The thing about the Subways is there's this wonderful anonymity about it.
And I'd say like the vast majority of the people that go by don't really notice at all,
you know that you're there.
I definitely observe what's going on around me.
If you're playing on a platform, most of the people that you see are going to be standing
there for say at least a minute.
So they're like a part of your world for a little while and sometimes interesting things
happen.
Somebody will be there and they'll run into somebody they haven't seen in a long time
or like two people that you didn't think were together all of a sudden come together and
start kissing or something.
You know like I mean you're observing all these strangers and you're sort of watching
them for some duration of time so like funny stuff happens.
I show up and I put like either at least some change but you know a couple dollar bills
in the hat.
There's got to be money in the hat from the beginning and I don't feel shy about it.
The girl I used to play with in Montreal she called that The Seed.
I'm not out there really to like solicit people's money.
Like I basically go into the subway and my MO is like to play what I feel like playing.
If I play stuff that I love and like and I'm really enjoying what I'm playing then like
at least certain people will pick up on that and I'm not an extroverted type so I'm not
going to like ham it up you know and like and really engage people and play like what
everybody wants to hear because that's just not who I am.
If I just go and like play shit that I'm into enough people will respond to that that I
make like minimum wage and that's cool for me.
I do consider myself to be more introverted than the average person.
I can sort of create my own little space in the subway and like people can enter it if
they want to but I don't feel like so much like I'm imposing it you know.
It's in a way it is a less assertive way of performing and there's something that I like
about that.
Like there's this crazy resonance that you get you know especially when there's nobody
in the tunnel the resonance is crazy and it's fun to sing in there because it's like singing
in a church or something and your accordion sounds huge and my voice sounds huge and then
people pile into the tunnel and like it's dead as like singing in straight into a carpet
like it's it's crazy how the acoustic changes.
It can feel lonely in the subway but like I sort of put more focus on like playing what
I feel like playing and that and that's a bit of a shield you know that sort of protects
me from because like if I can if I just play what I feel like playing and like what I love
to play then it doesn't really matter what how people respond.
You can imagine like if you're really hamming it up you know and trying to pander to an
audience and they don't give you any money how empty that you're going to feel when that
happens you know whereas like if you're just playing stuff that you love and nobody likes
it's like well you know that's just that's the way the world is you know but like but
I'm enjoying myself.
So many people in this city doing doing crazy stuff and some of it's beautiful and some
of it's ugly and whatever but like I don't know like I have as much a right to do what's
meaningful to me as anybody else does you know so so I think about that.
Probably about 25% of what I play is like original stuff another 25% is like covers that people
know maybe you know and then the majority are like 50% or more of what I play is just
like old folk music like English folk music Irish folk music.
Obviously we live in an era where like we're we're losing traditions right and left so
like if there's a beautiful thing that has really deep roots and like and I also really
like it then like all the better.
I know people are like tired like they don't want to be in the subway it's fucking hectic
in the subway and so a little moment of like this peaceful music that sort of comes from
another place entirely like I think it's a welcome presence playing in the subway sort
of mirrors like the way that I experienced being an artist in this world it's like the
vast vast majority of people are never going to know or appreciate the music that I make
and that's totally fine with me the point is I try and play some music that is true
to who I am and I think that some small number some small percentage of people will react
to it and that's all I'm eager to have.
That's where my truth of and I do mean she takes me in her arms and unto her I give
this sweet she bids me take love easy.
