Fall is coming, and the show goes on!

It was a beautiful Labor Day weekend in Boston to mark the end of the summer season. The Professor World Band was out in force in the Public Gardens with many people of all ages shapes and sizes stepping up to join the band and make the hoola hoops go round and round.

All in all it was a pretty good busking season. The world really needs the peace waves these days! The beginning of summer was a bit slow. There’s been a noticeable drop in foreign tourism so it hasn’t been quite as busy as last year. And it rained almost every weekend for 14 straight weeks in Boston but the weather has turned and once again we’re in drought conditions. The temperature last weekend was pretty cool; just about ideal for busking although a return to summer heat is predicted for this weekend. I’m looking forward to the fall which brings much more comfortable busking conditions.

The painting pictured above was given to me this weekend by an Asian foreign exchange student. She told me that when first got to the US she was feeling alone and isolated. Then one day she came across the Professor World Band playing in the Public Gardens with lots of folks joining in and making peace waves together she suddenly felt joyful and happy again . She was so inspired that she made this painting of me and gave me a framed copy last weekend. It now hangs proudly in my living room to remind myself, even when times are tough, the work that the Professor World Band is doing is very important and brings lots of joy to the world.

 

Summertime is here!

 Memorial Day has come and gone which means the busking season is in full swing. The weather has been pretty unsettled thus far, especially on the weekends which has made things a bit tricky for the Professsor World Band. I got pretty soaked a couple of times already this year by a sudden unpredicted shower. Luckily things dried out pretty quickly without any real damage to my equipment.

There have also been some really nice days that have been lots of fun with lots of folks of all ages joining along on tambourines and shakers and all the hoola hoops going! The world desperately needs the peace waves these days and the Professor World Band is doing the best we can to provide them. I’ve been working on some pretty unique and crazy new sounds and a couple of new songs that make it fun for me to play. After more than forty one years as a one man band I’m still looking forward to every opportunity !

Last Sunday, playing in the Public Gardens I had the honor to meet Stephen Baird. Back in the early seventies he was arrested multiple times for playing street music in Boston. He went to the library and started reading up on law and decided to sue the city for violating his first amendment right of free speech. He did it and won! Street performing has been legal ever since in Boston. Since then he’s gone on to advocate for buskers in other cities and states around the country. I feel that I owe Stephan a big thank you for paving the way for street musicians in Boston to be able to express themselves and spread good vibes and also to be able to earn a living without worrying about interference from the police. He says he’s not busking much at the moment but is still occupied with helping out other buskers whose rights of freedom of speech have been violated. That’s him by the way in the photo with the giant camera. He’s also doing nature photography these days! http://www.stephenbaird.org/bairdteacherguide.html?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKtrLtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHplXBGNBMG04xMn35oydJUGKatXB-L8yxuuNhCqhfmf0HP6umhOVR-ey902W_aem_ilOYVR1yDkTodJ-HXEQozw

Spring is in the Air!

 The long cold lonely winter is coming to an end! Finally, just in time for St Parick’s Day weekend the weather warmed up enough for me to break out the Peace Wave Generator in the Boston Public Gardens. And the Peace waves are badly needed these days! What crazy scary times we are living in.

This big beautiful Swiss doggy by the name of King really enjoyed the show. He really wanted to play with Olly who always guards my case.

On the Road Again!

My mechanic finally found the part he needed to fix my van just in time for me to make it to Boston this weekend. I had a blast playing in the Public Gardens once again with lots of folks dancing and singing along. Even the National Park service horses, Otis and Remington, came over to check out the Professor World Band!
 

Stuck at Home!

 Sorry to report that my van has been in the shop for the past weeks so I’ve been chilling at home and amusing myself playing in the living room. Hopefully I’ll be back on the road soon! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/USgrRp2E7VKTxQNx/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Celebrating 40 years of Professor World Band

 Wow! I never thought back on November 17th 1983,the day of my 30’th birthday when I first performed with the very first incarnation of the Professor World Band on the Green in my hometown of New Haven Connecticut that I would still be at it over forty years later. Yet here is a photo that some fans just sent me of the band in action in the  Boston Public Gardens a couple of weeks ago.

From that fateful day the Professor World Band has continually progressed and evolved. Since the very beginning its been designed to be a Peace Wave Generator, attempting to achieve world peace through street music, because as Einstein once said,”Only those who attempt the absurd achieve the impossible.” We haven’t quite succeeded yet but we are having lots of fun trying and are determined to carry on. We’ve played in over 40 countries and made countless people stop and smile and even pick up a tambourine or a shaker or a hoola hoop and join the band. And forty years later are still going strong. And the world really needs peace waves these days!

Whenever it’s warm enough on weekends I’ll be out in the Boston Public Gardens playing with the Professor World Band. Come on down and join along and help us make Peace Waves!

Last Weekend of Summer

 I’m just getting back from my last trip to Boston this past Labor day weekend. Labor day itself was a washout but we really needed the rain. Its been a hot and very dry summer.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty nice days, a bit on the hot side perhaps at times but the fan that I added to the Peace Wave Generator helps keep me cool.

I also added some blinking LED lights and a rotating motor on the antenna to help better distribute the Peace Waves. The world needs it more than ever these days.

In any case it’s been overall a good and encouraging summer for me. It’s good to be out there once again doing my thing and making people smile. People have been kind and appreciative and it’s clear they are happy to see me back once again.

I intend to go on playing in the Boston Public Gardens most good weather weekends straight through fall and hopefully through the Christmas season and New Year if it’s not too cold. Admittedly that’s a pretty big if.

I also plan to start work once again on a new more portable version of the Professor World Band however it remains to be seen if I will be playing in the Boston T this winter. I’m hoping that Covid will soon no longer pose a serious threat and I’ll feel comfortable playing in a more contained environment. Lets see what the futuristic brings. Whatever the case I hope to go on playing and generating Peace Waves as long as I am physically capable!