Buskers is a compelling memoir of two brothers, Heth and Jed Weinstein. I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the book. The authors start with their parents’ background and their childhood. There was a moment in time when Heth and Jed were very young and where the family was happy in California. Their father was a musician in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, so Heth and Jed were surrounded by music from a very young age.
Their father took a different job on the east coast and moved the family to a suburb in New Jersey. For whatever reason, the change in geography resulted in a change in the father. The family began to fall apart due to the father’s infidelity, domestic violence, and psychological abuse. I was shocked by the horrible ways their father treated them. I kept reading to find out if the family would recover and reunite.
It is nearly half way through the book when you start to read about the brothers’ attempts to become famous musicians through regular avenues. Then, you read about their struggles as buskers. Obstacles to becoming successful buskers include being ticketed by police, obtaining a permit from police, overcoming the high costs of using public space, gentrification, violent conflicts with other buskers over the use of public space, and settling disputes with other buskers at performances over donations. Becoming a street performer is dangerous and risky, but it allows musicians to work full-time, doing what they love.
I listened to Heth and Jed’s music on their website and on YouTube. Heth and Jed’s music sounds fresh and unique. I like their music. If they are offered a record deal, I hope they are able to preserve their unique Heth and Jed sound.
Check out Heth and Jed’s music on their website and on YouTube. My local library does not have Heth and Jed’s music CDs, but their music is sold directly from their website and on Amazon.com. Check out the list of links at the end of this post.
I recommend this book for aspiring musicians as a cautionary tale. Do you have the commitment to become a full-time musician even if you don’t become super famous right away? Is your skin thick enough to endure criticism and unsolicited advice? Read this book. Ask yourself some questions. Give yourself a reality check. Learn about what you will have to deal with if you desire the record deal that may not come as soon as you would like. If the record deal is offered, how much of your freedoms, creativity, and individuality are you willing to give up for a fat paycheck?
If you are a college student, studying the business of music, entertainment law, civil or constitutional law, public policy, urban planning, political geography, psychology, sociology, child development, social work, marriage and family counseling, and the healing arts, I recommend you read this book. Of course, Buskers is not a textbook, but it can be used as a case study for at least one of the subjects I had mentioned above and supply you with examples to pad your essay or research paper and to give credibility to your analysis and recommendations to a particular problem like free speech and public space.
Sometimes, college professors assign books to students that are not dry textbooks. I recommend this book to college professors to assign to their students, because Buskers can provide ample class discussions on any one of the academic subjects I have mentioned above.
Finally, I recommend this book to anyone, who just want to read a real-life story of survival. The experience of reading the Weinstein brothers’ memoir, Buskers, was great, because the book opened me up to their music with an understanding for their hardships. Reading the book, Buskers, was a journey to a musical trip.
Reference
Weinstein, Heth and Jed Weinstein. Buskers: the on-the-streets, in-the-trains, off-the-grid memoir of two New York City street musicians. Berkeley: Soft Skull Press, 2011.
Links:
Heth and Jed’s Musical Band Site
Buskers by Heth and Jed Weinstein at Amazon.com
Buskers by Heth and Jed Weinstein at Barnes & Noble
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