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Pete Tino, a.k.a The Human Floor.
Medium: Being in pain
Email: lifter1121@comcast.net
Phone: (508) 221-8670
Websites: youtube facebook myspace

BIO:
Pete’s acts include: Beds Of Nails, Broken Glass Act, Buried Alive Act, Cinder Block Act, Animal Trap Act, Human Block Head, Human Dart Board, Human Pony, Staple Gun Act and what I am most famous for – The Human Floor

His credits include:
The Tyra Banks Show
The New Gong Show
HBO Late Night with Katie Morgan
America’s Got Talent
The Opie & Anthony’s Virus Tour
Mayhem Metal Fest

From Record Holders Republic:

Human Floor: Weight on Body: Most: 3,126 lbs. Pete Tino aka The Human Floor. 24 women weighing 3,126 pounds where maintained for 10 seconds, while lying supine.Performed at Hanks Dairy Barn, Plainfield, CT. June 6, 2010

Genre: Break Dancing
Email: usadancers@aol.com
Website: www.usabreakdancers.com

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Resume
The USA Break Dancers are the winners of 2009 street performers world championships held annually in Dublin Ireland. This award winning troop of dancers is based out of The Bronx NY. The group performs their high-energy interactive show for millions of people around the world.

The USA Break dancers performs at festivals, fairs, camps, colleges, corporate events, half-time shows for the NBA, NCAA, and theaters worldwide, and have been featured on television and on numerous music videos.

There group performs a spectacular show packed with acrobatic stunts, hilarious antics, and the hottest dance moves. Combining their comedic talents with cutting-edge dance choreography, Julio ”Klown” Santiago, William ” Ill Will” Sanchez, Anthony ”Ready” Rosa, and Jose ”Mini” Colon deliver an unforgettable experience that has crowds all over the world cheering for more.

Bios

	Julio “Klown” Santiago Julio was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx in a family of entertainers. His father was a jazz musician who played with the legendary Tito Puente and Ray Boretto. One of Julio’s brothers was a dancer, and his other brother was a percussionist. Julio began learning how to break dance in 1980 at age 12 from a close friend of the family, and in his junior year of high school he won 1st place in his high school talent competition. Julio had earned respect amongst his peers and other popular dancers in his community and was invited to perform for tips on the streets of down town Manhattan. Julio accepted, and was hooked from day one. He loved the energy of the streets and soon gained a reputation for his fantastic talents and crowd-pleasing antics. In 1984, Julio was featured alongside legendary dancers Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Liza Minelli in the MGM film That’s Dancing! Julio was greatly honored to work with some of the most famous names in dance, and considers this to be one of the highlights of his career. In 1995, after more than a decade in show business, Julio formed The USA Break Dancers. Since then, the group has toured the world, rocking festivals and concerts and appearing in numerous music videos. In addition to performing, Julio enjoys working as the group’s manager and is excited to work with other talented and dedicated performers. Julio sees a big future for the USA Break Dancers.
	William “Ill Will” Sanchez William “Ill Will” Sanchez from the Bronx, NY. He began his dancing career in 1995, and two years later met Julio Santiago, founder of the USA Break Dancers. The two became very good friends, and shortly after Will was asked to join the group. For over a decade Will has had the opportunity to travel all over the world, perform on Broadway, and appear in several movies, music videos, and television shows. Over the past two years he has added gymnastics and acrobatic skills to his training which has added another dynamic element to the show. When asked about his love of performing Will states, “Performing is a part of who I am, and I will continue to express my passion for dancing while traveling worldwide.” Another way Will shares his love for performance is by teaching. Since 2005 has been teaching young students how to break dance, and one day hopes to open a dance studio.
	Anthony “Ready” Soza After seeing break dancers in a music video as a kid, Anthony fell in love with dancing and dreamt of a life as a performer. He quickly signed up for numerous dance classes and began practicing with his friends. After only two years he won a break dance competition and gained popularity in his community. Anthony moved from Waterbury, CT to New York City after completing college to pursue his dream. While auditioning for a music video he met William “Ill Will” Sanchez, they immediately hit it off, and began working and training together. In the summer of 2007 Ready was asked to join the USA Break Dancers on their Canadian festival tour.
	Jose “Mini Me” Colon Jose was born in Brooklyn and now lives in the Bronx, NY. He is 15 years old and the third oldest of three sisters and seven brothers, most of who are also break dancers. He first learned to dance at the age of six, and won his first trophy at a local dance competition two years later. By ten, he was featured in a music video starring LL Cool J and Jennifer Lopez, who gave him a kiss (and her phone number!?). Currently, Jose is the class president in his high school, but he wasn’t always an angel. He was considered a “troubled youth” throughout elementary and junior high, but with help of the USA Break Dancers and his teachers he is now on the right path and looking toward a bright future. In 2003, Jose was officially asked to join the USA Break Dancers and began his first tour in June of 2005 after he had shown some major improvements in school. He looks forward to performing with the group for many more years. With a bright future ahead Jose has many aspirations. He’d like dance professionally, and eventually work as a choreographer to the stars. He is also considering a career in medicine as a cardiologist, so that he can help people live longer, healthier lives.

