Blues Man Takes It To Paris!
Jim Bruce, traveling pro blues man, takes us with him for a day in Paris, where he samples the local way of life and plays the blues in some regular tourist spots. The home of the Eiffel Tower, the Sacre Coeur cathedral and 'the Metro' is also home to an amazingly broad and diverse communities , working, existing and basically getting along in the teeming metropolis.
I'd Heard That Some People Play Guitar On The Metro
The Paris metro is the biggest in any city on Earth, and the other numbers are just as impressive. Take my word for it, you don't have to go far before seeing a station - there are well over three hundred places to catch the metro and no place further away than about four hundred meters from a station! The underground railway here in Paris has a reputation for being a great place to play blues guitar, or any kind of music for that matter. As I'm one these travelling musician people, it seemed obvious that I should at least give it a shot.
How Do You Start Entertaining On The Paris Underground?
You may reason that you just go down there, find a place and start to play the blues - I'm afraid not, it's not as easy as you'd think!
That way of doing things
has passed many years ago. The whole is really organised now (as only the French can organise) and newbies have to apply for, and go and sit for a full blown audition with the
street performance organisers located the RATP headquarters, the managers of the metro underground system.
And there's more - each and every year the most popular metro performers are picked to go to a music studio and an album is made which goes on
sale through commercial outlets. Of course, the styles of music found and the performers covers a broad range, from tin whistle players to brass bands! I read somewhere that
some stars were discovered down there. I think the time is ripe for blues guitar to return to the forefront.
Just like all regulated activities, there are rules, such as 'no amplifiers', 'can't sell CDs', etc. But ... I felt it wouldn't hurt to bend a few of those rules. It's a truism, that nothing in life ever pans out the way they should ... read on ...
Who's Afraid Of A Little Old Audition? - Gulp!
I caught a North-bound train, suitcase in my hand (sounds like an delta blues rip-off , wouldn't you say?) from the south of France near Toulouse and several hours after that was sitting in
an audition room in the Metro office building, bidong my time for my audition to commence. I told myself that I'd play four incredibly powerful songs and sing my heart
out, amazing him with those good old blues guitar sounds - 'got to
get this permit, need this license' was my unspoken litany. It was my key to riches beyond my wildest day dreams, and my dreams
often got really wild, I can tell you!
Of course I was wrong in thinking that my musical skills would be assessed by some other musicians. 'This is going be tough', I told myself. I tuned my
guitar three or four times and waited. Without warning, a man came
into the audtion room, set a camcorder whirring and called out "Hi - play me something." He then sat down, and started scanning a newspaper! Unshaken, I dived into a very loud example of the classic
delta blues song 'Love
In Vain' by Robert Johnson, and then he raised his head to glance at me strangely. He told me that my audition was finished and I'd get a letter in the mail after ten days or so. The audition was very short and not really very sweet.
I took the Metro to Montmartre, ate lunch with my mum-in-law who
lives near Moulin Rouge , down from the Sacre Coeur cathedral and then caught the fast TGV train to the welcoming South. As it happens, eleven days after that I received my permit in the mail and then set about organising my first day playing the Paris Metro.
I Love Paris in The Winter, When It Glistens
