going in and out the toilets constantly changing, constantly talking, laughing, shouting to one another. Some girl cries and her friends calming her down, then her boyfriend comes in and they hug. I switch to wedding march and make them laugh. Someone asks me to play something they could sing to and I play Adele. The whole toilet is now singing - both people waiting to get in and people doing their business... Same with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", same with Emeli Sande and theme from Frozen.

Some girl wants to play the piano, she sits next to me and tries to remember the chords of her favourite song. Suddenly more people want to play, six hands touching the keyboard, sound's awful - I turn everything off. No talking - zebra's don't talk. Just waiting for them all to leave and going for it again. And people take pictures, some of them leave me tips, some of them ask for Beatles, others lean over my keyboard screaming for ABBA... It's a bit of a mess, but everyone's having fun! A girl says it's her birthday and I play "Happy Birthday" song. The toilets singing again. Then it gets packed, security guards patrolling the toilets kindly ask some people to leave. The place is buzzing and a tall guy oddly asks me to play what I feel by looking at him. I'm a little confused at first, but make a joke out of it and play 50 cent "In Da Club". He's happy laughing...

Later on I switch to classical piano, playing romantic, beautiful music; it's not that packed anymore and I ease off. Security guard comes in to interrupt me - "You've done 2h now," he says. I take my mask off and take a gulp of "fresh" air. Relief! ...

*   *   *

2:15am I am walking back home and my head is still buzzing from the club noise... The wind is strong and it's still raining. I walk through the empty, wet streets recalling the whole experience and thinking to myself: "This must have been the most crazy gig I have ever done in my life!" 




Photos by Scott Mains

TOP3: Most Popular Busking Spots in Brighton

There are many busking spots around Brighton and as a busker you get a choice between variety of streets and corners. Although not a single spot is good for everyone, I encourage to try different choices to see what works best for you.

Below are my Top 3 picks of Brighton's most popular busking spots. The main criteria for this list has been amount of buskers seen on these spots. It has nothing to do with my own preference, but at the same time I have tried them all. Weather you are willing to try busking in Brighton or just curious about the topic - below is all you need to know about these spots. Down we go:

3. Churchill Square

Pros:

• Loads of people
• Loud instruments with amplification are generally very well tolerated

Cons:

• Not suitable for quiet / acoustic acts 
• People are often in a hurry and choose not to pay attention to the busker

Churchill Square is one of the busiest Brighton areas. Located next to the shopping mall, many bus stops, banks, coffee shops and other business around, Churchill Square draws great public attention and is usually fuming with people. 

Tolerated busking areas are next to the Metro Bank and sometimes Starbucks. You are not allowed to play on the actual Square, because it belongs to the shopping mall, but next to the pavement and aside in front of the bank is fine. 

Great thing about Churchill Square - there are no strong restrictions on using an amplification or playing loud instruments. And to be honest busking without an amplifier in here is pointless unless you are a living statue, mime or similar. The area is very noisy, crowded and if you are an acoustic act, it might not be the best choice for you. On the other hand - great if you are killing it on the drums like this guy. 

In my own experience when I first came to busk in Churchill Square I had no Zebra mask, it was only me and piano. I soon realized most of the people were rushing along and not really paying attention. In my head I was thinking how can I stop them, how can I get their attention? And that was beginning of how I became Zebra... Although I am more visually attractive now, I still struggle to get enough attention playing at Churchill Square. Perhaps if I played boogie-woogie it would be a different story, who knows... 

My advice would be to give it a try and compare your outcome to the other busking spots out there. That's the only way to tell if it's suitable for your act or not. Still many buskers choose to play at Churchill Square and I assume do well enough, but it's definitely not a spot for everyone.

2. Pavilion Gardens 

Pros:

• People are very open and welcoming to the buskers
• Chilled and relaxed atmosphere

Cons: 

• Vocal amplification is not allowed
• The busking rules are reinforced by security guards

Pavilion Gardens is absolutely beautiful and peaceful place to busk (have a look for yourself). Located next to the Brighton Dome and Royal Pavilion itself, it's a major tourist attraction point with many visitor-groups taking tours across the premises on daily basis. 

It is a private ground and therefore from April to October Pavilion Gardens are regulated by security guards who reinforce the busking regulations in the garden. The current rules prohibit amplified vocals (following the complaint from the businesses on East street) and encourage to share the space with other buskers. This means if you have played in the gardens for a long time and someone else comes to busk, you should let them take over. Usually a long time is  considered around 1h. Some buskers let others play and book themselves after for another hour, consequently two buskers could be swopping each other all day long, but therefore there are security guards who make sure everyone gets to play in the end. 

Even though Pavilion Gardens is a large space, the only spot buskers are allowed on the grounds is garden crossroads by the Conservation Point in front of the Royal Pavilion. Amplified instruments are fine. 

The atmosphere in the gardens is very chilled and relaxed. You get people sitting and listening to you in the gardens and also people passing by. On a sunny day gardens are packed with the people and offers a great opportunity for the buskers. 

