Decided to go downtown today. I was originally going to try Hawthorne again, but I just realized that my bus pass expired yesterday, I didn't want to front full fare for the bus, and I didn't want to walk all the way down there. So I got on the train and headed downtown instead. I know that I was technically jumping fare by doing that, but I got on one stop outside fareless square and I really don't like paying $1.10 - $1.40 for what, minus one stop, would be free. And in any case, I usually have a bus pass, which I'm going to get tomorrow anyway. Or if not tomorrow, then at some point. Hopefully I'll still be able to get a youth pass... $17 instead of $51 sounds nice to me.
The flower sale was still going on in the square so I figured that somewhere in that area would probably be a good choice. I set up right adjacent to the Mario's/Fox Tower space for a few reasons. One, my usual corner over at Nordstrom's was taken by some dude with a banjo. Two, there were still plenty of people milling around on Broadway, with some decent traffic coming in front of me. Three, I have some issue with the security people at this building, so I love taking a spot that's basically still in their space but that they really can't do anything about.
About a year ago I played a morning against the wall of Mario's. Actually, that's not totally true - I played about 5 minutes before they sent security out to give me the movealong. This probably happened at about 7:30 in the morning; it was before school and I decided to pick up some extra cash for lunch. The store wasn't even open yet, but according to the security guard my playing was disruptive to their customers and their business. That is, the customers that weren't going to show up for a few hours. Whatever. I just stayed friendly, packed up my stuff, picked up the few bills and change I got (not bad for an early morning thing... I guess commuters are generous) and bought myself a cup of coffee. Or tea, or hot chocolate, or whatever drink I had that morning. No harm, no foul - the guard was a little rude and did interrupt me in the middle of a song, but I just put it behind me.
Last week I go up to the same building, but one business over. I figured that the security that hassled me however long ago was from the store, not the entire building. So I just start playing and doing my usual thing, and after some 10 minutes I look up to see a security guard standing off to the side, with a cop behind him. They just watch me as I wind down and put my violin under my arm. The second I stop playing the guard just jumps at my throat.
"Sir, you're going to have to move. Now!"
I'm just a little taken aback at this. The cop steps forward. He is way quiter, way calmer than the guard, and to be totally honest he looks more than a little embarassed to be dealing with that kind of guard.
"I'm afraid he's right. You're on private property right now, and you have time to pack up, but you do need to find another spot."
I'm not going to argue with these guys. I might give the guard a hard time if he's on his own, but talking back to a cop just isn't worth it. I figure I'm entitled to some advice, though, so I have to ask:
"Any idea where I should go?"
The cop is eager to help, eager to show that he's not the bad guy, he's on my side.
"Move out to the treeline and you'll be fine. If you want more detailed information, you can go down to city hall and look at the Portland Street Musician Agreement."
Good cop, unpleasant security guard. Rentacop. Give them a badge and a little flashlight and they think they're kings. Not that I have anything against ordinary security guards who are just trying to make a living; I only have a problem when they go on power trips. I mean, there are so many nice ways to give somebody a movealong. Not my problem though. I just blow it off and move out to the corner, over by the treeline, far enough out from the building. One interesting thing that I thought about later was that the guard was kicking me out because I was esentially trespassing. Wait, though - I'm implicitly trespassing by standing there? What about all the people who walk past the door, inside the property line? Are they trespassing too? It's their right to decide who can stay or go, of course, but it'd be nice if they were a little bit clearer about it.
Oh, and I did go down to city hall and look up that Street Musician Agreement. It turns out that while the building was well within their rights to tell me to move on, the way in which they did it violated the Agreement (which is technically breaking the law, but that's splitting hairs). They are required to come talk to me in person and wait a half hour before calling the cops, they are required to be polite, and they are required to let the performer (me) finish a number before talking to them. I'm not at all bitter about this. In retrospect, it's good to know my rights, to know where I can and can't be, so at least I got some education out of it. Plus, now I can play outside the building, right in plain view of those guards, and they can't touch me. Feels good.
One last thing, way nicer. Today some folks (a young couple) just stopped and listened to me for close to 20 minutes. After a few songs, I stopped and asked them if they had any requests. Quietly: "Duke Ellington?" I play through a jazz standard. I don't know if it was Ellington or not, but they liked it. It means so much to me when someone is willing to actually sit and listen to me play. It isn't the same as the perfunctory and polite opening of ears... to have someone actually validate my playing by giving me the time to show them my art makes the whole thing worth it. The take was pretty low again today, but those folk really made my day.
