ERIC TALERICO:

I didn't set out to be a street musician.
After high school on an American army base in Germany, I studied art at Carroll College, planning to be the next Picasso.
Unfortunately, the mid-1980's was a hard time for artists, what with the Reagan-Bush administration aggressively targeting the National Endowment for the Arts, and a rotten economy, I found myself all but unemployable.

That's when I joined the United States Navy, studied ocean navigation, put on a uniform and discovered the high seas.
It was a tough life, and I loved a lot of it and hated a lot as well, but I stuck it out.
My only real difficulty was that I loved to play guitar, having taken it up as a hobby while in art school.

Onboard the USS Ranger, which was my home at sea as well as in port, there were not a lot of places to play. Every chance I got, I'd jump ship and find a secluded spot to practice on.

We did a dry dock stay in '84 in Bremerton Washington- and I used to love going into Seattle on the ferry every weekend. One day I was wandering through Pike's Place Market downtown, and was delighted to see an old guy playing amazing music on his National Steel Guitar. His name was "Baby Gramps" and he was a tremendous performer. He had this big, bushy white beard, and he'd hide things in it- kazoos, mouth organs, pitch pipes. He sang hilarious songs about palindromes, and eating worms, as well as loads of great Dylan songs. I was hooked!

I watched his whole set, and then got up the nerve to ask him what you needed to do to play on the streets in Seattle.

He explained to me how to get a license from Pike's Place- ten bucks and a short form got you a button to wear, and you were golden! The only rules were that you had to play on designated spots (there were 10, and they were designated by painted numbered circles on the ground) and that you could only spend an hour on a spot before you had to move on.

I wasn't and instant hit- in fact one of the other regulars at Pike Place once told me, over a cup of coffee "We're neither of us great guitar players you know- so if you want to make money, do what I do, turn your coat inside out. That makes you look pathetic, and you make alot of pity bucks." Luckily, I had my bi-weekly navy checks, and didn't need to take his advice. Once I developed some serious callouses on my fingers, and a good work ethic though, things started to pick up.

I spent all my off time at Pike's Place, playing Dylan covers for quarters and the occasional buck. Eventually I began to earn more money on the streets than I did navigating aircraft carriers, and I had a blast doing it!

When I got out of the Navy in '88 I quickly moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where there was a vital Street Performance scene. I had my license in no time, and found my way to the Boston Subway, and to Harvard Square, and that is where I earned my primary living until 2003, when I moved south to Arizona.

Why did I move? Good question. After 9/11 business got pretty bad. It reached point where there were more street performers than there were people to listen to them!

Since I moved south, I've kept pretty busy, playing gigs in Sierra Vista, Bisbee, and Patagonia, working for a print shop, and most recently working as a trainer for a large health insurance contract at an inbound call center. I'm currently recording a new album of songs, mostly instrumentals, inspired by the charming copper mining town, Bisbee, which is about 19 miles from where I live.

I have accumulated a massive collection of photographs of the area (last count was nearly 20,000 images!) and have found my way into making art again.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How often do you work?

This is my day job. I work about 40 hours a week, at various stations and various times. I work playing the streets and subways as much as you work at whatever it is that you do- maybe more!

Why don't you just play in one place?

I try to play a different station every day. There are a lot of other musicians who work down
here too, so I think its very rude to monopolize one spot. I also think that commuters like some variety in their lives, and to make them hear me every day would not be fair. So I move around, and hope that when I do play in your station, you'll be glad to see me! And if you like what I do, please don't be shy- toss in a buck or two. Save me from the awful fate of feeding my goldfish to my cat, my cat to my dog, my dog to my goat, and so on!

What sort of music do you play?

Anything which lends itself to interpretation with guitar and voice, from old English and Scottish popular ballads, to American pop songs, 1960's protest ballads, and my own macabre compositions. My first experiences singing in public were in a punk band (in college). A Pink Floyd cover band followed (grad school). Later in community theater shows, I played Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar" and Claude in "Hair" while in college.

Where did you learn to play guitar like that?

I pretty much taught myself to play the guitar. I can remember having friends show me chords when I first started out, but beyond that, its all just hard work. Practice makes perfect is what they say. I guess one day, if I practice enough, I'll play something perfect. Hasn't happened yet though.

What is your favorite song?

