Confess/Confuse

Today I was back in the New York City subway, after a whole month of being away. Boy, did I miss it! I just got back from a tour with the show Confess/Confuse. It’s an opera constructed of four micro-music theater works. Each section tells a different story. There is an extensive musical saw part…

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Acéphal Magical

I have done some unusual gigs in my life, like playing the musical saw in the window of a Gap store, or at the horse races of Bellmont, or dressed as a half Anita Ekbert – half clown at the Rainbow Room’s ‘Felini Parade’. I even played the saw dressed as a witch, sitting INSIDE…

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Video from 5th Annual Musical Saw Festival

Last month I organized the Musical Saw Players Festival in New York City. I now discovered a video of the end of the festival, the part where all 19 musical saw players played together, was posted on YouTube. We played ‘Over the Rainbow’ and Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’. The sound of 19 musical saws playing together…

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Sounds of the Underground

I’m in a book! (another book – I’ve already talked about the first book I was in – 120 Jobs That Won’t Chain You to Your Desk). This book is a gorgeous children’s book titled ‘Sounds of the Underground’ by Heidi Younger. It has amazingly beautiful and dynamic paintings that leap off the page with…

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A poem to a busker

I found this poem and I think the poet has some good observations about busking. The lack of capital letters is in the original. a poem to a busker have you been a busker or ever stood like one with your back against a wall and watched the strange parade of the street on a…

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Potential Terrorist…

As I took the subway train this morning, heading to my permitted spot at Times Square, a gentleman sitting across from me recognized me and moved to sit next to me. He told me he had seen me play in the subway many times at Times Square and he was excited to know that I…

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Guys Begging on Trains

On my way to my designated spot for the day in the New York City subway there were no seats on the train – that’s unusual for this time of day. There was a guy walking from car to car begging for money. When I arrived at my spot at the Union Square subway station…

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You Got to Squeeze That Coal

Juan Castillo was playing at the Times Square Music Under New York spot when I got there. He told me it was very slow today. Bow & Chill, the two brothers who sing on the trains, came to say ‘hi’ and they, too, said it was very slow today. Now for them that is very…

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5th Annual Musical Saw Players Convention

The musical saw players festival in NYC is certainly growing from year to year – we had 19 saw players playing in the ‘Chorus of the Saws’ (all musical saw players playing together) and 16 musical saw players from NY, NJ, PA, CA and MO who played solos. It was an honor to have Mr.…

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Singing Garbage Lady

When I got to the Music Under New York spot at 14th street there was a pan flute player there. He told me he had been playing there for an hour and that it was very hot and humid. Funny how some spots in the subway are hotter/colder than others. The Union Square spot definitely…

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