The New York Freeharmonic Orchestra

Providing the soundtrack for eight million stories.

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I'd considered using a new image for my final post, but this is one of my favorite busker photos and I never got a chance to use it, so here it is. Besides, I can't really think of a more fitting image to close out a blog about New York buskers than the man who's been playing the same spot for over twenty years and become a New York mainstay in his own right. Especially when happy passers-by skip to his music.

It's been a fun few months since I started the blog. I've met a lot of cool people in that time, listened to a lot of great music, and learned to slow down every once in a while and enjoy the background scenery that is so easily taken for granted and overlooked. I've especially enjoyed having a reason to drag my sorry butt away from my work every now and then go explore this amazing, endless city. And while I barely scratched the surface in my wanderings, I'm grateful to have had an excuse to get out at all. I'm also grateful to my former job for laying me off not a week after I started the blog. I have no idea how I would've managed to keep the content fresh and consistent all these months if I'd still had that 9-to-6 consuming my days.

Most of all, though, I'm grateful for my readers (all 84 of you) and the folks that came out in droves (all 56 of you) to support the book. Thank you so incredibly much for making the Indiegogo Campaign a success. I can't wait to see these photos in print and I wouldn't have been able to do it without you.

And with that, I'll be setting down the baton on the podium, at least for now. The Freeharmonic will continue (on occasion) on my main tumblr for the time being but who knows, perhaps one day in the future I'll pick the baton back up and the Freeharmonic will live again. Every good act deserves an encore, after all.

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With two days (36 hours, technically) left both in the campaign and for the blog, I find myself thinking about the couldashouldawouldas, all the things I wish I'd done more of (or less of) over the course of the last few months.

Top of the list? I wish I'd had my camera on me more often. Too many times I've missed great photos (busker and otherwise) because I had decided that one time to leave my camera at home. And while I admittedly could've taken the shots with my phone, my phone takes pretty lousy pictures and I think I just would've wound up frustrated with the fact that the photos didn't live up to how I imagined the shot in my head.

There's a life lesson in there, I'm just not sure whether it's to always have my camera on me or stop being such a control freak and accept imperfect products. I think I'll go with the former.

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Remember that whole bit about parks bringing out the jazz in New York? This trio—comprised of Jacob Melchior, Yaacov Mayman, and an unidentified bassist—was situated on the opposite side of the park, not a few hundred feet from yesterday's jazz ensemble. As you walked through the park and one band started to fade from earshot, you could start to pick up the strains of the other one. You were never more than a few seconds away from good jazz.

There are worse ways to spend a Friday.

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There's something about parks in New York that just bring out the inner jazzhound in us, I think. Such was the case with Rasheed Howard and the Jazz Collective, seen above in Washington Square Park earlier today.

I'd also like to take a second to appreciate the sheer scale and awesomeness of this setup. In most other places, buskers are solo, maybe duo, acts. Here you've got a five man jazz ensemble, including drums, keyboard, and upright bass.

New York, I love you.

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It's always heartening to see other people stop and enjoy buskers. All too often people will just breeze right on past, barely even breaking their stride, as these talented musicians put on great performances.

In other news I've officially made my campaign goal and can rest easy knowing Indiegogo will only be taking a 4% of the the proceeds. I've been editing down my 4,500 photos to a manageable pile and can't wait to get to mocking up the book in earnest. It's gonna be a bit of a task to turn this mountain of photos into a solid book, but I'm looking forward to it.

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There are a ridiculous amount of string instruments in the Freeharmonic. Makes sense, as the guitar is the most popular busking instrument around, but it does make things a little lopsided, like a high school band with four guitars and a keyboardist. Thankfully I have more than enough other instruments to keep the book balanced, but I'll definitely have to keep my eyes peeled for non-guitarists as I go out on my hunting excursions.

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Cameron Orr, seen at Lorimer/Metropolitan Station.

This was originally supposed to be one of the "previously unseen" images that was gonna make it into the book, but I've just about exhausted my backup stash of busker photos and am forced to dig into my reserves. Seven shoots in six days (with four more across the next three) has left me little time for busker hunting. Luckily, once the campaign wraps (and the blog along with it), I'll be able to go out and shoot more book-exclusive material.

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Spotted on the uptown Q as I was on my way to a shoot. 

The campaign is entering its last week and it looks like I'll be making my goal, which is good. Due to how I configured it I was always guaranteed of a payout, but if I make my goal then Indiegogo only takes out 4% instead of 9%, which will help, especially since right now it looks like I'll just about break even on the printing costs.

I suppose I should be disappointed that the campaign didn't really raise much money to replace my stolen gear, but I'm happy enough at the prospect of seeing the book in print that I don't really mind. And I'll have a few extra books from the mass-print that I should be set for emergency gifts for a few years.

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Strawberry Fields again. Thankfully there were no drunken hecklers this time.

The last official post will be at the end of the month, when my Indiegogo campaign wraps. I briefly considered switching the blog to a less-frequent update schedule, but I wouldn't be able to keep it consistent and I hate sporadic updates. Besides, it will be a fitting stopping point and will allow me to focus on putting the book together. 

The other simple fact of the matter is I have a ton of other photo project ideas knocking around in my head and don't really have the spare time to do them and keep this blog fresh. I'll still be taking busker photos, that's not gonna stop. I'll just be posting them on my main tumblr under the #NYFH tag. 

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I've photographed Yurii Kablotskyi and Vassily Fomitsky at the Bethesda Terrace before, but I couldn't help snapping another few shots when I found myself there again the other day.

I've heard it said that it's time to leave the club when you hear the same song come up again. I think the recent spate of "reposts" signals that it might be time to hang up the baton. It's gotten to the point where I've pretty much photographed most of the buskers in my regular routes, and I have less and less time to go humping around the city looking for new folks to shoot.

Details will follow as I figure them out, but I think it's fair to say that the curtains will be drawing in the not-too-distant future.

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Happened on Marc Orleans again the other day. Marc was one of the first musicians on the blog, and it's fitting I should run into him now, right as I'm contemplating the future of the blog and where I want to go with it (if anywhere).

Change is coming, as soon as I figure out what it is.

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I happened upon Eilam Wolman, one-half of Manicorn,while on my way to a meeting this morning. I wish I could’ve stuck around, I really really dug his sound. Sadly he was no longer there when I got back.

You’ll never guess where I saw him.

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Despite the fact that beatboxer and mouth-wizard Verbal Ase is a fairly well-known staple of the busking scene, I'd never actually seen him in person until just recently. 

Holy crap.

If you've got some time to kill, stop by his Youtube page. Wow.

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Krishna singers in Herald Square. The lady gave me a pamphlet with an email address on it and asked me to send her a copy of the photo, which I apparently seem to have misplaced. I hope my karma doesn't wind up taking a hit.

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Super Bad Brad, a street musician of some apparent renown, belts old R&B and Funk hits outside of Crif Dog in Williamsburg.

Check him out raising the roof at the Apollo:

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Just when I thought I’d run out of new instruments to discover, I see Salieu Suso playing a kora at Union Square. In retrospect I wish I’d shot video of him playing. Luckily Salieu has some videos up on his site.

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I once read in an article that the hot dog stand spots in front of The Met are some of the most contested, most expensive to rent, and most lucrative spots in the city.

I wonder if it works the same for buskers. Do they fight and scheme and connive to get the choice spots in the city? Is there a rotation calendar? Does some central authority dole out performing locations? I saw Acapella Soul in front of The Met two days in a row. If the spot is half as profitable for musicians as food vendors, I'm surprised people aren't outright brawling for it.