'Lower your volume': Man heckles band busking in public

A local band has shared their unpleasant experience of being heckled by a man while they were busking in public.

Jazzica Lee, the singer of the band J.P.A.G, shared a video clip of the incident on Instagram, asking netizens what they would do in a similar situation.

In her post on Saturday (Oct 3), she wrote about how her band had been performing peacefully for two hours before a man approached them. 

"Lower your volume, you're too loud," the man can be heard telling the buskers.

When the band continued playing, he raised his voice and repeated himself.

Lee, 25, nodded her head in acknowledgment as she continued singing while their guitarist, Wero, stopped strumming upon the man's request. 

The band's keyboard player, Phoebe, also lowered her instrument's volume as the singer attempting to sing more softly.

Despite this, the man continued to yell at them to quieten down.

"His voice was almost as loud as our four instruments combined," Lee wrote.

While they felt uneasy, she said the band tried to stay composed during the encounter.

Yet, the man persisted and confronted Phoebe, pointing at her as he repeated his demand for them to lower their volume.

In a separate clip, the band can be seen packing up upon the singer's request.

"Telling my bandmates to stop and pack up for their safety," Lee wrote.

She also included a clip of a conversation with some police officers who asked them about the incident.

The bandmates told the police that the man had left shortly before officers arrived at the scene, and also showed them where he had headed. 

 

 

 

 

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Lee told AsiaOne that the incident took place outside Pasir Ris MRT station on Oct 2 at around 11.50am.

Her band, which busks there on a weekly basis, never had such encounters before, she said.

"This was our first time seeing this particular uncle."

Lee added that her band usually monitors the decibel levels at performances, making sure they remain within the limits set by the National Arts Council.

When asked about how the band felt, she said: "The situation was uncomfortable for us, especially because the uncle was raising his voice at us and repeatedly telling us that we were too loud and to lower our volume."

She was particularly worried when he approached their guitarist and keyboardist.

Lee also shared how she was heartened by a man who stepped forward and stood between the uncle and the band's keyboardist to protect her.

While, another passer-by told the band to ignore the uncle and continue playing, Lee was concerned about their safety.

After packing their instruments in about 10 minutes, the police arrived and took down the band members' statements.

She clarified that they had not called the police themselves and she is unsure who had done so.

'It's a public space'

The video posted by Lee, who describes herself as a music teacher with a Bachelor of Music, has since amassed over 58,000 views on Instagram, over 1,800 likes and nearly 100 comments.

Netizens rallied behind the performers, saying that they were sorry to see the band experience something like this.

"It isn't right for him to come up and get close and personal," one said, pointing out the irony of the man calling the band "too loud" when he was louder than all of them. 

Another said: "They're not busking in his house, it's a public space."

According to a netizen, the band was performing near Pasir Ris MRT station. This netizen apologised on behalf of the residents there, saying that most people in the area "aren't that rude".

Lee told AsiaOne that she is grateful for the public's support, especially those who encouraged the band to continue busking.

"The support has been very encouraging, especially after what happened," she said, adding that she is glad that there are people who appreciate having live music in the community.

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laili.abdeen@asiaone.com