It was a great night of playing. I wasn't sleep-deprived, I was excited to show off my new hair color, I played well, and I had fun interactions. Here's what happened!
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
I started getting compliments on my ears, mainly from bears declaring simply that they loved me, on my long walk from the car. There was a painter in my #1 spot, so I continued on (as I usually do regardless to avoid Patio upset). Surprisingly, the corner Town Hall pitch was open. The other pitch was occupied by a quiet man on guitar who didn't threaten my act (I just hope I didn't threaten his). This was the perfect spot for me this particular night, because I wanted to stay a long time (at the Pig I get the Patio problem, right in front of TH I get requests from other musicians for a turn).
This was a night full of long interactions. Maybe once an outing I'll spend a good chunk of time talking to/playing with another party, but I usually avoid those because they take up playing time. Last night's were all fun, so I let them happen.
Anyway...
1. Two bears (of the clothes-wearing type) stopped and complimented my ears. They had ears too, made of fur, just like the ones I wanted to make! One man was holding a bag with more fur. These two have a business of making bear ears for people in barter. On Bear cruises they exchange them for fancy cocktails like Mudslides; in Ptown they exchanged some for a primo parking spot. They joined me for a photo:
2. I met Rain and Ry (and Ry's sister). They are a wonderful mother and daughter pair from Bellington (?), WA that spends summers in Ptown. Ry is probably eleven or twelve, and she's learning the accordion as well! She's been practicing on Rain's friend's 48-bass, but they say it's too big for her. I let her try mine (and her big sister suggested she wear the ears while she played as well), and we all agreed it was a good size for her. I have these accordion conversations with other players ("Do you have Bb major?") but never with a musician so young. She's also a piano player, so she demonstrated her Bach accordion. She was a little embarrassed when Rain suggested she play the song she wrote about her pets, with Rain singing. I really liked the family dynamic these three demonstrated. I loved Ry's confidence talking to me and playing, and the non-pushy encouragement from Rain. It sounds like rainy days at their house (ample, I imagine, in Washington) consist of playing music all day. Buying Ry a 12-bass until she's big enough for a 48- went without saying. Rain said that their town is full of musicians, and invited me to look them up if I'm ever out West again!
3. After playing the current Bruno Mars' "Grenade," three teenage girls and one little boy ran over. One said, "You just played my favorite song!" I played it again and they sang. Then we did Dynamite. They perused my set list, but alas that was all we knew in common. These girls could belt. I've had my fantasy of being part of a trio that sings old Andrews and Boswell Sisters songs on the streets, and during this interaction I entertained the idea of managing the three of them as a trio and making them famous (we could be a quartet, but three Black teenagers makes more sense than three Black teenagers and a random white 20-something). During this the 8-ish-year-old boy was lurking, and a passerby asked if he was my son. The girls suggested I learn two Justin Bieber songs for next time. I truly would like to collaborate with these girls.
4. On the heels of this group, Topher and Francois came by (you know them, right? Topher my accordion student and Francois his Parisian boyfriend). They had just seen "Midnight in Paris." Since I saw it last night I've been practicing the lone accordion song from it: Parlez Moi d'Amour. I'm just noting their appearance because they are freakin adorable together. Francois makes silly English mistakes, but they don't stop his talkativeness. Francois was playfully teasing Topher for not practicing accordion or learning French. I told Francois that I am trying to learn French, and he suggested, "Just find a French boyfriend and you will learn" then added a bit about how that actually doesn't work, since Topher hasn't learned French in the two and a half years they've been together (I won't try to quote the mistaken English because it won't be as cute as it was in real life). Love them. As they walked away I played "La Vie en Rose," and Francois turned around to give me a thumbs up.
4.5. I ran into a former camper, Sarah! At the camp I worked at in 2008 there was this group of teenage girls who were friends who I loved. I've run into this particular girl a ton since then, and it was great to see her! All grown up!
5. I met two young men, Matt and Blonde Guy. Blonde Guy helped Jaia the face-painter pack up, then lurked with his guitar. Matt looks strikingly like Jackson Adams. I dramatically double took when I saw him. The two came to talk to me, and later I invited Matt to play with me. When I play with guitarists, we first do Beirut's "Elephant Gun" since it's just four chords over and over again. I love playing with guitar as a rhythm section, and two instruments draw more attention than one (although less money, it seems). Matt suggested a song which he played and sang and I played along with. I tried to pick up the chorus to harmonize, to no avail, but it made me miss singing. I would give up my solo act sometimes if it meant singing with other singers again. Matt is from Greenfield, and came with his family to Ptown about three weeks ago. Their stay was up, and Matt announced that he was staying. He's still figuring out where to live, but got a job as a videographer on the Dolphin Fleet whale watch (that's three I know, now). I don't know Blonde Guy's story. Oh, and Matt recognized Wallace and Gromit. Go Matt.
