Keywest: New busking bye- laws lack 'common sense'

At their meeting on Monday night, Dublin City Councillors voted in favour of imposing a raft of restrictions on street performers in the capital. However they stopped short of imposing an outright ban on amplification – which had been sought by residents of Temple Bar.
Key elements of the new by-laws include the following provisions:
– An upper noise limit of 80 decibels for anyone playing music in the street;
– An even more restrictive level of 75 decibels in the Temple Bar area;
– Performers to be entirely banned from certain areas both in Temple Bar (between Temple Bar Square and Eustace Street) and around the GPO in O’Connell Street;
– Buskers will not be allowed to operate within three metres of a private residence;
– All busking will have to stop at 11pm;
– and anyone using knives or flames will be required to have €6.4 million in public liability insurance.
Street performers will have to pay €30 for a permit. An additional fee of €90 will apply for the use of an amplifier. Penalties for breaches of the new rules include fines of up to €1,500 and the threat of permits being cancelled.
Andy Kavanagh of Keywest, a Dublin band who have benefited significantly from street performing, has called the decision "bananas", despite the fact he is not completely against restrictions.
"We understand there is a compromise to be found," says Kavanagh. "But they've no interest in seeing the other side. We walked into every single shop on Grafton Street and have talked to the managers of Brown Thomas, Marks & Spencers, River Island, Dunne Stores – most of them had lovely comments.
"We try our best to control the crowds and show respect. If all buskers were doing that, there is a middle ground to be had. Most people are complaining because they've a guy outside the door who has bagpipes, an accordion or a trumpet and he's playing the same song over and over again all day long. So most of them are complaining about bad busking!"
Busking has become an important part of the development process for bands in Ireland, with successful outfits like The Riptide Movement and Keywest learning their chops, earning badly needed income and developing a fan base through their busking activities. In advance of the Dublin City Council debate, Keywest had come out against the 80 decibel level, arguing that it would prove to be unworkable. 
There were comical scenes in the chamber as one councillor Michael O’Brien used a decibel meter to illustrate that he could exceed 80 decibels simply by speaking.
"Again, bananas!" says Kavanagh. "You can shout over 90 with much ease. It's all about distance. If you scream into a meter you can get it over 120, the noise of a jet engine! Distance is relevant as well.
"I want to understand these people that want to ban it, who can't see that street performance has evolved. It's a modern, worldwide thing to have.
There are only one or two cities that have banned it. I'm wondering why our councillors are searching the globe to find the obscure towns and cities that have banned it to follow. Especially for a city as musical as Dublin."
Though amplification is still allowed, Councillor Mannix Flynn is now calling for an all-out ban on that.
"Why Mannix?" asks Kavanagh. "What he's saying is that people who play acoustic guitar, banjos and sing, are real buskers? Well, people who dance need speakers. They're not allowed. Are we allowed dancers on the street? No, says Mannix. Comedians need a little microphone. No, says Mannix, he doesn't want to see any comedians.
"He doesn't want to know. Violin player with a backing track? Surely a violin player can play without a backing track? God forbid he wants to make his performance better for the world... No, Mannix doesn't want to see any of that."
Keywest famously recorded a street performance with a homeless rapper. The resulting ‘I’m Homeless But I’m Human Too’ was viewed well in excess of a million times online.
Bands have also spoken to Hot Press about the extent to which tourists seeing them on the streets can become the frontline of a new support base outside the country, by taking CDs bought at sessions back home and following the artist or band on Facebook – early shoots that have turned into touring opportunities and, in some cases, album releases. If the new by-laws are enforced in a rigid way, then that is another avenue which is likely to become closed off to Irish bands.

Keywest play (indoors, don't worry) Mandela Hall, Belfast, on March 6.