What It’s Like Busking During Coronavirus
Stuck in Japan for the time being, Captain George is a street performer who refuses to let the pandemic stop him from playing.
By Jessie Schiewe
Credit: Captain George
On a recent Friday morning in Fukuoka, Japan, a street performer named Captain George sipped beer from a tall silver can (his “breakfast”), while answering questions from a journalist through Facebook. Instead of typing or voice recording his responses, he sent selfie-style videos of himself, his foreign accent slightly slurred as he revealed why he wears a sea captain’s hat everyday.
“I’m originally from Slovakia and people would ask me for my name and they couldn’t fucking remember it,” he explained. (His name is Juraj Plitchtik.)
“That’s how this whole captain thing started. I bought this hat for 3€ when I was hitchhiking from Istanbul to Ukraine. Then I became Captain George.”
Though he jokes that he “looks like a Bulgarian porn star” in the cap, it’s been a beneficial addition to his wardrobe if only because now people can remember — and pronounce — his name. Which is important when you’re trying to become “a rockstar” like he is.
Captain George is a street performer — or “busker” — who sings and plays music in public places to earn cash. In countries across Europe, as well as in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Africa, he’s busked, performing mostly rock and punk-rock tunes using a cache of instruments, including a guitar, foot drum, and amplifier.
Though he tailors his sets based on his location and audience, Captain George is particularly fond of covering hits by the likes of Nirvana, The Sex Pistols, Metallica, Elvis Presley, and Red Hot Chili Peppers
“My main instrument is guitar but nobody is interested in guitar alone, so I have to accompany it with my shitty singing sometimes. I just found that being a one-man band is more interesting than being a guy singing “Wonderwall” in the streets. And with my ADHD, it’s more fun for me to do more things at once.”
Credit: Captain George
Since he was young, Captain George has wanted to be a rockstar, and he credits a busker in Slovakia for planting the idea in his head.
“You know, in the early ’90s, there was a Black busker from some African country who became very famous in my country because he was like the first Black guy to do it. He’s still a household name after many many years, and all he did was sing stupid songs in our language and people loved it,” Captain George explained. “And I was just like: This is a genius concept.”
Fortunately, he’s pragmatic about the degree of fame he’d like to achieve as a peripatetic musician. He knows he’ll never achieve Maroon 5 or Coldplay levels of success, but merely becoming “a rockstar in some random third-world country” would be enough to satisfy him.
Credit: Captain George
He’s not quite there yet, but his look and lifestyle certainly emulate that of a rockstar already.
At 33, Captain George has a fleshy, boyish face that could fool one into thinking he’s younger were it not for the patchy stubble covering his jowls and chin. A small, silver hoop earring dangles from his right earlobe, and beneath his captain’s hat, his sandy brown hair has been shaved on the sides and left long down the middle, looking not unlike a mohawk without gel. In one of his selfie videos, he unbuttoned his blue collared shirt to show off his tattooed clavicles which read “Captain George” in black, 1-inch tall letters.
Captain George is not a vampire, but he tends to live like one — staying up all night to busk, eating “dinner” at 9 a.m., and then sleeping until the late afternoon. He’s also chameleonic, having no issues adjusting to new environments, even if that means living in squalor, or, as is currently the case for him, amongst porn.
“Here is a set of dildos,” he said, giving the reporter a tour of the cheap and centrally located room he rents from a Japanese porn studio. “Really small is the Japanese size. You’ve never seen such small dildos.”
Busking isn’t Captain George’s only talent. He’s also a certified ski instructor which is why he headed to Japan last December, after being offered a teaching gig through the winter. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, that job fell through and Captain George found himself stranded in Fukuoka with little choice other than to busk for his money.
Credit: Captain George
That’s how he’s been spending his days, or rather, nights, since early March: busking on the streets of his temporary home despite the apparent risks to both his health and that of others.
“It’s such a strong drive to do it,” he said.
But his passion for playing music is not the only reason why he does it. It’s also about the money. Well, it’s mostly about the money. Without busking, he simply wouldn’t be able to survive.
“During the pandemic, there was a state of emergency and I was playing everyday. I didn’t stop because I cannot afford it, you know?” he explained.
“Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger or, like, I don’t know, Christina Aguilera or some Hollywood celebrity, they can afford to say, ‘Yeah, stay at home. Saves lives. Blah blah.’ Well, try to do that if you have zero money saved. I cannot stay home.”
Money is tight and hard to come by, but busking during coronavirus hasn’t been entirely unprofitable for Captain George. The streets are half-empty and the tips shitty, but he still makes enough to pay his monthly rent at the porn studio, to buy food, and to enjoy a beer whenever the fancy strikes him.
