I <3 California

Soo I am starting to get in a busking routine. The weekend provided some excitement because there are Farmers' Markets. On Saturday there is a big one outside the Ferry Building that I planned to play at. Unfortunately, I slept very late that day and missed most of it. It takes a very long time to get over there, because the streetcar makes a lot of stops and is generally slow. I made it there around 1:30; the market ends at 2:00. I found a nice spot across from the dried fruit and nuts stand and did my business. It was a really gorgeous day, warm and sunny, and a lot of folks were outside, and in short sleeves.

At one point I looked into my box and saw three buds of loose marijuana sitting gracefully atop a dollar bill. I normally witness everything that people put in, but this one had gotten by me. I found it quite amusing (I was really in California now!) and also generous, as the monetary equivalent, had it been donated instead, would be enough to pack up for the day immediately.

Of course, on the bus ride home later I was worried that my backpack reeked of weed, but luckily I had a banana in my lunch which seemed to provide a stronger smell.

A lot of people were responding to my sign this day, reciting "Sophie's Smokin' Squeezebox" and smiling, pointing it out to their shopping companions. I think some people donate just for my name. Eventually the vendors packed up (although they stayed later than scheduled) and one farmer gave me two clementines. Mmm!

I moved to a spot on Market Street right near the Ferry Building where other vendors selling jewelry, scarves, and caricatures were set up. This was definitely a different part of town than the Castro, with more tourists and children. One pre-teen boy gave me money on his own, without his parents even noticing. That always warms my heart the most, and gives me hope for these particular kids' impending adolescences.

One older gentlemen came up after I played a "non-accordion" song; I believe it was "More Than a Woman." "Play a real song!" he suggested. When this happens I usually play the Milladoiro song "Vals de Libunca" (Mom--that means you can click the link to hear the song! Although it's an embarrassingly slow recording) unless the patron in question requests Lady of Spain or Beer Barrel Polka.

One vendor who was stationed further down the street came over and said, "You don't see us, but we're listening! Keep it up!" I should probably figure out how far my sound travels. I always think about my audience of passerby, the snippets they hear, what's going to draw them in, but I rarely think about the folks that hear all of every song I play. I sometimes use lulls in foot traffic to try to figure out new songs, but this reminded me that there is no time when no one is listening, in this line of work. This comment reminded me to really focus on my songs, because often I space out when my hands go on auto-pilot with the songs I know extremely well (and it's easy to space out after eating a PB&J that ended up sharing it's Ziploc with some weed due to the lack of another container). While I was playing here I also got a brochure in my box informing me that judgment day is May 21st, 2011. Uhoh!

My new favorite song to play is Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." I first started playing around with it as an Elf when I grew sick of "The First Noel," and now it's in the starting rotation. It translates well to accordion because it can easily be broken up into three parts: chords, vocals, and brass. It is a right hand heavy song, since I do both vocals and brass on the keyboard side. This allows for the left hand to take it easy, just doing the chords in the right rhythm. Often when the right hand doesn't have much to do (say, just a melody) I try to mix things up in the left hand to keep it interesting, using such techniques as varying rhythms, alternate bass notes, actual melodic lines in the left hand, etc. However, coming up with and memorizing these variations is not my strong suit. I have played the accordion for 18 months. I have played piano for 17 years. I have formal training with the latter. Thus, I feel much more confident getting creative, complicated, and crazy with my right hand, on the keyboard side. If you listen to "Ring of Fire," you hear the brass start (ba, ba-ba ba-ba BA ba baaaaaa, ba ba-ba ba-ba BA ba baaaa), then it stops when Cash starts singing. Then it comes back in the pauses in the melody: "Love is a burning thing, [ba ba ba ba ba ba ba] and it makes a fiery ring [ba ba ba ba ba ba ba]." I do the brass in the higher octave, then jump down to the lower octave for the lyrics, to mimic Cash's deep voice, then jump back up when the brass comes in. It sounds cool, I enjoy playing it, and people recognize it. The perfect accordion busking song. I'll record it as soon as I wash my hair.

I always love observing other street performers, and seeing what people do. In Berekely I saw a ukelele player accompanied by a juggler, and it reminded me of the first time street performance ever popped in my head. When I started playing accordion I joked about taking it to the street with my cousin Gideon, who is an expert juggler, choreographing matching numbers under the name "Thea's Fault" (a family inside joke but also a good name for a band, right?) In another section of the Farmer's Market there was a young man with a typewriter advertising that he'll write quick poems on any topic you choose for a donation. He was getting business for sure. Why didn't I talk to him?

One last thing in this post: I was on the Muni home and I glanced up and saw Ruby dancing. It turns out I was in the perfect spot in the streetcar that my accordion box was reflected in the driver's mirror. This made me very happy. Here's a cell phone picture taken on the moving bus: