Washington Square Park 8/31

I must say I had a very nice time in Washington Square Park last Sunday. It's not the same since its under renovation, but Pete and friends have a nice shady spot that they stake out. When I was there last there were a few new faces, and people were joking that there were 4 harmonica players at the same time. I may have been the least skilled, but possibly the loudest, which counts for a lot in WSP. I also learned something very important, which is that the key to success is not to concentrate harder on what you are doing, but to listen more to what everyone else is doing. Keeping your ears open compensates for all kinds of weaknesses.

There was a guy there named Bill who claimed that he met Levon Helm of The Band in Nashville and Levon gave him some charts. I believe it. Bill played slide guitar, harmonica, and could play solos on the mandolin, though he claimed he was still trying to figure out how the strings were tuned. He sang good high harmonies. He said that we were one of the soberest group he had ever played with.

We had a very nice time.