Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Bucket Boys of Wrigley Field


The teen-agers who play drumsticks on the plastic buckets at Chicago's Wrigley Field (home of the Cubs) are profiled in this feature by Lauren Ruth. The bucket boys arrive in a large group, then disperse around the periphery of the ballpark. Most do not have the $100 permit required of street musicians.
Frankly, a steady exposure to bucket music would drive me over the edge. But when passing by beaters, I can't help but lift my feet and feel a little more alive.
And the young men profiled and in the video are doing something positive, and, obviously, they have rehearsed and worked on their routine. Tim Nutt of Streetnote.org, a street musicians' advocate, is quoted as saying: “There’s a triangulation that happens between the city, the street musician, and the passerby, and that triangulation actually develops a sense of community where otherwise it wouldn’t exist. The ultimate goal of a city is to put everything in its place,” he said, “and street music adds a little bit to that otherwise isolating environment.”

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