{"id":49452,"date":"2019-11-25T12:57:35","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T12:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=49452"},"modified":"2019-11-26T13:45:47","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T13:45:47","slug":"cardiff-character-martin-jones-passionate-cardiff-busker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/cardiff-character-martin-jones-passionate-cardiff-busker","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Martin Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This passionate North-Walian musician gave up travelling for busking around Cardiff and has not looked back<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Martin playing his guitar that he\u2019s had for five years <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Martin Jones, 29, came to Cardiff two and a half years ago and started busking. A carpenter by trade, Martin knew it wasn\u2019t his destiny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I gave my tools away, sold my van to my stepdad and came over with my guitar and I\u2019m still here,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This follows the news that a Haverfordwest busker<\/a> who was slammed in a recent letter which described him as \u201ctone-deaf\u201d and \u201cbellowing,\u201d has praised the wave of support he received from the people of Pembrokeshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enthusiastic and approachable, the Cardiff busker spoke of how nervous he felt busking<\/a> for the first time, usually going for a couple of pints before his first few times to build courage. \u201cIt\u2019s not like a gig where people are expecting you,” he explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Many give up after the first time, but it\u2019s the most rewarding thing you can do.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting with the public <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Martin\u2019s made quite the fan base and great friends through busking. Humble and grateful, he connects with the public. \u201cI met this 60 year old woman, I call her my angel,” Martin said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She saw me about a year ago, she\u2019s supported me with my career and music and we\u2019ve become really close friends.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recognition buskers and street artists get has increased according to Martin. \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful for the city. I never thought of buskers negatively when I passed. I thought ‘Fair play’ and I wanted to be like that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin, who lives in the city centre, agrees with busking permits<\/a> and auditions being suggested by the council to regulate it in the city centre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one wants to listen to Ed Sheeran Shape of You<\/em> for four hours,\u201d Martin said, as he wants what is fair for the public and the shops surrounding him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Martin standing outside his favourite place to perform, The Hayes, Cardiff, where he plays pop singer-songwriter music
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“No one wants to listen to Ed Sheeran Shape of You for four hours.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The only downfall to Martin<\/a>\u2019s job is when he can\u2019t do it, because of the rain or if city regulations are too strict. \u201cBuskers will have different opinions about busking but I genuinely do love it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin busks as many days a week as he can, and explains that he can live off of that income for a few days before going out and busking again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Busking as a career<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When asked if he thinks people see busking<\/a> as a job, he politely answered, \u201cI don\u2019t think people see busking as a job and I don\u2019t want to change people\u2019s minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For some it\u2019s just publicity and some money for the weekend, but for me it’s a career,\u201d Martin states.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout Martin\u2019s busking career there has been a particular moment that\u2019s stuck with him. \u201cA little kid with Down’s syndrome ran up to me and he hugged me for two songs,” Martin explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The parents were watching and crying because he felt connected to me but didn’t even know me. That is probably the most beautiful thing that’s happened.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He’s also had a life-changing moment, \u201cI was singing my song Energ<\/em>y and a woman put a piece of paper in my case. I thought she\u2019d given me her number. I think she was around 27 and I opened it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The letter said she had just found out she was dying and for that moment I put her at ease. She said I had this gift to put people out of their misery. Since then I have had a completely different mentality.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This passionate North-Walian busker gave up travelling for busking around Cardiff and has not looked back. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193,"featured_media":49887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[1650,2120,148,11257,12680,12681],"yoast_head":"\nCardiff Character: Martin Jones - alt.cardiff - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This passionate North-Walian busker gave up travelling to pursue his passion of busking around Cardiff and has not looked back.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/cardiff-character-martin-jones-passionate-cardiff-busker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardiff Character: Martin Jones - 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