Last night was my first busking of 2012! Unfortunately, it was super slow. It was warmer than it has been (in the thirties), and you expect people to be out on Friday nights. People were scarce, however, and the Coyote Choir was set up right outside of Thornes so most people saw them first and were at their tipping quota by the time they saw me. Two accordions really is a lot for one town. It was still nice to be out, though, and to play my songs.
Friday, January 6th, 2012:
1. A teenager asked, "Where's the elf costume?" Do people think I wear it year-round?
2. A lady came and got my info to play at events. This would be "If I ever get married or have a party." Way to play for the hypothetical!
3. I got a lot of compliments on my piano "skirt!" (Quotes because it's a whole dress.) One guy said he was going to just give me change, but the skirt was worth the whole dollar.
4. Something not specific to last night that I've never mentioned: usually it's annoying when loud trucks or motorcycles go by and drown you out. However, sometimes the timing is perfect when you're not sure what chord goes next. The truck goes by and you can play with chords that only you can hear, and when the truck sound dies down the people hear just what you came up with during the vehicle's passing!
5. A lot of people commented on the fact that there were two accordions out. This is usually the case, so I was surprised that it was breaking news last night. People also read between the lines and asked if we got along okay. They really were extra loud last night.
6. A little girl walked by and said I played "beautiful music." Things like that really make my night.
7. My nights are also made when, like last night, middle-aged ladies see my loans sign and say "Me too, honey!"
8. I was struck with a conundrum last night that I haven't faced before. These two ladies came by, from the direction that meant they might not have seen the Coyote Choir yet. One of them held some singles, and dropped a couple in my box. I was dying to know whether or not the rest were going to the CC. I wanted to watch them cross the street, but also a hot guy was walking towards me! Which do I look at?? The timing was close, but I was able to keep an eye on both parties in the key seconds. The ladies did not tip the CC. Small victories!
9. I don't play the Lady Gaga medley much anymore, but I busted it out last night and these two young guys loved it! They actually stuck around for the whole thing.
10. I often don't like simply going home after I pack up, and try to scout people to grab a drink with after. When a guy lingers, that's often my best bet. I looked up at one point to see a guy lingering. I was playing "Werewolves of London" and he sang along!!! Then this other man requested "Ring of Fire" but didn't even stick around to hear it. My friend sang along with that too, but didn't recognize "I Want You Back." I thought it was a good sign that he had stayed this long, and I commented that I wished more people sang along. He responded "What else are people supposed to do while they wait for their girlfriends in the bank?" Touche.
11. Faces was still projecting the green dots I've mentioned, and this time there was no Salvation Army bell ringer right in front of them. I wondered that if I were to set up six feet to my left, right in front of the dots, if people would give me credit for them and tip better. Hmmm.
12. I was pretty frustrated that I had done so poorly money-wise, but the icing on the cake happened when I was packing up. A couple had used the ATM and needed to break their twenty. The man came and asked if I had two tens for a twenty. I said no. Then he asked if I had twenty ones. Come on, people, I'm not a currency kiosk. If they had asked for the singles first I might have thought they intended to tip me, but asking for tens is a different story. Argh.
13. When I was just about packed up, a pack of hooligans came over. I find teenagers hilarious and endearing, and this was a great bunch. They were on their way to play some underage beer pong and thought they'd stop and listen to some accordion. I couldn't satisfy their requests for Incubus or Zeppelin, but I did some Gaga. They suggested that they "take care of" the Coyote Choir for me. At one point a rubber rat fell out of one of their pockets. Having a crowd is always good for attracting other people, and sure enough some folks that didn't fit in with this rowdy bunch stopped to listen, after I had given up hope of more tips.
14. I'm super pumped to have Leonard Cohen's "So Long, Marianne" in my repertoire. That song was written for accordion. Not too hard, and sounds really great! Can't wait to have it recognized.
The end. I was going to play again today since it's so warm out, but I simply don't feel like it. Next stop: St. Augustine, Florida!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
"If I was 100 years younger I'd make a pass at you!": New Year's Eve 2011
Alas, my 2011 Northampton busking permit is now expired, but not before one more action-packed night of playing. Well it wasn't actually action-packed, but the hours flew by! I went into Northampton with high expectations, because I did very well last year. It would have made a great blog post, but I didn't keep the blog yet and I can't seem to find any mention of things that happened that night. I didn't do as well this year as I did last year, which I attribute to the following things:
1. I had competition. The Coyote Choir was out all night as was Jesse the harp player. I'm sure Downtown Dan was playing his guitar, and someone mentioned hearing a saxophone playing "Isn't She Lovely?" on repeat. Last year I don't remember anyone else being out, so I had the crowd to myself.
2. Some locals recognize me, so the novelty of my act has worn off.
3. I didn't run into too many people I know, who tend to drop the big bills.
**Interjection: I'm super super tired (last night was New Year's Eve, after all), and I'm already doing weird typos. I'm probably not going to catch them all, so if some things don't make sense, sorry!**
However, this year I looked pretty awesome. I found a blue beaded dress with silver trip at Ultra Gal. It was baggy enough on top to fit a few layers underneath! I used the pre-existing velcro on my accordion to hold on a layer of silver fabric so it would match better. My brother helped me construct silver crown for accordion and me alike with "2012" in blue pipe cleaner, and I wore silver star earrings. At Ultra Gal I also eyed some elbow-length silver gloves, although rather than covering your fingers they just formed a triangle on the back of the user's hand and hooked over the middle finger. They looked easy enough to construct, so I made a pair with silver fabric. I made them baggy, however, to fit shirts, but they ended up looking really bad (choose your favorite: chain mail or space-age alien). I did not end up wearing them. Here's our whole getup:
I arrived in town and walked by the empty Faces pitch to do an errand, and when I came back Jesse had set up. Argh! I turned the corner at set up by Starbucks, later moving to the actual corner of Main and Masonic in front of the Fresh Pasta Co. to be in the light. This was around 3:30.
It was a generally fun night; it was great to be playing my old songs again (and I love playing Auld Lang Syne), people were in a festive mood, and, best of all, children thought I was a queen! But, I was cold. Very. When my parents showed up I had them assist me in un-safety pinning my dress so I could add one more layer. I used Toas-T-Toes for the first time. My folks also brought me cardboard to stand on. Brrr!
Saturday, December 31, 2011:
I. Children
1. A dad gave his little girl in a stroller a dollar to put in my box and wheeled her close. She dropped it, but it missed. She reached down to pick it up, reaching farther and farther until she eventually tumbled out of the stroller. Now that's a devoted fan!
2. Some preteen boys walked by. One saw my hat and commented, "Actually, it's 2013." I imagine this had been a joke previously that evening.
3. I was playing Beer Barrel Polka and these three teenage boys, at their parents' request, starting "dancing." Their move was a simple bobbing up and down. Pretty silly.
4. A kid asked for Dynamite, which I obliged!
5. A very adorable little girl was hanging around, and she was given a dollar to put in my box. She had a very hard time getting it in, and it took at least six tries. Pretty amusing for those of us looking on.
6. When that same little girl walked over with her mother, I heard the mother say, "Why don't you ask her." The girl asked me if I was a queen. Funny, even wearing a crowd I wasn't expecting that!
7. I had a strange conversation with a teenage boy. He just wouldn't accept that I'm choosing to do this. He called it "kind of sad" that I went to college and couldn't get a job, so I had to resort to this. Actually, young man, that's not it at all. He just wouldn't be swayed though, giving me all kinds of pity. Weird.
8. I took my dinner break at Sam's Pizza, as usual, which was super crowded. I sat at a table that is easily visible when you come in. These two little girls came in, and just walked right over to me. One started playing with my box, and the other stroked my dress. I loved this, I explained everything I was doing to them. On my agenda for the dinner break was to insert some toe warmers. They were fascinated, and helped me choose the right spot on my foot for them based on the picture on the wrapper. Super cute.
9. When the fireworks started, a parent asked her small child, "Is this better than in the summer?" Sounds like someone had a traumatic 4th of July.
II. Not kids
1. A man showed me the logo on the back of his Marines jacket and asked if I could play the Marines song. Luckily I practiced all these for the 4th of July, so I did pretty well! He told several passersby what I had done. Of course, I'm wary of people not catching on that I'm playing for one person and thinking that I always play patriotic songs. Same when a kid asked me to play Jingle Bells.
2. A man sat down in the outdoor seating area of Fresh Pasta Company and fed a bottle to a baby. I played Twin Peaks then, and he totally recognized it! Awesome.
3. A lot of people were asking for Beer Barrel Polka last night! I played it at least three times, and this guy sang and actually knew a lot of the words.
4. A lady who was chaperoning lots of kids asked for Auld Lang Syne, and she sang along. That was nice.
5. I saw a guy in a Giants hat! Go San Francisco!
6. Last year I got on TV. Not this year :(
Now, a more serious section. I don't often spill my deep feelings in the blog, but tonight I will address one of my FAQs: "Don't you ever get lonely?"
Yes, oh yes, I do. And I certainly did last night.
Chapter 1: General Loneliness
I am now aware that if I am going to continue being a gypsy, I sacrifice certain things, specifically developing a sense of community in one place and creating routines that involve friends, be them new or old. A few times in the past 18 months of my gypsydom I have gone to an established household of young people for events or to stay, and it is just so goddamn cozy and nice. These people have other young people around to talk to, they can host posh dinner parties, get a cat, etc. The other sacrifices I make are as a workaholic, if a busker can hold that term. When the playing is good, I want to play all the time. Sometimes that means that it's a great night in Provincetown, and rather than attending a party I was invited to where I could potentially make friends, I keep playing. Last year I was thinking about going to Worcester for a New Year's Party with lots of friends, but I decided to stay and play, and ended up making good money. The experience (and income) of playing makes it worth it to skip these events. Then there are the bigger sacrifices of moving across the country, where even if I was going to see my friends in Massachusetts, it obviously wouldn't be happening for many months. I got super lucky in San Francisco that a college friend just handed me her friends when I got there and I had a great group. I'm confident that one way or another I'll make friends where I go, but I have this lingering feeling that everyone can sense my desperation.
Chapter 2: Not caring
In recent months, I've started caring way less about my social life. I'm focusing more on my act, which thrills me so much. I feel like I'm finally developing good skills as an accordion player, and that my career is at my fingertips right now, whether I follow the tourists and busk hardcore, start a band, or try to publish my book. I've started going to bed super early which makes it easy to forget about all the young people out at bars who I should be hanging out with. If I busk enough, then I talk to enough people in a day to satisfy an imaginary "socializing" quota within all of us. I use these examples to justify not really having a social life, and sometimes I actually buy it. But...
Chapter 3: Last night
Last night, I didn't buy it. I packed up my accordion at nine and thought about what to do for one of the biggest party nights of the year. Last year I hung out with my old friend Molly and had a grand old time, but she was working. She's pretty much the only friend I have left in the area, since my other high school friends had gone back to their cities and social lives. I frantically tried to find someone to go out with, even putting a thinly-veiled desperate plea on facebook. An old friend said he'd be out, but then decided to go to New York, so I was completely alone. I went into justification-mode and reminded myself that I could have gone to Boston or New York and seen friends, but instead I decided to make a buttload* of money. I still stand behind that decision. Last year I made my sacrifice, expecting that I gave up on a fun night by playing, but then I actually had a really fun night afterwards. This gave me expectations, which mess everything up. Anyway, the brief hint of loneliness I felt got worse when I joined up with the Coyote Choir. Here I had fabricated this equation that street musicians are martyrs to fun, since it was the only solution to my pity party, but it is clearly not the case. What I'm trying to say is that there is no apparent loneliness in the Coyote Choir. The two men have each other, first of all, so they can check in about songs and breaks and comment on weirdos together. Secondly, they've been playing in Northampton for a long time and they have a following. People stop and listen. They get recognized all the time. They have no trouble finding stuff to do on New Year's Eve. I also admittedly resented them a little last night for taking the best spot and staying there all day, and also plugging a space heater into the Thornes Christmas Light outlet while the rest of us suffered in the cold. Additionally, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I'm envious of what they have. I would love having someone to share my experiences, to have a gig-worthy band to find gigs with, and of course do matching outfits (not that the CC does). What it comes down to is that I'm stingy. I want to keep all my earnings, and I want my stories to be mine exclusively. It's also easier to couch surf and make single serving friends on one's own. In the very small chance that the CC ever reads this: I love you guys. Your music is amazing, you busk well, and it was really nice of you to let me hang out with you last night!
*I recently heard a teenage interviewee use the word "buttload" on NPR (probably for the first time ever) and it reminded me how satisfying that measurement is. I'm trying to use it as much as possible.
