I almost didn't go because I worked that day and was kind of pooped, but it was a lovely Saturday night so I went for it. I took the bus since I have two friends who were working in Ptown that night with whom I could carpool home. I love taking the bus, I always talk to interesting people. Also when I take the bus I head straight to the public restroom, where the monitor there recognizes me. She asks about business and if I got a good spot that day. Even though I don't feel bad not tipping other buskers, I do feel bad not tipping her.
I chose to not even try the Pig spot since I would be there for a long set and surely Mr. Patio would have something to say. I went to Town Hall where Will had the big pitch and a new statue in town had the corner. He's a older gentleman dressed as a bronze military man. I politely asked him how much longer he planned to use that spot. He ignored me. Good job of staying in character. Some of his crowd watched our interaction and applauded his stillness. I approached him several times but he wouldn't respond! What an asshole! Finally, I went really close to talk quietly in case he could subtly indicate a period of time to me without breaking character. He saw me and made a talking gesture and pointed to another gentleman. It turns out he's deaf. Oops. Well, good for him. The assistant/translator was super nice, and said that he had just come back from a break and had a few hours to go. He suggested I play across Ryder St. in front of the the Shell Shop building. Usually I hate when people tell me where to play rather than negotiating a compromise for the spot I want, but I considered it. I always thought it was a private spot, but the assistant assured me it wasn't.
As it goes, this is my new favorite spot. It could not be any better. At first a fan was blowing loudly, but it turned off. There, I have a great street in front of me with the foot traffic off the pier (which I don't always get at the Pig). I have a view of the beach for my own pleasure. There is a wide sidewalk across the street where people lingered to watch/listen to me. There is a set of steps into the candy store on my left where people sat to listen. As darkness fell and other buskers were obscured, I had a spotlight from the candy store. Best of all, I was at a busy intersection with cars and people that necessitated a crossing guard. He would stop foot traffic to let cars park which meant large groups were forced to stand there for minute right in front of me. I thought immediately of playing at the Ferry Building in San Francisco that gave me the same benefit of pedestrian rules. When people were again allowed to walk, I had big packs coming towards me as well for whom I could save my best songs.
In addition to the spot being so ideal, I was doing better than usual as well. A couple weeks ago, a guy biked by and said "Don't just stand there, move to the music!" It's true that I'm so used to my songs that I usually space out and just play the notes and don't give much of a performance. That was also a comment I got from May last year, that the songs I'm into are more fun to watch than the ones I don't care about. Last night, every song was my favorite song and I played the hell out of them. I smiled, bounced/tapped a little, and held my instrument up high. The new thing I like to do to look super passionate is to use my pectoral muscles. When my arms have extended the bellows as far as they can but I need more air on a note, I puff up my chest to give the bellows an extra inch or two. I get more air this way, and I imagine that I look like a professional accordionista. I also played all my songs, which I don't usually do. I have a long set list but I usually skip most of it. It occurred to me that I chose to learn all these song for a reason, and I need to give them some bellows time so they can climb the ranks to be as popular as my ace songs.
The main reason things were so good is that I simply loved what I was doing. More often than not these days I don't enjoy myself while playing and wonder what the hell I'm doing. Last night, however, was not one of those nights. I was greatly enjoying myself, and I was so proud of how far I've come on the instrument and how I'm using it. It was one of those nights that makes you want to quit your day job. Additionally, I wondered about the effect of my positive attitude last night and the positive response of passersby on each other: were people listening and donating because I looked like I loved what I was doing or was I loving it because people were listening or donating? I'm sure both matter. I received my record number of 5-dollar bills last night, and the well-lit nature of my pitch indicates that they weren't accidental. Ptown's been slower this year, but last night I got my New Year's Eve hourly wage! Anyway, that was a very long introduction. Here's what happened!
Saturday, July 23, 2011:
1. A little girl with curly hair and a green dress ran over and stood in front of me to listen. Then she saw a dog so she ran over to see it. Then she ran back to listen more. I asked if she had a favorite song, and she didn't say anything. Finally her adults caught up with her, and explained that she speaks only French. The universe is giving me so many signs that I need to learn French. They're French Canadian and have a son, Antoine, in addition to young Genevieve. The dad asked if I knew this French singer, Charles N-something, and played me a song of his iphone. I didn't recognize it. Their friend saw my babysitting flyer and exclaimed "un guardian!" or something. Sure enough, I have a babysitting gig this week! I guess the little boy speaks a little English, but otherwise I'm on my own language-wise.
