Central Park Guitar Man

As i imagine i will many times over the next few months, I spent some quality time in Central Park this weekend.

When i first moved to NYC in the summer of 1994, i had very little money and knew absolutely nothing about the ins and outs of NY. I didn't know anyone, where to go or how to find fun and interesting things to do for free.

All the money I had went to tuition, books and food...with food being the luxury i sometimes went without. The only things I did for entertainment were go to the free concerts at my music school, public museums that had "suggested donation" admittance and exploring central park that was 1 block away from my apartment.

Over those few years, i spent more time in central park than anywhere but the practice room. I developed, as many people have, a very personal relationship with the park. I believe i have seen all of the park...every corner, every tunnel, every inch of bike and walk path. I never took one of the boats out in the lake...but who cares.

In 1994, on a very sunny weekend in September, I came across a street musician in front of the lake by the 77th st. entrance by the Museum of Natural History. He played guitar to a group of about 20 people sitting on the hill that formed a natural amphitheatre. It was a perfect NY park scene. People eating bag lunches with their friends or families, overlooking a beautiful city skyline peeking out over the trees of the park...all the time this guy with a guitar serenading the crowd, singing Bob dylan, Paul simon, Harry Chapin...some others that you would expect a folk-like guitar singer would sing on a Saturday afternoon in the park.

The guitar man experience at random times may include his handing out cookies to the children in on the hill, an impromptu sing-a-long of a Beatles song with the guy selling beer out of the back of his rigged bike/cooler, or serenading the boaters who rowed up to the water's edge with a rendition of the theme song from Gilligan's Island. Corny...yes, at times, very corny. But it is still very genuine and relaxing.

David Ippolito is his name, better known as the "Central Park Guitar Man." For the last 16 years on most sunny weekend days, you can find him in the same spot, playing his guitar and crooning for the park goers. The crowds have gotten bigger and he is much more well known, as he has been the subject of many newspapers profiles and a decade and a half of word of mouth advertising. He has played in other more run-of-the-mill venues and has done a few TV commercials and I'm sure has had his share of success outside of this little weekend gig...but there is something special about his tenure in the park.

He has become a part of the people's history of NYC. He is one of those New York experiences that people share stories about. For me he has been a kind of marker or a way-point I like to go back to from time to time to reflect on where I am. His songs change from time to time, but his demeanor doesn't, nor does the feeling of contentment I get when lying down looking at the scenery and listening to music. As I sat on the hill on Saturday, i remembered back to the first time i saw Guitar Man, and then i thought of all the people I brought there to listen over the years. I wondered where some of those people were and if they ever thought of the day they spent on that hill with me.

It is one of my favorite places to go in New York. When I leave, i will really miss weekends in the park. When i come back to visit or to live here again, visiting the park and seeing Guitar Man will always be on the list of things to do.

here are some pictures of my day in the park: http://www.flickr.com/photos/82369865@N00/