I just received an email from “Mrs. KanYe West” (Linda) who says she’s coming to New York from Chicago, and wanted to say hi. Lets all make her feel welcome. Here’s her info:

Medium: Vocalist
Website: www.mrskanyewest.com

Here are a couple of videos:

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It’s been a long time since I last wrote for UndercoverNY. I have been very busy with a thousand different projects – I’m not sure I’m even exaggerating! – and this website was out of commission for a long time. Now that it’s up and running, better than ever, I thought I’d update all you fine ladies and gentlemen about my escapades under NYC.

Since I started busking in September 2009, I have spent many hours in a handful of subway stations around Manhattan, trying to earn enough money for a meal or two on any given day. I’ve spent the most time at the Delancey/Essex station, Lower East Side, on the Queens-bound F train platform; but I’ve also tried busking at 14th Street/8th Ave, 7th Ave/59th Street, 6th Ave/14th Street, Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Ave and several others.

To be quite honest, it has been a huge challenge. The most I made in one day was $20; but typically I earn $5-10 over a couple hours. No bueno.

Nevertheless, I’ve kept at it because I LOVE performing in the subways! It’s fun, I meet interesting people, and it’s a great way to get folks to hear my music – all different kinds of people who would otherwise never become aware of my existence or my art.

Most importantly, it is a huge honor to bless the city with a message of peace and love through song.

It’s been so long and I could hardly recount my widely varying experiences! But I will make a (very) short list of funny, interesting, quirky, awesome, and/or infuriating things that I have done and experienced while busking over the past nine months:

1) I was interviewed about busking twice.

2) My busking performances were featured in two documentary videos.

3) Weirdest thing dropped in my case: a latex glove full of pennies.
Most obnoxious: arcade tokens.

4) Was asked by police officers to “move on.” I heeded most of the time.

5) Asked an MTA employee whether I could busk at her station. She said, quite bluntly, “No. I will call the police.” After some thought, I replied, “well you can call the police if you want. But I have bills to pay. I’ll be busking.” The police didn’t show.

6) Was told by officers on the mezzanine that I couldn’t play there but the platform was fine. Was then told by officers on the platform that I couldn’t play there but the mezzanine was fine.

7) Asked by a police officer whether I would attempt to perform in Bloomingdales.
Seriously… Bloomingdales.
Was then told to move on.

8) Was ignored by police officers (it’s interesting how many different reactions one might get from these folks)

9) Started a dance party and have video footage to prove it.

10) Had an impromptu busking performance with a drummer named “King One.” We earned $30 in about an hour. Never heard from him again.

11) Made a 17×11″ sign to promote my album and sold several copies to commuters.

12) Busked at the Newmindspace Pillow Fight at Union Square Park on 4/3/2010.

13) Submitted my album to be considered for a MUNY permit. Was denied.

14) Received honorable mention in several blogs from across the country.

15) Busked in Boston.

16) Wrote a song about busking called “Vagrants and Vagabonds, Outlaws and Thieves”

17) Sang “We Shall Overcome” with the church, labor, and political leaders who were arrested for civil disobedience in opposition to the Arizona immigration law.

18) Posted YouTube videos of my performances and thoughts on busking.

19) Gave back to dozens of buskers – musicians, dancers, artists, comedians, poets, and magicians – who, like myself, are struggling to make ends meet as they attempt to conceive beauty, peace, laughter, and freedom in NYC.

20) Began a blog page of my own to document my adventures in NYC: http://gandollo.weebly.com

I have some plans for busking this summer, but you’ll have to stay tuned to UndercoverNY to hear more.
Until then, peace.

