Before we know, it the summer has run its course, and I’m standing here on the other side of my ‘Summer of Busk’! Looking back, these 3 ½ months were a time of great trial, growth, and victory. I feel more confident in my calling as a musician than ever before. I’m ready to forge a new direction.
Initial Doubts Melted Away
All the fears I had when I started melted away over time. When the summer began, I didn’t know if:
– I would be able to figure out how to use the loop pedal in a performance.
– I could find good spots to busk, or if the more established guys would ‘run me out of town’.
– I could make enough income busking to justify only working 30 hours part time elsewhere.
By the end of the summer I had:
– Become so comfortable with the loop pedal that I could do improvised performances of entire song
– Made friends with the other performers and gotten to know the best spots and times to play
– Ended up making enough money from busking that I could quit my other job in the final few weeks!
Pushing Through
I kept imagining I would hit a wall. Maybe I would reach a point where I was tired of dragging my gear out, and playing the same songs over and over for a questionable amount of money. But that wall never came.
Throughout the dog days of summer, I worked a job as a breakfast buffet server from 6 am – 2 pm. I would drive home, take a nap, and head out in the evening to busk, from about 7 pm – 10 pm. That left my nighttime sleeping hours as 12 pm – 5 am.
I’m sure we’ve all heard stories about CEOs and entrepreneurs thriving on only 5 hours of sleep a night. However, I quickly learned that I am not one of those people. I ended up feeling a lot like this –
That long stretch of the summer where I was burning at both ends was draining and lonely. But I never lost my spirit to play music. I only wished I had more time and energy to give it the attention it deserved. So after I had a decent chunk of money saved up, I did an experiment to finish out the last few weeks of summer, with busking as my only commitment.
In the first week of solo dedicated busking, I made the highest weekly income that I had all summer. Almost $800. Only from playing music on the boardwalk. And that was only about 30 hours of total playtime. If I had adopted that strategy from the get-go, I could have done that the whole summer.
All in all, I’m not bitter, I’m just happy it worked out in the end! Something that was only on the fringes of my dreams became reality. And it could have come even sooner if I had taken a bigger risk from the start.
Fun Facts
I did a previous blog post of an update about halfway through the summer. So, I’ll just note some other interesting things that happened during the second half:
– I became friends with many of the other performers and learned from their charisma and crowd-work. Interacting with the crowd is a huge factor in making or breaking your performance out on the street. We had a wide range of other performers – street magicians who made pineapples appear from under hats; a juggler/contortionist who could fit his body through a tennis racket; and a ‘one-man-band’ who played guitar in addition to a foot-controlled drum-set mounted on his back
– I received a couple other interesting gifts besides cash tips. These include a half-eaten churro from a 2 year old, a Venmo tip for $0.69, and a carnival prize stuffed frog!
– I actually did encounter two ‘haters,’ which I had hypothesized about in one of my previous articles. They were: a drunk guy who said I sounded bad and should quit, and a guy who got in my face when I asked him to stop smoking next to me. But they pale in comparison to the mountain of nice people and compliments I received over the summer.
– I was blessed by the appearance of a ballroom dancing couple, who broke out into a beautiful routine during my rendition of Coldplay’s ‘Paradise’!
– I was featured in a two page article in the OC Today newspaper!! A reporter did a phone interview with me to learn about my early beginnings on family trips in OC, to ventures in Korea and how that brought me back to busking. You can read the whole article here!
Stats
Now for something I’m sure you’re all curious about: how did the money add up over the summer? I’m not going to specify the total amount I made. But, I will say in my heyday towards the end of the summer, $150 in 5 hours was not unreasonable to expect 🙂
In total, I went out and played for 60 nights of the summer. This count would be higher, but for the first month I also had an evening serving job that kept me from busking.
My average duration was 3.4 hours, also brought down by some short nights I had at the beginning of the season. My overall average hourly rate was $22.28. Once I really got a feel for things at the end of the season, my nightly hourly average was closer to $30. So even if I did that for 4 hours, I would earn the same as if I held a standard $15/hr, 40 hour job.
I won’t deny that money is an important part of this venture, but there is definitely more to it than money. I value much more all the smiles, laughter, and moments of dancing and singing that I shared with hundreds, if not thousands of passersby.
That’s honestly mind-boggling. The fact that thousands of people showed appreciation with 1-dollar bills means that I touched thousands of people in some small way. That’s what busking is about for me. I love the serendipity and marvel of those moments.