2. A couple made their mark when the man asked, "Can I put the money in your squeezebox?" I assumed the worst and commented accordingly, and they stayed and listened for a while. They're nice people from Maine who wanted to hear my most "kickin'" song. I forget what I played. Probably Beer Barrel Polka.
3. With my old sign, green marker on cardboard, people would see it an exclaim, "Sophie's smokin' squeezebox!" with glee. That hasn't happened with my new sign, but last night it did! You can still read it! People pay more attention to the loan sign these days, so I'm glad to know my stagename is still a source of entertainment.
4. A young guy recognized "Elephant Gun," declaring Beirut the best band ever. Rightly so.
5. Right at the beginning of my set (song #2) I played "Beyond the Sea." An older gentleman talked to me after, and commented, "That is a French song that Americans know because it was given English lyrics." I confessed having not known it was French until I started getting comments like that. He said that people like him and me are lucky to know the background of the song. True that. I like it better in my "French" category rather than my "Older" (1920s-40s) category. Speaking of "La Mar," it was requested by the French family as well!
6. I met a woman named Sophie! This interaction is a perfect example of why last night was so damn good. Usually my interactions with Sophies are quick and non-profitable. They like to take pics then walk away. This Sophie, on the other hand, stuck around to talk and was generally super nice. She was older, in her sixties. We're both Sophias. I asked if she knew that in 2009, Sophia was the #4 baby girl name in America. She added that it started with dogs, and then moved on to children. When she was a kid, she didn't know any other Sophies. Grey-haired Sophies are the best. I hope to find a young Sophie doing something fun when I'm a grey-haired Sophie.
7. A woman dropped a bill (a fiver, I think!) "This is for having guts. I have an accordion too." "You should bring it out!" "Oh, no, people would pay me to stop!"
8. A kid ran by with a dollar in his hand. He dropped a coin into my box, then continued and gave the dollar to the statue. Ouch. At least hide it, kiddo!
9. A man who looked vaguely familiar lingered for a song. He asked, "I'm Shawn. Do you remember me?" When I hesitated, he said, "We met on Newbury St." "The artist?" I asked. The artist indeed! When I was an elf in Boston last winter, an artist set up near me to paint the street at dusk. I loved his work, but didn't stay long enough for his show. I jokingly asked him if he finished his portrait of me in my costume. He gave me a postcard and said he has an art opening tonight. In fact, he said through a straight face, his life-size portrait of me as an elf was hanging front and center at the gallery! If only. He's just as nice as I remembered, and encouraged me to come by. I agreed to, once it was confirmed that there was wine and cheese. It turns out he lives in Falmouth and commuted to both Newbury St. and Ptown, so I'm sure I'll see him again. I ended up not going to the opening because the playing was so good that I didn't stop until it was time to go. 'Twould have been fun though.
10. People asked for Beer Barrel Polka twice! Good thing I remember it!
11. I ran into two ARHS faculty members, as I did last year. This year they brought their kids!
12. Guess who biked by? John Waters, movie director. Looked at me, but no reaction.
13. Two guys stopped and asked if they could take a picture with me. One photographed while the other posed and a lady walking by offered to take one of the three of us. I liked this, because it is the personal rule of Tim, my host dad in San Francisco, to always offer to take the group photo when you see this scenario. I adopted that rule as well, and have implemented it a few times (once in Mexico in Spanish!). I told this lady that I share that philosophy and she agreed that more people should do it.
14. I was right outside of one Salt Water Taffy store and across the street from another. I kept waiting for a kid to find a flavor he/she didn't like and drop it into my box. Finally a girl dropped something into my box that landed with a thud. I exclaimed, "Finally, I've been waiting for someone to drop me some taffy all night!" The girl and her mom politely smiled. When I emptied my box later that night, there was no taffy to be found. She must have dropped coins all along, and wondered what the hell I was talking about.
15. A guy I recognized but couldn't place (maybe the Swiss man I met last year?) made a joke: "The statue said he wants to switch. He can play accordion and you can go stand there in his place!"
