I guess you could call what I do at Farmer's Market, busking. For the Downtown Association which sponsors the Market doesn't pay me, the folks who buy the flowers, fruits, and vegetables, etc. do.

And I have mixed feelings about the buskers I hear here in Lawrence. Most of 'em ain't that good. For example, there's the guy that sits outside one of the banks downtown and does bad covers of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and a couple of others. Sometimes I can hardly restrain myself from grabbing his guitar from his hands, and telling him "Hey buddy, let me teach you how to play that thing, will ya?" He has no rhythm, and hasn't the foggiest idea what a lead break is, substituting a sliding A minor chord up and down the neck in no particular time signature that I can recognize. It is no coincidence that I have never seen any coin in his guitar case. It's guys like him that make me think that maybe some sort of audition process might not be a bad idea.
Jim