"Hello, I'm Yosh Shmenge."
"And I'm Stan Shmenge."
"And we are the Happy Wanderers!"
Posted on 03/13/2003 10:22:40 PM PST by Indy Pendance
AFTER two run-ins with police for playing his accordion in the streets of Chagrin Falls Ohio, Jacob Kouwe has been cleared to polka.
The Village Council ruled that street performances by the 16-year-old Chardon High School student do not disturb the peace.
Kouwe began playing polkas and hymns in December in the quiet downtown of the suburban Cleveland village.
On February 8, a Starbucks coffee shop employee complained to police that Kouwe was "soliciting."
Kouwe said that he does not ask for money, but some people drop cash in his accordion case. He moved away from Starbucks.
Then a resident complained that Kouwe's music was "tacky."
"I admit street performances are not the polished, perfected, album-quality fare served up by formal concert venues," Kouwe told council members. "However, my street performances are from the heart."
"Hello, I'm Yosh Shmenge."
"And I'm Stan Shmenge."
"And we are the Happy Wanderers!"
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