While aimlessly wandering the streets of The French Quarter, I heard a deep voice reverberating between the houses I was admiring. The noise loudened as I turned the corner, and I watched as a crowd of people began clustering around the end of the street which inadvertently causing a traffic jam. But the people didn't care, if anything there was a collective frustration towards the drivers for interrupting this impromptu performance they had stumbled upon.
Eventually, camera in hand, I was able to shuffle through the growing crowd. The lighting was awful, you can barely make out the faces of the band members– but it gave me an in, and soon I was rolling a joint on the piano and dancing with the trumpet player.
Will Harrington, the pianist and lead vocalist of a group of street musicians known as The Ugly Vipers describes that “Playing at venues usually costs us more than we end up making. Even though we may be missing out on profiting from ticket sales,” But he doesn't mind the free labor or potential marginal loss, he and the rest of his bandmates are happy to be the background noise for the city. “The city is our audience, nobody comes for the music, they are just strolling by. When crowds begin to gather and you start recognizing familiar faces [of returning listeners], you know that you don't suck. To stop people in their tracks, even if it's just for half a song or two, yeah, that's really something.”
Efrem Towns is a trumpet player who frequently “jams with The Vipers”. Born and raised in New Orleans, he was exposed to the music scene before he could walk, and from the moment he got his hands on the trumpet, he was determined to master it. “I started out here when I was a kid. I was still in school, but Ive been out here playing [music], working on my craft, since I can remember.” It hasn't been easy, he said, though he didn't care to elaborate, he insinuated that making a living has been difficult, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
