#One man band instrument called full#

He once logged 13 hours straight and laughs at musicians who complain of two and three hour concerts. Unable to return what he calls a“ridiculous”tip, he purchased a better violin the following day.ĭave typically starts about 10 am at his “office”, takes a lunch break, and signs-off at about five.

She then disappeared, anonymous and untraceable, shouting “Thank you! Thank you!” Harris – who had never before seen a $100 bill and curious about the outer brown colour, peeled it off and counted the contents: $562. Then, after a few minutes of fiddle music, emptied her change purse into his case, including a roll of bills, wrapped with an elastic band. His biggest hit: the elderly lady who tipped Harris a generous $5. “Don’t give up your day job,” the crowd advised the good sport, good-naturedly. And hoop-star Steve Nash, who fell a tad short. Impromptu passers-by who pick up a guitar not in use have included Colin James, wowing on-lookers with Crossroads.

#One man band instrument called full#

Full circle: on a rare busking stint in his hometown Toronto, he was honoured to accept a between-songs invitation from Sylvia Tyson, to join her band on-stage that evening. Do you know Summer Wages?” asked Ian Tyson, who wrote the tune and enjoyed Dave’s rendition. Another $20 – this time Canadian – while tuning his 12-string.

A $20US tip from Stephen Stills, in town for a CSN concert. So he integrated folk, rock, country and bluegrass, mixing genres and generations while introducing and showcasing his more obscure blues mentors.Īfter decades of busking, his own compositions get the biggest shout-outs from regulars and returning visitors, such as Crowded at the Bottom, and the most-requested Give Them Their Flowers.Ī request for stories is filled as quickly and cheerfully as a query for songs. Over time he learned that diverse, upbeat material works best when busking. It includes 900 examples and 1,200 visuals, from Japan, Australia, all over Europe, and North America.”įor years he stuck with his passion for blues, becoming an accomplished player – following in the long tradition of blues artists on the street – and an authority on the subject. “I couldn’t find any OMB information, so I spent three years of evenings and off-seasons researching and writing Head, Hands and Feet. That makes him unique, and he would know. He often plays guitar or banjo simultaneously with drums and rack harmonica, switching to fiddle, with no break in the beat. And keep a large umbrella handy for rain, shade and shelter from bird droppings.” “I’m wary of gusts of wind, after a few instruments toppled over and broke. “It still takes 15 minutes to arrange everything and tear it all down,” he reports. The fotdella was “too heavy, quiet and prone to break-down,” says Harris who hopes for improvements to integrate and round out his instrument arsenal. “That’s scaled back over the years, including another guitar, fiddle, and Dobro mandolin.” Also missing in action: a fotdella, the foot-operated bass invented by legendary one-man-band (OMB) Jesse “Lone Cat” Fuller, who wrote the enduring San Francisco Bay Blues. “My current setup is: Farmer foot drums (bass, high-hat, snare, woodblock, shakers, tambourine, National steel body tricone 12-string, Regal single cone steel body 6-string banjo, fiddle, a stack of concert harps, stool, stands, bungee cords, a four-wheeled hand-cart, books, CDs and strings,” he reports. Art, performance and commerce take shape as Harris unpacks in the north corner, where pedestrians find seating, shelter, ambience and food trucks. Against a spectacular backdrop of sea, sky and assorted moored vessels and waterfront condos, jugglers, carvers, statue acts, and others, set up shop. And he no longer actively adds to his definitive 419-page Head, Hands and Feet: A One Man Band Book.įrom early spring to late fall, and on windless sunny days between, he can be seen and heard at one of Canada’s most popular destinations: Victoria’s Inner Harbour, linking the Tourist Info Centre, famed Empress Hotel, Provincial Museum, and BC Legislature.Ī good deal of the action and attraction is on the pedestrian causeway. He is still recording CDs but has lost count. He stopped counting new songs in his repertoire at 500, and albums he’s collected beyond 10,000. The rich musical life and legacy of Dave Harris is much greater than the sum of its eclectic parts.