With "He Played Real Good for Free" 50 years ago -- 50 years, good Lord! -- Joni Mitchell saluted the great musicians of the street corner and subway station who have not yet become successful and probably never will, musicians who play just for love, fun, or solace:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1-HVBD3OMs
One of them was in the news the other day, the homeless former opera singer performing on an empty subway platform in Los Angeles while thousands were stalled in traffic above. Through the miracle of television, she has been offered a record deal.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYOevPu6Dk8
http://www.gata.org/node/19485
-- consider coming for the music and vibe of the city as well and giving yourself an extra day or two. On Halloween stay away from the French Quarter and the obligatory March of the Zombies, but they and the quarter itself should be close to back to normal by lunch time the next day, and you just might meet the Sheik of Araby on Royal Street, an easy walk from the conference hotel, the New Orleans Hilton Riverside, and a block short of Bourbon, where even more remarkable things can be seen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GyR38YnGPs
Come on -- life's too short. Join GATA Chairman Bill Murphy and your secretary/treasurer at the conference. And if you register using the link below, the conference will generously pay GATA a commission. With luck we'll earn enough to get home, since nobody is going to pay us for singing and playing the kazoo, though maybe they'd pay us to stop.
https://neworleansconference.com/noic-promo/powellgata/
