Accordion Travelling, Los Angeles, January 9th, 2012

With an accordion or any instrument, travelling is different. Busking becomes possible.

Anybody can fly a sign- this is bum slang for sitting on the pavement and holding up a sign that says "Travellin folk, hungry and broke", etc. I have not done this. Nate told me bout it. I got worried the first time Bryce even proposed we make a sign for me busking; all it said was "Tips not Required, will support a young man's travels", which was a happy enough statement. I stood and looked at it and this anxiety came over me.

I explored the anxiety and realised that for the first time in my life I was out and out asking people for money, because I needed the world's help. True, I was giving them something in return, but to me it was something that I would gladly give away for free. What I was really doing, is telling the world "I ask you for any help you can give me". It is a humbling thing that requires an openness I am still learning.

Another thing I'm learning is that I am a musician, and that this means something special. Don't quite know how to explain this except through stories: I've been playing with Annabel, Amelie, Nate, and Bryce, who are all good learners on ukelele and banjo, but who haven't played music as much as I have. Thus, picking up a song and playing doesn't come as easy to them. So I acknowledged I was at a certain skill level.

Then yesterday in the street we met a band of musicians playing Romanian and Gypsy music called the Petrovjic Blasting Company, who invited us to a literally inexplicable institute called the Museum of Jurassic Technology, with a Russian teahouse on top serving endless cups of strong tea with lemon in a rooftop garden. We sat and watched them play strange and beautiful music late into the night.

Concepts such as 4-hour a day practice minimum, ability to switch between many instruments, 13 years of constant playing, etc, came up as I asked them numerous questions. I acknowledged again that I was at a certain skill level.

I gave up music for a time in my life, feeling that I was not making any difference to the world by playing. Perhaps this was true when I was playing at home on my piano to my family only. I am reconsidering now.

The main question that socks me in the gut is: Can I spend 4 hours a day practicing accordion and still say that I am devoted to helping the world get better? What about natural building and permaculture? Is there room to balance them with playing shows, recording albums? Festival season is natural building season.

This post has a lot of uncertainty in it.

But one thing I'm certain of! I was leaning against a post in West Hollywood and a man gave me 3 dollars to play a Balkan song and say "Bonjour Justin!" in a video to his friend. A little later another man came by and asked to hear a song. I played a Gillian Welch tune to him. He said:

"This is California! You got something special! You could make it big! Get on youtube!"

I told him thank you, and ran to catch my bus. What a world.