{"id":119,"date":"2017-08-10T16:44:02","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T16:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/?p=119"},"modified":"2017-08-10T18:12:08","modified_gmt":"2017-08-10T18:12:08","slug":"music-underground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/2017\/08\/10\/music-underground\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Underground"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Chloe Keen<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York City subways are noisy &#8211; screeching train brakes and the din of human voices. But there\u2019s also music down under.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Musicians in the subway \u201cenhance the transit experience for customers,\u201d according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city\u2019s mass transit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the subway musicians are part of Music Under New York, a program to showcase the city&#8217;s diverse talent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an effort to humanize the subway experience and capitalize on the acoustics found in some stations, the MTA established Music Under New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a program where musicians audition and are permitted to play.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Musicians are found throughout the subway system: the platform, mezzanine or in the subway cars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no process to independently play or sing in the subway. Artists will perform when it is most convenient to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Music Under New York holds an annual audition. Winners recei<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ve a banner to hang behind them during their performances. They are given optimal locations where the subways are busiest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Once musicians are registered, they are part of the program\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as long as they abide the rules, regarding\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">safety between commuters and the performers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOnce you\u2019re in, you\u2019re in,\u201d said Adrian Dimatteo, a performer recently admitted into Music Under New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Artists affiliated with Music Under New York can be seen in t<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he mezzanine or the platforms in Time Square, Union Square and Grand Central stations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chloe Keen is a senior at Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adrian Dimatteo<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A new performer to Music Under New York, Adrian Dimatteo and his band, had their first performance in the Union Square station.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a bassist, a snare drummer, and the guitarist who is also the lead singer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dimatteo became involved with Music Under New York<\/span>\u00a0when he asked to perform with a saxophone quartet in the subways. His friend from the quartet, Eric Pollan, suggested he audition.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adrian Dimatteo and his band had been admitted\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the last three months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He plays an Ibanez guitar for subway performances because it can take the \u201cintense conditions,\u201d said Dimatteo. He has another guitar that is played during nice events.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He has been playing since he was 11 and asked his dad for a guitar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Outside of Music Under New York, Dimatteo plays parties and events as well as offers lessons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bassist, Ben Tiberio, has played the bass for 10 years but has always been involved with music. He started with the piano and clarinet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ben Tiberio is a long time friend of Dimatteo. They both are from upstate New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The snare drummer, Francois Alghisi, has played music for the past thirty years in the south of France. He emigrated from Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alghisi and Dimatteo became friends in a gym session and worked out ideas to put together the group for the subway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more information on Adrian Dimatteo visit adriandimatteo.com<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">StreetMule<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As commuters get off the subway at Union Square, sounds from a didgeridoo and screeches and hollers resonate from StreetMule, a performer part of Music Under New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-134 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image1-1024x783.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"284\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image1-1024x783.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image1-300x229.jpg 300w, http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image1-768x587.jpg 768w, http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image1-1200x918.jpg 1200w, http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image1.jpg 1999w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 284px) 85vw, 284px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As people attempted to take pictures during his performance, on a Saturday evening, he shied away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">StreetMule has been playing \u201csweaty\u201d music for 27 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When asked what that meant, he said \u201cthe music picks you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers suggest that the didgeridoo is the oldest instrument in history. The instrument is tracked back to Aboriginal roots in Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the subway, StreetMule wore shells on his shoes for a mara<\/span>ca-style sound. He sat on Cajon, a type of drum.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEverything picks you, even the clothes you\u2019re wearing\u201d StreetMule said in regards to how he began playing music.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">StreetMule, also known as Marc Mueller, has a band with his brother Paul Mueller and also has a solo act.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-136 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image3-877x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image3-877x1024.jpg 877w, http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image3-257x300.jpg 257w, http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image3-768x896.jpg 768w, http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image3-1200x1400.jpg 1200w, http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image3.jpg 1713w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 85vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His band is a percussive group called Mecca Bodega. Their album is\u00a0<\/span>called\u00a0<i>City of Rocks<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both albums include rhythmic beats from a series of different drums and cymb<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">als.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also has an album featuring himself titled <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talkin\u2019 True Da Tub<\/span><\/i><i>e<\/i>. StreetMule writes all songs on the album and is dedicated to his mother.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When he was\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">asked about\u00a0<\/span>how he started performing StreetMule said, \u201cThe music got into\u00a0me\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A representative of Music Under New York, Tom Higginbottom, has helped StreetMule create a fan base\u00a0<\/span>and draw a crowd from the subway stations.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-135 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/08\/image2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"164\" height=\"25\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Independent Musicians<\/p>\n<p>Performers unaffiliated with Music Under New York can also be found in the subway cars, platforms and mezzanines.<\/p>\n<p>An independent artist, Gonzalo Silva, is a singer-songwriter, accompanied with his bass.<\/p>\n<p>A solo bass act is pretty rare, according to Silva.<\/p>\n<p>He plays on the subways because he had no representation after moving to New York from Boston.<\/p>\n<p>New York has a \u201cbig pond\u201d and playing on the subway is a way to give him \u201cmore exposure,\u201d said Gonzalo Silva.<\/p>\n<p>Silva was taught the upright bass in high school, but he sings and plays a headless electric bass using self-taught techniques.<\/p>\n<p>A variety of music is performed from steppers to blues bands to doo wop music.<\/p>\n<p>Riders can find artists that play the Korean drums to the Cajun cello to the gypsy violin.<\/p>\n<p>Sheva, a singer also not associated with Music Under New York, sings all types of music on the subway platform.<\/p>\n<p>She is singing on the side while, getting her masters degree in child psychology.<\/p>\n<p>Riders can hear Sheeva sing \u201cDock of the Bay\u201d by Otis Redding as subway cars pass.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Chloe Keen New York City subways are noisy &#8211; screeching train brakes and the din of human voices. But there\u2019s also music down under. Musicians in the subway \u201cenhance the transit experience for customers,\u201d according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city\u2019s mass transit. Some of the subway musicians are part of Music &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/2017\/08\/10\/music-underground\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Music Underground&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Music Underground - 10am News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/projects.nyujournalism.org\/10amnews\/2017\/08\/10\/music-underground\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Music Underground - 10am News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Chloe Keen New York City subways are noisy &#8211; screeching train brakes and the din of human voices. 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