I'm sorry, I have no idea what I'm rambling about. Haven't had a good sleep in a while. I'll wrap this up quickly and probably edit/delete all of it in the morning.
Chapter 5: Happy ending
Last night was okay. Some nights haven't ended happily, but fundamentally my New Year's Eve ended up being the best it could be, under the circumstances. I found another lonesome gypsy. After several walked laps around town reciprocating high fives and shouted greetings and grimacing at everyone sucking face on the sidewalk, I ended up outside the Dirty Truth, where someone recognized me and stopped to talk. This other guy who was outside smoking recognized me as well and confided that he was inside drinking alone. I joined him, and we agreed that this happenstance saved both of our evenings. He's a different kind of gypsy: he in fact has a "real" job, but he moves around all the time and thus suffers the same feelings of loneliness, alienation, and insignificance that I do. His job puts him up in hotels for months at a time, which makes it difficult to get to know local young people. He gets to go to really cool places, though: he just got back from a year in Manchester, UK and is headed off soon to Luxembourg. He enjoys the places but avoids getting too settled in since he'll be leaving before too long. He's back home in Vermont for the holidays, and came to Northampton with some friends to see a show. He bailed on the show and set out for a solitary NYE. We talked about places in Europe, and it became clear to me that I should expedite my Edinburgh plan. I had planned to stay near the Northeast this summer so I could attend my family reunion, my college a cappella group's 20th reunion, and my cousin's wedding. Montreal seemed to be a good choice. Talking to Drew made me realize that what I really want to do is go to Edinburgh ASAP, even if it means skipping these fun things.
Another thing I realized is that I need to hone my gimmicks. There are so many street musicians, and accordions are coming back in fashion. If I'm going to keep doing well I need a theme or something. The Elf costume was great, for example. Kids are drawn to me so my mom thinks I should focus on being a children's entertainer. Whatever happens, I'm at a stage now that I need to really know what I'm doing and do it all the time.
That is all. Sorry for getting weepy, I usually use the blog just for fun stuff and maintain my confident composure, but it slips sometimes. It's not like anyone reads this anyway!! Happy New Year!
1. I had competition. The Coyote Choir was out all night as was Jesse the harp player. I'm sure Downtown Dan was playing his guitar, and someone mentioned hearing a saxophone playing "Isn't She Lovely?" on repeat. Last year I don't remember anyone else being out, so I had the crowd to myself.
2. Some locals recognize me, so the novelty of my act has worn off.
3. I didn't run into too many people I know, who tend to drop the big bills.
**Interjection: I'm super super tired (last night was New Year's Eve, after all), and I'm already doing weird typos. I'm probably not going to catch them all, so if some things don't make sense, sorry!**
However, this year I looked pretty awesome. I found a blue beaded dress with silver trip at Ultra Gal. It was baggy enough on top to fit a few layers underneath! I used the pre-existing velcro on my accordion to hold on a layer of silver fabric so it would match better. My brother helped me construct silver crown for accordion and me alike with "2012" in blue pipe cleaner, and I wore silver star earrings. At Ultra Gal I also eyed some elbow-length silver gloves, although rather than covering your fingers they just formed a triangle on the back of the user's hand and hooked over the middle finger. They looked easy enough to construct, so I made a pair with silver fabric. I made them baggy, however, to fit shirts, but they ended up looking really bad (choose your favorite: chain mail or space-age alien). I did not end up wearing them. Here's our whole getup:
I arrived in town and walked by the empty Faces pitch to do an errand, and when I came back Jesse had set up. Argh! I turned the corner at set up by Starbucks, later moving to the actual corner of Main and Masonic in front of the Fresh Pasta Co. to be in the light. This was around 3:30.
It was a generally fun night; it was great to be playing my old songs again (and I love playing Auld Lang Syne), people were in a festive mood, and, best of all, children thought I was a queen! But, I was cold. Very. When my parents showed up I had them assist me in un-safety pinning my dress so I could add one more layer. I used Toas-T-Toes for the first time. My folks also brought me cardboard to stand on. Brrr!
Saturday, December 31, 2011:
I. Children
1. A dad gave his little girl in a stroller a dollar to put in my box and wheeled her close. She dropped it, but it missed. She reached down to pick it up, reaching farther and farther until she eventually tumbled out of the stroller. Now that's a devoted fan!
2. Some preteen boys walked by. One saw my hat and commented, "Actually, it's 2013." I imagine this had been a joke previously that evening.
3. I was playing Beer Barrel Polka and these three teenage boys, at their parents' request, starting "dancing." Their move was a simple bobbing up and down. Pretty silly.
4. A kid asked for Dynamite, which I obliged!
5. A very adorable little girl was hanging around, and she was given a dollar to put in my box. She had a very hard time getting it in, and it took at least six tries. Pretty amusing for those of us looking on.
6. When that same little girl walked over with her mother, I heard the mother say, "Why don't you ask her." The girl asked me if I was a queen. Funny, even wearing a crowd I wasn't expecting that!
7. I had a strange conversation with a teenage boy. He just wouldn't accept that I'm choosing to do this. He called it "kind of sad" that I went to college and couldn't get a job, so I had to resort to this. Actually, young man, that's not it at all. He just wouldn't be swayed though, giving me all kinds of pity. Weird.
8. I took my dinner break at Sam's Pizza, as usual, which was super crowded. I sat at a table that is easily visible when you come in. These two little girls came in, and just walked right over to me. One started playing with my box, and the other stroked my dress. I loved this, I explained everything I was doing to them. On my agenda for the dinner break was to insert some toe warmers. They were fascinated, and helped me choose the right spot on my foot for them based on the picture on the wrapper. Super cute.
9. When the fireworks started, a parent asked her small child, "Is this better than in the summer?" Sounds like someone had a traumatic 4th of July.
II. Not kids
1. A man showed me the logo on the back of his Marines jacket and asked if I could play the Marines song. Luckily I practiced all these for the 4th of July, so I did pretty well! He told several passersby what I had done. Of course, I'm wary of people not catching on that I'm playing for one person and thinking that I always play patriotic songs. Same when a kid asked me to play Jingle Bells.
2. A man sat down in the outdoor seating area of Fresh Pasta Company and fed a bottle to a baby. I played Twin Peaks then, and he totally recognized it! Awesome.
3. A lot of people were asking for Beer Barrel Polka last night! I played it at least three times, and this guy sang and actually knew a lot of the words.
4. A lady who was chaperoning lots of kids asked for Auld Lang Syne, and she sang along. That was nice.
5. I saw a guy in a Giants hat! Go San Francisco!
6. Last year I got on TV. Not this year :(
Now, a more serious section. I don't often spill my deep feelings in the blog, but tonight I will address one of my FAQs: "Don't you ever get lonely?"
Yes, oh yes, I do. And I certainly did last night.
Chapter 1: General Loneliness
I am now aware that if I am going to continue being a gypsy, I sacrifice certain things, specifically developing a sense of community in one place and creating routines that involve friends, be them new or old. A few times in the past 18 months of my gypsydom I have gone to an established household of young people for events or to stay, and it is just so goddamn cozy and nice. These people have other young people around to talk to, they can host posh dinner parties, get a cat, etc. The other sacrifices I make are as a workaholic, if a busker can hold that term. When the playing is good, I want to play all the time. Sometimes that means that it's a great night in Provincetown, and rather than attending a party I was invited to where I could potentially make friends, I keep playing. Last year I was thinking about going to Worcester for a New Year's Party with lots of friends, but I decided to stay and play, and ended up making good money. The experience (and income) of playing makes it worth it to skip these events. Then there are the bigger sacrifices of moving across the country, where even if I was going to see my friends in Massachusetts, it obviously wouldn't be happening for many months. I got super lucky in San Francisco that a college friend just handed me her friends when I got there and I had a great group. I'm confident that one way or another I'll make friends where I go, but I have this lingering feeling that everyone can sense my desperation.
Chapter 2: Not caring
In recent months, I've started caring way less about my social life. I'm focusing more on my act, which thrills me so much. I feel like I'm finally developing good skills as an accordion player, and that my career is at my fingertips right now, whether I follow the tourists and busk hardcore, start a band, or try to publish my book. I've started going to bed super early which makes it easy to forget about all the young people out at bars who I should be hanging out with. If I busk enough, then I talk to enough people in a day to satisfy an imaginary "socializing" quota within all of us. I use these examples to justify not really having a social life, and sometimes I actually buy it. But...
Chapter 3: Last night
Last night, I didn't buy it. I packed up my accordion at nine and thought about what to do for one of the biggest party nights of the year. Last year I hung out with my old friend Molly and had a grand old time, but she was working. She's pretty much the only friend I have left in the area, since my other high school friends had gone back to their cities and social lives. I frantically tried to find someone to go out with, even putting a thinly-veiled desperate plea on facebook. An old friend said he'd be out, but then decided to go to New York, so I was completely alone. I went into justification-mode and reminded myself that I could have gone to Boston or New York and seen friends, but instead I decided to make a buttload* of money. I still stand behind that decision. Last year I made my sacrifice, expecting that I gave up on a fun night by playing, but then I actually had a really fun night afterwards. This gave me expectations, which mess everything up. Anyway, the brief hint of loneliness I felt got worse when I joined up with the Coyote Choir. Here I had fabricated this equation that street musicians are martyrs to fun, since it was the only solution to my pity party, but it is clearly not the case. What I'm trying to say is that there is no apparent loneliness in the Coyote Choir. The two men have each other, first of all, so they can check in about songs and breaks and comment on weirdos together. Secondly, they've been playing in Northampton for a long time and they have a following. People stop and listen. They get recognized all the time. They have no trouble finding stuff to do on New Year's Eve. I also admittedly resented them a little last night for taking the best spot and staying there all day, and also plugging a space heater into the Thornes Christmas Light outlet while the rest of us suffered in the cold. Additionally, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I'm envious of what they have. I would love having someone to share my experiences, to have a gig-worthy band to find gigs with, and of course do matching outfits (not that the CC does). What it comes down to is that I'm stingy. I want to keep all my earnings, and I want my stories to be mine exclusively. It's also easier to couch surf and make single serving friends on one's own. In the very small chance that the CC ever reads this: I love you guys. Your music is amazing, you busk well, and it was really nice of you to let me hang out with you last night!
*I recently heard a teenage interviewee use the word "buttload" on NPR (probably for the first time ever) and it reminded me how satisfying that measurement is. I'm trying to use it as much as possible.
I'm sorry, I have no idea what I'm rambling about. Haven't had a good sleep in a while. I'll wrap this up quickly and probably edit/delete all of it in the morning.
Chapter 5: Happy ending
Last night was okay. Some nights haven't ended happily, but fundamentally my New Year's Eve ended up being the best it could be, under the circumstances. I found another lonesome gypsy. After several walked laps around town reciprocating high fives and shouted greetings and grimacing at everyone sucking face on the sidewalk, I ended up outside the Dirty Truth, where someone recognized me and stopped to talk. This other guy who was outside smoking recognized me as well and confided that he was inside drinking alone. I joined him, and we agreed that this happenstance saved both of our evenings. He's a different kind of gypsy: he in fact has a "real" job, but he moves around all the time and thus suffers the same feelings of loneliness, alienation, and insignificance that I do. His job puts him up in hotels for months at a time, which makes it difficult to get to know local young people. He gets to go to really cool places, though: he just got back from a year in Manchester, UK and is headed off soon to Luxembourg. He enjoys the places but avoids getting too settled in since he'll be leaving before too long. He's back home in Vermont for the holidays, and came to Northampton with some friends to see a show. He bailed on the show and set out for a solitary NYE. We talked about places in Europe, and it became clear to me that I should expedite my Edinburgh plan. I had planned to stay near the Northeast this summer so I could attend my family reunion, my college a cappella group's 20th reunion, and my cousin's wedding. Montreal seemed to be a good choice. Talking to Drew made me realize that what I really want to do is go to Edinburgh ASAP, even if it means skipping these fun things.
Another thing I realized is that I need to hone my gimmicks. There are so many street musicians, and accordions are coming back in fashion. If I'm going to keep doing well I need a theme or something. The Elf costume was great, for example. Kids are drawn to me so my mom thinks I should focus on being a children's entertainer. Whatever happens, I'm at a stage now that I need to really know what I'm doing and do it all the time.
That is all. Sorry for getting weepy, I usually use the blog just for fun stuff and maintain my confident composure, but it slips sometimes. It's not like anyone reads this anyway!! Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Hanging Up the Elf Shoes
Just got back from my last time busking as an elf this year! Woo-hoo! (Don't worry, I'll still be an elf to go to the airport tomorrow to get my brother and at the subsequent holiday parties).
