Down on the Corner: Adventures in Busking & Street Music with Cary Baker

Program Description:
Drawing on years of interviews and eyewitness accounts, Down On The Corner: Adventures in Busking and Street Music – from Jawbone Press – explores street singers in a myriad of musical genres, from folk to rock ’n’ roll, blues to bluegrass, doo-wop to indie rock. He also surveys busking hotspots – New Orleans’ French Quarter, Chicago’s Maxwell Street, New York’s Washington Square, San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, and London’s Tube, to name a few.

A busking musician will be present to demonstrate and celebrate the music.

Author Bio:
Cary Baker is a writer based in the Southern California desert. Born on Chicago’s South Side, he began his writing career at age 16 with an on-spec feature about Chicago street singer Blind Arvella Gray for the Chicago Reader. His return to writing follows a 42-year hiatus during which Baker, by 1984 based in Los Angeles, directed publicity for six labels (including Capitol and I.R.S.) and two of his own companies, working with acclaimed artists and labels such as R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, the Smithereens, James McMurtry, the Mavericks, Bobby Rush, Willie Nile, and Omnivore Recordings. Prior to his PR years, Baker wrote for the Chicago Reader, Creem, Trouser Press, Bomp!, Goldmine, Billboard, Mix, Illinois Entertainer, and Record magazine. He has also produced and/or written liner notes for historical reissues from Universal, Capitol-EMI, Numero Group, and Omnivore. He has been a voting member of the Recording Academy since 1979.