- [Steven] Littering.
We've got an empty can and we got a coin.
Ready? Watch.
That goes inside...
the can.
(techno music)
I really need to buy some new sunglasses.
It's not good.
Not good at all.
I've been a full-time street performer for over one year.
Yay, happy time.
How I feel about street performing has changed a lot
in that time.
My process of street performing has changed a lot,
so I thought it'd be nice to do a little video chatting
about that whilst also street performing,
and actually doing a day on busking.
Yes? Good?
Fun. Let's go.
How's your set going, Marcello?
- I'm so sleepy.
- [Steven] You're so sleepy?
- What the (bleep) are you talking about again?
- [Steven] Well that's good.
I feel like everyone's like that.
Everyone's either hungover today--
- [Marcello] Oh, I'm hung.
(laughs)
- Good, it's gonna be nice happy fun, happy fun,
happy fun day.
Happy Easter, Jacob.
- Happy Easter.
- [Steven] Happy Easter.
(busker playing guitar, singing)
- Who's on after Marcello?
Murdo then Tom?
- [Jacob] I don't know. Then Tom, then Morf.
- [Steven] Is Morf going to want to do it?
- [Jacob] Morf's just gone to the gym.
- [Steven] Really? So it's probably...
- [Jacob] So Murdo, Tom, and the Joker.
- [Steven] They're not going to be here.
Morf's not going to be here,
so maybe I can go on.
Is it, well looks like I might do a show.
I should probably explain that Joker,
the guy that looks a little bit like Santa that
got into rock music, he's uh,
Although isn't sort of a legal authority, he kind of
acts as a liaison often between the buskers and
the council and the people like that, so
it's a weird sort of thing because he doesn't have
any official authority right now, but he's trying
to organise a street performer association and run that.
It's all quite complicated, but Joker is trying to
smooth things out between buskers and the council
and the police, some buskers are a bit like
"oh we don't like authority." and others are for him.
So it's a little bit complicated, but that's Joker.
Are you going to work or not?
'Cause if not I'll get ready and go on.
- Why are you filming right now?
- [Steve] 'Cause I'm filming my day
- Well, do you know what, I don't
want to be on camera right now.
- [Steve] Alright, well no subs for you.
- Go and ask you if you like cake.
Do and ask easy like cake.
- [Steve] Did you just make that up?
- Easy like cake 212.
- [Steve] Are you gonna do a show?
- A million subs!
- [Steve] 'Cause he's off in five minutes.
- I'm not gonna do a show.
- [Steve] You're not gonna do show?
Tom are you gonna do a show?
- No.
- [Steve] Okay, I think I'll go on.
Have we got some angry vegans protesting?
Did you wanna sort out the angry vegans, please?
Angry vegans.
I dunno how workable it is right now
but I'm gonna do a show.
Yeah I was way lazy yesterday, I did one set.
But do I face this way or do I face this way?
- This looks awful.
I'll give you 10 Pounds
if I count 50 people in the audience.
- You'll give me 10 Pounds if you
count 50 people in the audience?
Really? - Yeah
- Alright, deal.
What? You're absolutely gonna lose this.
- 50?
- 50? Easy!
Child's play!
- Okay
- Yeah guys, intermediate this right?
Murdo's gonna give me a tenner
if I get a 50 person crowd or more.
- Okay.
- That's the deal?
I'm absolutely gonna breeze this.
- I reckon Murdo should give you a Pound
for every person you get in the crowd.
- No it's fine.
10 Pounds 50 people.
You think no?
- 20 Pounds isn't that a lot of money.
(laughs)
- Alright let's do the show.
(techno music)
If this show doesn't go well
I'm just gonna can it really early.
I don't wanna spend too much time messing around.
Yeah, I'm gonna give it a go.
I can definitely get a small crowd, at least.
Yeah, I'll be alright.
I gonna do a show just for you, Tom.
Got my cool sign.
Got my hashtag Instagram sign.
It's gonna be good.
Alright, let's do a show.
Okay.
One two, one two.
Told you to wait in the car.
Alright guys I'm bending the book.
That show went pretty well.
It was an early day show
so the crowds are never gonna be as big.
My friend actually bet me
that I wouldn't get a crowd of more than 50 people.
And I did, so he lost a tenner.
Very satisfying start of the day.
Hey man.
- I wasn't watching.
- [Steve] I've got it on video.
- I wanna see it.
- [Steve] There it is.
You know it's 50.
Murdo bet me 10 Pounds.
Didn't even bet me 10 Pounds
just said, "I'll give you 10 Pounds
"If you get a crowd bigger than 50 people."
The first show went kind of averagy.
The second show was really good.
Had a great second show.
You're giving it to me in 50 Pence pieces?
- [Murdo] I'm gonna count some money.
- Yeah.
And the second show I did,
'cause I do two back to back, in 40 minutes.
I do two 20 minute shows.
The second show I did went really well.
Nice big crowd, everyone fun.
Felt really good.
Hi guys, I'm currently doing a show.
Here's my audience.
(audience cheers)
You guys...
As I said before, I've been busking for over a year now.
And the main sort of changes in my mindset
about busking everything is that
Now I really enjoy it.
And at the start I got into street performing
because I needed to pay rent
and I had no money and I literally had no other choice.
I needed to just do it to survive.
First I hated it, I was terrible at it.
But over the course of the year, and a bit
especially in the last month
I found that it's really clicked a lot more in my head.
I'm still not the best busker in the world by any means
but now I feel like I understand it a lot more
and I understand what makes a good show.
And I'm having so much fun with it.
To the point where
now, if I became a full-time Youtuber
and I could make a living off of these videos
I think I would still go out and street perform
just because it's just so satisfying
to just gather an audience of people
from all over the world.
Some people that don't even speak English
and everyone to watch a show together
and have a good time out on the street.
It just feels really good and really raw.
I really like that.
The major benefit, I think, of street performing,
other than being able to make a living off it
and the freedom that that has.
Like I can go out and work whenever I want
which is really satisfying.
Is that I think I've become a better magician all around.
I think it's helped me in performing for small groups
and it's helped me when I go and do little stage shows.
So now, I just wanna do more stuff
in front of big audiences.
So, I would love to put on a show sometime in London.
If you'd like to see that, let me know in the comments,
I think that could be really fun.
Putting on a little show in London, yeah.
Now I got a few hours to kill
before my next show.
And I think that I'm just gonna chill out
go for a little bit of a wander.
Probably going to watch some other people busk.
And yeah, let's go do that.
Have a nice chilled out, happy, fun, time.
(techno music)
(Tom beat-boxing)
That's my buddy Tom, also known as Intensity.
He is one of the best beat-boxers I've ever seen.
He really knows how to put on a good show.
I filmed some of your show.
And I went up to Burger King and filmed a little bit too.
- Today was disappointing.
I'm grateful for everything.
You just get bits of food and just rubbish
from people's pockets.
Cigarette butts, M&M's.
(busker playing gutiar, singing)
- [Steven] Hey Johnny.
Can I film you kicking some ass for Diablo?
- Yeah.
- [Steven] I'll pretend that didn't happen.
(techno music)
Focus, focus, focus, focus, focus, focus, nice.
This video's been a little bit of an experiment.
Normally when I film, I shoot with my cameraman friend
Tommick, but he's in a foreign country.
I don't know where he is right now.
Where are you Tommick?
Anyway I just wanted to try shooting something myself
and see if I could make something half decent.
Thinking about doing these street performery videos
on the regular.
So if you like 'em, let me know in the comments.
And then, I'll keep 'em coming.
Posing for thumbnails, when you're in a public space
is the most awkward thing, ever.