Manna From Listeners

People show their appreciation for the tunes I share in many ways.  Most people toss money in my guitar case.  But I'm always amazed people share other items with me to show their thanks.  Yesterday a man gave me a portfolio and inside was a leather-bound Bible.  Not just a pocket edition, but a full-size, very thick Bible.  I'm not sure that his motive was to spread The Good Word, but his intentions were sincere and the smile on his face was somewhat beatific.
Here's a list of other things people have given me over the past few months, just to give you an idea.
1. Two Narcotics Anonymous medals for good work and encouragement to stay clean
2. A new unopened tube of skin cream
3. Septa tokens
4. fresh flowers
5. granola bars
6. one-hundred personalized business cards with my name on them (a sweet old lady had printed them up for me on her computer, figuring I needed to give people my contact information)
7. A Korean embroidered key chain
8. their own music cd's
9. pretzels and sandwiches
Other people have offered services.  One young photographer did a photo shoot of me in action and then emailed me all the jpg photos for my use.
Several times I've been invited to attend a prayer meeting (somehow I haven't found the time to attend yet) and people have prayed for me and with me.  I respect that, although it does take me by surprise.  But the idea that they feel I'm doing the Lord's Work by singing my music touches me.  They even called me Brother David.
Anyway, the point is, people give what they can sometimes, and I find it very meaningful and touching.  I truly appreciate smiles and winks and thumbs-up.
I guess as long as I receive those, I'll keep singing.
Praise Everyone. 
Brother David

Joshua Bell and Me

The world-famous violinist Joshua Bell was seen busking recently in a subway station in Boston.  Many of you have probably seen the email circulating on the internet where he decided to take his 3.5 million-dollar violin into the subways and play.  I'm not sure why he did this, but maybe it was to make the point that even an virtuoso like him can go unnoticed, like a diamond in the rough, when he is put into a certain environment.  Setting can be everything. 

The email chronicles how people walked right by him, and some even threw money into his case.  He made thirty-two dollars in forty-five minutes.  That's pretty good, I'd say.  I'm not sure how long he played there.  It all sounds like an experiment for Sociology 101, where students would stage something and stand off to the side and take notes about man-on-the-street reactions.  That night Joshua Bell played a concert in Boston where the seats averaged over a hundred dollars.
This story is very comforting to me in some ways.  I play a guitar, an old Harmony Sovereign, from the sixties which belonged to my father.  That's one reason I play it.  It was my father's. The other reason I play it is because it had a big body and it projects the sound well.  My point is, it cost seventy-five dollars new back then.  It's a great guitar.  I am comforted to know that if I paid 3.5 million for a guitar that I wouldn't be making that much more money and it would never pay for itself.
I also love the environment I play in.  Mondays I play in Suburban Station.  I have my regulars, who stop by, give support in various ways.  I have my shop keepers and restaurant owners I check in with.  Even the cops and maintenance people give me a nod.  I have one person who drops off a granola bar every time he sees me.  And recently a older woman had business card made up for me, just because, without my knowledge.
People take care of me.
As the week progresses with this good weather I play in Rittenhouse Square Park.  You couldn't ask for a more beautiful stage to play on.  The azaleas are in full bloom, the trees offer delicious shade, there is a constant flow of people, who have the luxury of staying to listen or moving on, as they are not stuck in one-hundred-dollar seats, wishing they were somewhere else or itching to answer their cell phones.  Business people and shoppers enjoy their lunches on benches, and nannies congregate with their children.  On Fridays and Saturdays sometimes I'll walk on the wild side and play to a younger, more raucous crowd in Old City near the fancy restaurants and bars, where people out out to have a good time and spend money. 
It's all good.
In some ways Joshua Bell has got it made.
But you know what?  So do I.

