Arts & Entertainment
Solano Stroll Performer Profile: Professor Gizmo, One Man Band, Caught on Tape
This Pinole performer has done it all. Watch him play at the Solano Stroll below.
Following in the tradition of many other world famous auteurs, such as Woody Allen, Frederico Fellini and Orson Welles, who, in a search for ultimate artistic integrity, refused to delegate responsibility, we find Professor Gizmo and his one man band.
Like Allen, the Professor, who began his career in the 1970s as a jazz tuba and trombone player in New Orleans, also has strong Dixieland credentials. Finding the ensemble aspect of jazz bands too confining, he soon gravitated to one-man mode at Fisherman's Wharf in the mid-70s, vowing to add a new instrument every year in perpetuity. He came to regret this decision by the mid-80s, and called a halt to further expansion upon the advice of his chiropractor.
The Professor is a bona fide celebrity of the caliber not often seen on Solano Avenue. He has performed all over the world, including Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Norway and Thailand. He has played in every state of the union, save Alaska, as well as making a national TV appearance with Dick Van Dyke on the Perry Como "Spring in New Orleans" special.
He has appeared in many TV commercials and magazine ads. Some of his performances at the stroll and on TV are enshrined on Youtube.
The Professor's Solano Stroll appearances go back to the early 90s. Lisa Bullwinkel, stroll coordinator for 16 years, fondly recalls Gizmo, calling him "a consummate family entertainer" and "truly unique and one of the best acts ever at the stroll."
What does a one man band do in real life? Professor Gizmo has experimented with practically every profession known to man. He has tried plumbing, appliance repair, used car sales, insurance and vacuum repair, to name a few. Asked if he has ever tried combining plumbing or vacuum repair with his one man band performances, Gizmo insists that he is highly compartmentalized and never confuses his day job with his weekend gigs.
The Professor actually does have a life. He lives in Pinole with a wife and a teenage daughter who is a senior in high school. He goes by the name Elmore Richard when not carting around his paraphernalia.