Weren’t you here two hours ago?

Busking at the Staten Island ferry terminals is always an anticipated opportunity, because it doesn’t happen very often. A guy told me that the last time he heard a musical saw being played was 50 years ago, in Panama, when he was 12 years old: his godfather played the musical saw in a band. The…

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Aching Soul

At the Music Under New York busking spot at the 34th street subway station an Andean flute player was playing. He has been there since 10am. He only plays in the subway on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The rest of the days he sells Ecuadorian stuff, like bracelets, sweaters, etc., at street fairs. He has…

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Snakes Don’t Like Vibrations

There were a lot of people waiting for the Staten Island ferry on the Manhattan side. A policeman with a dog checked out my busking gear. “Are you playing at this side today?” the cop asked me. “No”, I answered, “on the other side”. I was happy that he recognized me. I boarded the boat…

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Video From Union Square

This video was taken last month while I was busking at the Union Square subway station in Manhattan: (turn off the music player on the right hand side bar before viewing the video) Thank you Jennie Block for the video!

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Saw Me Gently

As I was climbing the stairs up to the subway platform I heard the train arriving. I doubled my climbing pace in an attempt not to miss the train. I heard the announcement “Stand clear of the closing doors”, and I thought “Oh, no – I’m not going to make it”. Then I heard the…

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Juggling Fire While Drumming

On the train on my way to my busking spot there were two Nortenos with an accordion and a guitar. They were taking the train to Manhattan but they were not playing. Apparently, they don’t work this train line. The three acapela singers who call themselves ‘The Fellows”, Bo, Chill and the one who’s name…

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The Smell of Baked Goods

As I was transferring trains at Union Square I saw Dan Stevens playing guitar and singing at the Music Under New York busking spot. A woman was dancing with a little kid to the sound of the music. My busking spot for the day was at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in lower Manhattan. An older…

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Venus and Florida

I got to the Manhattan side of the ferry to Staten Island in the nick of time to catch the ferry. The doors were already closing, but the guard held them open for me. I sat up my busking gear at the Music Under New York spot at the St. George ferry terminal. A guy…

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How Strong is Plastic?

There were no trains going to Manhattan today… they were working on the tracks. So, I took a train going the opposite way and switched to a Manhattan bound one a few stops away. It took me about an hour and a half to get to the Music Under New York busking spot at the…

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Saying ‘Hello’ in NYC

It was raining when I left to go busking. The train to Manhattan wasn’t working, so I had to take three different trains to get into the city. A guy told me that his great grandfather got a medal from the Kaizer of Austro-Hungary for playing Klezmer music. Now he is the only musical person…

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