First, thanks for all the nice comments.
Amazing that your instrument can have such influence on your income. I mean, you are saying that non-ukulele buskers make more by definition?
Not quite. Most places on the street are "louder is better." Since, even with the loud National I'm just one fella and a uke I sometimes suffer from ambient noise.
Getting together with 1 to 3 other people helps. Groups can really chug out some sound, plus it's a bit easier to keep the energy up when you're not carrying the whole ball yourself. Yes, you have to split the money, but the total take is often larger because you can attract a bigger crowd and they tend to stick around for more than a song.
Also, be aware that it's only in the last 3 years or thereabouts that I've felt confident enough in my playing to go out and try to do whole hours on the street with nothing but the uke.
Please make that CD available to the online crowd as well. I will sign up for the "signed with a Howlin' Hobbit doodle" limited premium edition.
I'm still awaiting a computer with working recording software. The fella that's supposedly piecing together a Mac w/GarageBand for me is going to be over here later and I'll ding him about it again.
I'm getting a bit antsy on the CD front myself. That's another thing that
really helps one's "hat" when busking. There are lots of folks that just don't get busking. They'll happily throw $5 to $15 down for a CD but it apparently never occurs to them that a $1 bill in the tip jar is really appreciated.
Oddly, even though I'm hip to the concept, it never occurred to me to do a "premium" edition for this CD. I'll give it some thought.
Meanwhile, for a cheaper taste of uke in a group, you can always check out the
Snake Suspenderz Songslide page. Set your own price for downloadable mp3s of our latest CD. You don't have any shipping that way either.
I heartily recommend
Songslide to any of you who're also doing for sale recordings.