Pavilion Gardens is my favorite place to busk. It really compliments my character and the music I play. My advice would be to respect security guards, be friendly to them and they will be friendly to you. If someone else is playing in the gardens, don't be afraid to ask how long are they playing till. Sharing space is common in here and if you don't ask, someone else will.

1. New Road

Pros:

• Variety of busking spots along the street
• Great for busking all-year-round, also evenings

Cons:

• Some busking restrictions in the middle of the street
• Sometimes competitive with other buskers

Located close to the Pavilion Gardens, Brighton Dome and Royal Theater New Road is an important link between busy North street and North lanes. There is no major traffic on the street except some delivery trucks. Street is wide open to the people with many attractive pubs and restaurants along the way. 

You get a choice between three busking spots: close to the Royal Theater (beginning of the street), close to the Studio Theater (middle of the street) and close to the Unitarian Church (the end of the street). At the moment restrictions are put in place in the middle of street where there is a sign prohibiting amplification and playing for more than 1h. The thing about this sign is it belongs to the shop-owner who sometimes doesn't like buskers and is a printout of few official regulations by Brighton and Hove city council. It remains hit and miss with this spot and the only way to find out is to give it a try. If you use an amp, I'd suggest to turn your volume down to a reasonable level and hope no one will say anything (because legally it still counts as amplification).

Coming for the North street, you'll notice there are many wooden benches along the street. Buskers often use these benches to sit while they are playing (like these guys). If you do so I'd recommend to use benches closer to the center of the street - it's closer to the people passing by. Funny enough it's offices on this part of the street that banned vocal amplification in Pavilion Gardens, but on the actual street amplification is generally tolerated very well (at reasonable volume), although sometimes you might get a complaint.  

When playing close to Unitarian Church, be aware of lunchtime / evening concerts taking place in the church. Just keep your volume reasonable if anything. It's a great spot - you get to play both for the people passing by and people having drinks in the pubs opposite the church. It's a wide open space and my advice is to move closer to the center of the street, so that it takes less effort for the people to come by and give you a coin. Here is a great example of busking at this spot.

New Road is a fairly busy all-year-round both daytime and evening time. Can't say the same about Pavilion Gardens. It's always lively with many buskers and sometimes it can get competitive. Best is to cover the beginning or end of the street - that way you get the first impression of people coming from one side. When it's three buskers on the street - I find it harder to make money.

Right opposite the Mash Tun I had my first busking trial sitting on a wooden bench and playing the piano in cold January of 2015. I played for one hour and earned over £30 wrapped up in a black jacket and white hoodie (nothing to do with Zebra). In the same spot I met a journalist from Argos newspaper who took a video of me playing for their Best Busker competition. Who would have guessed back then it was going to be me (I hate that picture by the way).

*    *    *

Hope you found some useful information. If you have any relevant information or perhaps an experience you'd like to share - please leave a comment below. Thank you very much and good luck busking! 

Honeymoon Phase

My first post as a married man. As funny as it sounds - I suppose I could also say as a married Zebra. Whichever you prefer - my "Saving For The Wedding" phase has officially ended and I am left with some wonderful, life-changing memories. Exchanging vows with my current wife Henriika and celebrating our wedding in the heart of Europe, Prague, has been a really special holiday... And yes - I left "my zebra head" at home - even though it would probably look very amusing with my blue wedding tuxedo... Moving on! I am now back to Brighton and finally got my wire fixed; equipped with a new, freshly printed sign "Saving For Honeymoon" and new life ambitions I am ready to get back to business. 

Fortunate enough, the weather in Brighton has been very generous with lots of sunshine and little wind since we came back from Prague. Every day I was getting a little temptation to go out and busk, but since I hadn't fixed my wire, there was no way I could possibly do it without it. I went to Maplin's to get a replacement and they didn't have a particular peace in store, so they ordered one via post. While I was waiting, I made a new busking sign using the same design with few changes and got it printed by the time the wire arrived. Well equipped I was finally ready to dive into the world of "black and white" once again after a decent break. 

I didn't want to do a whole lot today, just few hours in the morning was good enough for me. I came down to gardens around 10am and took my time to set up with no rush. It felt nice to be out again: fresh air, sound of seagulls and people walking past in a relaxed manner. Much better than sitting in a flat and waiting for a gig to come through, especially in such a nice day.

I began playing a little worried I forgot some tunes, but it all came back to me pretty quick. I made few additions to my repertoire; usually it takes time for me to memorize the new peaces as I can't read sheet music in the mask. The best addition has been Wagner's Bridal March. I got few extra tips for that and one lady said it's hers 40st wedding anniversary today. I suppose many people are having wedding anniversaries around this time - this was a good choice.

Dave came around to congratulate me with the wedding. He was happy to see me and gave me a £5 note for the honeymoon. He also bought me a a new jack lead from Maplin's worth £12.99. Honestly - he gives me too many gifts and tips. I am now trying to pay him back in the same way, I even bought him a new phone. However it only made him buy me even more gifts and I don't see the end to it. I'll have to think harder on this one...

Some old lady took my business card while I was playing and asked me "if I am affordable". I said I believe I am. She then asked me some booking information - seems like I might get a gig at some point.

