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I have collected tons of busking stories over the years. Interacting with the street people are among some of my funnest memories but I think the wildest memory that is coming to me is when a Reno street pimp took a shine to what we were doing, rounded up one of his "secretaries" and had her film us performing on the strip with him doing a very passionate free style rap. The best part was that the video surfaced on Facebook a couple of years later but was very quickly banned for obvious reasons..... It was just a little raw but it was the funniest lyrics I ever heard from a rapper. Who knew? a harp can do ghetto rap!

I was performing in a high end theater as a guest performer with a fantastic Traditional Celtic band. They wanted me to start the set. I would play a nice opened air and at the right moment, they would jump in with a nice lively reel. We had done that same set earlier that day at a different event and were excited to play it in this very nice theater in front of about 800 people.

Curtains were drawn, the announcer called the audience to attention, the curtain raised and the audience was hushed to a dead silence. I could feel the anticipation from them. I began to play my tune very passionately but in the wrong key!! I screwed up! one of our fiddle players gasped and I kept playing and flipping the needed levers while avoiding the offending strings until I was in the correct key. In the end, I won points for being able to recover so fast without stopping but it sure made me very obsessive about making sure I am pre setting my harp to the RIGHT key!

I play a number of instruments but the harp is my main focus. I played 10 other instruments before I took up harp but the harp ruined me for everything else. It changed the genres we were playing, the kind of venues that we performed in and it changed my life. I had a street performer mentality before I took it up and I am glad because that has helped me to look at the instrument differently than a more classically oriented musician would. I also get a lot of attention on the street and in outdoor events because I am the only harpist I know of who is willing to put a harp through so much abuse.

Sometimes someone will point out how dirty my harp is and that it could stand to be cleaned. the truth is that I've pounded on it for so long and dragged it through so many states, I am afraid it would fall apart if I remove the dirt.

If you would like to know more about my story, crazy adventures, or download some of my FREE music check out www.AaronStokesMusic.com