Kids--You Gotta Love 'Em

Now that the weather is fabulous and I'm playing more outdoors in the park at Rittenhouse Square, it's natural that more children are walking by and listening.  The park is a great place to hang out on a gorgeous day...an oasis of Nature...in a landscape of steel and glass.
I have been touched, as always, by the intent interest children show when they walk by or ride by in their strollers.  Their eyes are often riveted on me.  Sometimes the mothers or nannies don't seem aware of the performance, but the children's head turn and stare, long after they pass me.  It's amazing how flexible their necks are....  Often the children stare with a serious look, and other times they grin or wave or point. 
Sometimes the mothers stop the stroller, or squat down next to their child, and listen for a while.  I'll usually change to a children's song and try to get them involved, encouraging them to finish the line and sing along.  Itsy, Bitsy, Spider and Old McDonald, and The People on the Bus are usually big hits.
I am very touched most of all when the mothers and fathers and nannies sing along with the child and encourage the child to take part.  For many it might be the first time the child has ever experienced live music.  I'm also touched when a parent tosses a donation into my guitar case, or gives the child a coin or dollar to put in the case.  Often they even guide the child over to the case and show them, this is what you can do to show your appreciation.  A teaching moment.
Yesterday I was really moved when a child, no more than eight, reached into his Disneyworld backpack.   His mother said, "Do you have something you can give the man?"  The child pulled out a crumpled dollar, no doubt his snack money, and he proudly placed it in the guitar case.
Talk about sacrifice....
I love to see children learning to appreciate music.  Discovering the magic that music can bring.  How it can connect us all.
And in the meantime, I'll have to learn a whole lot more children's songs....

Spring In Philadelphia

Last week I was singing in Rittenhouse Square.  It's been incredibly warm, like summer.  A young couple with a baby in a stroller came up to me and said, "Can you play Spring in Philadelphia for us?"  I did a double-take and said, "You mean, by August Sky?"  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.   They said, yes, and they explained that they had bought our album in a coffee shop and that they loved the song and even their baby knew it.  I was able to compose myself (I was jumping out of my skin for joy) and said, of course, I can sing it.  I proceeded to clear my throat and sing the song, which appears on August Sky's second album (give it a listen at www.cdbaby.com/augustsky2).  As I sang the song, the young couple joined in and sang along with me.
I have to admit, it pleased me to have this young couple showing so much support.
Then Ellie came along.  I mentioned her in a previous entry.  She must be 85, and she is a sweetheart.  She walked up to me, as I was singing, and said, I have a gift for you.  She presented me with one hundred business cards, which she had printed up for me, since I didn't already have business cards to hand out.  I was touched by her gesture of support.
She remained by my side, humming a soft harmony over the songs I was singing.
I am touched by this support.  This love.
I am blessed.

He Played Real Good For Free

Joni Mitchell is one of my favorite songwriters.  My favorite song by her is about a street musician, and what runs through her mind as a successful and recognized performer, when she sees him playing on a humble street corner.  I dedicate this wonderful song to all street musicians. 

For Free
      by Joni Mitchell

I slept last night in a good hotel
I went shopping today for jewels
The wind rushed around in the dirty town
And the children let out from the schools
I was standing on a noisy corner
Waiting for the walking green
Across the street he stood
And he played real good
On his clarinet, for free

Now me I play for fortunes
And those velvet curtain calls
I've got a black limousine
And two gentlemen
Escorting me to the halls
And I play if you have the money
Or if you're a friend to me
But the one man band
By the quick lunch stand
He was playing real good, for free

Nobody stopped to hear him
Though he played so sweet and high
They knew he had never
Been on their T.V.
So they passed his music by
I meant to go over and ask for a song
Maybe put on a harmony...
I heard his refrain
As the signal changed
He was playing real good, for free
 





 

Listener Supported Busking

The exciting thing about busking is that you never know what's going to happen or who will show up to listen.

