(NEW ORLEANS) It's the same old story with a different twist. Just as most captive audiences are tough on buskers, the same held true recently when a busker decided to entertain passengers on a public streetcar in New Orleans.Being the birthplace of jazz, it isn't unusual to find buskers performing songs up and down the venues in the French Quarter which is quite famous for the impromptu entertainers. However, this time was to be different.

The busker pulled out his guitar on the trolly and started singing old Beatles tunes including "A Hard Day's Night". The passengers went about their business expecting the street-performer to soon pass the hat and be on his way. Much to their surprise, the busker just kept playing more Beatles songs having a seemingly endless supply of them on hand.

When...

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(WWW) We may as well face it. Busking is not a bed of roses. There are bound to be instances where things go wrong. Sammy Showtime has put together his pet peeves when it comes to his caveats of busking.Some of the most annoying things about being a busker are events you encounter when attempting the sport of performing. One that resonates with many is when other buskers arrive, set up on you, then explain that "This is our pitch. We're homies and never travel. We come her every Friday."

Similarly, there's the "This is the only place we can perform!" excuse that doesn't really sit well with buskers...especially in the middle of a show. Rest assured, the intruders will get their due they so richly deserve.

Read Sammy's other annoying busker behavior at the link below and catch him...

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(WWW) We all start out playing songs we like (covers) from other established artists. It's when we reach a certain plateau that we realize that in order to go further, we're going to have to write songs that the public enjoys. When busking, however, familiarity is king when your cover is recognized as tip-worthy. So, how do we handle our creativity yearning to be heard? Busking can be a very useful tool when first starting out writing songs. It is here that you can get instant feedback if the public is relating to your new song. If people are enjoying themselves, dancing or even singing along, you've really got something worthy of developing.

Try writing a song with a beat or speed up a slow song you've already written. People are out to have a good time and, generally speaking, really don't...

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(HOLLYWOOD) The film "The Giant Mechanical Man" tells of a human statue street-performer (Topher Grace) who falls in love with female zoo worker (Jenna Fischer). Each of them resists pressure from friends and family not to get together. A romantic comedy, it's yet again another love story featuring the performers. A tried and true story-line, it dates back to the silent cinema era with "The Blue Angel".


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Hard-working busker Derek Allan is about to embark on his toughest gig yet - playing 10 sets of 10 hours in 10 different venues.The singer-songwriter’s fundraising efforts will see him play for 10 consecutive nights as he pulls out all the stops to help Grace House Hospice Appeal to reach its latest target.

And not content with that, he is issuing a universal offer of help to any small charities or individuals who need a helping hand getting together the money they need.

Derek, 34, from Red Row in Northumberland, first came to the attention of Journal readers when he performed seven consecutive 12-hour gigs in seven different Northumberland pubs, with no backing group.

The exertion left Derek, who suffers from epilepsy, exhausted and he almost fainted several times during the g...

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