Endless Summer
The season never stops here in Southern California like it does in New York and London, or anywhere that experiences four or even two seasons. Here — where the mono-season is broken down into fire season, hurricane season, and earthquake season — it’s always busking season.
There are a limited amount of pitches on the boardwalk, which are claimed on a first come basis. With no permit system or oversight, anybody can claim a space for anything so the slots fill up quickly each morning with artists, con-artists, vendors, pretenders, preachers, teachers, activists, radicals, and yes, buskers, lots and lots of buskers.
Buskers on the Venice Boardwalk come in three broad categories:
The Veterans:
Buskers who perform 5-7 days a week for 10+ years. Some have been on the boardwalk for 20, 30 even 40 years. Perry, Prime Minister of Limbo is a keen example:
The Weekend Warriors:
Buskers who come to Venice as a performance destination. This includes yours truly, magicians from Mexico, and this dance troupe from NYC:
The Down and Out Busker:
Just look for the cardboard signs reading ‘bad advice for a dollar’ or keep your eyes peeled for the gutter punks with guitars and the landlocked pirates tied to their rigs:
Though there are more than a few performers who are staples to the boardwalk scene, the array of artists and performers turns over quite a bit from day to day, and week to week.
Overall, the community is welcoming to newcomers, as long as they play by the unwritten rules — show up early, take turns if you have a loud act sharing close quarters and, probably the most important for musicians, pick good neighbors or be prepared to defend you ground.
Turf wars on the boardwalk are no joke. We found this out the hard way when a rowdy tattoo shop proprietor brought out massive speakers and began blasting punk rock in response to my bagpipe music. When we traded for a quieter spot, an even more aggressive biker gang type, selling prints depicting Marilyn Monroe nude in an LA Lakers jersey, was adamant that the bagpipes were threatening his only working eardrum!
Mild hassles from nasty neighbors aside, the community of street artists and performers on the venice boardwalk are a wild and wonderful bunch of souls willing to welcome any wanderer to their palmed pitches by the sea.
