Hi everyone,
We're so close to the close, and still so far from getting the money we need! I assume it'll be too big a job to actually raise another $17,000, but with your help, perhaps we can at least hold our heads high...

Please tell your friends about the Busking Project, and ask them to donate, and then for them to get their friends, and so on, and so on. :)

We have four days left, and I've just spent close to two grand on a web designer and camera. Please help me get that back!

Nick xx

Only 10 days to go!!!

The following footage was taken on the train from Toronto to the Canadian border after two days of filming in Toronto. Included in the interview are snippets of the acts we saw there. We really want to take this all over the world, and it looks like we're not going to hit our target. So, please email a link to our project out into the world!

For a general collection of performers, click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch...

Here's a recent video I took of Acapella Soul for Undercover New York. This is an example of the content we will be producing around the world. Where do they get their talent, how did they start, what issues do they face and are they successful? All these questions are answered in less than three minutes, to a musical backdrop and with personality.

If this project gets off the ground, we'll be doing this in 32 different countries over the space of 8 months!

And remember, you can see the full route we'll be taking here:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms...

Some more details about the performance schedule in the Firefighters Memorial Park @ Ritz Plaza, on 48th Street between 7th and 8th avenues.

The owners, Stonehenge Partners, are opening up the park outside one of their buildings to street performers for two hours a day, twice a week. As well as getting tips, they'll sweeten your time with $25 per act per hour (each set is two hours).

I'll be scheduling performances from next week. If you're a busker, and this sounds good to you, get in contact with me (nick@thebuskingproject.com). This is exactly what we want TBP to achieve (among other things) – to promote buskers! It already seems to be working. Hopefully, more of this kind of thing will spring up all over the world, once we get going :)

Footage to come...

Second, it seems that Facebook's "Fan Pages" are for...fans. They don't have the friendly features that their groups have. So, please join the facebook group that I've just created, instead of the fan page. Annoying, but there you go.

And finally, there's now a google group, which I'll be using for the newsletter. Gmail doesn't let you email large numbers of people, so this is apparently the only way. You don't have to sign up for a gmail account, just a google account - in other words, you can get a "google" account with your own email address (yahoo, hotmail, whatever).

Here're the new links:

Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php...

Google Group:
http://groups.google.com/group/the-busking-project

I'd really appreciate y'all joining these groups, and inviting your friends. Thanks!

Okay,
First and foremost, THANK YOU! I'm absolutely thrilled to see the amount of money we've raised so far, already close to 10% and in only a few days! The response has been amazing, and I've had a lot of people check out the website – a day-by-day account would look like this: the beginning few, then eleven times that, then 22 times, then 29 times... I can't wait to see what today's numbers look like (google analytics, I love you).

This is all very exciting. I was telling a friend that the butterflies in my stomach and nerves in my chest are making it feel like I've got both a massive exam and a first date on the horizon, either of which could change my life forever. Every time I think of TBP my imagination takes hold, as images of far away lands, border crossings, uncomfortable couches, fancy long-distance train rides, bag thieves and a myriad of performances fill my mind.

Basically, I cannot wait. If it were up to me I'd go to sleep tonight, wake up in October, pack my bags and start on the first leg of the trip!

I'll stop rambling and get on with the updates.

First, I've just been asked by some lovely real-estate people to run a street performer program near Times Square, so I'll be scheduling performances soon. There'll be an hourly wage for the performers, plus tips, and the park that it's in is sheltered by trees...very cool. If you're a performer, email me @ nick@thebuskingproject.com.

Also, we've now got both twitter and facebook pages, which means I'm now blathering on in 160 characters or less. Check them out, and I promise I'll get the hang of how to be interesting in that short a space by the end of the month.

That's it. Stay tuned!

Nick x