http://www.earvolution.com/2006/06/axl-rose-lends-underdog-hand-shakerleg.aspAxl Rose Lends Underdog a Hand: Shakerleg Opens For Guns N' Roses
By: David Schultz
Photos from Shakerleg.com by Alzo Slade
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Any Catskills comedian worth his salt will immediately tell you, "practice, practice, practice." Ask that same comedian how you get to the Hammerstein Ballroom to open for the newly revamped Guns N' Roses and you'll probably get a non-sequitur response involving Henny Youngman, the neighbor's wife and a nice piece of kugel. For street performer Shakerleg, also known as Mark Nicosia, all it took to open for Guns N' Roses was being in the right place at the right time; oh yes, and having the balls to demand to be there.
New Yorkers present at the Hammerstein Ballroom for Guns N' Roses' first run of shows in years may have recognized Shakerleg from his years as a street performer in New York City. Employing a style that attracted the attention of Modern Drummer magazine and Drummerworld.com, Shakerleg plays without drum sticks, beating on a modified drum kit with his hands. With his right leg adorned with shakers ? hence, the Shakerleg moniker ? and his left leg also banging out the beat, the innovative drummer has made himself a fixture at the Union Square Subway Station for close to five years.
Just recently, Shakerleg experimented with playing aboveground, finding a new niche: 59th Street and Columbus Circle, right next to the Trump International Hotel& Tower. In setting up shop on the well-traversed thoroughfare, Shakerleg played to his surroundings. A bit less sycophantic than a contestant on The Apprentice, Shakerleg drew an audience while dedicating songs to the multimillionaire, loudly proclaiming, "This one's for you Trump!"
One weekend, while Shakerleg was doing his thing on the Circle, he's interrupted by a lady dressed in sweats. "I was wondering," she asked calmly. "I have a client upstairs in the Trump Building who is in town and he's got a very important function and he needs to sleep." Seeing where this conversation is leading, Shakerleg quickly cuts her off. "I'm not stopping for anyone in that fuckin' building. They can kiss my ass."
"I'd be willing to pay you," she offered. "He really needs to rest."
"You think you can just pay me off? Fuck that!" replied an incensed Shakerleg. "I gotta make a living and no way in hell are you gonna match what I make out here!"
"I'm trying to be nice," said the woman. Coming clean about her client, she reveals "It's actually Axl Rose."
"I don't give a fuck if it's Jesus," the drummer retorted. "I don't give a shit about Axl. Do I know him? Has he done anything for me?" The rant continued. "Nobody asks those dancers over there to move, so I'm not going anywhere. I could make $300 out here in a few hours."
"So if I went to the ATM would you leave," the woman countered.
"You're kidding, right?" he blurted back. "Yeah! If you came back with $300 I'd leave. But this is the most sellout thing I could ever do. I'm the only person in the world playing like this and I got Axl Fucking Rose up there trying to get me to stop."
"Do you even see what I'm doing," Shakerleg asked.
"Yes, we've heard you for the past few days," she deadpanned.
"And no one hooks me up," Nicosia continued. "What you need to do is get my card to Mr. Axl Rose and tell him that he needs to see what I do."
The woman turned and went back into the hotel, leaving Shakerleg on the sidewalk with the group of bystanders that had gathered during the argument. When she didn't return, Shakerleg resumed playing. After ten minutes, she returned, money in hand, accompanied by a short, unassuming gentleman.
"Sorry, but it's my job to see to it that he's happy and can rest," she apologized.
Dejected, Shakerleg took the money; but he wasn't done. "See what you've done. You've taken me away from my audience that I could've entertained; people that thank me for what I'm doing. The only way to make this right is to put my ass on stage and I'll open a show for him. I mean it. You guys should put me onstage in front of his crowd to make up for this crowd here."
Calming down, Shakerleg introduced himself to the brother and sister who act as Axl's managers. He explained his frustration over the fact that no one will take a chance on what he's doing and that they should take his message to Axl. They asked for a copy of his CD. Seeing that they had already given him $300, Shakerleg didn't think a free CD was too much to ask for. He threw in a DVD press kit as well.
Ten minutes later, the brother comes back. "Dude, you're not picking up your phone," he said.
"My bad, the phone was in my bag. What's up?"
"Well, what are you doing tomorrow," the manager asks.
Without expression or emotion, Shakerleg gave him the answer, "I'm opening for Axl Rose."
"Yes you are," he replied.
An hour later, Shakerleg received a call from Rick Fagan, Guns N' Roses tour manager.
The next day? Well, see for yourself.
http://www.shakerleg.com/av/AudioVideo-GNR.html
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