 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2010-05-12 22:02
They've been doing this on the London Underground for years. It's amazing who they let through to busk. You get your typical singer/guitarist then the odd sax player with a backing track. There was once a clarinettist in Bond street station who would rattle through the Mozart Quintet. Then you get some real rubbish which you would rather not hear whilst having to trawl through the maze of the Underground. I always wonder how those people get through.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: A Brady
Date: 2010-05-13 14:21
Yes, the MTA has had this program in place for some time, although it seems there used to be more "officially-sanctioned" musicians than you see these days.
There are some surprisingly talented musicians in the subways, along with some true bizzaros, like the guy who would step onto your train with alto in tow, wearing clothes from Pluto, and proceed to play avant-garde multiphonics/split tones at ear-shattering volume, then calmly state, "If you don't tip me, I'm going to keep doing this." He would always receive generous compensation, at which point he would move on to the next car to repeat his act. This was actually less painful than the bagpiper who would play at deafening levels in the Times Square Station, decked out in full kilt.
NYC (and other large cities) can be like a medieval city with these street buskers, all part of what makes a great city great.
AB
AB
Post Edited (2010-05-13 14:23)
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-05-13 15:52
Wow, I'd most definitely not tip that guy. Would love to ride all the way home to multiphonics. Might even pull my Eb clarinet out and see if we could get some wicked resultant tones!
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-05-14 11:16
>>This was actually less painful than the bagpiper who would play at deafening levels in the Times Square Station, decked out in full kilt.
>>
Do bagpipers have any volume control? I'm pretty sure they don't. I wonder whether he ever tried playing in a closed subway car? Probably not, if he's still alive. (I love bagpipe music, but there's a time and a place.)
Washington, D.C. apparently started auditioning buskers to perform inside the stations, where busking was previously illegal. The quality varies all the way from "Wow!" to "Either he forged that permit or whoever auditioned him was tone-deaf." As far as I know, they haven't let in any of Washington's infamous bucket-drummers (yet). And I might object if a clarinetist started playing pig-in-pain altissimo squeals in an echoing subway station.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: DougR
Date: 2010-05-14 16:19
AB--I loved that guy! He wore striped leggings, torn-off jean shorts, some sort of colorful upper torso costume, and deely-bobbers on his head. The music wasn't my cup of tea, particularly, but the guy could really play. I later found out he was a regular with the Sun Ra Arkestra, among other avant-garde jazz scenes. Sorry I didn't write his name down anyplace, because he was the real thing.
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Author: A Brady
Date: 2010-05-16 02:53
That's very cool, I had no idea this subway guy played with the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra, but you're right, he clearly had his chops together.
Haven't seen him in the last 10 years or so, I guess Sun Ra's players have dispersed since the man's passing.
AB
AB
Post Edited (2010-05-16 05:30)
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