16. Amy Winehouse. Let's talk about her. As you have probably heard, she died yesterday. I reckoned I was one of the few who knew, since most passersby had spent the day on the beach. I tried out a couple of her songs, which were actually quite easy ("Rehab" and "You Know I'm no Good"). Playing them made me super sad. I never gave her much thought, but she should inspire us all to get to work on our projects. I'm sure she intended another album, but she waited and mucked around and then it was too late. Of course she took steps into the negative in addition to not working on the positive, but it's still a good lesson. What am I waiting for with all my projects and goals and dreams? (I drove super carefully on the way home that night with mortality on my mind. It occurred to me that maybe this night of playing was TOO good. I barely exceeded 40 MPH on route six.)
Anyway, somehow Amy came up with this middle-aged lady. Her take on it was, "She had such a talent but just couldn't figure out how to live!" In her company I gave Rehab another spin and she teared up a little. "She shouldn't have said 'No no no!'" This lady laughed in spite of herself, but also confirmed my own sadness. Death at 27 is always sad! That said, I want to actually practice her songs, now that I know how easy they are. ("You Know I'm No Good" is the chord progression I use when I Klezmer-ize songs!)
17. At one point, a band set up at the main Town Hall pitch and they were too loud! I was going to wait for someone I knew to walk by and asked him/her to either ask them to turn it down or watch my stuff while I did, but alas no one showed up. For a while it was mayhem. When the statue left, he was replaced by the balloon man who sings along with recording of old standards while making balloon animals. He's loud and annoying as well. Because I was in this magical spot, though, neither was enough to drown me out.
When I packed up I went to talk to the band. It turns out it was Ben Pegg, a guitar player who I've never had much of an affection for, with an upright bass player. I always expect the worst when complaining to other musicians about their volume, but the bass player was super nice.
18. One interesting thing is that I like to play "Donna E Mobile" early on to test my ability that day. It's so easy, so if I mess it up I know I'm doomed that day. I didn't play it for a while last night but when I did I totally butchered it. That was surprising because everything else was okay!
19. Should have mentioned this sooner: I saw some old friends! When I was boarding the bus to Ptown I got a text from Chris Skoglund, friend from college and band-mate in The Farhanettes (2006) asking if I was in Ptown. He was there with Jon Moran, Sune, and her boyfriend Sam, all folks I lived with freshman year at Clark. They came to Ptown for the day. It was great to see them! Hopefully Chris will quit his day job and come on the road with me.
20. Funiculi Funicula. Note to self: learn the ending!!! I played it several times last night, and a man stopped to listen. He said that he knows that one and explained that Jerry Garcia used to pick the melody in the middle of a song. This man also asked, "You know how electric guitar players made faces while they're shredding?" "Yeah." "Well you totally do it too!" Ha.
21. There were lots of bachelor/ette parties last night! They're usually characterized by groups of women in heels, one of which wearing a crown made of penes (I first saw "penes" used as the plural of "penis" in Cat's Cradle, and will forever use it). When I see these groups, I like to play "Here Comes the Bride." Usually they ignore me (typical heteros, right??). Tonight, there was a bachelor party as well. A group of men wearing all white strolled along wearing colorful veils. The two men in front donned rainbow veils. Unlike they women, they LOVED their bridal serenade. Their laughter continued when I seriously offered to play at their wedding on Thursday!
22. Sometimes I get people who stay for a while, contribute suggestions, and chat. Sometimes they're cool, sometimes they're annoying. I had two last night. The first, a dude, was annoying. It's nice that we share a passion for music, but his long detailed description of this new piece of equipment he bought took away from my playing time. Did sound cool, though. The second was a teenage girl from NYC. She was super pumped about the ocean, and told me about pier jumping that day. Apparently she belly flopped and it really hurt. She had a lot to say about people being cheap when she witnessed an interaction between some teenage boys regarding a donation. I was pumped that a teenage boy was choosing to donate to my cause on his own. The girl listened to what they were saying, and took offense somehow for my sake. Nice to have a fan! The song she requested was Lady Gaga's Alejandro. While I played it another teenage boy came over, so I turned it into the medley. The boy sang along, and I got a small crowd! This was nice, because I've been phasing out the Gaga medley since it's getting a little outdated with all the new songs out there. Glad to know it still works!
