Emily Palen the new Karl Malden/Mike Douglas -- I wonder if she plays variations on Lalo Shifrin
I ran into Emily Palen busking at Union Square, right before Game 1 of the World Series. She said she was in the studio recently producing a solo record of mostly improvised music, but was not playing with Dawn Richardson’s Dolorata.
Wikipedia, by the way, has a good article on busking (although they somehow have re-labeled it “Street Performance” which riles my inner Sapir-Whorf and Hopi warrior!!), as well as one on “Busking: U.S. Case Law“.
Charlie Hunter says that he developed his chops while busking in Europe. Mary Lou Lord says she decided to be a musician because someone threw a $5 bill in the guitar case while she was merely watching someone else’s gear, in Boston subway — she could barely play.
Palo Alto has a street music event based on Fete De La Musique which I initially supported because I like the relationship between busking and the First Amendment.
Anyhow, good luck to Emily.
Edit to add, July 5, 2011: This was my thirtieth post; for a while I was using Roman Numerals to number them. I’m up to about 125 now. And I also have generally stopped footnoting my own posts under comments, and do occassionally “edit to add”. I wasn’t sure why this post is seen more often than others, but I was a little bemused to notice that someone found this link by typing “new york subways what happens there xxx” which I guess refers to prurient paranoia and not street musicians.
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 
Buskers rock! My favorite is the ‘Saw Lady’ who plays the musical saw in the New York City subway, because she tells all of us who are not able to be there what happens when she plays in the subway in her blog.
Thanks, Michelle. I offered this for her site:
Hi. I found your blog because I posted about the San Francisco busker Emily Palen on my rather new blog, Plastic Alto. Someone named Michelle who I presume reads your blog became the very first commentator (besides my girlfriend, and my best friend) on my new site to direct me to your site. I am meaning to trackdown the link to the recent article (I clipped) from SF Chronicle about another SF busker. Also, maybe I will get around to doing a transcript of my interview with jazz musician Charlie Hunter about the value of busking in his development as a performing artist, and post that. I may also someday post my heated email exchange with the founder of a music event in Palo Alto (based on Fete De La Musique) about how the event should honor the relationship between busking and the First Amendment, Democracy in general.
Saw on!
I hope this is not too much information nor too self-serving. Feel free to edit as appropriate.
I booked the Richard Shindell show into Johnson Park as part of the City of Palo Alto Twilight Series on July 11, 1999; I often mentioned acts to Suzanne Warren the City’s producer but in this case I recall that I actually middled the act meaning I contracted and then subcontracted the artist to appear in the City. Robyn Israel wrote this preview:
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/cover/2000_Jul_7.RICHARD7.html
Hard to explain how I thought of this today…
Apropos of who knows what I am checking on Liberty Ellman, former SF Mime Troupe music maker:
http://www.libertyellman.com/bio.html
also plays with Threadgill, did marketing on staff of Blue Note for Norah Jones, was Ledisi’s duo partner — complete street game
Wedge found this archived image of Carla Kihlstedt:
William Turner book on First Amendment:
http://www.bkconnection.com/ProdDetails.asp?ID=9781936227037&PG=1&Type=BL&PCS=BKP