The Jimi Hendrix of the Bass: Watch a Busker Shred the Bass on the Streets of Newcastle

If you find your­self on the streets of New­cas­tle, Eng­land, you might stum­ble upon Ojay (aka Stephen Oliv­er Jones) busk­ing away, doing things you nev­er thought pos­si­ble with the bass gui­tar. Hence why he’s been dubbed the Jimi Hen­drix of the bass.

Ojay learned to play the bass with­out putting much effort into it. Years ago, he played in the Dust Junkys, a rap rock band in Man­ches­ter, before then mov­ing to New­cas­tle and giv­ing busk­ing a try. That was nine years ago, he told Tom Drap­er in this inter­view.

For Ojay, busk­ing offers more than a chance to earn a liv­ing. It pro­vides a cre­ative space, a chance to con­tin­u­al­ly impro­vise and work out new musi­cal ideas. Watch him in action above. And do your­self a favor, give the video a lit­tle time to unfold. It just keeps get­ting bet­ter and bet­ter.

Relat­ed Con­tent:

Neil Young Busk­ing in Glas­gow, 1976: The Sto­ry Behind the Footage

80s Pop Singer Jim­my Somerville Sur­pris­es Ger­man Street Musi­cian as the Busker Sings Somerville’s Hit

Bono and Glen Hansard Busk­ing in Dublin on Christ­mas Eve