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By Jorge Casuso
May 5 -- Stephen Bradford is part good cop, disciplinarian,
artistic advisor and sometime promoter for the colorful circus of
life that unfolds every night in Downtown Santa Monica.
The three-block stage Bradford patrols has a strong man act, a few
magicians and mimes, a performance monkey, a couple of break dance
crews and plenty of musicians looking for their big break.
As the Bayside District’s venue manager, Bradford is in charge
of monitoring street performers on the Third Street Promenade, ensuring
that they abide by the City Street Performance Ordinance, and on
this balmy spring night he is patrolling the strip manned with a
clipboard, decibel reader and rolling “measure meter”
making sure everything goes according to plan.
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| Stephen Bradford (right) checks
up on a Promenade performer |
Of the nearly 1,000 performers who are issued a $37 permit by the
City every year, some 50 are regulars on the Promenade, and on this
Sunday night, several dozen have shown up.
“I’m the manager of any public activity on the Promenade,”
Bradford explains as he strolls the thinly crowded street. “A
huge part of it is to monitor the entertainers. There’s a whole
set of rules the performers have to follow.”
It’s 8 p.m. and, according to the rules, some of the street
performers have just finished their shifts. Those who began at 6 must
move to new spot or get a friendly warning from Bradford, who must
make sure they move every two hours at least 120 feet and are no closer
than 40 feet from another performer and ten feet from store doorways
and vending carts.
Bradford checks the maps of each block color-coded in red, blue and
green ink to help him track the movements of the performers with names
like the Kryptonknights and Mr. Automatic, or code names like “monkey
man” and “Sasan the violinist.”
“I’ve got to keep track of where Omar (the magician) was
earlier, because he can’t come back to that spot for six hours,”
Bradford says, citing yet another rule he must keep track of.
Omar has set up a small table near the entrance to Borders Books,
a favorite spot, he says, because many motorists park in the structures
at Santa Monica Place and work their way north. According to Bradford’s
clipboard, Omar is okay.
“If you break the rules and don’t realize it, he’ll
come by and let you know,” Omar says. “He’s one
of the nicest people. He never causes any problems.”
Like Omar, most street performers have their favorite spots. Many
like being near the food court and movie theaters, but there are some,
Bradford says, who will never go between Arizona and Wilshire.
“Certain people prefer certain spots and think there are certain
spots that are better,” Bradford says. “Sometimes it’s
personal preference or superstition. But talent wins out. If you’re
talented, you’ll make money on any spot on the Promenade.”
Martin Etcheverry, one of the Argentine brothers in the Flamenco duo
Seis Cuerdas, one of the Promenade’s most successful acts, agrees.
“I don’t think that there’s such a thing as the
best spot,” he says.
“We try to play the same spot,” says his brother Ezekiel.
“We know how it sounds. People there like us.”
John Rushton, who sings original songs accompanied by his guitar,
prefers less trafficked areas, such as the north end of the Promenade,
or in front of the benches just off the strip.
“I try to get a spot where people sit down to hear my music,”
Rushton says as he sets up on Santa Monica Boulevard just west of
the Promenade. He also likes to play near Barnes and Noble on the
northern end where “it’s quieter, a more chill atmosphere.”
Bradford begins working his way north, where a small crowd has gathered
around Nasan, an Asian boy playing an amplified violin. The sound
seems a bit loud, and Bradford pulls out his decibel meter.
Sure enough, from 25 feet away, the young violinist has reached 88
decibels, three more than the 85 allowed at that distance by code.
Bradford calls the boy’s father aside and politely asks him
to tell his son to turn the volume down. The man complies and Bradford
resumes his walk.
Some successful acts, he says, have been discovered right here on
the Promenade. A pair of twin tap dancers that drew large crowds have
appeared in videos and movies and now have a billboard on Sunset Strip.
“We’re living in the entertainment capital of the world
and a lot of people who make decisions in that world live on the Westside
and know the Promenade,” Bradford says.
“People have been plucked off the street to do parties or get
parts in films. Universal City Walk recruits people from our programs.”
Bradford sometimes dispenses advice to new performers. Take Constant,
who was born in West Africa without the use of his legs, and does
strongman acts on the Promenade.
The golden outfit he is wearing as he stands on one hand and plays
the harmonica with the other was the result of a suggestion from Bradford.
“He used to perform in street clothes,” Bradford says.
“I encouraged him to wear a tribal chieftain outfit, but he
wouldn’t go for it. But the gold outfit works.”
It’s nearing 8 p.m. and Bradford spots a young man suspiciously
looking around before reaching behind the easel of an artist who has
stepped away to seek a new spot. Bradford runs after him, chasing
him through a passageway into the 4th Street alley.
But it’s too late, the man has escaped with the stolen drawing.
Bradford rushes back to tell the artist, who says he had been working
on the custom drawing for the past hour.
“I’ve been here six days a week for seven years,”
the artist says, staring at the empty pad on his easel, “and
it’s the first time I’ve been ripped off.”
As Bradford makes his way north for a final stroll before heading
home, he fields a call from a street performer who wants to know if
one of her favorite spots is open, then stops to chat with a performer.
Following a trend that has developed over the past six months, the
street performers have started earlier than usual and are also leaving
earlier. Bradford guesses it may be the sluggish economy or the unseasonably
cool weather that has kept the usual crowds away.
Martin, one of the brothers in Seis Cuerdas, agrees that business
has been slow as he packs up for the night. The duo has scaled back
its hours, playing just four hours on this Sunday night. But Martin
believes every day on the Promenade is different.
“I believe the Promenade has it’s own soul,” he
says. “It’s like a human being. Sometimes you wake up
happy, sometimes not.
“Sometimes, you step on the street and feel it if it’s
going to be a good day, or if it’s going to be crazy.”
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