Top Songs
I couldn’t keep exact stats on the total payout of each song. Still, if I had to rank my most successful songs by the combined requests and tips received, here’s what I would say –
10. Imagine – John Lennon
9. Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars
8. Snow – Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. 7 Years – Lukas Graham
6. Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
5. Counting Stars – One Republic
4. Sound of Silence – Simon and Garfunkel
3. Country Roads – John Denver
2. Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker / Old Crow Medicine Show
And perhaps as a big surprise, but not so much when you think about it, number 1…
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BABY SHARK!!!
I started doing Baby Shark about halfway through the summer. At first, I couldn’t believe the reaction I would get. Without fail, it quickly drew the largest crowds I had out of any song. No family with young kids could resist walking by while I was playing Baby Shark. I even saw grown adults walking by, no kids by their sides, singing along and doing the motions. It’s just too irresistible!
After I went through the whole iteration once, I would get the kids’ names and put them into the song as their very own shark! “Justin Shark doo doo, doo doo doo” etc. Music purists may scoff at my ‘selling out’, but at the end of the day, I just want to entertain and spread joy. If Baby Shark is the way to do that, I’m down.
As a final tribute to some of the covers I perfected over the summer, check out my latest youtube video –
What I Learned
I grew a lot through this endeavor. This is how I would distill everything I learned:
- Take Risks Sooner – There’s an alternate reality where I never went to teach in Korea for two years. There’s an alternate reality where I never even came to Ocean City this summer. Both were pretty big steps into the unknown. Both paid off immensely in terms of adventure and personal growth. Part of me wishes I had taken the dive into pure busking sooner, rather than trying to balance that and the morning server job.
- Turn Up Louder – On a similar note, I should have set out with more confidence on the boardwalk from the get-go. I’m naturally non-confrontational, so initially it was tough for me to turn up loud because I didn’t want to ‘bother’ anyone. Once I finally got the confidence to turn up louder, I realized that beforehand, it wasn’t that people didn’t like my stuff. It’s just that they couldn’t hear me!
- Make Friends Sooner – Most nights at the beginning of the summer, I was too pressed for time and frazzled to talk with the other performers. I worried that I would be a nuisance or disrupt their routines. However, after I finally did break the ice , I found they were perfectly welcoming and friendly. They also gave me more ideas and inspiration to improve my act! Some small, leftover introverted part of my psyche imagined I had to be a rogue and ‘go it alone’. In reality, socializing made the boardwalk and my summer journey a much friendlier time.
- The Classics are Classics for a Reason – I’m a bit of a music theory geek. My personal listening taste is often in the indie rock and folk areas. I used to assume that if I played the same classic covers that everyone had been hearing for years, people would think I was boring and derivative. The reality is, most people don’t think like a music theory nerd. They like to hear songs they know and love. I’ve gained a new respect and appreciation for the classics this summer.
- People are Kind – It was my immense privilege that 99% of the interactions I had over the summer were positive. If people didn’t connect with what I was doing, they simply walked on by. Those that did stop always had something kind to say. It’s hugely encouraging to realize that people are basically kind in nature. They generally do want to share life, joy, and generosity with others. I am more confident than ever that wherever I go, I can find kind people, if I put that same energy out into the universe.
Next Steps
So, I finished the summer strong, but now the tourist season has ended in Ocean City. What next?
At the time of writing this, I’m spending a week at home in Virginia, taking care of logistics and recording a few songs. I want to keep the busking spirit alive and stake out new territory. So I’m taking a road trip to Nashville, stopping in a handful of cities in VA, NC, and TN along the way! Hopefully that will give me some new ideas for a more permanent future direction or place to settle down.
All I know for sure is now that I’ve tasted life as a full-time musician, my dream is stronger than ever. I do hope to move on from solely busking, to get more gigs and release more of my own music. That all is in the works. I’m glad to have the busking under my belt as some hard-core firsthand experience.
I’m supremely thankful to everyone who donated and listened to my songs out in OC, and everyone else reading along at home. If you are one of those people, thanks so much! I’m not sure if I’ll be keeping the blog running at the same extent I did over the summer, but I’ll definitely keep posts coming on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube.
I am Max Mandu. I’m here in the world to spread joy and connection through music. This I firmly believe. Thank you for being a part of my journey so far, and look out for me as I continue on! We can only move upward from here.
