Off the Streets

When I got to the Times Square subway station, a sanitation worker rode the elevator up from the platform with me. He greeted me with a cheerful ‘Hello’. He asked where I’ll be playing today and said he’ll come by to hear me because he always enjoys listening to me play.

Buskers were asked by the authorities to set up further away from the token booth at the Mosaics spot, in order to lessen the “noise” the person working in the token booth will hear. I’m not happy about the new location, as there is less immediate foot traffic there.

Heth, the guitar player, was on his way to busk at the LIRR #3 spot. He stopped playing at the Mosaics (where I was) because the cops gave him a hard time here.

Frankie, the guitar player/singer/whistler played at 96th Street this morning and now he was going to play somewhere else. A couple of months ago he got a summons for ‘disorderly conduct’ when playing on the N/R platform. His court date for it is next month.

The sanitation worker who rode the elevator with me earlier, came to visit me, as he promised. Frankie knows him, too. Frankie showed the sanitation guy and me photos of his children and articles in newspapers and playbills about him. He played with Tito Puente and also at Lincoln Center, for a dance group.

A gentleman told me that he does cantoring and he also teaches a course (which he started at Brooklyn College) on the origins of Jewish music. He said the musical saw sounds cantorial.

At 4pm I gave the spot over to Margo the mime. She is originally from Florida and she came to NYC three years ago to pursue her acting career. She is now engaged to an Italian mime. He does white-face mime, while she does pedestal mime.

At the mezzanine spot Agua Clara (Andean group) were playing, and Graywolf was selling CDs for them. He told me he is now off the streets – he lives on Lexington and 115th street and has food stamps.