I tried to photograph the numerous talented street musicians and performers from San Francisco, Chicago and New York city. A large number of these were done in early 2000 in film & chrome. Since I moved onto digital, I have lost a lot of those films!
Street Musicians of New York City
Central Park Musicians
Every weekend during sprint & summer, various buskers from around the city would gather in various corners of the Central Park. Such a group of latin musicians would assemble at the Poet’s Walk & the Bethesda Fountain to play into the evening.
I was frequenting Central Park almost every weekend, traveling for an hour each way, to meet these amazing musicians.
Over time, I got to know a lot of them personally. Susan Keser on the violin, Gabbano Miguel Viola on his djembe, Tetsutarou Yasui, Matinga & Yannyck Chaka on drums, Colleen on her Irish Bodhran, Brian on his cello, Austin on his sax and so many more!
Today, after several decades, the memories remain fondly.
Over time, I got to know a lot of them personally. Susan Keser & Brian on their violin, Gabbano Miguel Viola on his djembe, Tetsutarou Yasui, Matinga & Yannyck Chaka on drums, Colleen on her Irish Bodhran, Austin, Ralph Williams on their sax, Tarun Das on the harmonium, Rebel Ciple & Kevie on guitar and so many more!
Street Musicians of San Francisco
Most of the images of San Francisco street musicians were photographed between 2005 & 2008. I was very new to digital photography then & had just laid my hands on the Nikon D200. I shot these in JPEG, not knowing what RAW or NEF meant at that time!
Powell & Market Street
One of the most popular places for buskers to hang around is the Market Street Trolly Terminus. The place always bustles with tourists who always take a liking to the musicians.
As the evening moves into night, the buskers shift more towards the wharfs, where both locals and tourists gather around the ocean for dinner or an evening walk.
They are the first musicians I ever photographed, playing in the streets of San Francisco. They went by the name Francisco Kid & played rock & roll.
They were starting off their musical career back in 2005 when I met them. They took a liking to me & allowed me to take their pictures in as many ways I wanted.
Much later, by that time I had moved back to New England, he moved to Europe & was traveling through Spain & Italy with his music.
I had been in touch with many of these artists long after I left San Francisco. I often looked back and wondered what is it that intrigued me the most about these street musicians? It cannot be the music because I do not have a single musical bone in me.
Much later I realized, and now I am convinced, that what touched me is their heart. Always, for ever, every time I met them in the various corners of San Francisco, they would welcome me with a smile. A smile, without words, that said it all – almost saying “Happy to see you again my friend!”
Pier 39
Extending from the Embarcadero through the pedestrian bridge to the North Point, this part of San Francisco is abundant in good food & great music.
As the evening progressed, many buskers would head for the Fisherman’s Wharf where the night would just be beginning, with abundant tourists & locals coming together to catch a bite or for the last stroll of the night.
Kid Musicians on the Streets of San Francisco
There were a lot of very talented & beautiful kids & young adults who were taking to the streets of San Francisco playing music, often to make a couple of extra bucks for their pocket money. But I would guess they were doing it more for the fun & have a taste of this very unique lifestyle.
Most of these talented young girls & boys played more than one instrument. I even met a charming young lady who made music from a saw! And she was quite good at it. It was an ordinary saw but the way she mastered it to produce tones was amazing!
Larry the Bucketman
Larry was an interesting street musician, who spent most of his adult life playing buckets in San Francisco. Over the years I got. to know more of him – his troubled childhood growing up in Oz, Kansas, not knowing his mother & raised by his father & grandmother. He was drumming, or striking anything he could find around the house, since he was 3, until at 13 he moved to San Francisco.
When I last saw him, around 2008, he was homeless, always on time to play his buckets, water jars & whatever he could lay his hands on in some corner of San Francisco. He always dreamt to be having his own TV show & was planning to compete in America’s Got Talent.
Although I lost touch for a long time, I kept getting his news. He was still trying to raise money for a roof over his head since I heard back in 2015.
If his face seems familiar, that is probably from his movie roles in Pursuit of Happyness and First Sunday, an Intel commercial, Cece Williams and Janice’s Love Groove show, and his video of the Obama song with Michael Walden, produced live in his studio.
Street Musicians of San Francisco ChinaTown
From the jazzy saxophone to the traditional flutes & ehru, China Town will present some of the most fabulous street musicians of San Francisco. San Francisco ChinaTown is one of the largest Chinese settlement in the US, spanning over 20 some blocks.
As the evening sets in, musicians with traditional Chinese musical instruments play along the various parts of this bright, colorful China Town.
One of the musicians of ChinaTown was a saxophone player Chen Wei. He became a friend in a short time with his marvelous smile & charming personality. His music was great and he was always very animated, as if his tunes were swaying him in every which way.
Long after I left San Francisco, I was in touch with Chen Wei. He was a first generation immigrant who wanted to be a chef, open his restaurant, and spend all his time playing music.
His dreams of opening his restaurant in ChinaTown did not come true till we were in touch. But that did not take any of Chen’s unwavering music or love of playing in the streets away!
Long after I left San Francisco, I was in touch with Chen Wei. He was a first generation immigrant who wanted to be a chef, open his restaurant, and spend all his time playing music.
His dreams of opening his restaurant in ChinaTown did not come true till we were in touch. But that did not take any of Chen’s unwavering music or love of playing in the streets away!
Street Musicians of Little Italy & Coit Tower
Amongst pedestrians, roadside restaurants with their flames & fumes pouring out onto the streets & the abundant use of weed, cigars & unusual homemade paraphernalia along the streets of Little Italy, were these stupendous people with their guitars, drums, sax & even buckets!
Mariachis of Mission Street
And what is music without a little Mariachi! Mission in San Francisco is where. Imet most of the mariachi street musicians. While most played in groups, there were a few mariachis who would play solo around Folsom, Van Ness & valencia.
It is one thing to take a picture of someone in the streets. It is another when you take an interest in their lives. You get to know the artist behind the musician. Often these sort of photo documentaries do not tell the complete story.
Although you can guess somewhat, the fact that each had a dream & were struggling through each day trying to incl closer to the dream had been my inspiration behind the Street Musicians project.
When you know the artist behind the musician, the way you look at them changes, the way you photograph them changes and while the story may not change as much, it has left some fulfilling memories with me forever.
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