E.M. man plays his way into residents hearts

John Chainey, 71, has become somewhat of a celebrity in East Meadow where he can usually be found outside of Stew Leonard’s on Front Street with his violin in hand.

A lifelong East Meadow resident, Chainey has been “busking” outside of stores since 2016, which means he has been playing in the streets or public places. He started doing this after he retired from being a “jack of all trades kind of worker,” he said.

He first played outside Walmart on Hempstead Turnpike. Whenever his neighbor, Christine Karroll would go there with her son, Bob, 9, he would ask if Chainey would be there.

“When we saw John playing at Walmart we really weren’t dreading going to Walmart anymore,” Karroll said. “I knew [Chainey] would let Bob play the violin and we would have a nice 10-minute conversation.”

But a woman complained and Walmart’s corporate office said the no-solicitation policy had to be followed. So Chainey moved to Stew Leonard’s in March.

“People will lump what I do with panhandling and homelessness but that’s not what I do,” Chainey said. “I was never in it for the money. I’m a joyful human being and I enjoy sharing my joy with the people.”

He can also be found playing outside Starbucks on Hempstead Turnpike. He tries to play four to five days a week.

Bluegrass is his music of choice, he said, adding that he also plays in the bluegrass band Meadow Grass. For the band, he plays the mandolin. They can be seen playing at Barrel Inn on East Meadow Avenue and at festivals. Chainey also plays the fiddle.

“I like the drive, the energy and the people,” he said of bluegrass. “It’s original American music. It’s a very alive, powerful, musical form.”

After five months of playing at Stew Leonard’s a complaint was lodged similar to the one at Walmart. He received the same reply from Stew Leonard’s on July 14. He could no longer play at the grocery store because solicitors were prohibited.

Chainey, who considers himself “a goodwill ambassador” told Karroll, who then shared the news on Facebook.

Karroll’s Facebook post received over 350 likes and comments all saying they too were sad to hear that Chainey could no longer play at Stew Leonard’s, and that they were mad at the grocery store.

“Somebody got in touch with me from Stew Leonard’s and told me to come in and talk to him,” Chainey said. “He was surprised about how much of a following I apparently had.”

He said that Stew Leonard’s got bombarded with messages from people, telling them that they should bring Chainey back, Karroll said. Two days later, Chainey returned, playing his violin in front Stew Leonard’s. The only caveat was that he could no longer keep his violin case open.

“I felt like George Bailey in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ when I saw how many lives I’ve touched,” he said. “The East Meadow community came to my support and I am so happy to be back.”

Jeannette Hafke, an East Meadow resident said she felt horrible when she found out that Chainey was told to leave.

“He just plays for the love of playing,” Hafke said. “It’s a shame people wanted to stop him from playing.”

Chainey said he gets noticed now wherever he goes. He is known affectionately around East Meadow as ‘the violin guy.’

“I was at the bar and everyone was saying, ‘Oh you’re John the violin guy. I saw you on Facebook,” he said. “Even at the post office, people are calling my name.”

He said his favorite part about playing is hearing everyone’s feedback.

“To be in this place in my life and be so happy, I’m so grateful,” he said. “There are things I’ve done in my life that I regret but I am a happy man. I’m going to keep playing and sharing my joy.”