Albuquerque's no Vienna when it comes to busking, but local street musicians say it has its joys.
"Vienna is a city that's set to a soundtrack," UNM student and musician Wesley Morton said. "You're never out of earshot of amazing buskers. I'm talking string quartets, cello soloists, violin soloists and less traditional combinations like guitar, accordion and cello."
Albuquerque's street musicians are usually in earshot as well, most prevalent on the UNM campus and Downtown sidewalks. Morton said he sees them daily in front of Popejoy Hall and the Bookstore.
Along with friends, his group is called the Hallelujah Project.
"We play near the University - there's tons of buskers there," he said.
His favorite busker was the Hare Krishna singer, who no longer plays on campus.
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"And he would just sit out with a guitar and the same line opener, 'Hare, Hare, Hare Krishna, Krishna Hare,' just a meditative chant accompanying it. All day long until he got kicked out by the University."
Student Ivey McClelland plays solo bebop and jazz trombone on campus and Downtown, on top of her two jobs.
She's had potentially dangerous encounters with gang members and gunmen, she said. Still, she enjoys performing and needs the money, however little comes in. A good weekend brings her up to $50; a bad day rewards her with a dollar.
"You get the hecklers, like the guy who told me I sucked, and the 15-year-old who pulled a knife on me," she said. "He said my playing made him sick. I think he was messed up on drugs."
Linda Hubley, operations manager for Albuquerque's Cultural Services Department, said the city is lenient with street musicians and performers. The only rules are you can't sell your merchandise and you need a permit if you're amplified or in Old Town. Otherwise, no permit is required for an acoustic sidewalk session playing for tips. Musicians are also allowed to have a sign asking for tips. But buskers should be respectful of their surroundings, she said.
"If a street performer wants to go out on a particular sidewalk in front of a place of business and that business owner asks that street performer to move, we would ask that the street performer oblige and move to a different area," Hubley said.
She said busking used to be directly filed under panhandling, but Councilor Ray Garduno worked to make musicians the exception.
Roblyn Crawford, who plays bass for Fast Heart Mart, said police don't hassle street musicians in Albuquerque.
"In Flagstaff, they're all over you," she said. "But here, if you dress nice and don't scream at people, and if there are many people around listening, the cops, I guess, think you add color."
She said wannabe movie guys throw around promises when she plays.
"Those people in the sport coats stopping to talk to us - 'I'm here with the movies, and I can get you guys this, that and the other,' Crawford said. "We tell them the same thing we tell all the people with record labels: 'We're fine without you. We make our own records. We're fine. Just buy a CD and come to a show.'"
