Still enjoying my thread.. Like to pose a couple of questions.. 1. Have any of you had experiences where you got the local governmental types to, if not set up busking sites, at least allowed you to perform? and (not that we want to concentrate to much on the negative) but, 2. Have any of you been robbed, assaulted, or otherwise had a scary experiences in busking? What protection/precautions do you suggest?

One final comment for now, I agree with some of you who talk about the preponderance of guitars and some loss of interest.. I don't play on street corners, but at Bluegrass Jams in Central MN I play a guitar, but find that the dulcimers, mandolins, etc do get a lot more interest. I find that it's the songs I sing that get the most satisfaction with my audience.. I am sort of known as Gary of the odd song: ethnic dialect songs (by types like Slim Jim), Yodeling, Foreign Language songs, topical songs like Amelia Earhart.. this is the kind of thing I do to help make up for my lack of instrumental talent.