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[title]35th and Halsted Streets
How’d you get this gig? Craigslist. The listing said, “Costumed menace for hire.” In my interview, they asked, “You got any special talents?” I said, “Yeah, I play horns.” They said, “Oh, fine, do that.” So I’m usually out here with my saxophone. It adds to the marketing spectacle, plus it helps me kill time.
Can you play “Taxman”? Nah. Mostly improvised jazz. I’m a classically trained sax player. I also play double bass and a little bit of cello. I studied at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. It’s like the Carnegie Hall of Philly, which is where I moved from in June.
Are you pursuing a music career when you’re not out here? Hell, if you’ve got a band, I’ll join it! I wrote a song recently called “Spice.”
Like the adult TV channel? Like the fake pot. Obviously, I came up with the song when I was on it.
So what brought you here from the City of Brotherly Love? The food. In Philly, you got cheesesteak sandwiches, cheesesteak hoagies and a big bowl of shut-the-fuck-up. That’s pretty much all they give you in Philly. Here, you can find anything: Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, fuckin’ Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Latvian, Greek, Ethiopian, Arab.
And that’s all on the same block. Yeah. I actually live up by Loyola and have a 100-block bike ride here to work every day.
Um, ever heard of the train? It’s only a half-marathon there and a half-marathon back. I don’t believe in the CTA. My policy is if it moves faster than I can run, I wanna be behind the wheel.