It's way past bedtime, but once the Christmas festivities start I certainly won't have time to blog, so I wanted to get it down quickly now before I forget:
Friday, December 23, 2011
First: I played briefly last Tuesday. A down-on-his-luck looking man showed up to collect for the Salvation Army. I thought he was totally bogus and it was a scam to get money: he wore a Salvation Army hat, rang a ratty old bell and held out a stocking. Eek. But then someone delivered the actual collection bin and good bell, so he was legit! As it turned out, he used to play bells in a band, and he's a really good percussionist! He played along, and did all sorts of fancy moves (triplets, vibrato-ish rattling at the ends of songs). Nice.
Tonight, 5:15-9:00, Faces:
1. Two women walked by, mid-conversation about elves: "....just like that! [Points to me.] A little elfy!" I said, "I'm more than a little elfy." She said, "Yeah, you don't get any elfier." (My spell-check is having a field day)
2. A young woman asked me if I'm the one on Youtube who she saw playing Twin Peaks. I confirmed that I was, and played it for her! When I learned it I was reeeeeally hoping for people to request it. Done and done!
3. Two adorable toddler twin boys held hands and watched, totally mesmerized. Cute.
4. A man told me a history of my elf shoes: he said the curly-toed shoe tradition is from Norway. These shoes easily hook onto your homemade skis!
5. A man asked if I was a real elf, and if my toes actually curl. I should have been telling people that all along!
6. I ran into a man named Nol (sp?) who looked familiar. He placed me before I placed him: he vends at the Wellfleet Flea Market in the summers, and we chatted when I bought vintage Valentines with accordions on them last summer. This is a man who likes to talk. I remember that from last summer, that he went on and on. Same thing happened tonight, he came over at least twice and talked and talked. Lots of potential customers went by!
7. A guy dropped $11 in the box and said that he honestly had found it on the street and that it must be mine. Wow. Nice guy.
8. "This is for your tights...and shoes...and hat...and everything."
9. "This is for degrading yourself by dressing like an elf." Hey!
10. A man asked for "O Holy Night," which I agreed to limp through, since it's not one of my stronger songs. I made quite a few mistakes, and he said, "Well I was going to give you a dollar but you missed some notes." JK!
11. A guy said that he's working the door at the club Elevens tonight and invited me to play in the foyer between bands, since people will have singles! That was nice of him. The thing I liked about this conversation was that he said, "Sounds good!," I said, "Thank you!," then he said, "You're welcome," in this funny, aside sort of voice. You had to be there.
12. A man complimented my costume, and we talked about what other holidays I could dress up for. He suggested Columbus Day. Hmm. "Just imagine all the possibilities!"
13. A guy dropped in a tip while chewing. This isn't uncommon, but he was holding a bottle of hot sauce. Got to keep warm somehow!
14. An interesting character who later introduced himself as "Meatball" made an appearance. He was walking with a cane with no hook, and recommended that I hide some money, as many others do. He said that kids come up on the bus from Holyoke and "scout" which buskers make money to rob. Eek!
15. A man exclaimed, "10 points for Gryffindor!" as he dropped in his tip. That's a first!
16. My parents listened at the end! I always love that because a) they bought me my accordion and I like to make them proud; b) when they listen it looks like a crowd so others listen; c) they know my songs so they make intelligent requests; and d) extra security!
17. While my folks were there these two guys stopped to listen. One was smoking a cigar, and asked if I knew this old carol which he started singing. I didn't, but my mom joined him in song. He asked about another Italian one, then we agreed that I'd play "Santa Lucia," but I couldn't find the key. In the end I played the Godfather theme, and with a little nudging from his friend he sang. Turns out he's a professional singer! He sounded fabulous, obvs, and it was really nice. Great way to end the night!
Okay time for a warm winter's nap. Thanks, Northampton, for being great to an Elf! See you next year!
Love,
S + S's S' S
It's way past bedtime, but once the Christmas festivities start I certainly won't have time to blog, so I wanted to get it down quickly now before I forget:
Friday, December 23, 2011
First: I played briefly last Tuesday. A down-on-his-luck looking man showed up to collect for the Salvation Army. I thought he was totally bogus and it was a scam to get money: he wore a Salvation Army hat, rang a ratty old bell and held out a stocking. Eek. But then someone delivered the actual collection bin and good bell, so he was legit! As it turned out, he used to play bells in a band, and he's a really good percussionist! He played along, and did all sorts of fancy moves (triplets, vibrato-ish rattling at the ends of songs). Nice.
Tonight, 5:15-9:00, Faces:
1. Two women walked by, mid-conversation about elves: "....just like that! [Points to me.] A little elfy!" I said, "I'm more than a little elfy." She said, "Yeah, you don't get any elfier." (My spell-check is having a field day)
2. A young woman asked me if I'm the one on Youtube who she saw playing Twin Peaks. I confirmed that I was, and played it for her! When I learned it I was reeeeeally hoping for people to request it. Done and done!
3. Two adorable toddler twin boys held hands and watched, totally mesmerized. Cute.
4. A man told me a history of my elf shoes: he said the curly-toed shoe tradition is from Norway. These shoes easily hook onto your homemade skis!
5. A man asked if I was a real elf, and if my toes actually curl. I should have been telling people that all along!
6. I ran into a man named Nol (sp?) who looked familiar. He placed me before I placed him: he vends at the Wellfleet Flea Market in the summers, and we chatted when I bought vintage Valentines with accordions on them last summer. This is a man who likes to talk. I remember that from last summer, that he went on and on. Same thing happened tonight, he came over at least twice and talked and talked. Lots of potential customers went by!
7. A guy dropped $11 in the box and said that he honestly had found it on the street and that it must be mine. Wow. Nice guy.
8. "This is for your tights...and shoes...and hat...and everything."
9. "This is for degrading yourself by dressing like an elf." Hey!
10. A man asked for "O Holy Night," which I agreed to limp through, since it's not one of my stronger songs. I made quite a few mistakes, and he said, "Well I was going to give you a dollar but you missed some notes." JK!
11. A guy said that he's working the door at the club Elevens tonight and invited me to play in the foyer between bands, since people will have singles! That was nice of him. The thing I liked about this conversation was that he said, "Sounds good!," I said, "Thank you!," then he said, "You're welcome," in this funny, aside sort of voice. You had to be there.
12. A man complimented my costume, and we talked about what other holidays I could dress up for. He suggested Columbus Day. Hmm. "Just imagine all the possibilities!"
13. A guy dropped in a tip while chewing. This isn't uncommon, but he was holding a bottle of hot sauce. Got to keep warm somehow!
14. An interesting character who later introduced himself as "Meatball" made an appearance. He was walking with a cane with no hook, and recommended that I hide some money, as many others do. He said that kids come up on the bus from Holyoke and "scout" which buskers make money to rob. Eek!
15. A man exclaimed, "10 points for Gryffindor!" as he dropped in his tip. That's a first!
16. My parents listened at the end! I always love that because a) they bought me my accordion and I like to make them proud; b) when they listen it looks like a crowd so others listen; c) they know my songs so they make intelligent requests; and d) extra security!
17. While my folks were there these two guys stopped to listen. One was smoking a cigar, and asked if I knew this old carol which he started singing. I didn't, but my mom joined him in song. He asked about another Italian one, then we agreed that I'd play "Santa Lucia," but I couldn't find the key. In the end I played the Godfather theme, and with a little nudging from his friend he sang. Turns out he's a professional singer! He sounded fabulous, obvs, and it was really nice. Great way to end the night!
Okay time for a warm winter's nap. Thanks, Northampton, for being great to an Elf! See you next year!
Love,
S + S's S' S
Sunday, December 18, 2011
"What Are You, a Pumpkin?"
The past two days have proven once again that Northampton is so awesome. Within ten seconds of parking my car it began: smiles, compliments on the costume, messages for Santa, etc., and didn't stop until I drove away hours later. People were into it, super friendly, and generous both with tips and with goodies to keep me warm and fed.
I'll keep this post short and cut right to the good stuff. My pen wasn't working well in the cold, so my notes are tricky. Hope I don't miss good ones! This is two days worth of material: (bold=my favorites)
Friday, December 16, 2011
Set up first outside Thornes, across from Cedar Chest. 5:30 pm.
1. The Occupiers were set up outside of Bank of America, as they are on Friday nights. Tonight, they were going to sing their versions of "Jingle Bells" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and asked me to accompany them, which I did for an audience of about zero. "You are crooks, you are crooks, we need a tax break...."
2. A guy knew he recognized the song I was playing, but bore a puzzled expression as to where he might have heard the song before. The song in question was "Angels We Have Heard on High."
3. I took my dinner break at Sam's Pizza, where I had my first acquaintance with the employee known as "Big Gay Bob." I can appreciate trying to make jokes, but this guy did not say a serious thing. (I got wine with my pizza). "How old are you?" "23." "Prove it." (After ringing me up,) "That will be...all of your money. Your pizza will be ready eventually." Pretty pessimistic there, Bob! Later I heard him take another customers order. He asked, "And are you drinking heavily?"
From 6:30-9 or so I set up at my favorite spot, outside Faces. Good because it's by the crosswalk, so good foot traffic, centrally located, and Faces projects green dots on the sidewalk that people stop to figure out and thus have to listen to me.
4. As I was walking back from Sam's, these two young folks asked me if I knew where to score some weed. In this town, the "ask a stranger on the street" technique sometimes works, but did they really think the Christmas Elf of all people was their best bet?? When they walked by later they caught my eye and shook their heads, indicating that they hadn't yet found any. That was helpful, since I was on the edge of my seat.
5. A member of one of the many packs of teenage girls walking by loudly said, "Hello my gypsy friend!" I guess my elf costume can't mask my true identity!
6. A gender-ambiguous wheelchair-bound fez-wearer called me a "hot elf." Only in Northampton.
7. Some folks asked me to play "L'Valse d'Amelie" (too many apostrophes?). I usually play other songs from that soundtrack other than the main theme, but I did it and warned them that it gets really tricky and complicated. They said, "It's okay, we have a friend who teaches accordion in North Adams and he has trouble with that part too."
8. There's a note where the pen only starting working for "nicest ever," but I forget who that is :(
9. This incredibly grumpy, sour looking woman stormed by with a very corny snowman pin. I thought that was a funny combination of expression and accessory.
10. This guy went on and on about how I HAVE to go play in Glastonbury, England. Maybe I'll check it out.
11. I saw my childhood next-door neighbors Jeff and Amy which was nice. I saw them in Ptown last summer too! I also saw a good friend from high school, Christine. Great!
12. A young man said he wanted to hear a non-Christmas song, since he's sick of Christmas music since his bagpipe band is playing a lot of it (a normal comment in the Valley). I showed him my set list and he confessed his Beirut fandom. Yay!
13. Lots of people asked about bringing them presents as such, and I asked what they wanted. One guy finally agreed that what he wanted most of all was an accordion!
14. I got a lot of tips just for my costume, or parts (wreath earrings, shoes, even "candy legs").
15. When I played in November I mentioned a Colombian man I met and talked to about tangos. He was out Friday night and danced to my songs!
16. As I mentioned, people are baffled by these moving green lights on the sidewalk in front of Faces. They come from a little projector hidden above the neon Faces sign. If, after a minute of looking, they can't figure out where they come from, I'd pipe up and tell them. But I got cynical after a while, and after asking "Do you want to know the secret?" I'd confess that it's pure Christmas magic.
17. Someone said something like, "It's not what's being played, who's playing it." That's not the right wording, but regarding that it doesn't matter how well I play. It was nice to hear, since I don't actually play well.
18. I met a photographer who recently had a photo in the Advocate of the Coyote Choir, a fellow busking band. ("That was my photo! I'M Doug!") He would've gotten one of me too but didn't have his equipment. How am I going to get famous then, Doug?
19. An adorable little boy lingered for a while with his dad. He wore a frog hat that extended way past his head, and a Red Sox jacket. When he put money in, he giggled the cutest little giggle ever. Too bad Flaca's on vacation!
20. "We expect great things since you look so cute."
21. "That box is going to be full and God's going go bless you for playing his songs out here." Oh, he's a composer too?
22. Lastly, a group of women came out of Faces with a tiara and placed it on one of their member's head. I mouthed to another to ask if it was her birthday, and I got a nod. I played "Happy Birthday," and they loved it. I love doing that! Then they went to the ATM but couldn't tip till they got change. I offered to make change but they said they'd be back. They weren't before 9:00 though. No pasa nada.