The other day I was just setting up in Rittenhouse Square Park and a news crew from CBS walked up to me and asked me if I would sing a song to Sandra Bullock.  A sad love song, as she is having difficulty with her husband.  Without thinking, I said, "Sure."  As I tuned my guitar, I was thinking to myself, what on earth could I sing to Miss Blind Side.  I started singing "Autumn Leaves."
...Since you went away, the days grow long,
and soon I'll hear, old winter's song.
But I'll miss you most of all, my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall.
Anyway, they caught it all on camera, and I  watched myself on a big screen tv with my wife while eating dinner at a neighborhood restaurant that night....
The next day I was playing in Suburban Station.  All of a sudden a group of maybe twenty Hispanic high school kids arrived and stopped in front of me and smiled, nodding to the rhythm of the song.  They were all very beautiful young people, shiny faces, some with braces on their teeth, well dressed, wholesome....  They seemed to enjoy the music.  At the end of the song, I announced, "Ladies Choice."  The young girls picked partners and they started dancing ballroom style to "Yesterday" by the Beatles.  It was so sweet.....  They were very generous with tipping, each person trying to out-do the other....
And today, Ellie stopped by.  She's the one who sang with me months ago.  She must be in her eighties.  Loves the standards.  I sang for her today.  She stood in front of me and listened intently.  Maybe ten songs.  Mostly originals.  She talked about each one, giving her commentary on the lyrics.  I felt very touched by this.  Like she needed to be there at that moment, and listen deeply.
Perhaps the highlight of the week was when my son Chris and his wife Alexis came and listened while I sang.  They had traveled from Colorado to be here to celebrate their mom's birthday.  They seemed to feel it was important to see and hear me doing my thing, busking, in my element.  After seeing the Liberty Bell and other historic attractions, they spent part of their afternoon in Suburban Station sitting, listening, offering support as I sang.  I felt honored to have them there to share with me what has become so important to me.  Playing music.  Sharing.
I need my listeners, as much as I hope they need me.  I hope Sandra Bullock heard my song for her.  Love hurts, and music soothes the pain.  I saw teenagers dancing ballroom style in Suburban station to my music.  Music celebrates raging hormones.  And Ellie sang along as I played sweet love songs for her.  Suspended in time, taking her back to a previous love perhaps, a romantic evening, a long lost lover....
I thank my listeners.  I am grateful to those who stop by.   I love the connection we have through music.  Music brings us together.  Music heals.  Music helps us transcend...

Celebrating Spring with Song

Now that the grip of winter has loosened up a bit, I found myself wandering back to Rittenhouse Square to share my music with the people passing by in the park.  I love Rittenhouse Square.  It is an oasis of nature in the middle of a very large and sometimes intense city.  It soothes the nerves to sit and listen to the birds and look at leaves....
My wife Patricia and I used to play with our August Sky music in Rittenhouse Square.  Back in 2001 tensions were beginning to build between street musicians and some less appreciative neighbors.  With phone calls to the police, they would set in motion the machine to remove the vermin from the park.  Just like the unwanted homeless, musicians were pariah.  We were usually shut down and kicked out of the park.  Eventually the battle came to a head in court, and musicians were allowed to play, but not allowed to open their guitar cases and take donations.
I figured I better check in with the policewoman on duty, just to let her know I was going to play and asked if that was cool.  She was very nice.  She showed me the rules on paper.  She told me she loved musicians and live music.  She said she wouldn't shut me down, and she'd turn her back, if I opened my guitar case for donations.  The new rules say, you can only play for one hour.  She said she would overlook that rule, too.  It was a regular love fest.
Anyway, I set up on the same spot we played in nine years ago and played for three hours.  It felt good to sing there again.  Many people sat and listened.  One young man lit some incense for me and stuck it next to my guitar case.  Many people commented positively about the music and said they loved sitting and listening.  I sang to the children passing by in strollers.  Itsy, Bitsy Spider brings a smile every time.
Pat wrote a song for Philadelphia in the spring which appeared on our second cd, Flight.  It's called Spring in Philadelphia, and it features jazz trumpter Faruq Dawud and jazz drummer Bob Fant.

Spring in Philadelphia

Spring in Philadelphia, blossoms in the air
I walked along the river, looking at the rowers
Wishing you were there
How can it compare
To any other city anywhere.

Every park and playground, is filled with happy noise
Lovers on their cell phones, puppies on their leashes
Laughing girls and boys
Funny little ladies, in funny little hats
Sneak a little smile at you
And hope you’ll smile back.

Daffodils and tulips, on museum lawns
Kids who hookied class, lying on the grass
Stifling their yawns
Spring in Philadelphia, makes your heart feel light
Buy some summer shoes, shirts in summer blues,
Anything that’s bright.

Keep an eye on robins, bent on some dissection
When you’re walking past, a wall that’s made of glass
Wink at your reflection
Sitting with your coffee, underneath a tree
There’s no way you can know, when you get up to go,
What miracles you’ll see.

Vendors selling flowers, pretty scarves and rings
Necklaces and watches, sandwiches and pretzels,
And a thousand things.
Unexpected joys, you’ll find on every street
Open up your eyes, be open to surprise
Life can be so sweet...
In the spring in Philadelphia.

So, Lovely Rittenhouse Neighbors, I'm back.  Along with other musicians, classical violinists from the Curtis Institute, flautists, guitarists, singers, troubadours of joy.  We're here to celebrate life with you.  We will shower you with song and love to help the winter thaw....