Whatever I happen to be playing at the moment! It changes from minute to minute. If the song I am playing is not my greatest love at that moment, then what is the point?
How many songs do you know?

The last time I counted five or six years ago, it was close to 1000 songs, but I have learned a lot since then! I play 12 hour days sometimes, and if I didn't have a really big repertoire, I'd go nuts with the repetition!

Do you give guitar lessons?

Yes! I'll teach you guitar, for a flat $40 an hour. You have to have your own guitar, and a quiet place to go to for the lesson!

What kind of guitar is that?

Mostly I use a Jay Turser acoustic electric guitar. It has a cutaway design to allow me to play the higher frets. Its not a very loud guitar acoustically, but when plugged in it sounds great. No, they are not very expensive! I used to play a fairly expensive and beautifully crafted Guild guitar, but that was destroyed by a drunk on the Park Street train platform one very sad New Year's Eve several years ago, so now I use this less expensive guitar. I really loved that guitar- she had great tone, and a distinctive look, and she projected well even when she wasn't plugged in! I named her Maggie Black, and thats a long story that I will not even begin to get into on this website! Yes, she did talk to me.

How much money can you make?

That varies a lot- some days, I'll make a hundred dollars in just a few hours, but other days it might take me all day just to earn enough for dinner. I think the average is around ten dollars an hour, but I've never really done the math!

Do you play other gigs as well?

Yes! When someone asks me to play a show I do it. I've played quite a few in the Boston area, including such venues as Club Passim, Cecil's, The Black Rose, and The Cantab Lounge. If you'd like to see me in your favorite club, put in a good word for me! Or pick up their business card and drop it in my guitar case with a note!

What sort of equipment do you use?

I prefer to play through a public address system, so I carry a Fender Passport 250 portable PA, which I power with a marine deep cycle battery. I use various signal-processing devices as well to help deliver a crisp, clear acoustic tone! My mixer is a dirt cheap Behringer Eurodesk, which I really love!

Are those harmony voices pre-recorded?
No! I use a Digitech harmony generator, which is classified as a vocal special effect. It splits the audio signal on my voice track into three separate signals and changes the pitch of two of those signals to create three-part harmony. The center voice is always my own, unaltered. That means that if I don't sing on pitch, the robot voices will also not be on pitch!

How much are your CD's?

I charge Ten dollars for one CD, or Twenty Five dollars for three. Unlike CD's you buy in the store, my CD's are produced at home, one at a time! I pay very close personal attention to every aspect, from recording and designing, to folding card inserts, and sticking labels on the CD's!

How do you get a license to play in the Subway?

You have to go to the Back Bay train station. There is an office there, and they will issue you a street performance license after you've filled out a simple form and showed some positive form of I.D. (drivers license or state picture I.D. are fine.) It doesn't cost anything!

If you'd like to try playing outside, you can get a license to play in Cambridge by going to the Cambridge Arts Council's offices. They will charge you $40 for a license. There is no audition! Anyone can buy a license.

Boston requires its own license, and you have to buy it from the Police Department. There are a lot of restrictions on when and where you can play in Boston, so you might want to look over their list of restricted areas and rules before you shell out ten dollars. I've always found the restrictions to be too confining, and generally restrict my Boston playing to the subways, where there are no such restrictions.

If you are looking for a more formal setting there is always Faneuil Hall downtown. Street Performers there must audition in March, and if selected, you will be given scheduled times to show up and perform at specific locations.

Some folks find the Faneuil Hall gig to be profitable, but one of my favorite things about Street Performing is the freedom to choose- when, where, how long? The folks at Faneuil want you to schedule times and dates, so Faneuil Hall is out for me! If I want scheduling, I'll book a gig somewhere!

What kind of music do you listen to?

I love English and Scottish folk ballads, so I listen to Steeleye Span, Maddy Prior, June Tabor, Martin Simpson, Martin Carthy. Then there are more contemporary singer-songwriter types like Dougie Maclean, Luka Bloom, Christy Moore. On the American side, I like Shawn Colvin, the Indigo Girls, Suzanne Vega. I graze on rock'n'roll, with quite a few favorites, and have always had a taste for Peter Gabriel, early Genesis, Hot Tuna, etc. etc. I like jazz too. So I guess you could say that I listen to a little bit of everything!


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