And.....Saturday, December 17th, 2011
I started out once again by Thornes, around 1:00 pm, since Steve the guitar player was outside Faces.
1. There was this horribly obnoxious juggler. He obviously is used to working big tourist crowds, and paid no regard to the busking bylaws. he wore an orange vest and a top hat and walked around with three balls. He stopped right outside of Thornes, obviously not 50 feet away from me. He'd get one ball stuck on his hat and ask children where the red ball was. They'd giggle and say "On your head!" I was so mad. I didn't want to leave my stuff to go give him a piece of my mind, so luckily he came over to me. I thought he might ask if it was okay that he was there, but no. He came over and asked me, in a silly voice, "Have you seen my red ball?" Ohhh the nerve of that man. Not only do you invade my pitch and steal my children, but now you're acting like I'm one of them? I nicely told him, "Sir, I'm going to ask you to please move down so we're fifty feet apart. As you can see, I'm more than fifty feet away from that musician over there." He did a minimal job of acknowledging it, and eventually went on his way. This messed me up though, because during the anticipation, execution, and aftermath of a confrontation such as this I always get a huge adrenaline rush. It's annoying, because it's substantial enough that I'm shaky and lightheaded for a long time after. It made it hard to focus, smile, and play well. Later, when a cop checked permits I totally tattled on him. Hopefully he's in the Big House now thinking about what he's done.
2. A stressed mother stopped by with her crying toddler, hoping that I would stop the crying. I switched to Jingle Bells, and it actually worked!
3. There were two little girls around (offspring of Salvation Army bell-ringers?) who had beautiful colorful tutus on. They would come close and listen, but then run back when I tried to talk to them. The older one finally told me about this long, complicated video she had seen with a talking snowball and an elf. It was all she could do to get the ending out, since she was in hysterics. I have no idea what went on in that video.
4. A guy said, "You look cute," and his girlfriend immediately whipped her head around to glare. Oops.
5. A man saw my loans sign and asked if I went to Smith. This line of thinking was the "Sophie" sign, because of the legacy of Sophia Smith. That's a new one!
6. I got some strange costume identifications. Some thought I was a leprechaun, and someone that I was a character from "Alice in Wonderland." Guys, it's Christmas!
I took a long break from around 2-3:30 to do my own shopping. I wanted to leave my accordion somewhere so I could move more swiftly and have hands, so I headed to the Northampton Pottery studio where my old friend Frank crafts (no, he's not related, yuk yuk). I had just missed him, but the other artists extended the invitation to accordion-sit. Thank you!! This break ended at Bueno y Sano, for a lunch/dinner stop.
7. A woman in Bueno told her daughter, "Your quesadilla pizza will be ready soon!" I took this to mean that this child would only eat pizza, so everything was called pizza in that household. Oy.
8. At 3:30 I took over Steve's spot, where I stayed until about 8:30. Steve's so awesome, he told me about all the places he's traveled. Maybe I'll winter in Savannah! It was his 65th birthday yesterday. He suggested that I find some cardboard to stand on, since it works wonders for keeping your feet warm! Awesome, I'll have to try it.
9. For the first time ever in my 18 months of busking, I was asked for my permit. A Northampton cop walked down Main St. and stopped in front of this young guitar player. I saw him pack up his stuff and wondered if there's a bylaw restricting busking on this day. 'Twas not the case, that guy simply "hadn't renewed" his yearly permit, which means he's gotten away with it for 11.5 months! I proudly showed the cop mine when it was my turn, and he was super nice. He said that if anyone's giving me a hard time I should flag him down. I totally tattled on the obnoxious juggler, which will come back to bite me in the ass karmically if I try playing Harvard Square without a permit again.
10. A lot happened at once, suddenly: the guitar player came to talk to me which I was glad about, since I hadn't talked to him before. Then I switched my attention to a lady who asked to hear a French song, so I played her "Parlez-moi d'Amour" (quick note: I'm so sick of Christmas songs and I'm so happy when people request others!). Right on her heels was a family I totally love who I babysit for. I hadn't seen them in a long long time, so it was so nice to see them. The dad mentioned my green hair which I thought was a joke until his wife said he's color-blind. Oops.
11. "Only in Northampton do you see a teenager dressed up like a what's-it-called!" D'oh.
12. A guy was really enthralled by my two-dollar bills (I have six now), and asked if he could swap for one. I agreed, since he had never seen one. But then he thought out loud to me about how much time he should leave to get to Westfield to see his niece's band performance. Can't help you with that one, buddy.
13. A lady said, "I don't have money, but would you like a clementine?" I said I would. "Would you like...two?" She magically pulled a second out of her small-looking pocket. Awesome.
14. I saw lots of old friends! Kristen, Ginny and David, BZ. Love running into loved ones (duh).
15. A guy asked to play a Yann Tiersen song, then said all the Amelie songs are based on the melody of one Christmas song, or something. That didn't make sense. But I also can't hear shit in my elf hat.
I was so so so cold. I had to be careful smiling, since my teeth were freezing. I wore the minimum leg layers, since it's been okay, but that was a bad idea. I also forgot one thermal shirt, but I thought I made up for it in sweaters. I was about twice my normal bulk due to all my layers. But, more importantly, my poor accordion was cold! I could hear it suffering, so I took it inside for a hot chocolate (although I decided it was safer if I drank it myself rather than pouring it onto Lil' Red). It felt so good to go into warm Thornes. I wasn't in any danger of losing my spot since only two buskers were up for playing in the cold and one had gotten the boot for his lack of permit! I had my choice of pitches. It was 6:00ish after my break, so I still had three hours to go. Ugh. I noticed that there had been a clock above the bank the whole time, which was nice to track the passing of time (yep, that's what clocks are good for).
16. I had talked to these two super nice young women who were also paying back student loans. They were on their way to Woodstar Cafe, and came back around 6:30 with a large coffee for me. That's not all...they had folded a paper into a tray so they could bring me an assortment of sugars, a stirrer, and a little cup of milk. So nice. If you two ever happen across this, thank you so much!! That was one of my nicest things ever done. Unfortunately, though, I'm caffeine-free these days, so I couldn't consume it. ...
17. ... I asked several people if they wanted it before a young man finally accepted it. Poor guy was having a hard time. He told me he's trying to find money to fill his prescriptions and get to the Amherst shelter. I offered him the clementines but he has acid reflux. He kept saying that he's looking for money, which was an obvious hint, but I resisted giving him some because I can't help out everyone! I decided a little too late though to give him a few bucks, and he was elsewhere.
18. On a happier note...a guy asked if I ever teach, because his wife wants to take lessons. I said I would, but I'm not around the Valley much. He asked if I know anyone. Thinking of Jazer Giles I said, "Well I know a guy who's an experienced piano teacher and he plays the accordion, so although I don't know for sure, there's a very good chance he teaches accordion too." The guy said, "Oh no, that wouldn't work at all!!! Thanks anyway!" Weird.
19. More sad encounters...a drunk (or just really weird) older guy up way too close and asked, "Are you an angel?" Nope. "A pumpkin?" Colder. "I'm an elf." "Me too, I'm an angel. Let's go do the same thing." "Well an angel's a totally different ball game!" This conversation continued for a bit. Finally, I got him to leave, and he said, "If anyone gives you a hard time send them to Little Jimmy" or something.
20. Soon after Little Jimmy was Raymond, an equally drunk but much less creepy older guy. His whole mantra was things being "dead in three minutes." Caffeine came up, since I offered him the coffee (these are out of order, sorry). "Oh no, I'm on medication for high blood pressure so if I have caffeine I'll be dead in three minutes!" He was worried about me out here, not convinced by my strategies of being safe. It was a genuine concern, not like the men who have brought it up insinuating that they should be the ones protecting me. He feared that if I went alone to the South to play that I'd be dead in three minutes. And when the New York Police decide they don't like a busker, that busker will be dead in three minutes. Three times through this conversation he extended his hand and said, "I'm Raymond." He told me to not stay out too late and to watch out for the drunks. "I'm one of them!'
21. Speaking of which...some young folks said, "I hope you're not a recovering alcoholic" as they put a bottle of beer in the box. Yessss. I thought about setting it up with a straw for easy concealed consumption, but it didn't fit, so I downed some tea then transferred the beer into the tea cup. Cools the body, but warms the soul.
22. I saw Becky, who brought me tea and warmed my pen! Yay!
23. Oh, this was way earlier, but a men's a cappella group, "The Dreamboats," was caroling and asked to use my spot for a few numbers.
24. Some parents with a cute baby stopped. They were great, and implied that they have lots of musical instruments at home--awesome. Got to start them young. They listened for a while, then came back with a big bill! So nice.
They were followed by another big bill, so I decided to pack up early (8:30ish rather than 9:00).
Oh, I discovered a great technique for tremolo: simply hold your instrument and shiver! Sounded great!
These two days were just so joyful. I enjoyed being an elf, no one thought I was totally nuts, and the Christmas spirit was tangible in the air. Plus, I made approximately One Buttload of money. My presents are paid for! I'm taking today off so I don't get pneumonia, but I'll do another day or two at the end of the week.
Happy holidays!
P.S. Edit: I forgot that I briefly overlapped with the Salvation Army bell-ringer outside of Faces who totally rang his bell in rhythm! He did a wonderful job on "The First Noel." Loved it.
I'll keep this post short and cut right to the good stuff. My pen wasn't working well in the cold, so my notes are tricky. Hope I don't miss good ones! This is two days worth of material: (bold=my favorites)
Friday, December 16, 2011
Set up first outside Thornes, across from Cedar Chest. 5:30 pm.
1. The Occupiers were set up outside of Bank of America, as they are on Friday nights. Tonight, they were going to sing their versions of "Jingle Bells" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and asked me to accompany them, which I did for an audience of about zero. "You are crooks, you are crooks, we need a tax break...."
2. A guy knew he recognized the song I was playing, but bore a puzzled expression as to where he might have heard the song before. The song in question was "Angels We Have Heard on High."
3. I took my dinner break at Sam's Pizza, where I had my first acquaintance with the employee known as "Big Gay Bob." I can appreciate trying to make jokes, but this guy did not say a serious thing. (I got wine with my pizza). "How old are you?" "23." "Prove it." (After ringing me up,) "That will be...all of your money. Your pizza will be ready eventually." Pretty pessimistic there, Bob! Later I heard him take another customers order. He asked, "And are you drinking heavily?"
From 6:30-9 or so I set up at my favorite spot, outside Faces. Good because it's by the crosswalk, so good foot traffic, centrally located, and Faces projects green dots on the sidewalk that people stop to figure out and thus have to listen to me.
4. As I was walking back from Sam's, these two young folks asked me if I knew where to score some weed. In this town, the "ask a stranger on the street" technique sometimes works, but did they really think the Christmas Elf of all people was their best bet?? When they walked by later they caught my eye and shook their heads, indicating that they hadn't yet found any. That was helpful, since I was on the edge of my seat.
5. A member of one of the many packs of teenage girls walking by loudly said, "Hello my gypsy friend!" I guess my elf costume can't mask my true identity!
6. A gender-ambiguous wheelchair-bound fez-wearer called me a "hot elf." Only in Northampton.
7. Some folks asked me to play "L'Valse d'Amelie" (too many apostrophes?). I usually play other songs from that soundtrack other than the main theme, but I did it and warned them that it gets really tricky and complicated. They said, "It's okay, we have a friend who teaches accordion in North Adams and he has trouble with that part too."
8. There's a note where the pen only starting working for "nicest ever," but I forget who that is :(
9. This incredibly grumpy, sour looking woman stormed by with a very corny snowman pin. I thought that was a funny combination of expression and accessory.
10. This guy went on and on about how I HAVE to go play in Glastonbury, England. Maybe I'll check it out.
11. I saw my childhood next-door neighbors Jeff and Amy which was nice. I saw them in Ptown last summer too! I also saw a good friend from high school, Christine. Great!
12. A young man said he wanted to hear a non-Christmas song, since he's sick of Christmas music since his bagpipe band is playing a lot of it (a normal comment in the Valley). I showed him my set list and he confessed his Beirut fandom. Yay!
13. Lots of people asked about bringing them presents as such, and I asked what they wanted. One guy finally agreed that what he wanted most of all was an accordion!
14. I got a lot of tips just for my costume, or parts (wreath earrings, shoes, even "candy legs").
15. When I played in November I mentioned a Colombian man I met and talked to about tangos. He was out Friday night and danced to my songs!
16. As I mentioned, people are baffled by these moving green lights on the sidewalk in front of Faces. They come from a little projector hidden above the neon Faces sign. If, after a minute of looking, they can't figure out where they come from, I'd pipe up and tell them. But I got cynical after a while, and after asking "Do you want to know the secret?" I'd confess that it's pure Christmas magic.
17. Someone said something like, "It's not what's being played, who's playing it." That's not the right wording, but regarding that it doesn't matter how well I play. It was nice to hear, since I don't actually play well.
18. I met a photographer who recently had a photo in the Advocate of the Coyote Choir, a fellow busking band. ("That was my photo! I'M Doug!") He would've gotten one of me too but didn't have his equipment. How am I going to get famous then, Doug?
19. An adorable little boy lingered for a while with his dad. He wore a frog hat that extended way past his head, and a Red Sox jacket. When he put money in, he giggled the cutest little giggle ever. Too bad Flaca's on vacation!
20. "We expect great things since you look so cute."
21. "That box is going to be full and God's going go bless you for playing his songs out here." Oh, he's a composer too?
22. Lastly, a group of women came out of Faces with a tiara and placed it on one of their member's head. I mouthed to another to ask if it was her birthday, and I got a nod. I played "Happy Birthday," and they loved it. I love doing that! Then they went to the ATM but couldn't tip till they got change. I offered to make change but they said they'd be back. They weren't before 9:00 though. No pasa nada.
And.....Saturday, December 17th, 2011
I started out once again by Thornes, around 1:00 pm, since Steve the guitar player was outside Faces.
1. There was this horribly obnoxious juggler. He obviously is used to working big tourist crowds, and paid no regard to the busking bylaws. he wore an orange vest and a top hat and walked around with three balls. He stopped right outside of Thornes, obviously not 50 feet away from me. He'd get one ball stuck on his hat and ask children where the red ball was. They'd giggle and say "On your head!" I was so mad. I didn't want to leave my stuff to go give him a piece of my mind, so luckily he came over to me. I thought he might ask if it was okay that he was there, but no. He came over and asked me, in a silly voice, "Have you seen my red ball?" Ohhh the nerve of that man. Not only do you invade my pitch and steal my children, but now you're acting like I'm one of them? I nicely told him, "Sir, I'm going to ask you to please move down so we're fifty feet apart. As you can see, I'm more than fifty feet away from that musician over there." He did a minimal job of acknowledging it, and eventually went on his way. This messed me up though, because during the anticipation, execution, and aftermath of a confrontation such as this I always get a huge adrenaline rush. It's annoying, because it's substantial enough that I'm shaky and lightheaded for a long time after. It made it hard to focus, smile, and play well. Later, when a cop checked permits I totally tattled on him. Hopefully he's in the Big House now thinking about what he's done.
2. A stressed mother stopped by with her crying toddler, hoping that I would stop the crying. I switched to Jingle Bells, and it actually worked!
3. There were two little girls around (offspring of Salvation Army bell-ringers?) who had beautiful colorful tutus on. They would come close and listen, but then run back when I tried to talk to them. The older one finally told me about this long, complicated video she had seen with a talking snowball and an elf. It was all she could do to get the ending out, since she was in hysterics. I have no idea what went on in that video.
4. A guy said, "You look cute," and his girlfriend immediately whipped her head around to glare. Oops.
5. A man saw my loans sign and asked if I went to Smith. This line of thinking was the "Sophie" sign, because of the legacy of Sophia Smith. That's a new one!
6. I got some strange costume identifications. Some thought I was a leprechaun, and someone that I was a character from "Alice in Wonderland." Guys, it's Christmas!
I took a long break from around 2-3:30 to do my own shopping. I wanted to leave my accordion somewhere so I could move more swiftly and have hands, so I headed to the Northampton Pottery studio where my old friend Frank crafts (no, he's not related, yuk yuk). I had just missed him, but the other artists extended the invitation to accordion-sit. Thank you!! This break ended at Bueno y Sano, for a lunch/dinner stop.
7. A woman in Bueno told her daughter, "Your quesadilla pizza will be ready soon!" I took this to mean that this child would only eat pizza, so everything was called pizza in that household. Oy.
8. At 3:30 I took over Steve's spot, where I stayed until about 8:30. Steve's so awesome, he told me about all the places he's traveled. Maybe I'll winter in Savannah! It was his 65th birthday yesterday. He suggested that I find some cardboard to stand on, since it works wonders for keeping your feet warm! Awesome, I'll have to try it.
9. For the first time ever in my 18 months of busking, I was asked for my permit. A Northampton cop walked down Main St. and stopped in front of this young guitar player. I saw him pack up his stuff and wondered if there's a bylaw restricting busking on this day. 'Twas not the case, that guy simply "hadn't renewed" his yearly permit, which means he's gotten away with it for 11.5 months! I proudly showed the cop mine when it was my turn, and he was super nice. He said that if anyone's giving me a hard time I should flag him down. I totally tattled on the obnoxious juggler, which will come back to bite me in the ass karmically if I try playing Harvard Square without a permit again.
10. A lot happened at once, suddenly: the guitar player came to talk to me which I was glad about, since I hadn't talked to him before. Then I switched my attention to a lady who asked to hear a French song, so I played her "Parlez-moi d'Amour" (quick note: I'm so sick of Christmas songs and I'm so happy when people request others!). Right on her heels was a family I totally love who I babysit for. I hadn't seen them in a long long time, so it was so nice to see them. The dad mentioned my green hair which I thought was a joke until his wife said he's color-blind. Oops.
11. "Only in Northampton do you see a teenager dressed up like a what's-it-called!" D'oh.
12. A guy was really enthralled by my two-dollar bills (I have six now), and asked if he could swap for one. I agreed, since he had never seen one. But then he thought out loud to me about how much time he should leave to get to Westfield to see his niece's band performance. Can't help you with that one, buddy.
13. A lady said, "I don't have money, but would you like a clementine?" I said I would. "Would you like...two?" She magically pulled a second out of her small-looking pocket. Awesome.
14. I saw lots of old friends! Kristen, Ginny and David, BZ. Love running into loved ones (duh).
15. A guy asked to play a Yann Tiersen song, then said all the Amelie songs are based on the melody of one Christmas song, or something. That didn't make sense. But I also can't hear shit in my elf hat.
I was so so so cold. I had to be careful smiling, since my teeth were freezing. I wore the minimum leg layers, since it's been okay, but that was a bad idea. I also forgot one thermal shirt, but I thought I made up for it in sweaters. I was about twice my normal bulk due to all my layers. But, more importantly, my poor accordion was cold! I could hear it suffering, so I took it inside for a hot chocolate (although I decided it was safer if I drank it myself rather than pouring it onto Lil' Red). It felt so good to go into warm Thornes. I wasn't in any danger of losing my spot since only two buskers were up for playing in the cold and one had gotten the boot for his lack of permit! I had my choice of pitches. It was 6:00ish after my break, so I still had three hours to go. Ugh. I noticed that there had been a clock above the bank the whole time, which was nice to track the passing of time (yep, that's what clocks are good for).
16. I had talked to these two super nice young women who were also paying back student loans. They were on their way to Woodstar Cafe, and came back around 6:30 with a large coffee for me. That's not all...they had folded a paper into a tray so they could bring me an assortment of sugars, a stirrer, and a little cup of milk. So nice. If you two ever happen across this, thank you so much!! That was one of my nicest things ever done. Unfortunately, though, I'm caffeine-free these days, so I couldn't consume it. ...
17. ... I asked several people if they wanted it before a young man finally accepted it. Poor guy was having a hard time. He told me he's trying to find money to fill his prescriptions and get to the Amherst shelter. I offered him the clementines but he has acid reflux. He kept saying that he's looking for money, which was an obvious hint, but I resisted giving him some because I can't help out everyone! I decided a little too late though to give him a few bucks, and he was elsewhere.
18. On a happier note...a guy asked if I ever teach, because his wife wants to take lessons. I said I would, but I'm not around the Valley much. He asked if I know anyone. Thinking of Jazer Giles I said, "Well I know a guy who's an experienced piano teacher and he plays the accordion, so although I don't know for sure, there's a very good chance he teaches accordion too." The guy said, "Oh no, that wouldn't work at all!!! Thanks anyway!" Weird.
19. More sad encounters...a drunk (or just really weird) older guy up way too close and asked, "Are you an angel?" Nope. "A pumpkin?" Colder. "I'm an elf." "Me too, I'm an angel. Let's go do the same thing." "Well an angel's a totally different ball game!" This conversation continued for a bit. Finally, I got him to leave, and he said, "If anyone gives you a hard time send them to Little Jimmy" or something.
20. Soon after Little Jimmy was Raymond, an equally drunk but much less creepy older guy. His whole mantra was things being "dead in three minutes." Caffeine came up, since I offered him the coffee (these are out of order, sorry). "Oh no, I'm on medication for high blood pressure so if I have caffeine I'll be dead in three minutes!" He was worried about me out here, not convinced by my strategies of being safe. It was a genuine concern, not like the men who have brought it up insinuating that they should be the ones protecting me. He feared that if I went alone to the South to play that I'd be dead in three minutes. And when the New York Police decide they don't like a busker, that busker will be dead in three minutes. Three times through this conversation he extended his hand and said, "I'm Raymond." He told me to not stay out too late and to watch out for the drunks. "I'm one of them!'
21. Speaking of which...some young folks said, "I hope you're not a recovering alcoholic" as they put a bottle of beer in the box. Yessss. I thought about setting it up with a straw for easy concealed consumption, but it didn't fit, so I downed some tea then transferred the beer into the tea cup. Cools the body, but warms the soul.
22. I saw Becky, who brought me tea and warmed my pen! Yay!
23. Oh, this was way earlier, but a men's a cappella group, "The Dreamboats," was caroling and asked to use my spot for a few numbers.
24. Some parents with a cute baby stopped. They were great, and implied that they have lots of musical instruments at home--awesome. Got to start them young. They listened for a while, then came back with a big bill! So nice.
They were followed by another big bill, so I decided to pack up early (8:30ish rather than 9:00).
Oh, I discovered a great technique for tremolo: simply hold your instrument and shiver! Sounded great!
These two days were just so joyful. I enjoyed being an elf, no one thought I was totally nuts, and the Christmas spirit was tangible in the air. Plus, I made approximately One Buttload of money. My presents are paid for! I'm taking today off so I don't get pneumonia, but I'll do another day or two at the end of the week.
Happy holidays!
P.S. Edit: I forgot that I briefly overlapped with the Salvation Army bell-ringer outside of Faces who totally rang his bell in rhythm! He did a wonderful job on "The First Noel." Loved it.
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Elf Life
Being an elf is not all it's cut out to be, especially in a city like Boston. Last year I made enough money and had enough crazy comments to make it worth it, but this year was quite disappointing.
1. Appearance:
To be a proper elf, one must bundle up. It was warm this week, so I wore the minimum: warm socks, wooly tights, and long johns, a t-shirt, thermal shirt, under-armor ski shirt, fleece vest, and super warm sweater dress. I have many more layers I could add if need be. As a result, I can't wiggle my toes, bend my knees or elbows very far, and my hips are bruised by all the layers of elastic. All of this goes under my homemade elf jacket, skirt, shoes, and hat, and striped red and white tights. Jingle bell earrings complete the ensemble.
Half the fun is just walking around/riding the T as an elf. Sometimes people will smile, sometimes I'll get a thumbs up, often I'll be ignored. Some people even talk to me, either curiously asking if I'm in a show, or telling me messages for Santa. Kids are enthralled, and I try to seek them out. Last year they were even more into it, asking if I'm a real elf, and such. This year they just waved.
Oh, any my accordion wore a reindeer costume.
2. Songs:
To be a musical elf, one must learn holiday songs on their instrument of choice. My family has always had this nice piano book of Christmas Carols, so I chose some of those and wrote the chords out on notecards. I obviously don't practice these as much as my usual songs, so it took a while to sound decent. This year I've written out a set list with more songs, but my best ones are "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "The First Noel," "Angels We Have Heard on High," and "Deck the Halls." I was glad that I was able to remember them pretty quickly this year.
Another new thing I'm doing this year is Klezmer versions of Christmas songs. Years ago I discovered The Klezmonauts . This year I figured out Klezmer (mostly just minor) versions of Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, and Joy to the World as a medley for my performance at Yule for Fuel. Over the past couple days I've added "Feliz Navidad," and "The Twelve Days of Christmas." They didn't get any reaction in Boston, but hopefully they will this weekend in Northampton.
3. Location:
This is always the hard part, finding a good place to play. My research indicated that one needs a permit for Fanueil Hall, the subways, and Cambridge. Here are the places I played:
a. Newbury St. at Exeter. I liked this corner because there are two restaurants. I set up right in front of a tree with lights on it. There are pedestrian lights so people came in waves. Bad because the people there are rich snobs.
b. Downtown Crossing, outside of Borders. Good because you can set up opposite benches, it's a busy shopping area, but bad because a lot of the people are businessmen and -women who are going about their day, and they're not into stopping.
c. Copley Square. Good because I was right outside the T. Bad because, well, it's Boston.
d. Park St. Same as above.
These places were all extremely bad. I was making very little money, and most people ignored me completely. Every once in a while someone with a kid in a stroller would stop, which was my best business. I did okay on the weekend nights there, but not well enough to call it a good spot. I found around the Downtown Crossing area that the people around either had executive office jobs or no jobs, and these aren't the types that care about bohemian gypsies/have money to tip, respectively. The best patrons are artsy types that you typically find in the Pioneer Valley, and these people don't hang out in Downtown Crossing on random weekdays.
e. Davis Square and Harvard Square.
This time around, I added these two squares to my list. Davis wasn't great, but I think I was just early and people weren't around. Harvard Square, on the other hand, was perfect. You need a permit which I didn't have, and I didn't want to pay $40 for just a couple days. I thought I would try it anyway and see if I got caught. This was Wednesday night. I set up a little ways down, by the Harvard Bookstore, so a cop in the Square proper might not hear me. I made good money, and got a lot of nice smiles and compliments! I had my student loan sign out then, which always helps. I was just struck by how nice people were here, and how many smiled and tipped and complimented me. Boston and Cambridge are night and day. If I busk there again I'll spring for the Cambridge permit.
I decided to go home a little early. I got to Boston Tuesday night and I was going to leave Saturday morning to be home for some things this weekend. Playing was so discouraging, and I didn't know if I'd be able to play in Harvard Square again without getting caught. It was supposed to rain all day Thursday anyway, so I came home. I'm excited to play in Northampton this weekend, where I know I can make money.
4. Random assessment:
2010 was a bigger year for Elf busking, but it was exhausting. I was staying with my cousins in Concord, MA which was super cozy, but a ways out of town. My aunt works at Harvard, so I had the option of driving in with her really early, at like 6:30 am. The other option was for my teenage cousins to drive me to the commuter rain station on their way to school, closer to 8:00. That was good, but either way I was getting into Boston very early in the day. Sometimes my aunt's amazing friend Jody would come pick me up and bring me to the commuter rail at like 11:00 am. Whatever happened, my uncle Alex packed four lunches each morning, for his three kids and his elfniece.
These days were grueling. It was COLD. In the mid twenties. I avoided warm drinks because I wanted to avoid bathrooms all day since I had eight layers of tights on. My arms were sore because I was playing a lot and also pulling my accordion around and carrying it up and down stairs in the subways. Sometimes I would take breaks, sitting in comfy chairs in Borders reading my book; once I ate my lunch in an H&M fitting room. Some places were too hot in my full attire. I loved the feeling of jingling my way back to my aunt's office at Harvard to drive home with her. I got to strip off many layers and regain mobility, thaw my extremities, eat a snack, and SIT.
Some days I stayed later and took the commuter rail back, where I got comments from this one woman who collected tickets, in addition to other riders whom I most likely smacked with my box. North Station was always interesting too. On occasion I'd give out business cards to people looking for entertainment for their office parties, but none of those panned out.
I was having glove troubles. I hadn't busked in the cold before, so I had some fingerless gloves. These didn't work, my fingertips froze. That was no good. I tried many combinations, but they were either not warm enough, too slippery so my fingers flew off the keys, or too loose so I hit several keys at once. With one pair, my left palm kept slipping, so I couldn't hold the instrument. This was the era of Silly Bands, so I wound the ones I had around my left hand making a rubbery web to grip the instrument. That helped a lot!!
Finally I sewed together a few pairs, which are making do. I sewed the fingers to be super tight at the tips, and sewed grippy fabric on each fingertip. They were topped with a fingerless layer, mostly to provide two layers so I could slip a handwarmer between them. On the left hand I sewed more grippy fabric. They work okay, but could be better. I'm going to sew a new pair...today.
In 2011, I put in less work and got less out of it. People were just not feeling the outfit. I got the occasional complement, and one ditzy runner saw me and literally squealed, but it was a waste of time. I can remember clearly this woman on Newbury St. who gave me this look of disgust. I did notice, though, that since everyone already thought I was a crazy person I could get away with singing out loud as much as I wanted.
Another good thing about this year was that I didn't have to put in full days since I was staying with friends right by Porter Square. I could come and go whenever I wanted. It was also a lot warmer, which helped. The best part was just seeing friends who live in greater boston, although I didn't get to see all the ones I wanted to. I think I'd have better luck as an elf in the future if I didn't busk, if it was just a study of walking around as an elf. Maybe in New York? I also planned to go to Children's Hospitals or something, but I didn't organize it in time.
Now...for the fun part.
RANDOM THINGS THAT HAPPENED:
2010:
1. One time when I was walking around Harvard to go to my aunt's, I was chased down by some students. It turns out they had seen me from their dorm window, and ran down to get a picture. Not bad for twenty degrees out!
2. My favorite story: the red line was down at one point, and we couldn't go past Central Square. There was a bus from Harvard to Alewife. Beside me on the T was a mother with two kids who had come into the city to see The Nutcracker. They weren't sure what I do. I ended up walking with them to Harvard Square so they could catch the bus. On the walk, I asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas, and they agreed that they wanted a hamster. They had a dog, however, so they were concerned that the dog would eat it. "And then the dog will get a hairball." The tragedy here was not the demise of the hamster, but rather the dog's hairball.
3. A reoccurring character from 2010 was a man I call "Scott the Not Pretzel Man." Scott works in Downtown Crossing outside of Macy's vending something that isn't pretzels. I walked over there, where there's a "holiday market" with Santa photos and everything. He said he'd try to get me a gig there. I passed him a lot, and we'd always check in.
4. On my first day I was wandering around, trying to figure out where to go, and this guy talked to me and ended up walking me back to the Borders I think. I guess he's an undercover FBI agent, he had some strange stuff to say. At the end it came out that he had a gun. I wasn't sad to part ways with him.
5. One of the first places I played was in Copley Square. I met Joe the Piano Mover. He was between moving pianos and came to talk. I wanted to put my chord cards on my accordion stand, and he luckily had some tape that he gave me. Awesome.
6. I saw a few people I knew on Newbury St., which resulted in hugging. But when you hug someone with an accordion on, it makes a crazy sound. Sort of funny.
7. One day I was on the Red Line back to Harvard, and there was an a cappella group singing Christmas songs. I asked who they were, since I had likely heard of them since I was in charge of contacting guest groups to sing with my own college a cappella group. I hadn't hear of them. I joined them for a few rounds of carols, which was lots of fun. It turned out at the end that they're the Tufts Christian a cappella group. You can't really tell at Christmas time!
8. Speaking of singing, I sang with the Sounds of Concord, a men's barbershop choir. There was a special holiday shopping night in Concord, and I went, hoping to make money. I would have, except I only played for a few minutes until I saw the group doing their caroling rounds. I decided to ditch my accordion and sing with them. Besides being the only female in the group, I was also the only elf. This was a lot of fun. I actually saw one of them just a few days ago (2011), and it took a long time to place him.
9. When I was playing on Newbury St. one night I met an artist. He set up right by me to paint the intersection in all the Christmas lights. I ran into him in Ptown last summer, and he reminded me how we had met. Small world.
2011:
1. When I played in Harvard Square, these two young folks came over and said they're doing a scavenger hunt. I didn't expect "accordion playing elf" to be on there, so I was not surprised when they said they had to hug a stranger. It wasn't the first time I hugged a stranger for a photo in an elf costume, but at least they tipped!
2. A stranger on the subway fed me my favorite question: "Is [my costume] something for work?" "Yes," I answer. "What do you do for work?" "I'm one of Santa's elves, of course." Although no one asked where I'm from this year, so I can't say "the North Pole!"
3. A man in a store asked if I'm from Greece. I said no, with a puzzled expression. He pointed to my elf shoes and said they look like traditional Greek shoes. Hm.
4. I always look at the cars who are stopped in front of me at the light on Newbury St. Sometimes they roll down their windows to listen. Behind one window was Jody, my aunt Laura's friend who drove me around last year! So nice to see her, albeit brief and far!
5. This has nothing to do with busking, but between sets I met my bff Liz for coffee. I was fiddling with a pen, and dropped it. I was up on a stool with my accordion in the way, so I couldn't go get it. This kind lady got up and picked it up for me! She said, "I was in the position to get up, you weren't." I played with it more carefully after that.
That's all I can think of. I'll be playing in Northampton alll weekend, starting around 4:00 today. I'm excited to give this one last push, then just enjoy my holidays with my family.
Happy holidays, and please give your local buskers their holiday bonus!!
1. Appearance:
To be a proper elf, one must bundle up. It was warm this week, so I wore the minimum: warm socks, wooly tights, and long johns, a t-shirt, thermal shirt, under-armor ski shirt, fleece vest, and super warm sweater dress. I have many more layers I could add if need be. As a result, I can't wiggle my toes, bend my knees or elbows very far, and my hips are bruised by all the layers of elastic. All of this goes under my homemade elf jacket, skirt, shoes, and hat, and striped red and white tights. Jingle bell earrings complete the ensemble.
Half the fun is just walking around/riding the T as an elf. Sometimes people will smile, sometimes I'll get a thumbs up, often I'll be ignored. Some people even talk to me, either curiously asking if I'm in a show, or telling me messages for Santa. Kids are enthralled, and I try to seek them out. Last year they were even more into it, asking if I'm a real elf, and such. This year they just waved.
Oh, any my accordion wore a reindeer costume.
2. Songs:
To be a musical elf, one must learn holiday songs on their instrument of choice. My family has always had this nice piano book of Christmas Carols, so I chose some of those and wrote the chords out on notecards. I obviously don't practice these as much as my usual songs, so it took a while to sound decent. This year I've written out a set list with more songs, but my best ones are "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "The First Noel," "Angels We Have Heard on High," and "Deck the Halls." I was glad that I was able to remember them pretty quickly this year.
Another new thing I'm doing this year is Klezmer versions of Christmas songs. Years ago I discovered The Klezmonauts . This year I figured out Klezmer (mostly just minor) versions of Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, and Joy to the World as a medley for my performance at Yule for Fuel. Over the past couple days I've added "Feliz Navidad," and "The Twelve Days of Christmas." They didn't get any reaction in Boston, but hopefully they will this weekend in Northampton.
3. Location:
This is always the hard part, finding a good place to play. My research indicated that one needs a permit for Fanueil Hall, the subways, and Cambridge. Here are the places I played:
a. Newbury St. at Exeter. I liked this corner because there are two restaurants. I set up right in front of a tree with lights on it. There are pedestrian lights so people came in waves. Bad because the people there are rich snobs.
b. Downtown Crossing, outside of Borders. Good because you can set up opposite benches, it's a busy shopping area, but bad because a lot of the people are businessmen and -women who are going about their day, and they're not into stopping.
c. Copley Square. Good because I was right outside the T. Bad because, well, it's Boston.
d. Park St. Same as above.
These places were all extremely bad. I was making very little money, and most people ignored me completely. Every once in a while someone with a kid in a stroller would stop, which was my best business. I did okay on the weekend nights there, but not well enough to call it a good spot. I found around the Downtown Crossing area that the people around either had executive office jobs or no jobs, and these aren't the types that care about bohemian gypsies/have money to tip, respectively. The best patrons are artsy types that you typically find in the Pioneer Valley, and these people don't hang out in Downtown Crossing on random weekdays.
e. Davis Square and Harvard Square.
This time around, I added these two squares to my list. Davis wasn't great, but I think I was just early and people weren't around. Harvard Square, on the other hand, was perfect. You need a permit which I didn't have, and I didn't want to pay $40 for just a couple days. I thought I would try it anyway and see if I got caught. This was Wednesday night. I set up a little ways down, by the Harvard Bookstore, so a cop in the Square proper might not hear me. I made good money, and got a lot of nice smiles and compliments! I had my student loan sign out then, which always helps. I was just struck by how nice people were here, and how many smiled and tipped and complimented me. Boston and Cambridge are night and day. If I busk there again I'll spring for the Cambridge permit.
I decided to go home a little early. I got to Boston Tuesday night and I was going to leave Saturday morning to be home for some things this weekend. Playing was so discouraging, and I didn't know if I'd be able to play in Harvard Square again without getting caught. It was supposed to rain all day Thursday anyway, so I came home. I'm excited to play in Northampton this weekend, where I know I can make money.
