Rodney - Saxophone

Photo: Kevin Hazelton

Nothing is more iconic for street performers than a lone tenor saxophonist. I've put up bands, a weird animal act, but when people think 'street performers' they either think mimes, or lone saxophonists.  That might be some kind of personality test, but I digress.

Rodney was, in a way, my grail. The kernel that started this project was the fact that I would pass Rodney almost every time I went into the city. Then there was a day I passed him and he wasn't playing, but talking to someone in some sort of animated conversation.

That's when it occurred to me that I really didn't know anything about these guys and it might be interesting to find out.

So I stopped and talked to him and asked where he'd be the next day. Of course, when I did come out to see him, he wasn't there. Street performers, as seems obvious, work on their own schedule. But I was able to find the Supa Lowery Brothers that day and found Rodney eventually.

He was in turns the most enthusiastic interview subject and the most reluctant, sometimes within the course of a single sentence. When I met him the first time he was intrigued by the idea and seemed into the interview. When I met him the second time he didn't seem to remember who I was and was hesitant, but then really got into it.

In a lot of ways I thought of Rodney as my main motivation for finishing the interviews, because every time he saw me afterwards he would grill me about the progress.

Tip Your Street Performers! Photo: Kevin Hazelton

Every street performer has a little bit of the philosopher in them, Rodney has that in massive doses. When you interview someone where you intend to take yourself out of the interview you try and instruct the subject to include the question in their answer. We usually give the example of "So, if I ask you your name, you say 'My name is Rodney' instead of just saying 'Rodney.'" Which makes it sound a lot easier than it is. That's why, when you watch reality show interviews a lot of people seem to be asking themselves questions they then answer.

Street performers more or less just ignored me and every minute I spent interviewing them they weren't making money, so I never belabored the point to avoid making them angry.

But with Rodney, it was nearly impossible. But what did happen were these awesome stream of consciousness rants that my questions could never unlocked in a normal interview.

Photo: Kevin Hazelton

So, you'll notice some differences. (if you've been actually following the blog from the beginning you'll notice a lot of differences, like the second player I added for each post and the slightly new look. I'm not sure which one I prefer, they both have their pluses so for the time being I'm keeping both up). But specific to Rodney...first is what I call the 'usable interview,' the part where Rodney stayed on topic and more or less answered the questions in a way where it wasn't necessary that you heard the question. Mostly, I did have to include my question in at least one so you get to hear my nasally voice in the distance.

But in addition to that, I've strung together some of his rants over some more of his playing. I'm not religious, but this is about him not me, so there is some proselytizing in there. I apologize that I really didn't have as much room to let you just hear Rodney play, but I do encourage you to take a lunch time stroll on Market between 1st and 2nd (I'm a little disappointed that the Google Streetview car didn't catch him) and listen to him play. Be sure to tip him and tell him that interview guy sent you. No guarantees he'll remember, but he just might.

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Gregory Pike and Dog Cat Rat

Greg Pike and his triple decker pets. Photo:Kevin Hazelton

This was on my first day with Kevin and there were two people he had seen that he was hoping to find again. He had actually been excitedly trying to describe this particular act to me as we decided to break for lunch.

As it turns out, I was maybe one of the few people who hadn't heard of Gregory Pike and his unique pets. Mr. Pike, you see, had trained his dog to give a ride to his cat who in turn gave a ride to his pet rat.

Yep.

Three to four years ago, this was a bit of a unique phenomenon, and as we made our way down Powell between Geary and O'Farrell to get some burritos, there was Greg Pike and his mobile menagerie.

Photo: Kevin Hazelton

So, originally I had intended to record musicians. Partially because all I had to do this project on was audio equipment and I couldn't really represent acts like the robot men or jugglers or whatever other spectacle happens on a regular basis on the San Francisco streets. I had to decide if this constituted street performance. He wasn't performing per se, he wasn't at a particular location, he himself was on the move to somewhere with his pet tower in tow.

But the reality is, it was a spectacle and just as many people stopped and watched if not more than some of the musical acts we had already encountered. And Mr. Pike, like his other performers, was living off tips from onlookers.

Not that this was his only plan. Dog Cat Rat was, above all else, a message of peace and cooperation. And Pike delivered that message to anyone who would stop and ask.

Photo: Kevin Hazelton

It's hard, in my cynical normal existence, to associate getting a cat to accept a free ride with people putting away their differences and getting along. But I have to admit, when you're sitting next to the pet stack, it's a little easier to believe. Or maybe it just makes you think of the Town Musicians of Bremen.

When I met him he had just finished a bit for Animal Planet and was thinking about moving on to other cities to spread his message. Judging from the amount of hits if you just Google Dog Cat Rat, spread his message has. I don't know that I can say much more about him than others have save to just let him speak for himself.

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The GroWiser Band

The GroWiser Band Photo: Kevin Hazelton

One of the things that I learned when grabbing the interview with the Supa Lowery Brothers is that I don't want to handle all the audio equipment and take all the photographs. I was only able to grab them on that outing and when I found a flute player in their first spot I was too tired to grab a second interview.

So when I set out again I took actor friend Kevin Hazelton, who also happens to be a photographer, to take the pictures.

Another Tuesday and we're on the move. We've been going up and down the Financial District because it's closest to where we both call home, but today we're on a mission. We want Bushman, a notorious Fisherman's Wharf fixture who 'hides' behind two plastic branches and spooks tourists. You have not been to San Francisco until you've been "BOO!"ed by Bushman.

I'll spoiler you right now, we found him but only when I had to get Kevin back to work and were never able to interview him. It is, in fact, the greatest failure of this project.

What we did find, however, was a duo from The Growiser Band featuring founder Hubert Emerson on keyboard and Sahar Miller on saxophone. As a saxophonist myself, I have a weakness for street performing saxophonists.

Hubert Emerson Photo: Kevin Hazelton

Growiser is performing in a designated area at Fisherman's Wharf. The Wharf handles street performers a little differently. Obviously, this is the high traffic area for those valuable tourist dollars and a great place for a street performer to be seen. There are fixtures, like the aforementioned Bushman, the usual spraypaint and caraciture artists, dance crews, 'robot men' (which it turns out, is a group...also never got that interview), bands, and musicians all competing for space. The Port Authority has a Street Performer Program that assigns spots and time slots.

For performers this does cut down on territorial disputes which can be a source of frustration, but also places a limit on the time they can promote themselves.

Growiser has set up under the iconic Wharf sign with a keyboard handling both drums and Emerson's playing while Sahar stands next to him playing alto saxophone. Like the Lowery Brothers, between songs they sell CDs and tell anyone who asks about upcoming shows.

Sahar Miller Photo: Kevin Hazelton

They are seasoned vets of the Wharf street performers. One of the reasons that it took me so long to getting to cut this particular interview was not only that it was two people, but because Emerson had so much informative stuff to say on the nature of street performing and the politics of it as it pertains specifically to the Port Authority.

For them, it's a trade off. Unlike the Lowery Brothers, they have not been moved after setting up. And their foot traffic is there to gawk. Regulation means once your slot is in, it's in. But it also means restrictions, something I found that street performers do not deal well with.

One of the main themes in every interview was a sense of self-determination. For them, the port authority is a trade off, trade some of that self-determination for a prime location and no hassle for their three hour slot.

Three years later, Growiser still has their Wharf schedule on their website. If you're going to San Francisco, check in on it and them. Afterwards, if you head west towards the beach, you might encounter Bushman as well and can consider your visit to San Francisco complete.

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