23. Something I noticed last night was that my donors represented many different races and nationalities. With the exception of traditions in Louisiana and Mexico, the accordion really has its history with white people, and it's usually white people that donate, comment, and also play. Last night, we were all one family under the sky, we're a family under one sky (as Dayspring would sing).
24. Some more Ptown characters: the pedicab captain and the mean hippie. I've come to recognize the Pedicab pedalers and we usually smile wave. There's one older guy who I take to be in charge. Usually he ignores me, but last night I got my first smile and save from him! Conversely, I continue to get nothing from the mean hippie. There's this young man who rocks a style straight from a 1970s halloween costume: long hair, beard, round glasses, flowy shirt, vest, belt, bell-bottoms, boots. He's clearly a local, and I've found that the locals I see regularly at least acknowledge my presence, if not talk to me. He just walks by coolly every time.
25. A [gay] man walked up, and not breaking eye contact, came in really close, as if he was going to whisper something in my ear. Instead he kissed me on the cheek, smiled, and walked away. (That's a good thing)
26. Towards the end of the evening, a woman tipped me and said, "This is for all the Italian songs." I knew I was learning them for a reason! That brings us to...
27. Italian songs! I learned a couple, and they were being well-received. I've decided to prioritize learning more. Lil Red is Italian, of course, and she seems to love playing Italian songs. I quickly learned a couple more this week, so now "Come Back to Sorrento" and "Marianna/Marina" (which is it??) have joined "Santa Lucia," "La Donna E Mobile," and "Funiculi Funicula."
28. A man dropped a bill and said, "Carry on, my friend." Obviously rehearsed. Will do, sir.
29. Best interaction of the night! Two men stopped, and one said he has an identical accordion! It's a red Iorio! Later he revised that statement and said it's a 48-bass and a little bigger. Still so cool to hear that, mine's the only Iorio I know. He asked about my story, and I told him. He lives in New York and took lessons for ten years. The conversation ended with joking about buying his from him which took a turn for the not-humorous (as in, not a joke. Could happen). He said his Mom is downsizing and he might actually sell it to me. That would be absolutely amazing if the accordion I upgrade to is a slightly bigger version of my perfect accordion. I've been calling mine "Lil Red," and then I could call his "Big Red," naturally. I even offered foster care for a year or two rather than a permanent sale. I hope to hear from him.
30. My notes say "paint." I'll have to get back to you on that one when my memory kicks in.
31. Wow, how's that for timing. I just saw that I have a new email, and it's from the PAINTER I met last night, which is clearly what #30 is about! I met a painter who asked if he could take photos to paint from, and he sent it over:
Check out his work at http://www.davidwellsroth.com/
32. Chris Jim John Tom. These young men whose appearance Clarkies would describe as "metal" (long hair, scary band t-shirts) kept walking by and showing excitement about my act. Finally as I was packing up we talked. Two live in Wellfleet and two are visiting. I asked for requests, and Jim asked for Sublime. Luckily I learned Santeria last winter! I played it and fun was had by all, including two girls walking by. I haven't been playing it because it appeals to a very small set of people (not children, not elderly, not gays), but it could be quite a success with the right audience. They also told me to learn Funkytown right as the Funkmobile drove by. They introduced themselves as Chris, Jim, John and Tom. I commented that it was a mouthful, and they said they also respond to "Hey douchebags." Ha. Hope to see them again!
33. As I was packing up at 11:00 (when the permit ends, the latest I've ever packed up), a lone teenage boy came over. I told him to make a request and he said "Ice Ice Baby." Then he ran off. The cops were right there monitoring traffic so I didn't want to exceed 11:00, even though I doubt they'd say anything. Also, I had to meet Alice for a ride back then. When I lingered in Saki while Alice got ready, a co-worker of hers tried to guess what was in the box. He asked if it was alive and I pointed out the lack of airholes. He then guessed "A dead rabbit or pigeon, then?" Almost.
34. Almost forgot, a little boy was transfixed by the instrument. I presented him with Flaca, hoping to bend gender norms by getting a little boy to play with a doll. Alas, he was not into her, but totally into the accordion. Mom played Flaca instead.
I don't dare remember anything else or my brain will melt being at the computer for this long! This was such a lovely night, thanks for reading!
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