4. Random assessment:
2010 was a bigger year for Elf busking, but it was exhausting. I was staying with my cousins in Concord, MA which was super cozy, but a ways out of town. My aunt works at Harvard, so I had the option of driving in with her really early, at like 6:30 am. The other option was for my teenage cousins to drive me to the commuter rain station on their way to school, closer to 8:00. That was good, but either way I was getting into Boston very early in the day. Sometimes my aunt's amazing friend Jody would come pick me up and bring me to the commuter rail at like 11:00 am. Whatever happened, my uncle Alex packed four lunches each morning, for his three kids and his elfniece.
These days were grueling. It was COLD. In the mid twenties. I avoided warm drinks because I wanted to avoid bathrooms all day since I had eight layers of tights on. My arms were sore because I was playing a lot and also pulling my accordion around and carrying it up and down stairs in the subways. Sometimes I would take breaks, sitting in comfy chairs in Borders reading my book; once I ate my lunch in an H&M fitting room. Some places were too hot in my full attire. I loved the feeling of jingling my way back to my aunt's office at Harvard to drive home with her. I got to strip off many layers and regain mobility, thaw my extremities, eat a snack, and SIT.
Some days I stayed later and took the commuter rail back, where I got comments from this one woman who collected tickets, in addition to other riders whom I most likely smacked with my box. North Station was always interesting too. On occasion I'd give out business cards to people looking for entertainment for their office parties, but none of those panned out.
I was having glove troubles. I hadn't busked in the cold before, so I had some fingerless gloves. These didn't work, my fingertips froze. That was no good. I tried many combinations, but they were either not warm enough, too slippery so my fingers flew off the keys, or too loose so I hit several keys at once. With one pair, my left palm kept slipping, so I couldn't hold the instrument. This was the era of Silly Bands, so I wound the ones I had around my left hand making a rubbery web to grip the instrument. That helped a lot!!
Finally I sewed together a few pairs, which are making do. I sewed the fingers to be super tight at the tips, and sewed grippy fabric on each fingertip. They were topped with a fingerless layer, mostly to provide two layers so I could slip a handwarmer between them. On the left hand I sewed more grippy fabric. They work okay, but could be better. I'm going to sew a new pair...today.
In 2011, I put in less work and got less out of it. People were just not feeling the outfit. I got the occasional complement, and one ditzy runner saw me and literally squealed, but it was a waste of time. I can remember clearly this woman on Newbury St. who gave me this look of disgust. I did notice, though, that since everyone already thought I was a crazy person I could get away with singing out loud as much as I wanted.
Another good thing about this year was that I didn't have to put in full days since I was staying with friends right by Porter Square. I could come and go whenever I wanted. It was also a lot warmer, which helped. The best part was just seeing friends who live in greater boston, although I didn't get to see all the ones I wanted to. I think I'd have better luck as an elf in the future if I didn't busk, if it was just a study of walking around as an elf. Maybe in New York? I also planned to go to Children's Hospitals or something, but I didn't organize it in time.
Now...for the fun part.
RANDOM THINGS THAT HAPPENED:
2010:
1. One time when I was walking around Harvard to go to my aunt's, I was chased down by some students. It turns out they had seen me from their dorm window, and ran down to get a picture. Not bad for twenty degrees out!
2. My favorite story: the red line was down at one point, and we couldn't go past Central Square. There was a bus from Harvard to Alewife. Beside me on the T was a mother with two kids who had come into the city to see The Nutcracker. They weren't sure what I do. I ended up walking with them to Harvard Square so they could catch the bus. On the walk, I asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas, and they agreed that they wanted a hamster. They had a dog, however, so they were concerned that the dog would eat it. "And then the dog will get a hairball." The tragedy here was not the demise of the hamster, but rather the dog's hairball.
3. A reoccurring character from 2010 was a man I call "Scott the Not Pretzel Man." Scott works in Downtown Crossing outside of Macy's vending something that isn't pretzels. I walked over there, where there's a "holiday market" with Santa photos and everything. He said he'd try to get me a gig there. I passed him a lot, and we'd always check in.
4. On my first day I was wandering around, trying to figure out where to go, and this guy talked to me and ended up walking me back to the Borders I think. I guess he's an undercover FBI agent, he had some strange stuff to say. At the end it came out that he had a gun. I wasn't sad to part ways with him.
5. One of the first places I played was in Copley Square. I met Joe the Piano Mover. He was between moving pianos and came to talk. I wanted to put my chord cards on my accordion stand, and he luckily had some tape that he gave me. Awesome.
6. I saw a few people I knew on Newbury St., which resulted in hugging. But when you hug someone with an accordion on, it makes a crazy sound. Sort of funny.
7. One day I was on the Red Line back to Harvard, and there was an a cappella group singing Christmas songs. I asked who they were, since I had likely heard of them since I was in charge of contacting guest groups to sing with my own college a cappella group. I hadn't hear of them. I joined them for a few rounds of carols, which was lots of fun. It turned out at the end that they're the Tufts Christian a cappella group. You can't really tell at Christmas time!
8. Speaking of singing, I sang with the Sounds of Concord, a men's barbershop choir. There was a special holiday shopping night in Concord, and I went, hoping to make money. I would have, except I only played for a few minutes until I saw the group doing their caroling rounds. I decided to ditch my accordion and sing with them. Besides being the only female in the group, I was also the only elf. This was a lot of fun. I actually saw one of them just a few days ago (2011), and it took a long time to place him.
9. When I was playing on Newbury St. one night I met an artist. He set up right by me to paint the intersection in all the Christmas lights. I ran into him in Ptown last summer, and he reminded me how we had met. Small world.
2011:
1. When I played in Harvard Square, these two young folks came over and said they're doing a scavenger hunt. I didn't expect "accordion playing elf" to be on there, so I was not surprised when they said they had to hug a stranger. It wasn't the first time I hugged a stranger for a photo in an elf costume, but at least they tipped!
2. A stranger on the subway fed me my favorite question: "Is [my costume] something for work?" "Yes," I answer. "What do you do for work?" "I'm one of Santa's elves, of course." Although no one asked where I'm from this year, so I can't say "the North Pole!"
3. A man in a store asked if I'm from Greece. I said no, with a puzzled expression. He pointed to my elf shoes and said they look like traditional Greek shoes. Hm.
4. I always look at the cars who are stopped in front of me at the light on Newbury St. Sometimes they roll down their windows to listen. Behind one window was Jody, my aunt Laura's friend who drove me around last year! So nice to see her, albeit brief and far!
5. This has nothing to do with busking, but between sets I met my bff Liz for coffee. I was fiddling with a pen, and dropped it. I was up on a stool with my accordion in the way, so I couldn't go get it. This kind lady got up and picked it up for me! She said, "I was in the position to get up, you weren't." I played with it more carefully after that.
That's all I can think of. I'll be playing in Northampton alll weekend, starting around 4:00 today. I'm excited to give this one last push, then just enjoy my holidays with my family.
Happy holidays, and please give your local buskers their holiday bonus!!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Elf in the City
Yesterday I began the 2011 season of Elf busking! Last winter, I sewed an elf costume and played Christmas songs on the streets of Boston. I didn't keep the blog yet. It didn't go very well so I didn't plan to do it again, but here I am. I made a few changes to my costume, mainly constructing new shoes:
I meant to make temporary covers for my favorite Keen sneakers, but I ended up supergluing it all together, so those shoes are now elf shoes. I also wanted to puff out my skirt. I bought a tutu/petticoat last year, but I didn't leave enough room in the skirt to fit it. I wanted to expand it but Jo-ann no longer had green velvet, so I had to use white.
I went just for the day yesterday, and set up on Newbury St. I hadn't actually practiced the Christmas songs, so I was surprised when I was more or less able to play them. Luckily there isn't really anyone who's hearing everything, so it was okay that it took some time to play them right.
There isn't really anything to report. People are very straight in Boston and no one really stopped to talk. I played for a couple lingering children, but that's it. I was actually surprised that I still made my usual hourly rate, because it didn't seem like I was getting any donations.
The fun part was walking through Boston in an elf costume. I got a lot of smiles and thumbs up from children and old men, but no one gave me messages for Santa like they did last year. The whole thing made me miss Northampton, despite the few times I've busked there. I was planning on being there the whole week of December 12-16th, but I might go home early to resume in the Valley. I think I'll try Harvard Square. You need a permit, and I'd rather not pay for it, but it could be worth it.
The one thing worth mentioning is my new favorite busker. I was at Park St. waiting to get on the red line back to the car, and there was this Asian lady probably in her thirties playing guitar and singing to a Christmas kareoke cd. I just loved her. We came in during "Feliz Navidad." She was just so smiley and cheerful, and her accent made "Feliz Navidad" so charming. She thanked everyone for donations, and was super impressed when this guy threw a quarter across the rail and landed it right in her box. I knew that if I was a regular Boston busker she's someone I would get to know.
The end!
I meant to make temporary covers for my favorite Keen sneakers, but I ended up supergluing it all together, so those shoes are now elf shoes. I also wanted to puff out my skirt. I bought a tutu/petticoat last year, but I didn't leave enough room in the skirt to fit it. I wanted to expand it but Jo-ann no longer had green velvet, so I had to use white.
I went just for the day yesterday, and set up on Newbury St. I hadn't actually practiced the Christmas songs, so I was surprised when I was more or less able to play them. Luckily there isn't really anyone who's hearing everything, so it was okay that it took some time to play them right.
There isn't really anything to report. People are very straight in Boston and no one really stopped to talk. I played for a couple lingering children, but that's it. I was actually surprised that I still made my usual hourly rate, because it didn't seem like I was getting any donations.
The fun part was walking through Boston in an elf costume. I got a lot of smiles and thumbs up from children and old men, but no one gave me messages for Santa like they did last year. The whole thing made me miss Northampton, despite the few times I've busked there. I was planning on being there the whole week of December 12-16th, but I might go home early to resume in the Valley. I think I'll try Harvard Square. You need a permit, and I'd rather not pay for it, but it could be worth it.
The one thing worth mentioning is my new favorite busker. I was at Park St. waiting to get on the red line back to the car, and there was this Asian lady probably in her thirties playing guitar and singing to a Christmas kareoke cd. I just loved her. We came in during "Feliz Navidad." She was just so smiley and cheerful, and her accent made "Feliz Navidad" so charming. She thanked everyone for donations, and was super impressed when this guy threw a quarter across the rail and landed it right in her box. I knew that if I was a regular Boston busker she's someone I would get to know.
The end!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Black Friday, Black Friday, Gotta Get Down on Black Friday
Yesterday marked my first Black Friday as a busker. Northampton, Massachusetts is the perfect place to perform on this day, since the residents are gung-ho about supporting local businesses. Sure enough, the parking garage was full: a good sign for having ample foot traffic. It was a beautiful day, and within minutes of setting up I had to shed several layers, eventually donning only my sleeveless piano dress and tights. The sun felt so good!
Buskers were out in full force. My friends The Coyote Choir were set up immediately outside Thornes, where the Salvation Army bell-ringer didn't even try to stay in rhythm--wtf? They sounded fantastic. I tried that side of Main St. first, but every few feet someone was set up: the old black guitar player who's been there for years, a young talented hipster-ish guitar player, and a saxophone player at the intersection. I went to the other side of the street and saw Steve, the veteran guitar player in his usual spot across from Faces.
I ended up around the bend outside Sam's Pizzeria. It seemed to be a good place, since there were people sitting outside and lots of foot traffic, but I was doing poorly. I finally realized that my back was directly to the sun. Great for me, but that meant folks had to look directly into the sun to look at me. D'oh. I moved to right outside Synergy. The management there gave me a really hard time. One employee came out and said "Oh, no! The owner is NOT going to be okay with this. You're going to have to move." I explained that it's the biggest shopping day of the year and that the buskers were out in full force and that once another spot opened up I would move. In this case, she had no legal leg to stand on. There are specific busking laws in Northampton, and I was not in violation of any. The sidewalk was six feet wide, I was on the road side, I wasn't sitting on a bench, etc. Regardless, I moved about six feet to my right so I wasn't directly in front of their door. A while later, the owner came out. She snapped at me, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you're too loud. It's hard to hear customers as it is inside." She turned and went back in, not even demanding that I move, thinking it was just implied. I didn't point out that she could have just closed her door. I don't expect that kind of reaction in a city that promotes the arts as much as this one. Even so, I moved about six feet in the other direction. I liked it here because I could see my reflection in the store window, and could thus remind myself to smile and use my whole bellows, but the sun was at a weird angle and I kept tripping over loose bricks around a tree.