Tomorrow: Farmers' Market, over by PSU
The flower sale was still going on in the square so I figured that somewhere in that area would probably be a good choice. I set up right adjacent to the Mario's/Fox Tower space for a few reasons. One, my usual corner over at Nordstrom's was taken by some dude with a banjo. Two, there were still plenty of people milling around on Broadway, with some decent traffic coming in front of me. Three, I have some issue with the security people at this building, so I love taking a spot that's basically still in their space but that they really can't do anything about.
About a year ago I played a morning against the wall of Mario's. Actually, that's not totally true - I played about 5 minutes before they sent security out to give me the movealong. This probably happened at about 7:30 in the morning; it was before school and I decided to pick up some extra cash for lunch. The store wasn't even open yet, but according to the security guard my playing was disruptive to their customers and their business. That is, the customers that weren't going to show up for a few hours. Whatever. I just stayed friendly, packed up my stuff, picked up the few bills and change I got (not bad for an early morning thing... I guess commuters are generous) and bought myself a cup of coffee. Or tea, or hot chocolate, or whatever drink I had that morning. No harm, no foul - the guard was a little rude and did interrupt me in the middle of a song, but I just put it behind me.
Last week I go up to the same building, but one business over. I figured that the security that hassled me however long ago was from the store, not the entire building. So I just start playing and doing my usual thing, and after some 10 minutes I look up to see a security guard standing off to the side, with a cop behind him. They just watch me as I wind down and put my violin under my arm. The second I stop playing the guard just jumps at my throat.
"Sir, you're going to have to move. Now!"
I'm just a little taken aback at this. The cop steps forward. He is way quiter, way calmer than the guard, and to be totally honest he looks more than a little embarassed to be dealing with that kind of guard.
"I'm afraid he's right. You're on private property right now, and you have time to pack up, but you do need to find another spot."
I'm not going to argue with these guys. I might give the guard a hard time if he's on his own, but talking back to a cop just isn't worth it. I figure I'm entitled to some advice, though, so I have to ask:
"Any idea where I should go?"
The cop is eager to help, eager to show that he's not the bad guy, he's on my side.
"Move out to the treeline and you'll be fine. If you want more detailed information, you can go down to city hall and look at the Portland Street Musician Agreement."
Good cop, unpleasant security guard. Rentacop. Give them a badge and a little flashlight and they think they're kings. Not that I have anything against ordinary security guards who are just trying to make a living; I only have a problem when they go on power trips. I mean, there are so many nice ways to give somebody a movealong. Not my problem though. I just blow it off and move out to the corner, over by the treeline, far enough out from the building. One interesting thing that I thought about later was that the guard was kicking me out because I was esentially trespassing. Wait, though - I'm implicitly trespassing by standing there? What about all the people who walk past the door, inside the property line? Are they trespassing too? It's their right to decide who can stay or go, of course, but it'd be nice if they were a little bit clearer about it.
Oh, and I did go down to city hall and look up that Street Musician Agreement. It turns out that while the building was well within their rights to tell me to move on, the way in which they did it violated the Agreement (which is technically breaking the law, but that's splitting hairs). They are required to come talk to me in person and wait a half hour before calling the cops, they are required to be polite, and they are required to let the performer (me) finish a number before talking to them. I'm not at all bitter about this. In retrospect, it's good to know my rights, to know where I can and can't be, so at least I got some education out of it. Plus, now I can play outside the building, right in plain view of those guards, and they can't touch me. Feels good.
One last thing, way nicer. Today some folks (a young couple) just stopped and listened to me for close to 20 minutes. After a few songs, I stopped and asked them if they had any requests. Quietly: "Duke Ellington?" I play through a jazz standard. I don't know if it was Ellington or not, but they liked it. It means so much to me when someone is willing to actually sit and listen to me play. It isn't the same as the perfunctory and polite opening of ears... to have someone actually validate my playing by giving me the time to show them my art makes the whole thing worth it. The take was pretty low again today, but those folk really made my day.
Tomorrow: Farmers' Market, over by PSU
posted by OverlappingElvis at 8:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home