Coming to Boston from his native New York for college, Daniel Lawrence, age 45, was unsure what he wanted to do with his life. He majored in studio engineering at Berklee College of Music, but now wishes he had studied something different.
"I realized that it didn't do much
for me," he says with a tinge of regret in his words.
He's been playing classical guitar in the T stations of Boston and outside in Boston Common and Faneuil Hall when the weather is nice for ten years and finds that it's just enough to live off of. But when times get tough, his mother is there to help him get on his feet.
"My family has always been very supportive of me,” he says, wearing a black vest over a brown sweater.
Lawrence finds that people really like Spanish guitar, but he also likes to mix in Bach, Brazilian, and a little bit of everything on his brown, Fender guitar.
His open guitar case is full of dollar bills and coins and people continuously stop to listen or contribute to the case.
Lawrence usually plays in the stations for eight hours at a time, but is done by 3:00pm. You can find him on most weekdays during the morning rushes and on the weekends. When things are going well, he can afford to play just four days a week. Because it is his primary income, when things aren’t going so well financially, he can be found playing every day. But he usually tries to not play in the same spot more than twice a week.
“People get sick of me,” he says with a laugh.
From his playing in the T stations, he can accrue anything from $20 a day to his record high of $200 in one day. He usually likes to stay close to the Blue line bound for Wonderland in the Government Station T stop because it tends to be warmer in the winter months.
He has a stack of cds featuring his personal recordings, Daniel Lawrence Solo Guitar Volume I and II, which he sells for $10 a piece. People interested in his music, which is mostly his own, can order his cds from his MySpace page. He is trying to get more income off the net and is working on a couple of projects with a band.
I have traveled to Boston several times and will be there again next month and I have always enjoyed the music that I hear in the T stations and around the city. It is surprisingly very good! It doesn't take much to contribute to them and it definitely adds alot to an otherwise routine activity. I'm glad to see that he can make a living doing what he loves.
ReplyDeletewow I can't believe this guy does this for a living, I didn't realize the legitimacy of the street music business.
ReplyDeleteI bought both CDs almost a year ago. Today I googled Daniel Lawrence because I want to buy more as gifts. The music is so beautiful, Daniel Lawrence is so gifted!
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