Listen to the Music

The 13th annual Spokane Street Music Week opened at noon Monday with some of the highest expectations I’ve ever seen when it comes to raising 2nd Harvest food bank donations. And that was just Josh Burrows. Arriving way ahead of the pack, Burrows was first to ink his name on the street music sign-in sheet for downtown Spokane. The event continues through Friday in the Garland District, downtown Coeur d’Alene and throughout the Spokane business core. As Burrows worked the pen, he made his intentions clear. First to sign and “first in donations raised,” he predicted. Now, I’ve known Burrows ever since we attended Franklin Elementary School together. But this new guy? Call him a rock star on a mission. To accomplish his goal, Burrows will be putting on a noon-to-1 p.m. show all this week on the sidewalks outside Domini’s sandwich shop on Sprague. He was one of 42 musicians who came downtown Monday to perform and raise money for the food bank. Burrows supplies the guitar parts to some of his favorite songs by Jimi Hendrix, Tom Petty and Eric Clapton. “It’s like karaoke for guitar,” said Burrows, adding a laugh. “I’m changing T-shirts every day, too, depending on how I feel.” I really like this guy. In his everyday life, Burrows operates a couple of serious companies: H2O Well Service and Environmental West Exploration. But there’s no reason that a serious business czar can’t crank up an amp and channel his inner Clapton now and then. “It’s that first 75 cents that somebody throws in the bucket,” said Burrows. “It makes me feel like a professional.” And to think that this all started with a trip to a South Hill Safeway store. I bumped into Burrows a couple years back while he was in the produce department. Remembering that Burrows played guitar, I made a pitch for him to get involved with our upcoming Street Music Week. He seemed reluctant at first, but then decided to give it a try. “This is truly an enormous gift for an aging entertainer,” he said. Now he’s bought more guitars, an expensive pedal board for special effects and some cool rocker outfits. “It kind of starts to perpetuate itself,” said Burrows, laughing again. And if what happened is any indicator, he definitely looks like a real deal rocker. “I was just setting up,” said Burrows, “and this guy came over. He asked me, ‘Hey man, got any weed I can buy?’ ” Sheesh. Hasn’t this dude heard about the legal pot stores? Anyway, Josh rocked out to the passing pedestrians regardless of race, creed or hearing impairment. An hour later he was back with a fistful of do-re-mi that added up to – what? This guy pulled in $380. Just like he predicted, Burrows was No. 1 with a bullet. And the best is yet to come, he vowed. There were many other great moments on this scorcher of a Monday. For example…  I met Frank and April Moore, who came up from The Dalles, Ore., to make their own brand of original music they call “Mind Virus Music.” “It’s rock and roll, bouncy and moving,” said April, who heard about Street Music Week from friends. “It promotes love and kindness.”  Jenny Edgren showed me her Chavango, a 10-string, small Bolivian instrument that resembles a mandolin. The Chavango was made famous by Paul Simon’s iconic song, “El Condor Pasa,” which Jenny demonstrated by singing a line in a lovely voice. “I’d rather be a hammer than a nail …” Oh, yeah. I’ve heard that one before.  Street Music Week veteran Charlie Lee made me laugh when he arrived dressed in bizarre military garb that included a vintage World War II helmet atop his dome. No longer a mere singer and guitarist, Lee said he prefers to be known these days as Gen. Patton Pending who is waging war against hunger and homelessness. Boo-Rah!  And finally, no opening day of Street Music Week would be complete without a quick appearance before the Spokane City Council to receive that all-important mayoral proclamation. “WHERAS Spokane has a long tradition of talented, vibrant street musicians…” So come down and take part or give back. On Thursday, the great Peter Rivera, former lead singer of Rare Earth, will be singing his hits like “Get Ready” and “Celebrate” on the sidewalk near Starbucks, across from Pottery Barn. Let the fun and tunes begin!