Homeless newspaper salesman working to be a big time singer
Mar 12, 2012, 9:12 AM | Updated: 11:26 am
A homeless man making a living by selling “Real Change” newspapers wants to use his pipes for more than just paper sales.
“I want to be a professional entertainer,” said Real Change vendor Isaiah John, in an appearance on 97.3 KIRO FM’s Terry Jaymes Alive.
John is known for singing songs incorporating the words “real change” in the tune to try and push the paper.
“What I do is I ‘real change’ the songs,” said John.
“Here I am, rocking Real Change again,” sings John to the tune of Metallica’s “Turn the Page.” “There I go. I’m up on the stage. Well here I am, singing real songs again. There I go, rock the change, rock the change. Oh it’s real change for a $1 please folks.”
John sells the papers to support himself.
“A lot of people don’t realize that generally to start out selling the paper, it’s kind of a prerequisite that you are homeless,” said John. “Basically, you pay 35 cents for the paper and then you sell it for $1 and keep the profits.”
He encourages people to read the paper, but also says if they’d like to offer payment for his entertainment, that’s welcome too.
“What I do is throw sort of a busker spin on it, the street entertainer type deal. So I can encourage tips and stuff,” said John. “It’s a great paper. But if you’re just too busy, please see that I’m working hard and I’m really working hard to rock you for this paper.”
At 29, John doesn’t want to sell the papers forever.
“After this, I’m ready for some real changes, ironically enough,” said John. “I realize my passion is in singing. Anytime I picked up a job washing dishes, I’ll stand in there while I’m washing dishes and sing songs.”
John’s currently doing anything, including radio show appearances, in attempts to take things to the next level.
“I’m going to have to work hard, be out there every day doing what I need to do to follow my dream of becoming this professional entertainer.”
For now, John continues to showcase his talents at his usual vendor spot, secured by selling over 600 papers from the location in front of the Whole Foods at Denny and Westlake.
Terry Jaymes Alive can be heard on the new 97.3 KIRO FM Weekends on Saturday at 3 p.m. and ON DEMAND anytime at MyNorthwest.com.
By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor
