I’m David Miebert. I’m 30 years old. I was born in Cologne, but I lived since I was 20 in Switzerland.

My mother always had the dream to be a singer in the opera, and she did in sometimes. Sometimes we went to the opera and saw her singing. She was also in an orchestra choir and acting. My father loved to paint, but he never wanted to make it his profession. But interesting is that I saw pictures of my grandfather, the father of my father, and the whole family is doing music. It’s really crazy. They are a musician family, but I never heard them play. I saw my grandpa has his guitars in his apartment, but I never saw him play. It’s really sad.   

It’s not that I saw an instrument and wanted to do it when I was young. They told me to search for an instrument and they will give me lessons. I was really young, maybe 10 or 11, and I started to learn the trumpet, but I didn’t like it. The music was not connected to joy. Then I prepared playing piano and guitar. My mother had a guitar in a closet, and I told her, “I want to learn it.” She said, “It’s your guitar. You can have it.” I was about 14 then. And I also had a teacher, but it was the same. He was Argentinian and he was good, but when I had to do something, I didn’t like it. But for myself, I played the whole time always, even composing a little, but never take it serious to compose a song from the beginning to the end, but that’s what I liked to do.

I played classical guitar in the church, and I started to play in a band with some other people from the school, but playing with others can be difficult if everyone has different ideas. That was always there. I think it’s often problematic in bands.

I was maybe 16 years old. We had a concert at school with the band and I had prepared my own song, and I forgot the whole text, all the words, during the performance. I was playing and didn’t know what to do. I’m sure there were a lot of reasons, but it was part of the problem with the band. This was a big reason I stopped singing my songs. I always played for myself, but in my mind, I thought, “I never will sing for people.” For me it was a little traumatic.

In high school I went to a counselor to tell me what kind of job I could do. It was horrible. I think he needed to go to a counselor to search what kind of job he should do! I told him, “I want to do music,” and then he was just shaking his head and asking, “Do you play in the orchestra?” I said, “No.” So he said, “You can’t do music.” So he said, “What do you like?” I told him I like nature and stuff like this, so he said you can be a carpenter or study forestry science. It was a time when I was so lost and frustrated because of the music idea, so I just made applications to universities for forestry science and environment studies. I studied forestry science in three years in Frieberg, and I finished it, but during this study I always played my music and thought, “I will never work as a forest scientist.” I couldn’t imagine that. I love nature, but I don’t love all this economics and management.

The first time I went with my classical guitar on the street was in Frieberg. I made in one and a half hours 3 Euros. I didn’t have an amplifier. I just played guitar, no singing, but this felt like the right steps for me to just try something. With that, I figured out that I was missing to sing, and that made the change for me. I played on the street because I had the wish inside of me that I want to do music and that I want to do it seriously and also get my money with music. I also did this on the street one time in Osnabruck, Germany. This was a good experience because people in the cafes were listening and when they finished eating, they told me they really liked it. It was good feedback.

One break in my university studies, I lived in a communal farm community in Switzerland because I thought I wanted to live in nature, more connected to nature. I found this through wwoof.net. In the beginning, it was heaven living in the nature, but you have to be really really careful to not just be living your life for the others because they have their project and you just go there and they think you are now 100% in their project and you don’t have your own life. It’s really difficult to do your own thing. I wanted to do music, and it was always a problem to have my space for that. Sometimes they can use you a little bit. All in all, I was in 8 different farm communities. Two in Germany, four in Switzerland, two in Italy and two in France I think. In all of them, I had the same problem. Generally, I would like to live in a community in the countryside for the inspiration if I can make it work for me and my music. One time I did some busking near the community I lived in Italy, but just instrumental. This is where I made the decision that I want to do singing also.

Then I took a job as a stage technician in a theater in Lucerne, Switzerland, and I had the feeling, “OK, now I have a job, I’m making money, so I can focus on my music.” But it was not possible. My whole energy was in this job, and after that I didn’t have the energy to do so much music. I kept this job 3 years 3 months and one day! I stayed in Switzerland working as a server in the restaurant, but I felt I couldn’t do it anymore.

My parents are OK with my choice right now busking, but before they told me I shouldn’t do it. They told me, “OK, do music, but don’t do street music. Go to the university and study music.” I think they also couldn’t imagine that it would work like this. Maybe they were worried about my security, but I think what I’m doing is the most secure. All other ways could end in a catastrophe not being happy. I noticed when I was working in the theater every day my body felt bad.  