Speaking about bookings - I actually did my first "Zebra wedding gig" on Sunday. It was a lovely South African couple, they said there are many Zebras out there and they wanted to add some authenticity to their wedding reception. The wedding was based in Wagner Hall, very close to where I live and I had to play in the garden. There were many people and about 6 kids. Everyone very much enjoyed my playing and I got some very nice feedback from the guests. I actually have few more weddings lined up in September and I am very happy for that. It's a great experience for me as a pianist. 

Not much to add about today - it was a good warm-up for tomorrow. It's going to be a very sunny day all day and I have nothing else planed, but busking. Got to make the most out of it while summer is still here! 

Two Days Before Weekend!

The past few days went extremely well; my wedding is coming up already next week and I decided to make the most out of it while I can. While Thursday I managed to push over 5 hours, today my plan got crashed by a dodgy wire connection... Hopefully nothing serious. Overall - very pleased with the result and happy about the sunny and cheerful weather in Brighton. 

On Thursday I came out early around 10am, it was a cloudy morning with a cold breeze and garden was empty because of the water spray system set up for the grass. Not the best busking conditions, but I hoped I'll manage to get enough attention of people passing through the gardens. Also tourist groups are often already there at 10am doing tours around the gardens - at least you get them if no one else. 

While I was setting up, Ben showed up looking sleepy with a paper cup of coffee in his hand. If he came only 5 minutes ago, he would have got the spot, but this time I was luckier. I invited him to come around after 1 hour and recommended Bond street as an alternative. He thanked me and left wishing me a good day. 

As I started to play, suddenly a crowd gathered around me out of nowhere. I guess the whole zebra thing really brings attention. I should know it by now... Dave came along not long after, crowd changed and disappeared at some point, then again picked up and vanished almost like coming in waves. It was pleasant playing in the morning and witnessing the gardens gradually waking up. 

Ben came a bit later and I had a chance to play for 15-20 minutes more. That little extra always helps. To my surprise he said he only made £6 on Bond street. I felt for him. Busking doesn't always work the same for everyone, I guess you need to find your own way, how and when it works for what you do. At least he could play after me in the gardens.

Another guitar player came at the same time and I took a nice photo of everyone including Dave - that's a little example of how busker's negotiations look like:

After that I went to TESCOs with Dave to buy a good, healthy lunch (I'm on the pre-wedding diet at the moment...) and we went off to Bond street. As always before I started I went inside the Tobacco shop to get a permission. To my surprise there was another man behind the counter I have never seen before. He had a very wide smile and welcoming, friendly manner; he greeted me with what seemed to me like an Italian accent and explained to him about my busking. He didn't mind at all and told me he's looking forward my piano playing (I hope he enjoyed Ludovico Einaudi...)

Busking on Bond street went really well - I was trying to get people's attention with comic, loud, happy tunes and then reached for their heart by following with very musical, beautiful peaces. And it worked. A family with parents and teenage girl set up opposite me in a pub and they became my main audience. I played all my repertoire to them until eventually I "ran out of material" and they left giving me a good tip. Eventually I played for 1,5h (because Tobacco shop didn't mind at all this time) and stopped to have a lunch.

I shared some of my healthy meal with Dave, we were sitting across the street and watching my piano with a zebra mask lying on it. It was funny to see people not noticing me at all without the mask even though I still had my zebra trousers on. Instead they were passing by and looking around wondering where did zebra go. At some point few teenage girls came to the piano, they were looking for the money (I put a zebra blanket across it), one of them lifted the blanket up and they dropped few coins in there. I thought it was very nice and thoughtful of them to come back and still give me money even though I wasn't there...

After a good lunch we moved to the gardens, but it was busy, so we went to East street instead. There I met Ben - he just finished his set. Unfortunately it didn't go well here either. And he didn't feel good competing with the Jazz Band just around the corner. We talked about how unfair it is to other buskers - they play there every day for the whole day. If you tell them you want to play after them, they'd say it's all booked from now on; other people are already coming after. Or it would be fair to say "joining in". Sometimes I see them having long hour breaks where other buskers could potentially come and play, but spot is literally still taken because they leave their instruments lying around there... It is not fair, but what can I do? What can Ben do? Unless we all start interfering in their daily routine and get an hour each, nothing will change. But is it worth the hassle? Someone will have to have "that argument" with them at some point and tell them how it should work to benefit all the buskers... To be that guy - you need to have some guts. And I don't think I am brave enough myself... 

I played on East street for 2.5h with a half an hour break in between. I did very well. Halfway through I was having a back pain - it's not good to play for very long, but I really wanted to push it for the wedding. Here is little video and picture from Instagram feed:

The world of black & white.

A video posted by @sodamy4u on Aug 11, 2016 at 2:53pm PDT

Guys, I've found the man of my dreams. #mellowzebra #Brighton

A photo posted by annaL 🇮🇹🇬🇧 (@moshimoshibox) on Aug 11, 2016 at 7:40am PDT

 *   *   *

Today (on Friday) I came to the gardens surprised how beautiful and sunny it is. Many people were already sitting on the lawns enjoying the sun and constant flow of people was going through the crossroads. I happily set up just to find out my piano is not turning on... It took me some time to figure out what's the problem - the wire of DC adapter has gone loose. I did my best to fix it and it worked (for some time)...

