ADAM PAVITT

Writing in the tunnels

The first day i started busking it took a courage that had not anticipated. I was dropped off in the main street of Byron Bay and chose a spot outside a Thai restaurant. It seemed like a pretty straight forward plan…Set up a guitar case and play a few songs.
As i sat preparing to play my first song, my vocal chords froze up. ‘Perhaps my guitar is out of tune’ i thought. So i tuned my guitar again and a fear came over me. What would these strangers think of my songs? I was about to reveal my inner most workings….. I tuned my guitar for a full twenty minutes and finally mustered up the courage to sing. I had played in bands at parties and for friends and family constantly. Yet this seemed like such a big deal. It felt like no-one was listening or maybe everyone was listening!
The first person to approach me was an elderly lady. It felt so good when she gave me a hand-full of coins and said “that’s very nice dear”. The second interaction was with a small child who danced up smiling and then threw the money down and danced back to their parent’s side. Then the hoons turned up…. a car sped by and some guy hung out the window and threw a five cent coin at me and said “that’s all you’re worth”. I was shattered for a few seconds and about to give up on the busking idea, when suddenly i shook my head and logic set in. That guy did not even hear the music and everyone else so far seemed to ‘kinda dig it’, i thought. I have since discovered that even when people look away from buskers and try to ignore them, it is a little known fact the some of them walk in perfect time to the music.
After moving to Melbourne i began going out busking about four nights a week often in the tunnels of the train stations. People would always be generous in varied ways, dropping money, food, drinks, alcohol, drugs, yearly met tickets, phone numbers, flyers, cigarettes, skateboard wheels, flowers, and other miscellaneous donations into the guitar case. It was always a surprise to look through the case at the end of the night to see what strangeness had turned up. I jammed with everyone from homeless crew to classically trained travelers. I sang with drunk business men and stoned junkies. I was never robbed or bashed. Once i was urinated next to, and i cracked it! I threw all the money in my case was all over the ground just before i put my guitar away and stormed off in disgust. The guy was having a rowdy race day and i was not having anything to do with those coins after that!
There were definite stand out nights while busking that helped shape who i am as a songwriter. One Valentine’s day comes to mind…..As i stood wearing a suit with a rose in the pocket and singing love songs, a Spanish flamenco guitarist approached wearing a suit with a rose i the pocket. He asked if we could jam, going song for song and improvising guitar solos over the top of each other’s compositions. We agreed to give it a try and split the money. It was going quite well until a very large group of tourists appeared in the tunnel. As they passed our guitar cases, each and every person lent down and either placed a gold coin or a rose into the collection. We were so overwhelmed at the gesture that words could not express how we were feeling.

The song ‘Silver Gold Bronze’ was born out of moments like that. Those lovely people could have dropped silver, gold or bronze into the case and it would not have mattered. I just knew that i was really happy sharing my music with strangers. Even if they got ‘thirty seconds of happiness’ or connection from a busker, i felt it was a precious thing in this life.
A great thing about this song is that i got Liz Frencham to play on it (an ace double bass player and vocalist). Liz and one of her bands Jigzag, have a song all about their experiences busking called ‘ Thirty Seconds Of Happiness’. I was exceptionally lucky to catch Liz between some of her numerous tours, gigs, recording sessions and festival appearances, as she is a true working musician! Liz got to hear the demo’s and write up some charts in the back of the tour van and then we hit Dog and Bear studio with her devoted partner Steve Vella . Steve is a musician also and has the most relaxed vibe around. He was so encouraging, inspiring and helpful with putting the album together. On the day of recording we had my old band mate Jangala Birrenjur (formerly known as Geraint Seren) to play kit and percussion. Jangala is a great player and gifted psychic who holds a steady beat. This was proved by the fact that the track is actually two tracks fused together. Both versions were recorded live and were somehow able to get glued together…Go Steve! The cymbal work by Jangala adds a dreamy element to the bridge sections. The winding outro was fun to play and the laughter at the end of the track shows this. It was an energetic vibe in the studio that day, with daggy jokes a plenty and herbal tea brewing.
It’s nice to have a bouncy track as second track to get the album into gear early on. The track builds and builds which i am pretty happy about. I feel there is a sincerity to the song and yet carefree elements as well. It harks back to busking, when you are singing your heart out, but you can pull the pin and go home whenever you want. You can slog it out on the one phrase about the Iraq War to make a point over and over for ten minutes if you want. Or you can explore your high range in the extended improvised middle section of a love song freely. Busking is no pressure once you get over that first song. You are keen to get some coins dropping, but really even a smile or a positive comment could change your entire day. Music is certainly a beautiful thing that we all share.

It is not just me who feels the busking buzz. It thrives the world over. It keeps the streets alive, vibrant and keeps us all human. Alot of people still have a coin or a smile for a busker, and that is what keeps me coming back.
“You give me silver, give me gold, even bronze you know, will be just fine”.
Adz