I’d like to believe it’s still this way, somehow, but New York City used to be full of genuine characters. Every neighborhood had its own share of local oddballs who provided a bit of distinctive flavor and identity. This was especially prevalent downtown, where a more permissive atmosphere of bohemian expression gave sway to individuals who felt compelled to part with convention on their own terms. One such individual was a street performer I remember lurking around the East Village in the early 90s. People plying their art in the street was certainly nothing especially novel, but this gent was different. He brandished a strange, electrified guitar that was shaped like a fish. From that instrument he coaxed inverted melodies that probably made sense only to him. Sure, it was always amusing to stop and listen to him play for a bit, but there was always the suspicion that he was grappling with some bigger issues, and he gradually looked more disheveled each time I happened upon him. Then, as these chapters tend to play out, he just vanished one day. No more fishy street-side serenades.
In all honesty, I’d completely forgotten about the fish guy until, quite by accident, I stumbled upon the YouTube clip below. A filmmaker named Niels Alpert evidently took a greater curiosity in this gentlemen and documented him in a short series of video profiles, all compiled here. It turns out, he called himself Squid.
Throughout, Squid spins several suitably bizarre yarns, suggesting that he spent some time in prison, but that he had a wife and children somewhere.
This video was uploaded in 2006, but seems to date back earlier than that. Where Squid is today? I shudder to think, but it's very hard to imagine him walking around the Lower East Side of 2021.
Who else remembers Squid?
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