After playing for an hour I had a little break to help my fiancee set up on the New road. She decided to give it another go and was more than happy to help. I ran back to my spot where I left all my equipment with the guards to find no one has come to take over yet. Very unusual for such a sunny day. 

I kept playing and people were very responsive. One little French girl wanted to give me a kiss on a cheek. I told her it's my first kiss as a Zebra. Dan, one of my piano students, was passing by with his son and wife - that was a pleasant surprise. Few minutes later - my piano turned off on it's own again!

It sounded like amp is running out of batteries, because the keyboard was still on. But after I changed the batteries, piano started switching off on its own... I think it must be the wire. Unfortunately I didn't have a replacement on me, so I stopped busking after playing for 1.5h. 

I called it a day and together with Dave we went to listen to Henriika's (my fiancee) busking. She wasn't doing very bad and it was very pleasant to listen to her singing. Generally it's not particularly great when there are another 2 buskers along the same street; considering this fact she did quite well for the day.

*   *   * 

I really enjoyed busking these two days before the weekend. The only downside is I got some annoying back pain now, but still happy. I beat my personal best on Thursday earning the most I ever did in one day. And Friday didn't seem less promising... If not the wire - it could have been very close, especially because Pavilion gardens were completely free. Until I fix the wire - no busking for me. Got to do it asap!! 

Busking at i360

After a rather active pride weekend, Brighton and frew rather cold and cloudy days today we are lucky enough to get a Tuesday full of sunshine. The crowd is out, lots of tourists around. Thousands of people have already visited i360 and more keep coming ahead. When it comes to busking - it all sounds very promising with a potential to earn few quid...

I came to Pavilion Garden around 11:50am surprised to find out no one was busking yet. Garden seemed busy with constant flow of people. I set up right in front of the "Conservation Area" sign as usual and because I already had few kids waiting for me to start, I began my set with a "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Pretty much straight away I got the crowd around me and kids dancing and laughing in the middle. 

Five minutes later Ben came around with his guitar. I kindly asked him to come back in one hour. Not long after Dave showed up with a big smile and camera hanging from his neck: "I got some pictures and DVDs for you!" He put them in my bag and stepped aside. Then my fiancee showed up for her lunch break and we had a little chat.

Today I had few rather disturbing experiences with the kids and one of them happened in the gardens. A girl came over to me and stood on my right side staring at me with a very serious face. I kept playing without saying anything. She was still there after some time, so I decided to offer her a "high five". Suddenly she made this hysterical scream and ran away from me as fast as she could. That was still a funny part. After that she came back, stood in the same position and told me "Zebras don't play piano", I kindly replied "I do!". After that she suddenly slapped my mask as hard as she could and announced "Zebras don't talk!" I was so shocked with her reaction I didn't know what to say - she seemed very annoyed. I just ignored her look and she walked away in a very angry manner. "Some kids are weird.." I thought...  

After I finished my hour, Ben came around with a slim, blonde girl. At first I thought they'll busk together, but then he explained he is just showing her around Brighton busking spots the same way she once showed him around Bath. It's quite interesting to meet buskers from other towns, I would like to go around myself one day and see other places. I decided to sit down in the gardens, listen to her playing and have my lunch with Dave. 

While I was eating my sandwich, I slowly browsed through the pictures Dave gave to me earlier. There were around 30 pictures he took from different days mixture of both color and black and white. What I thought of his pictures was they were amazing. Intentional or not - he always manages to capture the most genuine moments of what is happening when I busk. Dave has literally captured all my journey from when I only started busking to now and I am very grateful to him for these printed memories. Below is one of these pictures he gave to me today. Perhaps one day I can scan them all and make a gallery on my blog. 

On my way out from the gardens, a lady stopped by and told me there have been thousands of people visiting i360 and perhaps while they are waiting in the que, I could provide them with a little entertainment. The whole i360 thing was very tempting for me, I thought if I ever want to find out if it's a good busking spot, there is no better time than now. I thanked the lady for the advice and turned my way to the seafront. 

When I got there I found a very nice observation area right in front of the tower. I asked a staff member for a permission to busk, she wasn't really aware of any busking regulations on the site and advised to give it a go until someone says anything. I was feeling shy on the new spot unsure where to set-up, The spot next to the que seemed good enough to give it a go and I went for it.

It didn't take long until some kids came over and gave me some coins, bet adults on their own seemed not very impressed. Only very few stopped by and gave me a tip. The que on my left was very long, but the problem is even if I am entertaining them while they are waiting, they're not going to quit the que to give me money - too much effort telling everyone around they'll be back in a moment and trying to get out and back from enclosure. Besides after playing in the spot for 20 minutes, I got asked to move away from the site closer to the road.

