Erik Brashers bakes bagels for a living, but around the University, people know him simply as “Banjo Man.”
Brashers showed up on campus last August, and on sunny days he can be found picking away across from the University Bookstore on his five-string banjo.
The best part of playing an instrument for a part time job, Brashers said, is the flexible hours.
“I can play when I want to,” he said. “Quit when I want to. Go where I want to.”
Brashers is a classy dresser on a laid-back campus. His handlebar mustache smacks of an old-time piano player in a Wild West bar. When he plays “bluegrass” style, Brashers wears a set of metal picks that fit around the fingers of his right hand like claws. He often wears a pinstripe suit, tuxedo dress shirt and tops off the outfit with a hemp necklace, just to fit in with the people.
“I’ve heard a couple of people comment on the way he dresses,” said Heather Donaldson, flower shop worker for Rhythm & Blooms, which is located across the street from where Brashers often plays. “He seems pretty cool.”
The 37-year-old has lugged his banjo from state to state for 25 years. He fell in love with the instrument when his parents took him to the San Diego Folk Festival as a 12-year-old. He’s found other loves, such as the guitar and mouth harp, but he said he likes the banjo best for its unique sound.
He keeps a tattered hat perched atop his banjo case, and people toss in money as they see fit. Once, right before Christmas, Brashers and his playing partner in San Diego got a $50 tip. But in Eugene, the money isn’t enough to support a full-time banjo gig.
Brashers said he might earn more if he could play on the campus side of East 13th Avenue or University Street, but last week an officer from the Department of Public Safety said he had to play outside the green gates near the bookstore.
DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks said street performers can’t solicit money from students on campus without first checking with the University Scheduling Office.
Brashers said he hopes to get a band together eventually, complete with a bass guitarist and someone on the washboards.
“Hopefully, I’ll be sleeping in the daytime and play at night,” he said.
For now, Brashers plays near the west side of campus, at Saturday Market and also works a graveyard shift at The Bagel Bakery.
But he also roams the intersection of East 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street, drawing smiles from passing students and sometimes a crowd.
“Most times when I walk by, he’s very energetic,” journalism student Amy Rogers said.
Hot dog vendor Tim Nally agreed.
“Oh, he’s a good banjo player,” said Nally, the owner of One Bad Dawg hot dog stand on the corner of East 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street.
Nally added that Brasher’s music was best in small doses.
“Banjo music gets tiresome if you hear it all day long,” he said. “But he doesn’t stay too long. He comes and goes.”