I asked for his name and he gave me the name of his instrument.
I asked if I could take some photos and he didn’t say a word. He just smiled.
I took that for a yes.
We didn’t exchange words but, as if often the case, his music told a story. The story that I heard wasn’t about a man, it was about a people. A people that are caught between China’s rich history and their modernization. I’m not sure if this is the story that he wanted to tell but it is the one that I heard. Perhaps that was because I have heard this story before.
His music (video at the bottom of this post), took me back to the alleys of rural China. Where, as a teen, I saw this same intersection first hand.
I don’t pretend to know the solution but the music coming from his Gao Hu brought me back to watching people washing their vegetables 15 feet from someone doing their laundry in the same trickle of water. It brought me back to watching a man stringing hundreds of badminton racquets for what I assume was a criminally low wage – ironically I was a racquet stringer myself at the time so my heart always went out to the man in the photo above.
Now, Union Square during Christmas is far from my favorite place to be. I normally avoid the place but on my last photo trip into the city of 2009 I decided to walk through on my way to Chinatown. On the way in I had told myself that I was not going to end up shooting someone playing Christmas songs amongst the hordes of people fighting for those last minute gifts. So naturally that’s exactly what I wound up doing.
Why? Because they were doing it for a cause.
Accompanied by what I’m assuming were their mothers, Tara and Jo were out there playing their violins raising money for their church’s outreach program to feed hungry families in the Bay Area – and that I fully support.
They drew quite a crowd while they were playing and it seemed as if they raised quite a bit of money. Great work girls, I applaud…
Today I took a hike around the city with the trusty k1000. My main goal of the day – to not end up taking pictures of someone playing/singing holiday songs in Union Square. So naturally I wound up taking an entire roll of two girls playing holiday songs on their violins in Union Square.
Why? Because they were playing to raise funds for Glide and I’m a sap for people doing social good.
I also hung out with a man in Chinatown. I thought he had said that his name was Gao Lo, but after doing a little research I figured out that his instrument is called a Gao-Hu. I think the language barrier got in the way.
Either way, a good day. Photos to come after the holidays.
The far end (closest to the water) of the Powell BART Station has to be one of my favorite hideaways. The near complete lack of color and bright lights make me feel like I’ve traveled forward in time and the large open area provides some pretty good acoustics and a great place to catch a free show. That is where I found Kippy Marks.
Kippy was very warm and friendly, pausing to answer any questions that a passerby may have with a big smile on his face. A self billed “improv-o-linist,” Kippy has played all over the world with various groups , bands and symphonies over the last 20 years. He now lives in San Francisco and focuses mainly on his solo career. Kippy explained that as a violinist you often get lost in a band and he felt that this was his time to “get himself out there.” With his talent (video) and charisma he can certainly go far.
I ran into an old college friend while I was spending time with Kippy. It’s funny what a familiar face can do to turn around what was a less than memorable day. It was good to catch up with someone I hadn’t spoken to in a couple of years and sort of put a couple of things back into perspective.
A terrific, in-depth profile of Kippy can be found here.
I saw Guitar Man again tonight and of course, I didn’t have my camera or my prints with me.
*curse words*
At least I know now that he’s local and is a regular on Shattuck. Hopefully next time I won’t be there for work.
It’s funny, I could hear him playing as I walked from my car and I instantly knew it was him. Same hoodie, same Christmas themed can, same soulful music – different shoes this time though, and no sunglasses.
The sound of a fiddle and banjo playing together is not one that you hear everyday on the streets of San Francisco so when I heard the Water Tower Bucket Boys playing on the Embarcadero my country roots begged me to stop and stay a while.
I didn’t get much of a chance to get their story because of the crowd gathering around them due to their energetic performance, but between songs they told stories of the finer things in life – good friends, heartache, faith and too much drink. From their music they seemed like my kind of guys and their myspace page confirmed so.
I’m a fan of this band from Portland. I hope to get a chance to get the chance to hang out with them when they head back this way in February.
