Wildman Steve Brill: Urban Foraging and Beat-Boxing Extraordinaire
Mon, Nov 9, 2009
For “prices far lower than Tavern on the Green”, Wildman Steve Brill shows you how to eat out in the Park. The Wildman is an urban foraging afficianado and post-apocalyptic entrepreneur who runs urban foraging tours up and down the East Coast. I recently joined him in Prospect Park to shoot some video. I had no idea this would turn into an urban foraging beat-boxing jam session.
With about 35 BK park people and many Park Slope toddlers in tow, we located Burdock, Wood Sorrel, and various other edibles (I diligently dropped pins on my iPhone to record exact location, perhaps contrary to the spirit of urban foraging).
The best part of Brill’s tours is in fact his unapologetic eccentricity. 5-minutes into the tour, he stopped us to give an introduction, followed by a 5-minute performance of human beatboxing using a hand-clapping technique he calls the “Brillophone”. It was one of his favorite jazz pieces. Adults were in shock. Children were in awe.
30-minutes later, Steve randomly announced: “And I do birthdays”, breaking into a Brillophone version of the Happy Birthday song. I believe I am the only person who has ever captured the Brillophone on video! Here is his jazz rendition (the nagging little girl at the end is his daughter, who incessantly jousts for attention with her father):
Underpinning the oddity of the Wildman persona, Brill’s big break arguably came in 1986, when he was the subject of an undercover sting operation by NYPD. Two plainclothes disguised as tour-goers arrested him for illegally plucking and eating dandelion leaves!
Soon after, the ex-con know as “Wildman” was featured on David Letterman:
The other great thing the ’80’s did for Steve Brill was to inspire the Brillophone. Remember the Fat Boys? I still recall all the kids on the bus trying the master their clapping technique after “Human Beatbox” dropped. (Below is a refresher in case you missed out. Can you find the Brillophone?) But I guess Steve stuck with it!
Even if wild Garlic Mustard or Black Walnuts aren’t enough for you (which they should be), I highly recommend Steve’s tours simply for the unintentional comedy.
Backyard pizza madman – a former subject of our Pizza-Oven Lifestyles series – Paul Gianonne (aka Paulie Gee) is opening his own joint in Green Point.
Hahaha, had a blast when saw the Letterman piece with the Wildman. For sure NYC law enforcement had all the other crimes handled!
Ale
Thanks for the great article, Joshua. Actually, the Brillophone goes way back. I learned it from my dad, who probably picked it up in Berlin in the 1920s or 1930s, and I saw The 3 Stooges, who were all competent musicians, playing it in the movie Soup to Nuts (but not as well as me), 1930.