Who is this masked man playing Legend of Zelda‘s “Ocarina of Time” on the accordion on New York City streets? He is Nathan Stodola, and when he’s not trying to figure out how to find more efficient ways to engineer public transit, he is regaling passers-by with various geek-friendly theme songs, like Danny Elfman‘s Batman, Super Mario Brothers, Megaman, and Back to the Future.
Stodola spoke with Gothamist to talk about where he came up with this awesome idea:
Why did you choose Boba Fett as your costume?
I had made my spiffy cardboard helmet for a Halloween costume and then decided to try wearing it while I played to see if it improved my earnings. It worked!How much do you make on an average day Boba-busking?
The most I’ve ever made playing was outside of the New York City ComicCon last fall, when I literally filled my backpack with $1 bills. On average, it is much less than that, but well over minimum wage.What’s the strangest thing you’ve received for playing?
I get foreign coins all the time — not just Euros and Canadian money, but coins from Singapore, Russia, and the Caribbean too. I also get drawings of me playing.When did you start playing accordion?
I really got into it during college when I would bring it to all my Ultimate Frisbee games as a sort of one-man pep band. I took piano lessons for many years growing up, so the right hand was easy, and I just had to figure out the buttons.
Not merely a solo act, here he is catching up with “Princess Leia” for some Star Wars jams in the NYC subway.
