Most of the Saturday shoppers at Janss mall in Thousand Oaks, Calif., guessed they were seeing some kind of initiation rite. Eight men and two women took turns standing at attention outside Vons supermarket and shouting a song to a stern-faced man 75 ft. away. They all seemed oblivious of the curious onlookers, who were licking ice-cream cones and sipping soft drinks and beer on an unseasonably hot afternoon.
Andre Patenaude, 48, stepped forward, bowed deeply and began singing: "You must sell goods with the sweat of your brow . . ." When he finished, the crowd burst into applause. One...