Mixing the sounds of honky-tonk piano with the honking of horns of Toronto's traffic, piano player Sebastian Brown is a full-time busker who has a unique commute.
Unlike many Torontonians, his journey doesn't involve taking the TTC or being stuck in traffic behind a steering wheel.
Instead, Brown's commute involves pushing an upright piano that weighs approximately 600 lbs from a storage facility on Eastern Avenue to Toronto's Financial District at Front Street East and Bay Street.
The trip is approximately two kilometres long and requires the help of a friend – but Brown says it's worth it.
"(Busking) pays better than a minimum wage job," the 23-year-old told CTV Toronto on Friday.
But that wasn't always Brown's attitude. He began playing the piano when he was just four-years-old and admits he didn't like it at first.
"My mother basically forced me to start learning," he said. "I did not want to."
Brown, however, continued learning. He took lessons all through school and eventually learned to love playing the piano while he was a linguistics student the University of Toronto.
"I started getting obsessed with it," he said. "I couldn’t stop playing."
Brown's classical training gave him the foundation for one of his favourite styles of music: ragtime.
"It's basically like gangster beats from 100 years ago," he said.
On an average day, Brown spends seven hours under the blazing sun, playing for donations and making a name for himself in the music industry.
"I want some music producer or musician to notice me."
With a report from CTV Toronto's Scott Lightfoot