I was puzzled weather it's going to be good busking here, but it took so long to get here, I decided to give it another try. The second spot I found was much closer to the que and the entrance of the ticket office. I played there for about 1 hour to really test it out. It wasn't going particularly bad, but it wasn't great either. At least I could see more people were listening to me and enjoying the music. Four kids came around and kept me company for more than 20 minutes. I treated them as my main audience and kept doing funny things to make them laugh. It helped to have them around - at least I didn't feel alone next to this massive que. 

Would I go to i360 again? I am not particularly sure. Perhaps if I set up somewhere on the way out instead of the way in, people would be more appreciative and won't feel restricted coming along and giving me some money. After all - it wasn't too bad busking there, but generally I do better when I'm in town. 

My last busking spot for today was East Street crossroads. I got there at 4pm, the spot was glittering in sunshine inviting me to play. I quickly set up and started playing. It felt like home again. People were stopping by listening to my playing, many people taking pictures and videos, kids greeting zebra and laughing. It all made sense again and I felt really relieved. Until...

Another disturbing kid experience happened here when bunch of kids stopped in front of my piano and a little boy kept asking me "if I am gay?". I had to stop playing and hit some low notes to show I don't like his persistence, but he kept on going. It took some time until his mom finally came over and told him off "it was very rude thing to do".

Later on my fiancée brought me a sandwich and right the the same time someone was taking a video of me playing. This was posted in Instagram later today (you can see her standing on my right): 

It's not everyday you see a zebra playing a piano. #mellowzebra #brighton #piano #musician #busker #brighton #strange #funny

A video posted by Tim Porter (@tjpfilm) on Aug 9, 2016 at 11:06am PDT

I finished playing at 6pm, happy to go to bank. After all it wasn't that bad at all, but hard to say how much exactly I made at i360 and how much elsewhere. Perhaps it wasn't that average after all, but who knows... Some things are there to remain a mystery. 

What is my Busking Setup?

I remember when I started busking, the first thing I did I went on internet and spent at least 3h looking for the perfect setup. It's not that hard if you play an acoustic instrument or sing, but when it comes down to powering up your digital piano, I could hardly find any straightforward and useful information. I won't discuss much about all the possible options (there are plenty of ways to do it), but I'll focus on what works for me and why. I hope this post will give you some useful ideas and information of how to set up a piano outside. Down we go:

1. The Piano

The digital piano I use for my own busking is YAMAHA P-95. It's an old version of the P series and the newest model would be YAMAHA P-115. 

The key feature for this choice was 88-fully-weighted keys which is an absolute standard for me as a classically trained pianist. There might be cheaper pianos and keyboards out there, but if it doesn't feel like a real piano - that's a no deal for me. The downside of having 88-fully-weighted keys is an actual weight of the piano. Perhaps new Yamaha Piaggero series is a good compromise if you plan to move around a lot, but to me it still lacks some touch quality and low end on the speakers.

Built-in speakers is another very important feature. Let me tell you why! Depending on busking regulations in different towns and cities  you might be allowed to use an amp, but there are many busking spots out there where amplification is not allowed. Having built-in speakers allows you to take advantage of those spots. Even though the speakers are practically a built-in-amp, you can still say: "There is no amplification, it's just a piano on its own" and get away with it. Another advantage of having speakers is a backup in case your amp runs out of batteries or breaks down. At the same time speakers are not facing the audience and for that reason they can't really replace the amp. 

Various sound options is another feature I use a lot when I busk. I don't need a choice of 100 presets, but having 3-4 that are used a lot definitely helps. For instance Vibrophone is something I use a lot, especially when playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". 

2. The Amp

The Amp I use is an absolute favorite among the buskers and I've seen so many of these around - there must be a reason why. You can't go wrong with ROLAND CUBE STREET. 

The sound quality of this amp is immaculate and deserves a praise. EQ controls (for one of the inputs) gives you further options to improve the sound to its best. To me YAMAHA pianos sound very bright and I always preferred more settle, deep sound of Roland or KORG pianos; with this amp - tone control is not a problem, set EQs as you want and off you go. 

Another really great thing about this amp - it doesn't eat your batteries. My choice of batteries is Kodak Extralife from Poundland (believe me you don't need Duracell) and it lasts me for about 10-15h. That's around 3-5 days of busking - in my opinion can't get any better than that. 

It's portable and has a good shape slightly facing upwards. Some buskers turn it on the side and actually use it as a chair. 

3. A Car Jump Starter

Believe me I read so many articles online on how to power up a piano, but not a single one recommended a Car Jump Starter as an option. Instead people suggested complicated set-ups with deep cycle batteries and inverters, some suggested noisy generators. Another man I watched on YouTube suggested using external battery, it's the size of the hard drive and is used as a power bank for electronic devices. At first it seemed like the best option to me because of its size, but it's not designed to last in various weather conditions and mine broke down after few weeks. I tried another make, but it didn't work with my piano and I gave up on this idea... They not really designed to power up equipment, but to charge it. 

What I like about my jump starter, it's not extremely heavy, very portable device. It's easy to charge and lasts enough to do more than one day of busking. It also has an air compressor, which I use for pumping up the tires of my busking trolley.  