GioSafari

gandollo.weebly.com
myspace.com/giosafari
facebook.com/giosafari
youtube.com/user/GioSafari09

Well,
here’s just a short video about the beginning of June. What fun it is when the sun comes out! Must have gotten a good ten acts in, which I’m fairly proud of. Hope you enjoy, and some of them are up elsewhere on the site too.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Medium: Folk Rock/Indie
Location: The Mall, Central Park
Email: info@thedirtyurchins.com
Website: www.thedirtyurchins.com

If there is such a thing as the Undercover New York “bump”, I’ve reserved it until now. The Dirty Urchins, the the form I found them, were just fantastic. They were missing one of their number (I think the guy’s name is David Luther), and had switched in another, Julia Haltigan. So, I don’t want to do David a bad turn, but like the guy who’s subbed in at the 89th minute of a match and scores the winning goal, she’s a lucky choice.

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Actually, not having seen David live, it’s a little unfair to sing her praises. But regardless, the three of them played a great set. The bassist, Bennett Miller, is super-cool, moving and playing just right, and Freddie Stevenson on guitar Got me quite excited, really. I even bought a cd, which I’ll be stealing a couple of songs from (with their permission!) for the website. Enjoy!

Well, I’m a little surprised that it’s already been a year since the last museum mile – obviously I’ve not been doing enough since the last one. However, it was really nice to see all the familiar faces, not least the three kids who bring their strings out and gather a crowd. They’re a little young to be technically perfect, but they have certainly learned one thing to perfection – that this is the only tway they’re going to make any money playing classical music (don’t tell any of my classical musician friends!). They have two fantastic assets. 1) I assume they live on the Upper East Side. 2) They’re still cute. I keep trying to work out whether this is the average product of a wealthy hard-working American father trying to teach his kids the value of hard work, or the canny decision of forward thinking future world leaders. I hope it’s the latter.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also at the festival was this cool cat giving out what must have been thousands of posters, bookmarks and prints. His name’s Michael Albert, and from what I gathered he’s the e-banker with a turn of heart type. “Why are you giving all this stuff away for free?” I asked. “Because it’s more fun than selling them,” he said. Were it that more bankers thought the same way.

I’ve taken a few photos, and I’ve gotta apologize – I’m sitting in a pub, but I don’t actually condone drinking on a Monday morning. Wait, it’s now the afternoon. But anyway, I’m sorry this post isn’t longer! Well, enjoy the rest. There are lots of reasons to do the mile festival. I assume some of it is to do with the museums themselves, but I’ve never looked.

Medium: Andean Music
Location: Times Square
Email: nyaguaclara@yahoo.com
Phone: (646) 207-4272
Website: www.nyaguaclara.com

I’m pretty amazed with the Zoom H2 (the tool I use to record all the artists I meet. Not that it made them sound better than they already were, but that this outside performance on a fairly windy day in Times Square ended up sounding like it was recorded in a studio. But enough about that. About them. They’ve been playing in the city for 14 years, headed (I think) by a guy called Angel Marin (Morin?), and come from Ecuador, Peru, Chile…and Texas (the drummer). I asked Angel how things were at the moment, and he said that times were tough, people weren’t giving as much money as they used to, and told me of a Chines Baritone that’s moving back to his homeland due to the current lull. Still, I saw them sell a bunch of CDs while I was there. And brough about a good crowd.

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This means two things. First, that they’re well informed, and keep up to date with other performers in the city, which I love. Second, that they’re staying above the curve. And at one point a South American guy came up to them, his eyes almost entirely shut with the gigantic smile on his face. He shook Angel’s hand enthusiastically, telling him how amazing they were, how happy he was to hear them, and all this other stuff that keeps performers happy – “That was wonderful!” Then he turned around and went back to the door he was guarding, and on the back of his shirt it read “Private Eyes Adult Entertainment.” Nice. Oh, and Angel also said he’d been waiting for two months for the permit to play there – you need one to use amplification on the streets of New York. Hopefully it’ll be less than two months until they’re back. Enjoy!

I have to admit that not all street performers are great musicians. Neither are they all exceptional performers.

But, if you’re going to measure a player’s worth by the effect that they have, Anthony Southgate is just perfect. Sitting in an unobtrusive spot on the side of 5th Avenue, his amplifier set at just loud enough to be heard if you’re in close proximity, and in the shade of an overhanging tree, I found Anthony just strumming along. At first I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to put him on the website, but after a couple of minutes of standing next to him I began to feel so relaxed…

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Really, really smooth. He says he’d been doing this for 18 years. And despite the lack of flair, his mellow tone has probably made thousands of people, just like me, stand still for a while in the Big Apple, smiling. If you get him into a conversation you’ll be chatting to him for a long time – he’s got a lot to say, and isn’t afraid of meeting people. Enjoy!