Sage of the Leguminati hits 6th Street

Tonight I conjured the Old Man in the Peanut who ended up groovin' to the sounds of Mau Mau Chaplains at Flamingo Cantina. I'm sure it's been said before, but to look at these guys, you'd never think that that was the crew puttin down that reggae sound. These guys are good. I love the energy of the lead singer, Moe and Mark Wilson on the wind instruments is an added bonus. This is a video of a Chaplains performance (a year ago - 2008) from a very similar viewpoint to the one that the Sage had this evening.

Two hours down in the 6th Street area gave the Sage an opportunity to take 4 different sets of pictures, get called Gandolf at least 7 times, told "Thou shall not pass" at least twice and expose about 15 people to Abstract Extractionism! Quick shout-out to Scott who stopped tonight with his girl while the Old Man in the Peanut was doing Living Statue down on S. 1st St. Thanks for the inspiration. And to the ladies of Dallas, welcome to Austin!

It's no wonder why people graffiti

The flier to the right was created after events that took place on the 6th of August 2009.
Last week brought the 1st Thursday of the month on South Congress in Austin, Texas. From the website: "On the First Thursday of each month, merchants of the historic, pedestrian-friendly South Congress Avenue keep their doors open until 10 pm (and later in some cases), playing host to an array of events and activities."
Busking adds excitement to the free sights and sounds that make up the unique fabric of this strip of shops and any strip where pedestrians frequent in any city. It's actually directly tied in to your right to free speech from atop your soap box. At any given time, despite the City of Austin's efforts, one can discover a trumpet player, living statue, guitarist, dancer, percussionist, vocalist, painter, print maker, jeweler, glass maker, or even face painter - all free to witness and of course donations welcomed.
When the Right-of-Way Police come through, they sterilize the streets of all buskers. You can stay if you pay such as the vendor of cold treats in front of Lucy's in Disguise, but the ultimate message here is that the city's concern for being able to express the sidewalk in times of danger can be overlooked for money.
I came up with the title of this blog, "It's no wonder why people graffiti", when I realized that permission was needed to have a side-walk art show. If an artist wishes to express himself, he must pay and be filed away into a 10' x 10' square, "where the artists stay", either in a cubicle by Vespaio or by Guerros. The cops recommended the church across the street (where there's no foot traffic and the sun blazes the color right off your artwork!). When I asked questions after being asked to move my art, one of the officers sarcastically suggested "or we could confiscate the art work?" What a two-faced city. You deserve your graffiti!