[Dixielandjazz] Music on the subway

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

They obviously treated it like a business and a job Dick, which is why 
they made a living at it.

In San Francisco many Street performers are pulling down $300.00 a day 
+ in cash tax free since  they are just fading off into the night with 
it, eating at the finest restaurants and hanging out in the local clubs 
at night spending more money on drinks than some of the really cool 
musicians in the band are getting paid. :))

I also once represented an artist ( a Mime by the way) who performed in 
Union Square every day of the week, doing the same thing, he was often 
arrested by the Police and harassed by the city for several years.  
Then he landed an offer for his own Television show in Hollywood and  
left San Francisco.   The Mayor's office called and offered him 
$100,000.00 a year to come back and perform in Union Square again.   He 
turned them down as he was then getting $7,500.00 for an hours show in 
colleges across the USA.    BY THE WAY HIS NAME WAS ROBERT SHEILDS.   
He met another female mime named Yarnell and they became a team and got 
married and last I heard were very comfortable and living happily ever 
after.

Great Artists too, both of them,  Nothing but Class.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins





-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Miller <Dick_Miller at pmug.org>
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Sent: Sun, 09 Apr 2006 11:26:53 -0700
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Music on the subway

    When I was college student in NYC, commuting to school on the subway 
(and
train, and ferry, and walking, but that's another story), there was a
couple I saw regularly who played on the trains. She played accordian, 
he
alto sax, and they were both blind. Each had a small cup attached to the
front of the instrument for those who chose to contribute. Again, not
obtrusive, not offensive, but there. They usually rode when the trains
weren't packed, so they could walk through the aisles with care. They ha
developed their aisle-walking technique to an art: I never saw them bump
into anybody more than just brush against them. The interesting thing 
was
that they didn't work togeether. They each boarded the end car of a 
train,
one in front and one in back, then worked their way toward the middle.
When they met in the middle, they got off that train, walked to the
opposite ends of the platform, boarded the next train, and repeated the
process.

My guess is that they made a good living that way. If each collected a
buck from each train, and they were able to work four trains an hour for
six hours a day, five days a week, that would be a total of $240 a 
week, a
living wage in the '60s in NYC, when Union scale was $40 for a four-hour
gig.

--Dick Miller


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