Play Blues - Blues Guitar Man Goes To Paris

The Paris underground is the densest subway system in the world, and it's other statistics are impressive. For example, there are over 300 stations and in the whole of Paris there is no point more than 400 metres from a station! The system has also been a traditional haven for the 'street singer'. As I'm one those fabled creatures, I decided to check it out.

One would guess that you just go and do it - wrong! That romantic idea has long faded. The whole thing is organized now and new musicians have to take an audition (yes - a real audition!) with the street music performance department of RATP, the guys that run the metro.

And there's more - each year the best of the Paris metro buskers are recorded in a professional studio and an album is released for general sale to the public. As usual, the style of the music and artists varies wildly, ranging from tin whistle blowers to string quartets. Some well known French stars were discovered down here.

Of course, there are rules, like 'no amplifiers', 'no CD sales', etc. I couldn't wait to break some of those, I'm ashamed to admit. However, in this life nothing ever works out how you want it to ...

I hopped on a train, guitar in hand (sounds like a blues song , doesn't it?) in the south of France and five hours later found myself sitting in a small room in the Metro offices, waiting for the audition to start. I'd decided that I would play 4 of my best and sing my heart out - 'must get this license, must get this licence' was my mantra. The key to riches beyond my wildest dreams, and they could get pretty wild.

Obviously, I reasoned, my skills would be assessed by a hardened team of professional musicians. This would be tough. I tuned my guitar and waited, almost nervously. A man entered, switched on a video camera and said "Hello - play something." He then sat down and seemed to be reading a newspaper! Unperturbed, I launched into a very loud version of Love In Vain by Robert Johnson, at which he raised an eyebrow. After asking me if I played anything remotely modern, to which I shook my head, he informed me that the audition was finished and I would get a letter in due course. Short and sweet indeed.

I took the subway to Montmartre, had lunch with my mum-in-law who lives there, and caught the train back home. Strangely enough, a week later I got an acceptance letter and planned my first day playing in the city of Paris.

Sorry to let you down, dear reader, but that's what the metro was - a bit of a let down. Well, that's not quite true. It wasn't what I expected , that was all. I arrived one cold morning and dived into the nearest station to look for a spot. This was the first mistake. there are so many musicians, that you need to get there ridiculously early to make sure you have a prime location. Basically, like real estate, it's all about location, location, location.

Mind you, I saw some great stuff while I was searching, a whole gamut of musical activity from jazz to opera. In one station crossover tunnel (these can be big!) I happened upon half a Russian orchestra, complete with a dancer. Of course, the rules espoused by the authorities meant nothing down here. Maybe 75% of all performers use amplifiers and often sell CDs. I can understand this, in my own area, CD sales account for half of street based income.

Paradoxically, the people making most money were the ones that don't have a permit, and don't play in the tunnels. Here's how it works. These musicians often play a sax, or trumpet, or an accordian (of course) and concentrate on the passengers actually using the trains. I accompanied one man on one of his trips and we talked a while, as we were brothers-in-arms, so to speak.

He would take a train for five stops, playing jazz sax over a backing tape. I found him to be very competent at what he did and he engaged people, which is no small feat in a big city. He would the repeat the trip in the opposite direction for eight hours a day, after which he earned between 120 and 150 euros. This is not a bad income, but it's not something that I wanted to do - they tell me the first hour is the worst, then you just become numb. Hats to anyone that can make a go of any activity involving music. There's a couple of clips of our brief encounter in the video below.

I was pleased to emerge into fresh air and daylight again, realizing that the life of a musical troglodyte is not for me. The rest of the day was spent looking around some parts of this wonderful city, and playing a song or two in some prime locations above ground. Checkout the video diary of my day in Paris below.

Jim Bruce is a traveling blues man, currently living and playing in France. Ragtime Guitar Video