Forum Activity for @dusty

I just found this thread and realize you've all probably moved on, but I do have a story to share.I used to play mandolin in an informal trio (guitar, bass, mandolin) of friends. We had a very limited repertoire. We used to play the Dylan song "You Ain't Going Nowhere" until the guitarist wrote an original tune the rhythm of which sounded just like the Dylan tune, so we stopped playing the Dylan tune. Once we were asked to entertain at a small barbeque in the Berkeley hills and in about a half-hour had run through all the songs we had worked on. But just as we were about to tell everyone we were done, someone requested "You Ain't Going Nowhere." With smiles on our faces we broke into it right away, milked it for all we could, each taking a few solos, singing all the lyrics two or three times through, and then finally lifting our instruments in the air at the end as we said goodnight before any more requests could come our way.It was a great climax to our short set and until now we were the only ones who knew that the song requested was the only song not part of our set that we could possibly have played!When you play in public, in fact, you don't need a large repertoire because most folks only listen while they are waiting for their bus, as they shop for vegetables at the market, or whatever. They are not expecting to sit down and be entertained for 90 minutes straight. I would think the idea of learning some of the songs that are likely to be requested would be all that you need to play with confidence in public and not be afraid of a request.Then again, on one of his live albums, Loudon Wainwright III is asked to play a song and responds, "Perhaps I'll play that another time. But my therapist has encouraged me to be more assertive with women. So I'm sorry, but no." As others have suggested, making a joke about not playing a request is probably the best route when you really don't know the material requested. It is another example of Strumelia's axiom about smiling at your public rather than screwing your face into weird contortions as you stare at the fretboard.I've never seen a dulcimer player busking, but if I do, I'll empty my wallet.Cheers,D.T.