(SOUTH AFRICA) His name is Gregory da Silva - a comedian artist, storyteller, dancer and live street perfomer from Benin West Africa. Also known locally as the "Eggman", he's a hard-boiled character known for wearing a World-Record 624 eggs on his hat.

Gaining fame in Cape Town, it now seems that the Eggman may have been traumatized after a robbery in Italy left him injured. Although you've got to break a few eggs to make an omlett, that's not what the Eggman had in mind.

But where is the Eggman today? He has seemed to have vanished after his trip to Milano vowing never to return to Cape Town, the city that sponsored him.

It now appears the Eggman has been met with "foul" play. If you have seen the Eggman, please report immediately. His bacon is getting cold....

[ Continued ]

(from the You've got-to-be-kidding-me Department)
One of the themes of 2009 was that collection societies around the world went nuts trying to charge for anything they possibly could while also trying to increase the rates they could charge. Even banks went wild with their hidden charges.

Remember how one collection society wanted to charge a woman because she put on music in public for her horses? Or how about the woman who worked in a grocery store who was told to stop singing while stocking the shelves or the store would have to pay a performance fee? And, of course, we had ASCAP trying to claim that ringtones were public performances, and mobile operators needed to pay up -- beyond the license fee that was already paid on the recording.

SOCAN, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, has been no exception pushing for drastically increased rates...

[ Continued ]

An interesting article at American Songwriter has an in-depth interview of the successful and creative busker by the name of Ori Rakib.Ori is an energetic soul. He's been busking in the New York subway for years. One day after losing his jacket, Ori said to himself, "Alright - I’m going to start busking until I make enough money to buy myself a new winter coat." Survival comes first in busking. Some of us have already been there. At times, it can be hand-to-mouth with even experienced buskers.

"Once you’re past that first stage where it’s not really about being 'good' or 'bad' anymore, you start to realize how many lives you are able to touch by just going out there, opening your mouth, and singing."

"You’re not a brand - You’re just a guitar and a voice. People don’t know you, y...

[ Continued ]

Holland, MI — The Downtown Holland Principal Shopping District received a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Holland Area Arts Council to support its Street Performer Series.

The grant, which was awarded through the Regional Regranting Program, totaled $2,880 and will help fund the 2009 Street Performer Series.

The Street Performance Series is a 12-week series featuring regional artists who perform throughout downtown each Thursday evening in the summer.

In 2009, the Street Performer Series is June 11 through Aug. 27.

For more information, visit www.downtownholland.com or contact info@downtownholland.com

HOLLAND SENTINAL

(NEW ZEALAND) Often it's happenstance. Every now and then, though, you've become part of something more organised. Invercargill this weekend has a welcome taste of that, with the inaugural Southland Buskers Festival, a satellite event from the recently concluded World Buskers Festival in Christchurch.

In Queens Park, Wachner Place, and a raft of other venues, world-class performers, are disporting themselves in a host of implausible entertainments.

We have a contortionists and escapologists, acrobats, a strong-woman, a slackrope master, a guy who torments his face with rubber bands, a living angel statue, and we shudder to think what else.

Check it out