It’s Friday night. You’ve had a rough week with classes and want to go out and unwind with your friends, so you decided to go to Rula Bula for a few drinks.
As you walk down Mill Avenue, you hear screeching noises that seem to echo from block to block. You escape the noise upon entering the bar, but once you’ve had your fill and venture outside again, the noise is back and accompanied with about three or four similar noises. You realize there’s a musician playing on almost every corner, each shelling out his or her own brand of entertainment.
I feel this saturation of street musicians on Mill Avenue is not only increasing the current levels of noise pollution, but giving the district a bad (or worse) reputation.
When I first started at ASU, I thought Mill Avenue was a really interesting and culturally rich part of the city and at first, I didn’t even mind the street musicians. An acoustic guitar here and there, or a skilled saxophone player are things that do indeed make Mill an appealing destination for the weekends, or even weekday afternoon excursions.
Nowadays, you can’t go anywhere on Mill without some beard-o trying to guilt you into throwing him a dollar, even though he’s playing out of an amp that’s worth more than $200.
I like to think I understand the position these “musicians” are in. Some people just can’t make ends meet, so they use what skills they have to ensure they do. Or maybe they play shows on the side and want to get their tunes out. However, it appears that every vagrant on the strip has gotten wise and is playing to the game: play and they will come, or at least give you a quarter.
The city of Tempe has banned amplified music without a permit, which is a step in the right direction, but that does not solve the problem.
For instance, there’s a guy I see now and again that plays a Dimebag Darrel signature guitar out of a decent amp, so I always yell out Pantera songs in hopes that he’ll at least play the main riff from “Cowboys from Hell,” but the guy can hardly play power chords.
It is too bad because the amplified player will often times draw more attention than the humble acoustic player, regardless of his or her musical ineptitude. I almost hope he or she would buy into to the indie craze and go all acoustic. You’re sure to make a buck if you’re cranking out Mumford & Sons covers every Friday night.
With the rising number of these “artists,” it seems that the only thing we can do is be more selective when it comes to our street performers. We need to encourage those that make Mill Avenue a place to experience the city’s artistic community and discourage those that are turning the district into a noisy sideshow.
And if the guys using the amplifiers are really in desperate need of financial assistance, I suggest they go to the nearest pawn shop and sell their music equipment. It’s a win-win: It’s money in their pocket and we don’t have to listen to another dreadful version of "Wonderwall."
Reach the columnist at schergos@asu.edu or follow him at @ShawnChergorsky.
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