Bang on a Can, Below West 4th Street

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Photo by myself at the West 4th subway platform.

The other night I was standing on the platform at West 4th Street, when my ears pricked up at this incredible sound. What I heard was something between a thunder and a rumble.

Two bucket drummers were riffing, without a care in the world. Different plastic drums, the kind used to store soy sauce and building supplies, made a whole range of tones.

When I got home, I showed my fiance Mark my photos. He said immediately, 'That's Larry the Busker!'

A quick look online made me a bit speechless - Larry was the first to use five-gallon plastic buckets as drums on the street. He's been drumming since the age of five. He even has his own Wiki page.

Larry and his wife Sonia were in a world of their own, and didn't seem to even communicate while performing. I was lucky enough to find a video of them performing in the exact same spot (!).




A short movie made about Larry when he was 15.

Related posts: Early Snowfall in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Even More Snow, in Central Park, and Fresh Snow, at the New York Public Library.