It was Wednesday night this week. The rain was starting to come down pretty hard while I was loading up my truck. That didn't slow me down though, I had a gig to get to in Marysville, WA at the Village Restaurant and Lounge and I was bringing them a piano bar show they would never forget.

A lot of gigs that I play are at Seattle area piano bars with grand pianos already at the venue. They have a nice sound system built in, stage lighting, the works. It's a pretty special thing and people will travel to go see these shows. But, why can't everybody have access to a piano bar show like that in the town they live in?!? This is where I go into my inspirational "I have a dream!" speech and say, "I believe every bar in every town should have access to a piano bar show!" Seriously though, I can make that happen. I'm still getting everything dialed in at this point, but I showed up at that bar and in 3 trips with a dolly cart loaded full of gear I set up, in under 30 minutes, a 5' baby grand piano with full sound system and stage lighting that would make any musician look and sound like a star!

I really enjoy the reactions I get as I'm wheeling in the baby grand piano on it's side! It sets up so quick once I get it in the venue most people who are witness to the setup immediately question how I got that piano in there, even though they sat there watching me do it. At last nights show they had me playing some songs I've never played before, which is always fun for me! They had me playing everything from Ella Fitzgerald to Metallica.

I am pretty excited because I have another solo piano show this week at a wine tasting room in Woodinville for a private birthday party. I might be a little biased, but I really can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday party than making it a piano bar party! I snapped that picture above while I was fueling up the 'burban for my trip to Marysville. You'll notice the baby grand piano on top and specifically that there is still plenty of room on top for an additional piano! That's right! When I do traveling dueling piano shows I just have to throw another piano on top of the rig and off we go! I'm actually doing one of those next week at the Bellevue Rock Bottom. So yes, I will take that piano bar show to go please, and if you'd like me to supersize it and make it a double, I will gladly do so.....

I was in Portland playing at the Barrel Room Dueling Piano Bar this past weekend. It was towards the end of the night, I was getting some fresh requests on the piano when it happened......"Bruno Mars - Grenade". I hadn't learned to play that song yet, but lucky for me it's on the radio like every 20 minutes, so I'd at least heard it a thousand times. Now put me in a room full of people demanding I play it NOW and paying money to make sure I do it and the stage is set! I reluctantly pulled out my iPhone and did a quick search on Safari while the eager crowd awaited the start of what I could only assume would be a huge embarassing disappointment. I tell the drummer, give me some bass, giving him the fist pumping in the air signal that we all know and love. I look at the crowd and say, everybody clap with me......I might've been hoping for enough noise to drown myself out during the initial attempt. It worked! Before I knew it, I was through the first verse singing into the chorus when people started yelling, "We can't hear you!" "sing louder". Then I'm pretty sure I heard someone distinctly say "This sucks....that's not good enough. I paid you 20 bucks, do it better!" I love a supportive crowd! Half way through the song I had already realized that Bruno Mars has the voice of an angel and I'd never be able to pull off the song in the original key so I'd have to drop it down and start all over. Now fully determined to satisfy this group of people who suddenly seemed almost as motivated as I was to make this song work, I wasn't going to give up until it had some kind of success....

It was a lot of fun seeing the different personalities come out during a single song. I found everyone from the supportive sideline coach that had my back all the way to the hard critic that may have had a few too many adult beverages leading up to this moment in time and was having way too much fun yelling at me during my song attempt. Either way, everybody in the room added to the fun of the moment. People were cheering while others were heckling! Some were just waiting anxiously with nervous attention worried that I was just auguring in for the face plant of a life time. In the end, I made it through two verses and two choruses in a key that was manageable for my low vocal range yet high enough that everybody was able to sing along. The mixed reviews were drowned out by enough cheering to make me feel good about myself.

There's something to be said about a show that has that much spontaneity and crowd interaction. It's what keeps me coming back for more and more. I love me some dueling piano shows......

I had some crazy times at the Barrel Room Dueling Piano Show this past weekend! I decided to cowboy up and hit the Portland night life wearing all my country gear....gigantic belt buckle and all.

The Barrel Room is literally the only dueling piano bar in the Portland Metro area. And, it appeals to everybody's desire to have a crazy night on the town.

Saturday night, there must have been over 1,500 people that came through the doors to party with us. The lines wrapped around BOTH corners of the block! It was unbelievable.

Just to give you an idea, the piano I played on all night has a stripper pole mounted right in the middle of it! And, just a tip for you partygoers: if you decide to drink enough liquid courage to dance on the piano pole, and you get up there wearing a mini-skirt, don't forget to wear underwear for cryin' out loud!! I'm just sayin'.

There aren't any other dueling piano bars around that cater to such a high energy party crowd. I love me my Seattle dueling piano scene, but this is ridiculous! I can't wait for my next trip to the Barrel Room!

Check it out! What are the odds that I actually get on here and write stuff on this thing?!? Oh well....I'll give it a shot and see how it goes! Chances are, you aren't reading this. But, if you are, welcome to my web site. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

I am a dueling piano player in the Puget Sound Seattle Metro area. I started playing dueling pianos at 88 Keys Seattle located in Pioneer Square a little over 2 years ago. It's been a lot of fun and I look forward to the future and what it holds in all respects. I currently free lance all over the place, which is really a lot of fun! You can find me in Portland playing at the Barrel Room Rockin' Dueling Piano Bar, Chopstix Dueling Piano Bar in Seattle/Tacoma/Everett, The Rock Bottom of Bellevue, or just about anywhere someone will let me perform. I update my schedule quiet regularly, thanks to Weebly's super easy design, so check out my calendar and come hang out with me one of these nights!

There it is. I had to write something to get things started........

Now I can start talking about all that other stuff.