“I live day-to-day. I still make enough to survive, but I don’t make any savings.”
Granted, if Captain George tapered his drinking a bit, he’d have more money, but he laughed at the idea of giving it up.
“I am drinking like almost every fucking day. But I want to enjoy life a little bit, you know?”
Credit: Captain George
He’s also not the only busker performing during coronavirus that he knows of. Through friends and Facebook, he’s heard of people in other countries who are still making a living performing on the streets despite the ongoing pandemic. And, if what he’s been told is true, now might be a particularly good time to make money as a busker.
“I have friends doing good now in Germany and Holland and they are performing, making money, even making crowds in the street.
And people seem to enjoy it a lot because events are forbidden, you know, and people like to listen to music. So you have a big market of people who want musical entertainment and I guess it’s not being satisfied. So maybe it’s a little easier to entertain people now in the street because they don’t have as many distractions.”
Credit: Captain George
In one of his selfie-videos, Captain George films himself boarding a subway car, a blue skateboard slung casually over his shoulder. There are passengers all around him, hogging up the seats and staring at their phones. Pretty much everyone is wearing a face mask except for the Captain.
Though he claims he wears a face mask when he goes to the bank, if he’s busking outdoors and has more than two meters between himself and the crowd, he won’t bother to put one on. The fresh air, open space, and the Japanese people’s “really high” hygiene help him feel safe without a face mask. It’s also hard to busk with one on. They “limit [his] flow.”
But some people have taken umbrage with Captain George’s lack of a mask. In the middle of May, an anonymous person made a noise complaint against him and called the police while he was performing. The police stopped his set and, “in a friendly manner,” asked him what he was doing to protect himself from the virus. Captain George’s response was to pull out his cell phone and show them a selfie of himself wearing a black nylon mask. That did the trick.
Credit: Captain George
Though he didn’t choose to be here, for Captain George, Japan “is a pretty good living,” even if it is “a little bit expensive.” Businesses are still open, people are out and about, and the police are the kindest he’s ever run into.
In fact, Captain George seems to have hit the jackpot by unintentionally landing himself in Japan during the coronavirus pandemic. Though the country is currently bracing for a second wave of infections — at which point Captain George really should start wearing a face mask — it has been doing a lot to help its citizens, including even temporary residents like Captain George. For example, because he’s lived there for more than three months and has a permanent address, he is entitled to receive a one-off relief payment from the government in the amount of 100,000 yen (or roughly $955 USD).
“I brought zero value to this country and the Japanese government will give me the money,” he said, crediting “the goodwill of the people.”
Credit: Captain George
With coronavirus still a looming threat, does Captain George have any plans if he gets infected?
Not really.
“I don’t really know what I’d do if I get coronavirus. I guess I’m fucked,” he said, chuckling nonchalantly. “I don’t even have medical insurance!”
(He seemed unaware of the fact that Japan offers universal healthcare, even to long-term residents such as himself.)
Still, he’s not worried. If he comes into contact with coronavirus, Captain George believes that he’s young enough and strong enough to successfully fight it off. Even the alcohol he drinks might help.
“I drink a lot of spirits so I think I built a good enough immunity,” he said. “I’m not so afraid of it.”
Credit: Captain George
Until that day comes, when he starts coughing and having difficulty breathing, Captain George will continue living just as he does now, busking on the streets of Fukuoka, trying to lure crowds and woo money from them. Performing and playing music is his life’s calling, and he’s not about to let an invisible virus bully him into abandoning his passion.
“You can tell people who are working in an office and will get like 60% of their salary: ‘OK, stay at home.’ And they will enjoy that because they hate their fucking jobs. But the truth is, we love our jobs, you know? And we even do it for free. Being a street performer is fun. It’s about giving yourself a chance when nobody else is giving it to you.”
In the end, what matters most to Captain George is becoming a rockstar — and he’s pretty sure he can make that happen with or without a world pandemic going on. Although Japan might be cramping his style.
“It’s not so easy to become a rockstar here. It is hard to get attention. People have seen everything and are not really interested in hearing songs throughout the day. Maybe when they are drunk it works quite fine after 10 p.m., but the sober Japanese people and drunk Japanese people are very different.”
He paused to adjust his captain’s hat.
“After the coronavirus, I will find a country where it is easier to become a rockstar. Maybe that is what I will do.”
JESSIE SCHIEWE IS THE EDITOR OF OK WHATEVER. SHE BELIEVES IN UNICORNS AND SHE THRIFT SHOPS FOR EXERCISE.
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