The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century

I decided to experiment with what photo junkies refer to as available-light photography at last week’s Kick Ass Karaoke. I took these photos of the Karaoke regulars (although given the nature of the folks who frequent the Bovine Sex Club, perhaps the term should be “irregulars”) without the flash, relying only on the stage and ambient lighting of the Bovine.

The photos were taken on my ancient but trusty Olympus D320L digital camera. if you carefully choose the light source and holding the camera very still — the camera tends to be very motion sensitive without the flash — you can get some very dramatic and “arty” shots. They were not treated to any Photoshoppery other than being rotated ninety degrees (most of them are “portrait” shots, taken with the camera on its side) and shrunk to about two-thirds their original size.

According to someone on the TorFun (“Toronto Fun”) mailing list, MuchMoreMusic (MuchMusic’s “mellower” sister channel — the Canadian answer to VH-1) says that the Rolling Stones are playing a surprise concert at the Palais Royale tonight. Tickets are $10 and there are only 1000 available.

I’ve got to do a little work first, so I’ll flesh out this entry with the story a little bit later on today. In the meantime you can take a look at these stills from yesterday’s appearance on MuchMusic’s MuchOnDemand…

“I leave polka to the experts.” A quick interview with Rick and Jen before we let the audience choose what number I’ll play.

That is all.

Street economics

I almost always toss something in at least one panhandler’s hat — the legit panners, not the twinkies (the bored kids who live with Mom and Dad doing it as a hobby) — every day. It’s a little personal policy of mine that came about partially because my being a busker makes me sympathetic to that kind of thing, partially out of inspiration by The Five Rituals of Wealth, but mostly because in some situations, I’m a real bleeding heart. I’m sure the Floating Head of Ayn Rand has put me on her shit list.

I know Z. the panhandler from playing outside Amato’s Pizza on the weekends. He and his girlfriend X., who got kicked out of her parents’ home in Winnipeg for being a little too gothy for their tastes, hand out in the doorway beside the pizzeria. I usually give them a cut of my busking money because I don’t really need it (most of the time, anyway).

This evening, I dropped a toonie in Z.’s hat on the way out of the Bovine Sex Club, and we started talking.

Z.: Quiet night tonight. Fucking rain.

Me: It wasn’t even full-on rain. It was a shower at most. It only takes a little water to make people stay at home.

Z.: Didn’t make very much tonight.

Me: You should try Queen and John around noon. Lots of people from all the bank buildings pass by there for lunch. I’ll bet 4,000 walk on John Street at noon, and if only one in twenty give you a buck, that’s still 200 bucks.

Z.: Yeah, they make like what, fifteen, twenty, maybe twenty-five bucks an hour, right? A buck should be nothin’ to them!

I get the feeling that a lot of the bankers and lawyers in the Scotiabank Plaza are making more than twenty-five an hour, but I didn’t have the heart to point that out.

Now the world’s most unforgettable name

I needed some practice for today’s MuchMusic gig, so I spent some time after last call playing the accordion outside Amato’s Pizza. One of the people who worked there asked me to drop by on Saturday night and play some requests for her closing shift. Her name is Kate, and I will never forget anyone named that because of a story I read yesterday on Maggie “Mighty Girl” Berry’s blog:

On meeting a girl who I can’t believe is still single:

Me: Hi, I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Maggie.

Her: Hi, I’m Kate.

(Conversation ensues.)

Kate: I’m sorry, what was your name again? I’m horrible with names.

Me: No problem, it’s Maggie. I don’t remember yours either.

Kate: Here, I’ll do the little Kate dance to help cement it.

(Throws hands in hair, shakes bum and turns in little circles while chanting, “Kate! Kate! Kate!)

Me: I will never, ever forget that again.

This “Kate” sounds like my kind of girl.

Mental note to self: During TV appearance, do not put accordion down close to hot stage lights.

(Special thanks to Matt “Black Belt” Jones and Sakaama for the heads-up!)

If you’re near a TV between 5 and 6 p.m. this Thursday, you might want to tune into MuchMusic. A couple of weeks ago, I got an e-mail message from MuchMusic VJ Jennifer Hollett. She’s another member of the GTABloggers (Greater Toronto Area Bloggers) gang, and she invited me to perform on Thursday’s episode of MuchMusic’s afternoon show, MuchOnDemand.

For those of you who live in the States, MuchMusic is Canada’s equivalent to MTV (except that you see actaul musci videos on MuchMusic) and MuchOnDemand is a live show that alternates between live segments with the two host VJs, Rick Campanelli and Jenn and videos played on request (in other words, it’s rather analogous to MTV’s TRL). MuchMusic’s studio is an open-concept studio with garage-door-like walls that face the street; they roll these up during the show and allow the mostly teenage audience to catch the show and to use their computers to submit their requests for videos.

This Thursday marks the 100th episode of MuchOnDemand, and they’ve got all kinds of special guests, including a 35-person marching band. I’ll be playing the accordion as they go into and come out of commercials. Jenn’s requests are for Britney and AC/DC and Alex the producer wants me to do Nine Inch Nails. If I have the time, I think I’ll try and learn an Avril Lavigne number, or perhaps that new Sheryl Crow single.

Remember, that’s this Thursday at 5 p.m. on MuchMusic. Catch it on TV, or if you’re in the vicinity of the ChumCity Building (Queen and John Streets), you can see it live.