Luke Speaks

To the Editors of the Crimson:

I cannot spend five minutes in Harvard Square these days without someone coming up to me to ask, "Luke, when are you going to start playing again?" As if I'd stopped playing voluntarily. The truth of the matter is that the "Luke Show" has been effectively banned from Harvard Square.

The first thing that must be understood is that there are two separate playing fields, with completely different rules, for street musicians in Harvard Square. First, there is the Harvard-owned plaza adjacent to Au Bon Pain. Performance permits for this spot are given out by Harvard Real Estate, Inc. (HRE) and include permission to use amplification. Second, there is the Cambridge city property along Brattle Street. Performance permits for these spots are given out by the Cambridge Director of Traffic and Parking (DTP) and explicitly forbid the use of amplification. ["A performer may not use electric or electronic amplification."]

Last fall, as reported in the Crimson, HRE revoked my permit to perform in the plaza adjacent to Au Bon Pain for "repeatedly playing too loud." Though I have not played there since that time, the revocation, which was initially to last one month, has been extended indefinitely. Furthermore, now that the performance time slots have been allocated for spring term, even if HRE were to have a sudden change of heart, I could not perform there until July.

The situation on Brattle Street is equally gloomy. The use of amplification by Cambridge street musicians is governed by a Catch-22-style clause in the Cambridge City Ordinance which states that a musician wanting to use amplification must first obtain permission from the DTP. Since the DTP stubbornly (and I mean with hostility) refuses to grant such permission, a street musician using amplification along Brattle Street risks harrassment, arrest, fines and permit revocation. [In my case, the Cambridge Police have repeatedly shut me down and threatened me with arrest when I've attempted to perform on the traffic island between Brattle and Mt. Auburn Streets, near the Wordsworth bookstore.]

Only the Cambridge DTP stands between the street musicians of Cambridge and their legal use of amplification. No laws need to be changed; rather, the DTP's mind needs to be changed.

Any reader who enjoys listening to amplified street music in Harvard Square (including, hopefully, my performances!) can help to bring about the desired change by writing a single-sentence letter to the Cambridge DTP: "Let the street musicians use amplification!"

[Letters should be addressed to:

Director of Traffic and Parking

Department of Traffic and Parking

City of Cambridge

57 Inman Street

Cambridge, MA 02139.]

I cannot guarantee that the DTP will change his mind; but unless letters are sent, and that means by the thousands, the status of street music in Harvard Square will continue to decline until it is completely dead.

Finally, to those who might be wondering why street musicians need to use amplification. let it be kept in mind that a large crowd of people cannot be entertained without it, especially in the face of traffic noise, and that the types of crowds I have attracted in the past are those with extremely positive energy. That is desirable. That is why. The good energy. Harvard Square needs it. I want to help provide a context in which it can emerge Frequently. Luke