I'm playing a Hungarian hurdy gurdy, also called a tekero, in the main photo. I wouldn't be playing that in parks in Qatar, though, since it attracts such a big crowd even police in liberal NYC have sometimes told me I had to stop playing. (That's reasonable, when my audience is so big it's disrupting traffic flow.)
Of course, in NYC and various other cities I play gigs a lot, not just in parks. I have a weekly gig at a restaurant in NYC, plus various other gigs, and I'll really miss gigging while I'm here. But I tried my hardest to find hotels or clubs or whatever in Doha that would want to hire me to play there, but had no luck at all. At every venue that advertises live entertainment, they don't even answer their emails to say "No thank you." I found talent agents for other places like Dubai interested in hiring me, but none in Qatar. So I guess if I'm playing anywhere in Doha, I'm playing in my apartment or in a park.
I didn't want to risk taking my hurdy gurdy to Qatar when I don't even have any gigs here, so it's home safely in NYC. it would be extremely difficult to replace if something happened to it. Instead, I brought smaller instruments that are easier to transport, and also more easily replaced. I don't know how to play these as well, though, so I need to practice them. Many of them I bought at an estate sale just before I came here. I brought two chalumeax, a tabor pipe, a rauschpfeife, two fifes, two tinwhistles, and a mijwiz. This was stressful enough, as my luggage was missing for days. It was just delivered today, and all my instruments are safe.
I'm playing a Hungarian hurdy gurdy, also called a tekero, in the main photo. I wouldn't be playing that in parks in Qatar, though, since it attracts such a big crowd even police in liberal NYC have sometimes told me I had to stop playing. (That's reasonable, when my audience is so big it's disrupting traffic flow.)
Of course, in NYC and various other cities I play gigs a lot, not just in parks. I have a weekly gig at a restaurant in NYC, plus various other gigs, and I'll really miss gigging while I'm here. But I tried my hardest to find hotels or clubs or whatever in Doha that would want to hire me to play there, but had no luck at all. At every venue that advertises live entertainment, they don't even answer their emails to say "No thank you." I found talent agents for other places like Dubai interested in hiring me, but none in Qatar. So I guess if I'm playing anywhere in Doha, I'm playing in my apartment or in a park.
I didn't want to risk taking my hurdy gurdy to Qatar when I don't even have any gigs here, so it's home safely in NYC. it would be extremely difficult to replace if something happened to it. Instead, I brought smaller instruments that are easier to transport, and also more easily replaced. I don't know how to play these as well, though, so I need to practice them. Many of them I bought at an estate sale just before I came here. I brought two chalumeax, a tabor pipe, a rauschpfeife, two fifes, two tinwhistles, and a mijwiz. This was stressful enough, as my luggage was missing for days. It was just delivered today, and all my instruments are safe.