A Show Seen All Across the United States ...... and in certain parts of Texas

 "I dig your blog dude but do you realize that people who don't know you have no idea what you do on the street?"

Good point my friend. Up til now the uninformed might be thinking I'm a full time protester, drug dealer, or (God forbid) a mime. So let me make it clear that I am a magician with actor tendencies. Let me also make it clear that my act is a sleight-of-hand Magic Show and not to be confused with crazy New-Agey tarot readings, reiki massages, or spiritual energy reach-arounds.

My sleight of hand/magic mentor was a busker by the name of Jim Cellini...

He performed his little act everywhere around the world for everyone from strangers on the sidewalk to Kings and had a hell of a life until he passed away in November of 2009. My theatre company wrote and produced a play about him called American Gypsy, but that story is for another post. 

So if you're in the southeast this summer let me know what city. You never know when a goofy looking guy in a blue fedora or suede top hat might show up and make you the star of a sidewalk like this kid...

On a slightly related note a friend of mine told me recently that whenever he tells his two-year-old son not to do something (example: "don't pick that up!") the kid does exactly what he's not suppose to and vindicates himself with a big smile and the words "TA DA!" I can't help but feel a bit responsible and VERY proud :)

Til next time,
Busker

"cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey"

Did you know that back in the day when battleships had sails the Jack Sparrows of the time would stack their cannonballs on brass triangular holders called "brass monkeys"?  When the weather was cold enough these holders would contract (because apparently that's what brass does) and the cannonballs would fall off. Hence the phrase, "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey."

Or perhaps I just made all that up and wanted an excuse to post this picture:

Either way, the point is it's cold in my current hometown of Chicago. Especially for a guy that was raised and went to college in the southeast. Not to mention I rely heavily on the fine motor skills of my fingers to perform my street act (not for playing an instrument though).

Thus I find myself in back in the south fine-tuning the act and getting ready to hit up some outdoor festivals and busker friendly towns that are warmer than 40 degrees (and raining!). Of course, the other half of all this is I'm broke and in debt (God Bless America Right?) So I'll be doing some freelance work for an insurance company while I'm down here as well.

Have you ever had the horrible fortune of your house burning down? Fortune might have been the wrong word to use there, but when your house burns down an insurance company will send an adjuster to what's left of your door to assess how much it would cost to rebuild your home. What most people don't know is that there's another person who will actually go through what remains of your house room by room and take note of each and everything you owned to assess how much it will cost to replace all your stuff....

That's me.

Correct folks, I go through and document ALL your stuff, from the Donald Miller books on your shelves to the Spartacus beneath the socks in your bedside stand. Somebody has to do it right? Of course as interesting as it sounds it has its drawbacks. Here's a photo of a room in the next house I have to go through...

A room with a view!

I just looked up the weather report for the day I have to be at this little jewel of a job. Naturally it's going to be 40 degrees and raining.


-Busker

What's in a name?

So why the title, "Modern Busking"?

Well what the hell is Busking? If you look it up in the wiki-world you'll find that it's, "the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I do. I stake temporary claims on various sidewalks of the world, build a crowd, perform a show, and live off of the tips I receive (fiscal or otherwise). As you might have guessed, busking is a very old art form with roots in tribal shaman that existed in an ancient world before borders (well you might not have guessed that second part). However ...

student loans
a smorgasbord of auditions
jabbering carnies
a recession
facebook angst
law enforcement officials
crawling through burned down houses
Bruce Springsteen obsessions
internet dating
weird looking barefoot shoes
uber-intelligent toy-poodles
 
and the many many other things I have deal with on a day-to-day basis, were not on the daily dockets of old school shaman or Egyptian priests (at least I don't think they were). And this is where we find ourselves... in the crossroads of ancient and modern times, trying to play a very new game with a very old deck. Expect lots of stories, photos, videos, and bad grammar to follow...

-Busker