Another interesting thing is when I was in Switzerland, I couldn’t imagine making music in front of people, and I didn’t want to, so I made a workshop for composing music for films. It was incredible. Many talented people from Hollywood, too. They gave me cuts from films and I had to compose, and I was sitting on my laptop, and in the workshop it was OK, but it was all digital stuff. They really liked what I was doing, but back at home sitting in front of my laptop, I was so bored. I didn’t want it. I didn’t like my laptop as the instrument. It’s not me.

I have only been able to give my full energy to music in the last few months. I prepared a caravan to live in so I don’t have to pay rent and I can be independent and prepare songs. That’s where I live now. I have a kitchen and toilet. First, I went to Barcelona for two months at the beginning of 2025 busking, and now I’m staying on the beach here in Málaga. This is the first time when I can really say, “Yes, I am just doing music!” I really like Málaga because I’ve found a good spot to play, and I know so many people so fast. Two months ago, I didn’t even know Málaga existed, and now I’m here living with other campers in like a camper village. I never feel lonely. There are so many interesting experiences and other musicians, like you, so it feels like I have a community here. It’s a great surprise, but my idea is to leave in May when it gets too hot.

Busking in the beginning, in my mind it was really hard to just stay there and sing in front of people. It was a big deal for me. I feel not good and really anxious. But after a few months busking, now I am impressed that I don’t really think about it. I just come and do it. What I have to change is I need more song. Otherwise, I will be bored. I have maybe 11 of my own songs finished. But all in all, it’s a really good experience. I have a couple strange experiences, but usually it’s very positive. The reaction of the people is good, and also I’m happy that I make money, and I can live from it! I have more confidence too because I play every day.

What I’m thinking I learned the most is I can do what I really want. It’s possible. That’s the biggest thing I learned. I had this wish my whole life to live from music, and now I’m doing it. Now I see it’s not that hard. Life is not always so problematic. I can do it, and it’s possible, and it’s positive, and it’s working. Right now, it’s such a great experience doing street music that I can’t imagine not doing it, but I can imagine maybe I don’t want to do music only in the street, maybe in also circumstances in festivals for example. I’ve done that too.

I’ve only been singing seriously for one and a half years, and so for me, it’s still a big deal to hear my own voice. It’s so interesting when I’m on the street, I sometimes can’t believe how many people are telling me that they like my voice. But when I hear my own voice, I’m still a little unsure about it.

Yes, most people don’t listen, they just walk by. At the beginning this was a strange feeling, but there are enough people listening and giving me feedback that I don’t care so much about it now.

As a performer, I never really think about performing. I feel safe when I think, “I just have to do the music. I don’t have to think about the people and do a show.” I think it’s cool to interact more with people, but right now it gives me a safe space to focus on the music. Sometimes I talk to people a little bit, but I’m not thinking a lot about this. I think the one thing is I never wanted to be in front of an audience. I really don’t care about. I like to do music. To play for an audience is a big deal for me and hard for me. Now I appreciate it. Sometimes I feel like I have to be careful not having a big ego when people tell me they like what I’m doing.

I notice girls really like this. For example, one woman wrote me a letter and put it in my guitar case saying, “It was really a good atmosphere…” But the other thing is a lot of people come to me and talk and ask if they can find me on Spotify, but I don’t have Spotify. When I see people really listening, sometimes I get a little nervous, but I really like it. I take what I’m doing more seriously.

A lot of young people are talking to me when I’m playing. They ask everything like, “Where do you live? How do you do it? Can you live from the money?” So, it wasn’t my intention, but for sure I may be an inspiration. You know, recently I was at the bus station with my guitar, and there was a family from Denmark, two parents and one older teenager. They were asking me what I am doing, and I told them that I’m doing street music. Then the father asked if I could make a living from it, and I said, “Yeah, I’m living from it.” I told him that I’m traveling with my caravan, and then the parents told to their son, “Maybe you also should do it!”

Maybe sometimes the money is too much on my mind when I’m busking because the last years, I struggled so much with money. I’m so thankful now that I’m making good money, and I want to feel safe that I’m making enough money. I’m writing every day down what I made, so I care now. I notice myself sometimes looking at my guitar case for the Euros, but I don’t have this thought so much. But, I don’t pay rent. I just pay food and other things. I’m living really cheap.

In my life now, I feel this is my time. I am where I want to be. I even have the feeling now if I take a day to rest and prepare and don’t go on the street, I feel I have to do it, something is missing.

For sure I will continue to do what I like to do, and I believe then my way will work. Before I was going on the street, I didn’t know anyone who was doing it. I’m surprised I can make a living busking. When I count the money I made, I think, “Wow, it’s really working!” Before it was just an illusion. I thought it won’t work, but it’s working. It was the right decision to do it. That’s the most important. That I have done it.

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