Germaine

By joshua m. | Last Updated: October 13, 2003

As I was making my way back in the pouring rain from my eye doctor’s appointment on Sunday afternoon, I ran into a street musician by the name of Germaine. He was using drumsticks and the bottom of buckets to create a vast assortment of beats in front of the Hynes Convention Center T stop. Using these very primitive means, he was able to mimic the beats of songs produced in studios. After I had been observing Germaine for a while, another street musician accompanied by his guitar approached him and he took a break from his art. After listening to there conversation about how the game had been rained out and no one was really out in the streets to enjoy their music, I thought to myself what better time would there be for me to conduct some sort of interview. Once the other musician headed down into the T stop, I introduced myself to Germaine and started a very casual conversation. He seems to be about my age, so I felt very comfortable talking to him and did not see a need to be very formal. Throughout our conversation I found out quite a bit about him and his art form. He told me that he was inspired by an older man in New York City and that he could in no way take credit as an originator of his music genre, but that he does consider himself a perfectionist of it. He also told me that he has been a street musician for about six years, and has traveled to large cities such as New York, Boston, and Chicago. After talking to him for a while, I realized that I did not have a pen or paper and that I would probably forget what he told me if we talked any longer. I then asked him how often he comes into the city, and if it would be possible for me to come back and conduct a more formal interview with him. I told him that I was from Boston College and was doing research for a class project. He willingly agreed and told me that it had been a dream of his to play for the BC band, because he was a big fan of the football team.

I was very amazed by the love that Germaine exhibited for art by playing even though it was pouring and there were very little people out in the streets to enjoy him. I was also moved by the excitement with which he spoke to me about what he does, and with which he reacted to me when I told him that I was from BC. I am very anxious to go back to Hynes this weekend and learn as much as I can from Germaine and enjoy more of his music.

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