Hey Zeek,

Let me second the motion that you consider joining.

If you scroll up to the very top of this page, you'll see a list of "blue clickies," each of which is a link to another thread on the same (or related) subject. That is, the links at the top of *this* page all take you to other discussions of busking. Check 'em out!

I sang on the streets of New Orleans (winters) and San Francisco (summers) full-time for about three years in the early 70s. Even though I've been "retired" for 30 years, I still don't hestitate to pontificate, offer advice, tell stories, etc. I know that Marion and alanabit, among others, are currently active buskers who always have helpful and interesting things to say. So, definitely check out those other threads referenced above, and also join up and stick around.

Oh yeah -- you ask: "Is this "mudcat" thing all about street performing or what?"

Not at all. The original raison d'etre for the site was as a place to store the Digital Tradition, a huge database of traditional song lyrics, which had been maintained by Xerox/PARC until they abruptly dropped it. This forum had more of an American folk/blues slant in the early days, but since then many members have joined from all over the English-speaking world, and topics under discussion include a wide range of British, Irish/Celtic, and other folk traditions as well as American. Also a fair amount of personal news, gossip, and other such "BS." Discussions of street performance pop up periodically, but it's really just one of the many aspects of folk music -- very broadly defined -- that you'll find here.