One decent website has mentioned jump starters in their complete guide, but referred to them as unreliable long term solution. Mine has lasted me for over one and half years before it stopped working and I was happy enough to buy another one exactly the same. 

4. The Wires

Obviously to connect the equipment above I need particular cables. Simple Jack to Jack lead to connect the piano to the amp and DC cigarette adapter to power up the piano from the jump starter. Simple. 

5. Piano Accesories 

Pretty basic - adjustable piano stool and a stand - mine are fold-able, so I can put them along the piano on the trolley - very compact. Obviously can't play without a sustain pedal - that goes into the bag. 

6. A Carry Bag

This is where I put amp, jump starter, wires, all my busking signs, zebra stuff and other little things. Very handy to have it all in one big bag. When on the go, I simply secure it on the top of the piano, nothing's hanging on my shoulders or back.

5. Heavy Duty Industrial Trolley

All my equipment goes on this trolley. And considering the weight of all the equipment I carry around - its absolutely essential for the sake of my back. 

Let me say - I didn't come up with this beast straight away. I began with a simple folding shopping trolley. Realized the wheels are too small for bumpy roads and upgraded to 2-wheel industrial trolley. I used that one for quite a while, but ended up with a very sore back. I thought if only it had another set of wheels at the back, it wouldn't be that hard, but I couldn't find a particular trolley with 4 big wheels like mine has. I ended up assembling my own trolley from this one and additional set of wheels. Since then my back has been fine. It's very comfortable to wheel around and feels pretty much like a shopping trolley.

Another great feature of this trolley - it's ideal for hanging my busking signs on it and it also matches the color with my amp. 

6. Zebra Stuff

All the black and white things come into this category except the piano itself: the mask, T-shirts, trousers, gloves, blanket, little foam mask and busking signs. It all contributes to what is Mellow Zebra and creates a rather unique busking character. 

How It All Looks Together?

That's pretty much it.

Let me know if you found this information useful! ;)

And feel free to comment for any additional questions or suggestions! 

Thank you! 

Pre-Pride Friday

Yesterday I mentioned opening of i360 and completely forgot about Brighton Pride coming up already tomorrow! This definitely has much greater impact than the tower - Brighton will be packed! Unfortunately it won't be packed for me as I will be working my other part-time job... For that reason I made the most out of it today! Over five hours busking with another personal best - that's what I call feeling of accomplishment. 

The day began at famous Brighton Pavilion Gardens - one of the most regulated busking spots in Brighton. That's right - the new rules are "still in place" and "buskers are being kicked out" after one hour of playing on every occasion... At least that's what I told Gary and Lionel (I finally found out their names) when they came to take over me playing in the gardens for two and half hours... God, I hate lying, but I felt like I had to. If I had told them I was in the garden for more then two hours, they would go straight to the garden administration and complain how unfair and huge this is... Even though straight after I left they also played for more than an hour - happy in peace. The thing is - when they get a chance to play more, they will definitely do so and not say a word about it, but once someone else gets to play more, they'll go and shout out loud about it. Perhaps they've been kicked out few times after playing for one hour, but to be honest - it's their problem and they shouldn't hang it on other buskers, that's what I think... 

Moving on - I enjoyed playing in the gardens. One particular moment has stuck in my memory - a group of teenagers singing "Someone Like You" and "Clown" along my piano accompaniment - it was a really special moment. It has never happened to me before and they absolutely loved it too. In the end we made a nice group photo (which I hope will appear on Twitter at some point) and wished each other well. 

Dave has been with me all this day from the very beginning. Thing about Dave - he loves to be around people and when I busk he always engages with my audience in a very positive way. Sometimes he tells them about me and it works as an ice-breaker, people become more interested in me. Sometimes he makes up a joke about zebra playing the piano and people become more relaxed watching me play. It's almost like he is welcoming my audience and making them feel home. It's not as he is talking to every single person, but when he does - that's how I see it. 

We both had a quick lunch after leaving the gardens and went to my next busking stop - Bond street. Sun was still on the right side of the street when I came - that's something I always pay attention to when I come to play at this spot lunchtime. Later on sun changes direction and spot becomes rather "dark". I find when I play in shade people don't notice me as much.

The hour went quite quick. Once again - lots of kids around; it helps to play in a narrow street - I like to surprise children when they walk past right in front of the piano. Some curious ones tend to lean down and look into the nostrils of the mask to see if Zebra is real. I often notice them leaning down and scare them with a sudden shake of my head just before they manage to see my face. It's always lots of fun. 

Someone gave me a "Dairy Free" chocolate instead of the money. After I finished I had a little peace myself (as I'm on the special diet) and gave the rest to Dave. I also gave him £4 because he went to Poundland for me before to get the batteries for my amp. He also tends to take pictures of me and then he spends his own money to print them off at Boots before handing them to me. I think he deserves much more than £4 for all the things he has done for me, but he never wants to take any money from me. I convinced him by saying "it's for the printouts, its basically for me". Only then he agreed to take it. 

