Clark: Thief can’t put a damper on Street Music Week

The 15th annual Street Music Week kicked off Monday in downtown Spokane with warm weather, cool jazz and a felonious punk.

The male rider on a green BMX-style bike snatched the red collection bucket that a group of gospel bluegrass musicians was using to collect money for Second Harvest food bank.

Jared Wyrick, who was playing banjo in his family band, figured the thief made off with about $100 that he yanked out of the bucket before tossing it and speeding off east along Main Avenue.

This is the first time a thing like this has happened in the event’s history and I’m sick about it.

I know the City Council has made an effort in recent years to accommodate more bicycles in the downtown business core, but I’m certain this was not the idea.

More on this jerk later.

Everything else about opening day was golden.

A record 59 players and performers showed up to do their thing in downtown Spokane.

Street Music Week, by the way, showcases sidewalk minstrels and other buskers who share their time and their talents to help feed the area’s hungry.

Besides the downtown, the annual fundraiser also takes place during the noon hours through Friday in Spokane’s historic Garland District and in Coeur d’Alene. More than $150,000 has been raised since the event began.

My older brother Dave’s band, the Three Rivers Saxtette, wowed an audience near the main doors of River Park Square by playing great jazz arrangements of tunes like Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” Count Basie numbers and the Glenn Miller dance classic “In the Mood.”

My brother was destined to be a jazzer. Though a teenager in the Elvis era, his idol was always Benny Goodman.

Seduced by rock radio, I could never quite get my mind around this. But it sure worked for Dave.

He formed a combo in high school and played his clarinet and sax all over Spokane and then on to Washington State University.

Though he became a pastor in the Tri-Cities he never gave up on jazz, playing gigs with some of the area’s best.

This diversity of talent is one of the truly great things about Street Music Week.

One corner you’re hearing jazz. A short hike later you’re watching Mike Green juggle.

The Silver Valley resident is really good. And he’ll be back on Main today to demonstrate a new trick he calls the “Double-Double.”

Depending on how it goes, he told me he might toss in a whiskey-filled flask, making his trick – you guessed it – a “Double-Double-Double.”

A marimba ensemble in Coeur d’Alene. A guy playing Spanish-style guitar up on Garland …

City Council President Ben Stuckart made a note of the variety Monday night when he presented our Mayoral Street Music proclamation that declares June 12-16 as Street Music Week.

Jim Lyons, event co-chairman, and I always look forward to receiving the mayor’s proclamation.

This one, however, may be worthy of a frame.

Minutes before the meeting, Stuckart asked me for some facts about Street Music Week. He then jotted them down in ink all over this keepsake document that bears the official silver seal of the city of Spokane.

Stuckart’s cryptic notes say things like “2003” and “Stratton and Stuckart Duet.”

I’m pretty sure the first reference is about the year Street Music began. The other reference probably has to do with Stuckart and Council member Karen Stratton claiming that they will come downtown and sing “I Got You Babe” as part of the event.

I’m not sure when this will happen, but Wednesday would be perfect.

That’s the day former Council President Joe Shogan is planning to come to my spot near the Starbucks at Main Avenue and Post Street and sing “The Witch,” that great punk hit by the Sonics.

But Stuckart’s cryptic notes aren’t the best part of this tale.

Oh, no. The best part is the suspicious orange stains that might indicate that Council President Stuckart was consuming Cheetos while handling this precious proclamation.

But returning to the scene of the crime…

After the bucket was recovered, Wyrick’s father, Ron, generously tossed a $100 bill into it to make up for the loss.

“Grandpa covered it,” he told me with a grin.

The Wyricks are wonderful people. Their family band also includes Jared’s wife, Shelly, and their cute kids: Matt, 7, Melody, 5, Maggie Jane, 10, and Mary, who will soon be 2, plus Jared’s sister, Jill Doornink.

They specialize in old-time songs like, “Cripple Creek,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and “Cotton Fields.”

After checking in, the family found a spot to play outside Chase Bank on Main, across from the old Macy’s building. Jared estimated the bike bandit struck about 12:50 p.m.

“I was so shocked” by what happened, added Jared, a cardiologist when he’s not picking his banjo. “It’s sad. We’ll pray for him.”

Here’s an idea on what to do with someone who’d steal money from a Second Harvest fundraiser: Make him spend the next year handing out food every day to people who really need it.