Mesmerize

It is the word that comes to mind when I think back to the 1970's and me sitting on the streets of Munich playing the Sarode. It was a peroid of my life that taught me how generous people could be and how the Sarode can grab the attention of a stranger and mesmerize them. Sometimes I would have one or two people, some times a hundred or more. The more I played in Munich the better I became on my instrument. But also I learnt to listen to my audience as I played because it directly affected my income.
So my music was directly influenced by my german audience. The drawback of the Sarode as a busking instrument is that one has to sit on the ground. I used to perch on a low wall to give me a little height.
Germany back then was a welcoming place, and much more open to buskers than France, Holland, or Italy.
I did spend a year in Greece playing on the streets of Athens. It was a rough place but I did play on television and perform in a recording studio as a result of my street music. I loved the direct contact with people, most of whom enjoyed my Sarode playing.