underground jams
I grew up in New York City so no matter how many times I leave I still miss a certain energy, madness, rhythm to her streets. I'm not sure if NY is female but she's not a lady, more a bipolar woman on a caffeine binge enduring a bad romance. I love the gritty New York though and almost cringe at how gentrified it has become. The one thing I love and hate most is the subway system. We like to think it's good--it's not. It's dirty, disorganized, outdated and charges unsuspecting tourists all the time by cards not working the first 'swipe.' Trains switch tracks and switch letters on all of us and handwritten, paper notices often warn us of track closures...
But I still love the concrete wind down the tunnels, the people watching, and most of all the musicians that busk daily and greet weary travelers with a beat. I always assumed the musicians were just ballsy enough to set themselves up down there and maybe were kicked out often...but then I heard about a musician who was sponsored by the MTA.
This was when my faith was renewed in the artistic soul of the grumpy old NY city I used to love. Galdort (Gabriel Aldort) is a singer and pianist who plays for the city of NY in the subways. He is one of the artists that the MTA sponsors to play underground and entertain us in the hotspots of subwaydom e.g. Grand Central or Penn Station. Check the MTA site below and a YouTube video that shows Galdort entertaining his audience & support the cause the next time you see a musician playing in the deep:
