Joseph Tserman

I am quite accustomed to hearing buskers on the Subway. They normally step into the car, play a portion of their song, and then stop so they have enough time to ask for change before exiting at the next stop. Presumably, this is so they can try their luck in another car, or another train altogether.

I really don't mind hearing performers in the train stations, positioned in high traffic areas or even on the platforms. I have heard people playing classical music with exceptional skill. I have listened to people playing traditional music on folk instruments from every corner of the globe. I have seen the officially sanctioned artists, as well as more risque musicians who play for their own enjoyment. I usually enjoy these experiences, and if I don't, it is not a problem, as I know I'll be on my way in minutes.

The people who play on the train, however, almost always annoy me. There are a few reasons for this:

1. I am listening to music on my headphones. This is my time. This is when I zone out for the ride, or when I leave my workday behind me. I do not want to have to hear someone over my own jams.

2. They are not usually very good. There are a few exceptions of course (Queensboro Plaza Clarinet man), but by an large these are not people I want to have serenading me.

3. I really hate being asked for my attention and being denied a full song. I don't care if we just got to the station, FINISH THE SONG. ALL OF IT. TO THE END.

It is strange then that I feel like Joseph Tserman is such a wonderful performer, and that I am genuinely looking forward to hearing him on my next ride on the N or Q train.

Joseph Tsermans music is not normally the kind of thing I would like, much less listen to. His songs are slow, depressing tunes, set to violins and slow pop beats. He sings in what I believe to be Russian, or at the very least another Eastern European tongue. The music blares from speakers contained within a collapsible black shopping cart, the kind elderly people always seem to have, which he wheels into the car with some difficulty. You can hear him whether you are talking to someone beside you or listening to your own music, as the entire train car fills with the sound of his voice and his maudlin soundtrack.

Yet for some reason, I love it.

Joseph Tserman doesn't care if you want to hear his music. This is not to say that he is uncaring or rude - he is neither. When you tip him, as I did, he puts his hand over his heart while singing, and bows his head graciously. He does the same for anyone who puts money is his cap as he walks about the car, bowing and making gestures of gratitude. But he does not care whether you want to hear him or not. He arrives on the train with his cart, turns his soundtrack on, and proceeds to sing his heart out. He doesn't seem to give a damn whether or not you want to hear him.

Another reason I love his performance is that he seems so damn sincere. It's not to say that other performers lack sincerity, but I am just not wowed by some bored looking girl, playing her uninspired version of Lorde's "Royals" as I travel through the depths of Manhattan. Joseph Tserman looks like he means it, and he certainly sings like he means it. His face look anguished, as if some long forgotten agony were suddenly spilling out of him for all of us to feel. He looks like he might shed a tear as he recalls some personal horror, his voice wavering for just a second as his baritone enouncements reach their climax. You cannot help but feel the raw emotion.

What I love the most about Mr. Tserman is that he will sing a song in it's entirety. The songs are too passionate, too reflective (I think - they're in Russian after all) to share only partially. He will start a song, and he will keep going until it is over, not stopping even as the train doors open at whichever station we have stopped. He respects you, the audience, enough to give you everything he has.

I don't care if I can't understand him, I don't care if the songs are depressing, and I don't care that I have to turn my music down as he sings. I love it. I love that he will do it no matter how much it seems to bring everyone down, which actually might be what I like the most.

Joseph Tserman is the greatest on-board performer in all of the NYC Subway system. Perhaps, if you are lucky enough, you too will have a chance to hear him.