After a while I decided to take a break. I got a chai and went to listen to the Coyote Choir for a bit. My wrists and shoulders have been sore since I'm playing a lot these days around the house, so it's important to take breaks! I began my second set around 4:30. Steve had left and I took his spot outside of Faces. This was really great, since, as you know, once the sun sets I start playing better and everyone starts tipping better. The Faces crew never gives me a hard time. I had to put some sweaters on eventually, but the evening set could not have been better.
Here's what happened, in both spots:
1. I ran into a lot of former high school classmates who were home for Thanksgiving! Some ignored me while I ignored them, and others I exchanged pleasantries with. Some showed surprise at my current occupation, and others just said, "Hi Sophie" as if it wasn't the first time we were seeing each other in five years. The most interesting of these interactions was with Leland Moore, a unique character from high school. He confessed that he's in law school, and I told him that I would not have guessed in high school that that's where he'd be in five years. He said, "Howie did." Apparently another strange classmate, Howie, told him "You'll either be a Greenpeace hippie or a corporate lawyer." We all expected the former. These things happen!
2. There were adorable children out. The first was this little brunette girl who couldn't have been more than a year and half old. She was super serious, and didn't change her expression as I played my repertoire of kids' songs, but she flexed her hands as she watched mine. Finally I took out Flaca, and her mom manipulated her. It wasn't until she grabbed Flaca and had a go with her that she let her smile shine, and it was worth the wait. Such a pretty little girl! She had her do the dance that Flaca most often does at the mercy of little kids: bouncing flat on her back. She must have great abs! Another kid was out, and I asked for a favorite song to play. The answer was "Happy Birthday," even though it was no one's birthday. Another little boy danced all over the place, and asked for "more" after every song. He wanted "the cow song," after I played Old MacDonald once. Right when I set up some parents revealed their 7-week-old, who was about to hear her first accordion. It did not end well. They can try again in a year!
3. Two people were waiting to cross the street as I did Bad Romance. The man showed excitement, and naturally wanted to dance. The dance he did was the whole arms crossed, kick legs out routine that one associates more with Jewish weddings than with clubs. Usually I don't do the pop songs in an area as sophisticated and indie as Northampton, but I was playing everything yesterday so they came out, and people liked them, even here. Dynamite is still an ace card. No one recognizes Friday, even on Black Friday!
4. A strange thing happened: "I Want You Back" was sooooo good. I arranged the timeless Jackson 5 hit last winter, but it's been super challenging. For whatever reason, I was just nailing it yesterday. Hope it'll be true other days!
5. I had a very nice talk with Steve, and guitar player, as I was switching spots. He immediately offered me his spot, which I declined, but was so nice. He smiled as he jested, "Your music's great, but I don't know about that haircut." As I was walking away, he sang a song about me. I forget the words, but it used my name and rhymed with "fun." He's a notable colleague.
6. There was a guy between Steve and I sitting on a bench playing guitar. I wasn't sure if he was trying to busk, so I felt a little bad setting up so close to him. He came over at one point, and I was sure it was to complain, but he was just listening! I dusted off my old arrangement of "What is Love?" to which he did the Night at the Roxbury head dance.
7. People were reacting to my signs! Some commented on the loans, and other just read "Sophie's Smokin' Squeezebox" aloud to their party and chuckled.
8. A man came up to talk. He looked sort of haggard and held a paper bag with a bottle in it. He reminded me in appearance of the people in the Mission District of San Francisco who would see my money and ask me for it. I stood a little closer to the box. As it turned out, I very much misjudged this man. In broken English, he asked me to play an Argentinian tango. I told him, in Spanish, that they were very hard. But I said I'd try "El Dia Que Me Quieras," but then I couldn't find the key. He sang it anyway. We conversed in Spanish a bit (felt so good!), and he said I should go to Colombia, where he's from, to learn accordion songs. I said I would try. He took my hand and kissed it before wishing me a good night and leaving. This was a very nice interaction.
9. Someone told me about a band called Bela's Bartok that features accordion, I guess! They were playing at the Iron Horse last night.
10. Best donation ever: a standard alternative Northampton teenage girl came up and laid a single red rose wrapped in yellow tissue paper in my box. It looked so beautiful next to Flaca and the painted box. It touched me that she would give me such a wonderful donation at a young age, and it was such a perfect gypsy touch for my setup. She said "accordions are sexy." Damn straight! She and her friend lingered for a while, joined by more friends. I told her to pick a song, and she studied my set list and chose the Tetris theme song. Her friend confessed that his life was now complete after hearing it. They're great people, it's nice to know there's hope for teenagers!
11. There was an interesting sight that walked by twice: a woman with her real dog and her latex one. She had an adorable little white dog on a black leash. In her other hand, she walked the craft of a balloon man who had folded her a little white dog on a black leash. I wish I had a photo. Only in Northampton or Ptown.
12. I talked to a fellow member of the 99%, who asked about my loans. He was just laid off from his job so money was tight. He used to be in a cover band. Cool!
13. Around this time of year, Faces sets up a projector in their window that throws tiny green dots on the sidewalk in front of it. They move around and explode when they collide. This is great entertainment for people trying to figure out where it's coming from, and it was surprisingly not competition for me.
14. I met someone who works at Faces. He said he has his mother's old accordion. I told him he had to learn Jingle Bells by the time I was back in town.
I packed up because it's Thanksgiving and my family was going to the movies! In summary, it was a great day and I want to play more in Northampton. I have to always wear my piano dress since I got tons of compliments! The end.
Buskers were out in full force. My friends The Coyote Choir were set up immediately outside Thornes, where the Salvation Army bell-ringer didn't even try to stay in rhythm--wtf? They sounded fantastic. I tried that side of Main St. first, but every few feet someone was set up: the old black guitar player who's been there for years, a young talented hipster-ish guitar player, and a saxophone player at the intersection. I went to the other side of the street and saw Steve, the veteran guitar player in his usual spot across from Faces.
I ended up around the bend outside Sam's Pizzeria. It seemed to be a good place, since there were people sitting outside and lots of foot traffic, but I was doing poorly. I finally realized that my back was directly to the sun. Great for me, but that meant folks had to look directly into the sun to look at me. D'oh. I moved to right outside Synergy. The management there gave me a really hard time. One employee came out and said "Oh, no! The owner is NOT going to be okay with this. You're going to have to move." I explained that it's the biggest shopping day of the year and that the buskers were out in full force and that once another spot opened up I would move. In this case, she had no legal leg to stand on. There are specific busking laws in Northampton, and I was not in violation of any. The sidewalk was six feet wide, I was on the road side, I wasn't sitting on a bench, etc. Regardless, I moved about six feet to my right so I wasn't directly in front of their door. A while later, the owner came out. She snapped at me, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you're too loud. It's hard to hear customers as it is inside." She turned and went back in, not even demanding that I move, thinking it was just implied. I didn't point out that she could have just closed her door. I don't expect that kind of reaction in a city that promotes the arts as much as this one. Even so, I moved about six feet in the other direction. I liked it here because I could see my reflection in the store window, and could thus remind myself to smile and use my whole bellows, but the sun was at a weird angle and I kept tripping over loose bricks around a tree.
After a while I decided to take a break. I got a chai and went to listen to the Coyote Choir for a bit. My wrists and shoulders have been sore since I'm playing a lot these days around the house, so it's important to take breaks! I began my second set around 4:30. Steve had left and I took his spot outside of Faces. This was really great, since, as you know, once the sun sets I start playing better and everyone starts tipping better. The Faces crew never gives me a hard time. I had to put some sweaters on eventually, but the evening set could not have been better.
Here's what happened, in both spots:
1. I ran into a lot of former high school classmates who were home for Thanksgiving! Some ignored me while I ignored them, and others I exchanged pleasantries with. Some showed surprise at my current occupation, and others just said, "Hi Sophie" as if it wasn't the first time we were seeing each other in five years. The most interesting of these interactions was with Leland Moore, a unique character from high school. He confessed that he's in law school, and I told him that I would not have guessed in high school that that's where he'd be in five years. He said, "Howie did." Apparently another strange classmate, Howie, told him "You'll either be a Greenpeace hippie or a corporate lawyer." We all expected the former. These things happen!
2. There were adorable children out. The first was this little brunette girl who couldn't have been more than a year and half old. She was super serious, and didn't change her expression as I played my repertoire of kids' songs, but she flexed her hands as she watched mine. Finally I took out Flaca, and her mom manipulated her. It wasn't until she grabbed Flaca and had a go with her that she let her smile shine, and it was worth the wait. Such a pretty little girl! She had her do the dance that Flaca most often does at the mercy of little kids: bouncing flat on her back. She must have great abs! Another kid was out, and I asked for a favorite song to play. The answer was "Happy Birthday," even though it was no one's birthday. Another little boy danced all over the place, and asked for "more" after every song. He wanted "the cow song," after I played Old MacDonald once. Right when I set up some parents revealed their 7-week-old, who was about to hear her first accordion. It did not end well. They can try again in a year!
3. Two people were waiting to cross the street as I did Bad Romance. The man showed excitement, and naturally wanted to dance. The dance he did was the whole arms crossed, kick legs out routine that one associates more with Jewish weddings than with clubs. Usually I don't do the pop songs in an area as sophisticated and indie as Northampton, but I was playing everything yesterday so they came out, and people liked them, even here. Dynamite is still an ace card. No one recognizes Friday, even on Black Friday!
4. A strange thing happened: "I Want You Back" was sooooo good. I arranged the timeless Jackson 5 hit last winter, but it's been super challenging. For whatever reason, I was just nailing it yesterday. Hope it'll be true other days!
5. I had a very nice talk with Steve, and guitar player, as I was switching spots. He immediately offered me his spot, which I declined, but was so nice. He smiled as he jested, "Your music's great, but I don't know about that haircut." As I was walking away, he sang a song about me. I forget the words, but it used my name and rhymed with "fun." He's a notable colleague.
6. There was a guy between Steve and I sitting on a bench playing guitar. I wasn't sure if he was trying to busk, so I felt a little bad setting up so close to him. He came over at one point, and I was sure it was to complain, but he was just listening! I dusted off my old arrangement of "What is Love?" to which he did the Night at the Roxbury head dance.
7. People were reacting to my signs! Some commented on the loans, and other just read "Sophie's Smokin' Squeezebox" aloud to their party and chuckled.
8. A man came up to talk. He looked sort of haggard and held a paper bag with a bottle in it. He reminded me in appearance of the people in the Mission District of San Francisco who would see my money and ask me for it. I stood a little closer to the box. As it turned out, I very much misjudged this man. In broken English, he asked me to play an Argentinian tango. I told him, in Spanish, that they were very hard. But I said I'd try "El Dia Que Me Quieras," but then I couldn't find the key. He sang it anyway. We conversed in Spanish a bit (felt so good!), and he said I should go to Colombia, where he's from, to learn accordion songs. I said I would try. He took my hand and kissed it before wishing me a good night and leaving. This was a very nice interaction.
9. Someone told me about a band called Bela's Bartok that features accordion, I guess! They were playing at the Iron Horse last night.
10. Best donation ever: a standard alternative Northampton teenage girl came up and laid a single red rose wrapped in yellow tissue paper in my box. It looked so beautiful next to Flaca and the painted box. It touched me that she would give me such a wonderful donation at a young age, and it was such a perfect gypsy touch for my setup. She said "accordions are sexy." Damn straight! She and her friend lingered for a while, joined by more friends. I told her to pick a song, and she studied my set list and chose the Tetris theme song. Her friend confessed that his life was now complete after hearing it. They're great people, it's nice to know there's hope for teenagers!
11. There was an interesting sight that walked by twice: a woman with her real dog and her latex one. She had an adorable little white dog on a black leash. In her other hand, she walked the craft of a balloon man who had folded her a little white dog on a black leash. I wish I had a photo. Only in Northampton or Ptown.
12. I talked to a fellow member of the 99%, who asked about my loans. He was just laid off from his job so money was tight. He used to be in a cover band. Cool!
13. Around this time of year, Faces sets up a projector in their window that throws tiny green dots on the sidewalk in front of it. They move around and explode when they collide. This is great entertainment for people trying to figure out where it's coming from, and it was surprisingly not competition for me.
14. I met someone who works at Faces. He said he has his mother's old accordion. I told him he had to learn Jingle Bells by the time I was back in town.
I packed up because it's Thanksgiving and my family was going to the movies! In summary, it was a great day and I want to play more in Northampton. I have to always wear my piano dress since I got tons of compliments! The end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)