6. When Matt and Blonde Guy first came over, they noticed Flaca. They had her up in the air. A family walked by, and Flaca was suspended at eye level of the three-year-old girl. Her eyes widened and she just lunged for Flaca. It was adorable, and exactly what I purchased Flaca for. The boys hesitantly handed her over. The girl had some trouble making Flaca dance, since she couldn't hold her high enough, but she utilized her simply as a dolly. Her big sister took a turn, and Flaca danced well. When this happens, I play either Beer Barrel Polka, Lady of Spain, or the Milladoiro song since it's a waltz. The little girl seemed to get it when she saw her sister doing it, and grabbed Flaca back and bounced her around. After, she lay her down on the sidewalk and I asked, "Is she going night-night?" The mother thought I was talking to her about her daughter, and replied, "No, we're off to dinner!" The mom took pictures, which I asked her to send, so hopefully I can post them soon!
7. Older kids are hard to satisfy. Little kids are happy with The Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald, etc. Some older kids like Justin Bieber, some like the Beatles, some like musicals, but very few will talk! When they're with their parents and I ask if they have a favorite song, the parents will help them request something. I had my typical one-sided conversation with an older girl who stood and listened and smiled but wouldn't say a word to me: "Hi! Do you have a favorite song?...Um, do you like musicals?...The Sound of Music? The Wizard of Oz?...Here, here's a song from Mary Poppins." I really need to figure out set 8-12 songs.
8. Probably the best interaction yet: a man in his late fifties or so who looks like a combination of Bob Brooks (family friend) and Steve Martin was lurking and eating his ice cream. After a song, he said that he used to busk in Ptown as an opera singer. Okay, cool. We talked more, and it came out that he's not some amateur. He lives in New York and is a currently working opera star. I asked him his favorite role he's played, and his answer was "Don Giovanni." Now, this was THE best answer possible, since Don Giovanni's the one opera I can talk about and sort of sound like I know something, since I studied it in Music 102 at school and wrote a paper on it. Sounding like a total opera savant I told him, "I am simply enamored with Leporello's aria "Notte e giorno faticar" and sang him my favorite phrase. I love the cast of the version in that link (that's a link, Mom), particularly that Leporello. Nathan (the opera star) said that he loves playing Leporello as well and took over singing the aria! I forget how exactly this happened, but next thing I know I was playing the aria while he sang. He is freakin incredible. World class opera singer. Naturally, many heads turned when he started to sing. He has the volume of course to be heard over an accordion. Next we tried "Madamina il catalogo e cuesto" (sp?), Leporello's other fantastic aria, which Nathan said is so hard because it's fast and you have to remember the numbers. He said that he was surprised the first time he was cast as Don Giovanni since it's a baritone role and he's a bass. He now travels the world following Don Giovanni castings, but is worried that he's too old. I assured him he wasn't. He listed other favorite roles in Cosi fan Tutte and various Verdi. Although I don't know Verdi's operas as well, I have a soft spot for him due to my experience with the Requiem.
Somehow we moved onto La Donna e Mobile, which is now in my starting rotation. This was probably the most fun I've ever had. He sang it with full fermata and melisma, so I had to follow him closely. Amazing. And of course everyone knows that one. We went next to Funiculi Funicula, which he corrected me about, saying it's not opera but rather a Neapolitan song. Duh! Even so, he sang it with the English lyrics. He engaged passersby like only a vocalist can. I suggested the last song of my Italian repertoire: Santa Lucia (and pronounced it right, Dad!). For the first time ever, I played the intro perfectly. Guess Nathan's magical. That was a nice one. I asked if I knew "Retorno a Sorrento" which I don't quite know. I can hum it and have the music, but haven't learned it yet. No worries. We agreed on a key and slowly went through it. Nathan would pause and tell me "okay now back to minor" and he got me through the song. "Now the prettiest part, back to major!" I'm so glad I bought that Italian songbook! I need to learn them all for next time.
At one point during a song, Nathan stopped and cleared his throat the explained "Ice cream!" before continuing on. I loved loved loved this interaction. My huge choir geek side has been on hold since finishing school and not having a singing outlet. But we shan't forget that I AM a huge choir nerd, and I love classical vocals more than anything, and wish I could sing like that. Nathan proposed that we go get a lemonade. I assumed that meant "alcoholic beverage." I thought it would be interesting to sit and talk to him more, hear about the life of a true opera singer, so I agreed. I said I wanted to play four more songs then wrap up. He said he'd be back. Sure enough, as I was packing up, he came back with a plastic bag. He handed me a bottle of regular lemonade and said something like "You deserve this." Ha. Gotta stay hydrated! Anyway, here he is: http://resika.com/index.htm Oh, and did I mention that his day job is as a chess teacher?
There's more, but I can't possibly not end this post with that. I'll include the little things in the catch-up post for the 4th of July!
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