By the way - here is a little video I made of Dave showing "how it's done". If you can't play the piano, but really want to become a busker - this is what you do :D

My last stop of the day was East street crossroads. I tend to go there around 3-4pm when the sun enlightens the spot like a stage light. Street was quite busy when I came with many street sellers set up for the Brighton Pride and selling various rainbow colored accessories. I set up opposite few South Americans selling various bracelets and little wooden pan flutes. They didn't really mind me playing. My street-seller-friend was also around there holding his little son Omar in his hands. He came to talk to me before I began playing. It reminded of the last year when we met for the first time - it was actually on the Brighton Pride and I had a picture of us somewhere on the computer... 

I played an hour before having a little break and then carried on for another hour. Good thing about this spot - no one else really busks in here, so I can play for as long as I want. My brother in law came to see me with his parents at one point. Dave left for a bit to get himself a beer and brought me some mixed fruit. Street sellers came few times to exchange a note into coins. At that point I noticed someone left a £10 note and again I didn't notice who it was just to say "Thank you!"...

I finished playing at 5:10pm. I wrapped all my day's earnings in zebra blanket and gave it to Dave for a wild guess of how much money is in there.. I couldn't really guess myself, but it was definitely more heavy than usual.. Turned out to be the most money I ever made busking in one day. Perhaps one day I will set a new personal best, but as for today I've done my best and enjoyed every single bit of it. . 

New Pavilion Garden Regulations

A big day for Brighton - today was the opening of a world's thinnest tower, i360! People now can go 161m up in the sky in a special curved-glass pod that personally in my opinion looks like an UFO. I was actually waiting for this day a long time - such an event usually attracts a lot of tourists and I believe the buzz will go on for few weeks from now. This is all helpful when it comes down to busking. Perhaps one day I will try to find a sweet spot somewhere close to i360, but today I still went down to my favorite spot in Pavilion Gardens.

I went out later than usual, left home around 11:35am a little bit anxious of new garden regulations that have been put down in place recently. To be honest - I don't think it's really fair to the buskers and it only happened due to the disagreements between the fellow buskers with an African drum and saxophone (I should really remember their names by now) and the garden administration... The new rule states that if you have played for more than 1 hour in the garden and there is no other busker waiting (it's basically still a free spot), you still need to move on to another place and come back in 1h. I don't know the idea behind these regulations, but I don't think that playing for more than 1h creates any kind of disruption to the people. I believe it does frankly opposite. 

In the garden I met Ben who was playing guitar at the time. I met Ben before, he's an average-build man with blondish dreads. When I see him, he often plays Spanish-themed tunes on his acoustic guitar. Always creates a nice vibe in the garden. It's easy to talk to him and we got some things in common. I'll ask him out for a pint one day (perhaps if he reads this blog - it's already an invitation, heh)...

Ben told me he only started playing recently, I could step in after 40 minutes, but that was no good to me - by the time I'd find another spot and set everything up, I will already loose 15 minutes. That leaves me with another 15 minutes to busk and 10 minutes to pack it all up and get back to the gardens. I offered Ben to play for a bit longer to give myself more time to busk in another spot before I come back. We briefly discussed the new garden regulations and left with the hope that they won't kick Ben out from there, so he can keep a spot for me. 

To ensure it's all good, I had a quick chat with the guards on my way out - I always been treating them with respect and have built a nice, friendly relationship with few. It really helps on the way -whenever I go and play, I always bear in mind people working in the area. I treat them as my colleagues - same as marketing team treats the sales team, or same as waiting staff works together with the chefs. We work in the same public space and try to make most out of it...

This instance was another example - I don't know if I should tell exactly what guards told me, but we were left alone to do our own arrangement. The whole anxiety and worries about today's busking disappeared. It was such a relief I texted Ben "it's gonna be all good". 

For one hour I played on Bond street. And before I started I made sure I ask Tobacco shop for a permission to do so. Another example of building relationship. Never mind all this talk about regulations - once I started to play, it all came into place and fun part began. Kids astonished by Zebra playing the piano, people laughing and smiling to me, international student groups filming and taking selfies. All the positive emotions you get from it - it really fills your day with life.  

Another hour in Pavilion Gardens went as good as Bond street. The weather was great, the garden was full of people reading books, sunbathing, having pick-nicks... I was playing and thinking how beautiful this place is and how awesome it actually is to play here. Besides all the politics, this busking spot still remains my favorite place to busk in Brighton and I won't give up on it yet. 

* * *

Counting coins in the bank, I didn't expect much of few hours of play, but when receipt came out, I was pleasantly surprised - I managed to beat my hourly rate ever made busking already second time this month! Perhaps it was something to do with the opening of i360, perhaps I was just lucky... In the end it all comes down to the people appreciating what you are doing, your talent, the joy you are giving and music you play... As a reminder to that - a tweet of someone passing by:

Obv you can see the beauty of #mellowzebra in this photo from yesterday. But you can't hear how great his music is! pic.twitter.com/Dl1YMhmz16

— Graeme Archer (@graemearcher) July 30, 2016

More Sunday's Like This...

As I woke up in the morning, my fingers were itching of excitement to go out and play the piano. The last day of July has come very quick and I was about to make most of it. Usually I don't busk on Sundays, but today I was eventually off my other part-time job and decided to compensate it with a full day of busking. Never mind my plans, in the end my day didn't go quite as I imagined...

It was 10am. I was already in Pavilion gardens setting up my signs an connecting wires. Although there was no soul sitting in the garden, I was still positive on amount of people passing by at the garden crossroads. I thought even if it's not very busy, I'm still going to make at least some money and some is still better than nothing.

As I was about to start, a large group of Asian girls were approaching my busking spot. They stopped by hesitating and giving me curious looks. As soon as I put my zebra mask on I got their full attention and they quickly gathered around my piano. Waving my head away I gave them all funny zebra looks tapping my zebra ears at times as a special gesture of greeting. Somehow it always looks funny and makes people laugh.  

It was really nice to play for the group, some of the girls left after few peaces, but nevertheless new Asian tourists joined in and the crowd kept a constant decent size. I played the best piano tunes I knew including my own favorite "River Flows in You" by Korean composer Yiruma. That one especially went really well. The girls kept taking videos and pictures, some of them stayed aside listening for quite a while. 

At some point one of the girls named Sarah came to me and asked if she can play the piano. It used to happen to me more often when I played without mask, but even now, being a zebra - I never let people down and encourage them to give it a go if they want to. So I gave up my seat and let her play. And guess what - she played few peaces including "River Flows In You". Well done to her! :) 

Time went really quick and garden was getting more and more busy towards the early afternoon. At 12pm locally well known buskers with African drum and Saxophone came and I let them take over. Unfortunately there was a disagreement between them and the garden administration about me playing 2h and them being kicked out from the garden yesterday after playing for 1 hour. It took some time to sort out, but in the end I was informed since now everyone is allowed to play only for 1h and even if no one else is coming to play after me, I still need to leave and come back in 1h. No busker was happy about it and I don't know if they really going to push these rules further. I only hope that was just a bad day for everyone and it won't get that strict in Pavilion Gardens...

My fiancée Henriika came to visit me at the same time with a ready lunch and we moved to the New road. To my surprise there were four chess tables set up along the street inviting people to join in. Chess is one of my favorite games and I was really struggling to decide between continuing my plan with busking all day or having a break and play some chess...

Henriika is a very good singer herself  and before I came out I encouraged her to go out and busk. Therefore she was ready with a small amp and microphone with her. As we were finishing our launch I finally decided to stay around, help her to set up, listen to her singing and play few decent games of chess.

I gave her the Wedding sign I made before and set her off busking. As I began my first game of chess, her signing quickly filled the street up with a pleasant and beautiful vibe in the background. The time went on, occasionally I looked up to give Henriika a smile and realised she is doing extremely well: she already had few £10 notes lying on her bag...

One and half hours later Henriika was absolutely thrilled by how much people enjoyed her singing and I finished my chess adventure proud with 5 wins and 1 draw. I decided to call it a day and spend the rest of the day together with her...

Funny enough when we got to the coin counting machine at the bank we were both pleasantly surprised - today I beat my highest hourly rate ever made in 2 years of busking and believe it or not - Henriika made even more dressed up as herself with nothing but talent and a pretty busking sign. That - my friends - is really something special!

Meet Dave

Yesterday was raining, so I took my time off busking. Weather forecast dictates my work schedule. Luckily this morning the sun came out and I could go out busking for a bit before it got cloudy again. Living in England I learned to take advantage of every sunny spell you get - because weather never stays the same for long.

This morning I woke up early because I decided to improve my Wedding Sign. I had to send it off for print and then collect it right before my busking. I just wanted it to look like I have put effort into it, not simply scribbled it on the peace of cardboard. And I hoped my fiance will like it too. It only cost me £1.80 and the print was ready to collect 10am.

I took me some time to setup. I attached the new sign to the cardboard and changed the batteries for the amp. Once everything was working, I began my playing as usual.

At one point I noticed a guy trying to dance to my music. His movements reminded me of contemporary free dance. I was playing "Hallelujah" at that point and as soon as I noticed him dancing, I tried to keep a steady pace. It was a good attempt, but halfway through the song someone tapped on my right shoulder and I looked up to realize it was Dave.  

Dave is a lively man in his 70s, we met more than one year ago while busking and I wasn't dress up as a zebra back then. He used to come and tell me about his complicated situation with a women he loves and I often helped him out with that. In return he's been taking really good photographs of me playing the piano, he often prints them off and hands them to me as a present. Since then we've been good friends and I very much enjoy his company when I busk. 

Today Dave brought me a new photograph of me and few graduates posing next to my piano. We had a quick chat and he stepped aside to let me carry on with my busking. The day was really nice and sunny, a lot of people were sitting in the garden, many were passing by and smiling to me. Occasionally I heard someone reading my sign out loud and I responded with a nod of my Zebra head.

There were still many graduates today. Someone told me "they were missing me yesterday". Not as many kids as previous days, but still occasional "Twinkle Twinkle Little Start" and "Run Rabbit Run" were present. Overall a really good day - I played for 3h until another buskers came. Dave stayed until the very end until we both left for a friendly pint of refreshing beer....