Lousy with mines
“You can tell when it’s cooking, when the vibe’s right. Other people look at it like a rubbish truck having convulsions coming up the street. If it makes people smile, I’m rapt!”
Paul Guseli
Popular urban street drummer Paul Guseli who performs as ‘Lousy with mines’ is a Melbourne institution.
Paul’s energised street performances are created with over 50 pieces of recycled waste – everything from pots, pans, bells, whistles, biscuit tins and plastic bottles provide the tools for his admirable percussion skills, attracting the attention of passers-by with his techno-inspired show.
It all began around five years ago when Guseli was working as a kitchen-hand in his brother’s Carlton restaurant. The sounds of a busy kitchen and the clattering of pots and pans were the inspiration behind what would become a musical institution on the streets of Melbourne’s CBD.
Guseli now operates as a full-time street performer and though he survives well on his takings, he’s certainly had some interesting deposits in his time – “people just scrape everything out of their pockets. I’ve had sim cards, a lot of lint, lacker bands, one earring, lighters, even a fingernail,” he told Corinna Hente of MOJO in 2018.
We filmed ‘Lousy with mines’ on a sunny Sunday afternoon in November on Melbourne’s Swanston Street. This high energy, focused performer did not stop for long enough for us to chat with him, but there was no denying the crazy talent of Paul Guseli.
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Leanne Ortiz 