A NYC subway musician and musical saw player tells what happens when she plays in the subway

• He Made Me Laugh
• Subway Musician Comic Strip
• Ode to a Musical Saw
• How Do You Deal?
• Presidential “Gold” Dollar Coins

• Scoop: Hi Natalia, I've talked to you numerouse times while you hav...
• Saw Lady: I believe he said he was from Azerbaijan....
• Matt Nozzolio: That was pretty funny. Do you know where he was from? I almo...
• Heidi: Natalia! You're gettin' some kick-ass press on MSG/SOUNDT...
• John Buckley: I first saw a man named Dewey Bogart play a musical saw in 1...
• Aaron: My wife showed me this article that she had to read for a wr...
• Christopher Waldrop: Maybe this is naive of me, but it would seem to me that busk...

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• 59th street & Lexington
• busking
• Music Under New York
• musical saw
• Shuttle
• Times Square
• Uncategorized
• Union Square

While playing at the Union Square subway station a man with a great sense of humor interviewed me on camera. I have heard many musical saw jokes, but this guy is original and intelligent - he kept making me laugh.

Thank you, RenatO!

Every now and then I come across a painting or a poem about a subway musician. But how about a comic strip?

copyright Derek Lieu, “Kick in the Head” blog, printed with permission

Cartoon artist Derek Lieu says in his “Kick in the Head” blog in the post about this comic strip: “I’m thinking specifically of the old Chinese guy at Union Square playing what looks like an electric saxophone. I feel like whenever I see him he’s playing “The Godfather” theme. I know it’s a popular song in general so a lot of street performers play it, but do I always happen to be passing by when he’s playing it? How many times a day does he play it?”

I have seen this musician many times. I have passed by him when he WASN’T playing the theme from the Godfather…

Over the past year as I was playing in the subway, a friend of mine has passed by me about 8 times (different days), and each time I happened to be playing the Schubert ‘Ave Maria’. Now I only play this piece at the most twice in every 4 hours (unless somebody specifically asks me to play this piece for them, which happens occasionally). This was a joke between my friend and I, until finally one day we “broke the curse” - he happened by me and I was playing something else. So - stuff like this happens.

I remember years ago it seemed like EVERY subway busker was playing the ‘Godfather’ theme. I, too, was guilty of that (it actually sounds great on the musical saw). I haven’t played it in years, though. I should try to remember to play it next time I’m in the subway

I play a lot of unknown music in the subway (original music by Scott Munson - as you can hear here). To my joy, many people seem to enjoy original music these days. Though I doubt buskers will ever stop playing the ‘tried and true’ songs like ‘Over the Rainbow’ and, well, the ‘Godfather’ theme…

Every now and then I come across interesting poems about either the musical saw or street musicians. Well, imagine my happiness when I discovered a poem about the musical saw which also mentions street musicians!

Ode to a Musical Saw/Dave Bonta

No longer walking
the straight & narrow,
no longer restricted to the harsh
amens of service,
now it’s your turn to be held still

for the sawing of some
effete bow, generations removed
from any kinship with arrows.
But you’re free!
And this song of yours

might otherwise
never have been heard.
You put your whole body
into it, still ascetic,
but now for the cause of art.

There’s a sweet spot, the street
musicians say, & they find it
in you. Where the heart might be,
systole & diastole in perfect balance,
if you were more than cartilage.

The pure tone floats up
through two octaves of rejoicing
at your deliverance
from lumber.
Or is this grief?

© Dave Bonta
Printed with permission.

Photographer: © Visakh Menon

Buskers’ conversation:

Django guitar player: “I recently had an encounter with another busker at 6th Avenue and 14 street (’L’ train platform). He’s a burly guy who plays acoustic guitar. I was in the middle of playing, and he wanted the spot. When I told him I was just getting started, he verbally attacked me with a tirade of hate/racist epithets.
Do you know who this guy is? Have you had to deal with him or have you found yourself in a similar situation? How did you deal with it?”

Saw Lady: “I’m sorry to hear of your unpleasant encounter.
I don’t think I know who that guitar player was.
I have had similar encounters, but I am happy to say they are rare these days. Most buskers have respect for one another. However, when this does happen, you have to hold your ground, or they will learn that you fold easily and then will proceed to bug you whenever they see you. I try to be firm but always polite, treat them with respect, but not show fear and definitely not fold. This has enabled me to gain the respect of such people, who then stopped harassing me.
You are lucky this guy only attacked you verbally. There is a group of hip-hop dancers at 34th street who are physically violent. They destroyed my friend’s amplification equipment and they drew a knife on my other friends who were busking there.
I had a Russian keyboard/singer try to destroy my equipment. This was a particularly violent incident, so I yelled out ‘police, police’ and that made him go away…”

Django guitar player: “Another busker told me that this guy is totally nuts, and if you try to set up on him, he’ll kick your money into the tracks.”

Saw Lady: “Setting up on people is a bad thing to do anyway.”

Django guitar player: “Yeah, I know.. I’ve had people do that to me. I guess I’m trying to find out if there’s a way to contact the police immediately when down on the platform.”

Saw Lady: “The police hates it when a busker calls them for a buskers’ dispute… that has been my experience, anyway.
This may sound funny, but it’s true - there is a violin-busker in the subway who actually brings a body guard with him…”

Django guitar player: “A paid body guard??!!”

Saw Lady: “I would think so.”

Django guitar player: “What station?”

Saw Lady: “I saw them at Times Square.”