What’s a group of buskers to do when they’re ready and willing to play, but the weather has different plans? Hiding out in the entrance of the Miles Building during a fierce rainstorm, traveling buskers Pilgrim, Elmore and Bob had planned on busking in front of the Iron sculpture in downtown Asheville. As a result, they were instead playing tunes largely to entertain each other until the torrent passed. Continue reading Pilgrim, Elmore and Bob play “Black Eyed Suzie”
Tag: banjo
Abby the Spoon Lady and Banjo Ben perform “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss”
Here’s an experiment: Take two standard metal soup spoons. Turn them so that the curved bottoms are facing each other, and place them between your fingers like chopsticks. Now, try to clack them in time with any moderately paced song. It should take you about 45 seconds to begin to appreciate just how good Abby the Spoon Lady is at her profession, and you haven’t even done any of the hard stuff yet. Continue reading Abby the Spoon Lady and Banjo Ben perform “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss”
Abby the Spoon Lady and Ben Shirley perform “Li’l Liza Jane”
This video of traveling buskers Abby the Spoon Lady (one of the few professional musical spoon players in the country) and Ben Shirley is arguably the most popular thing ever filmed for Busk Break. It’s not because they’re playing some ironic cover of an ’90s hit or something. (Unless you mean 1890s, perhaps.) It’s because they’re both stunningly talented. Or, if you want believe Abby’s take, it’s like 35 people watching the video 1,000 times each to learn how to play the spoons. Continue reading Abby the Spoon Lady and Ben Shirley perform “Li’l Liza Jane”
Caster covers “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)”
If there’s any song that provokes a completely surprised, totally unguarded smile, it’s the “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” from the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book. Add a banjo, a kazoo and a young busker just finding his voice, and you have a very light-hearted busking moment on the streets of Asheville. And, more than that, it’s an early glimpse at a performer who was slowly coming into his own. Continue reading Caster covers “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)”
Mister Gunn & The Pistol Packin’ Mamas perform “Caffeine”
It’s not every musician that can write an entirely new song that also manages to feel timeless. That’s doubly true when their chosen genre is the nostalgia-driven jazz, blue and old-time hybrid that has been dominating the regional busking scene for the past several years. I was absolutely certain that “Caffeine” was a cover, like some jazzed-up, long-forgotten companion b-side to Clara Smith’s “Ain’t Got Nobody To Grind My Coffee.” But it turns out that it was written by a guy I’ve known for years. Continue reading Mister Gunn & The Pistol Packin’ Mamas perform “Caffeine”
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