It appears that one of the first decisions for new manager Bill Seward will be whether musicians can perform in public here, and where.
Longtime musician and band leader Mark Carroll said he’s seeking to play acoustic music on the cruise ship dock with up to three other musicians, but has not heard back from the municipality.
“They’re working on it,” Carroll said this week. “I haven’t gotten any positive reaction in terms of anybody knowing anything or can explain it.”
Carroll said he was at first told he only needed to buy a business license. “I went back to ask where we could play and (planner Tracy Cui) didn’t know about that.”
Borough clerk Julie Cozzi responded to questions from the CVN this week by saying: “We are actively working on this issue but have no answers to your questions at this time. We plan to very, very soon, though.”
Carroll thinks he should be allowed to play on public property around town and leave a guitar case out for tips. The practice, called busking, is common in other cities, he said. Carroll said he wants the band to be on the cruise ship dock “because that’s where the most people are congregating or passing by.”
“I just want to have the freedom to go out there and busk… I’ve been busking forever. I’ve been playing for tips since the 1970s,” including performing with Haines musicians at a buskers’ festival in Ferrara, Italy, billed as “one of the most important international events dedicated to street music.”
Carroll said court rulings have supported street performance as a First Amendment right to free speech. In addition, he said leaving out an open music case does not violate the borough’s ordinance against “solicitation.”
Busking doesn’t appear to be specifically addressed in code, which defines solicit as “to advise, authorize, command, incite or urge.”
“We’ve got a (musical instrument) case out there and we play music. We don’t say, ‘Everybody, put your money in here.’ They put money in it because they want to,” Carroll said.
He expressed impatience with the borough’s uncertain response this week. “I may just have to break the law to make something happen. I’ve got musicians chomping at the bit… If we get chased off, (the borough) would have to show it’s an offense. They’d have to say what the ordinance is (that prohibits it.)”
Another resident, Rebekah McCoy, also has requested to perform music in public, although it was not clear this week whether McCoy also would be putting out a container for accepting tips. McCoy could not be reached for comment this week.
The borough in 2011 moved independent tour operators off the Port Chilkoot Dock.