A Piano for EVERY Home

I love electric pianos and synths. I have several and have owned every major brand. But until last week, I really, truly  didn't like the "fake grand piano"--essentially an electronic piano in a simulated grand-piano case. Electronic pianos are great, but there is no need for them to get all dressed up as something they are not.

(In fact, I'm going to do a future post about how absurd it is for a major big-time hotel to provide one of these little things for use in an elegant ballroom. They should know better-and they have the space and money to do the right thing. In the hotel, a little fake grand looks absurd, and sounds weak. My thinking was: don't try to be something you're not--and at an upscale Marriott, a little electronic stand-in is pathetic.)

But a visit to the Antebellum Inn in Milledgeville, Georgia changed my mind---there ARE places where simulated grand pianos look, and even sound, just fine. Here's the prefect example. There simply is not room in this wonderful B&B for even a spinet, much less a baby grand. This piano isn't fooling anyone---it ain't a Steinway--BUT it sounds decent and adds music in the living room (or perhaps it's the 'Drawing Room') of the home.

A further nice note is that the B&B owner actually bought the fake piano so that her part-time staff, music students at the local college, would have a place to practice. So....a good deed for the students, and a nice addition to the room. Music and music-making is ALWAYS a good thing.

And--seeing it, hearing it, and playing it was a chance for me to be a bit less judgmental about what kind of pianos are acceptable. Without this little Suzuki in the corner, there would be much less music at the Inn.

(But I'm still going to rip the Marriott . . . )

A Wandering Minstrel for 2010

The new world of music has many paths to success, and Cliff deMarks, an Atlanta multi-instrumentalist (though primarily a keyboard player) has found his niche. He travels to craft shows and events around the country, sets up a well-designed booth, and plays his music.

It's smooth jazz of a high order, all by Cliff and his wife, Sei.

And they sell CDs. It's inspiring to watch Cliff and Sei work. They interact with people, answer questions, make photos with fans--and sell a lot of music. It's a near-perfect interface between the artist and the audience. It's as immediate as it gets for a working musician.

The craft-show market isn't easy, and selling music is different (and harder) than selling a physical work like a painting or photograph. But the deMarks have solved the problems, and very skillfully combine excellent musicmanship and direct selling skills. They also follow up with web and email marketing.

As record companies fade in importance to musicians, this is a successful model for the (rare) musician who is willing to do the considerable work, who understands marketing . . . and who likes people.

People may not get to be up close with many jazz musicians, but Cliff is accessible and friendly. People love it.

Cliff de Marks reminds me of the medieval wandering minstrel...taking his music directly to his audience. But with a very high-tech twist. Ipod, mixer, keyboards, tracks . . . and a very active credit-card machine.

And no record-company execs, no product managers, no artist managers, no middle-men of any sort. Just Cliff, his wife Sei,  their smooth jazzc, and the ever-changing audience.

More at Clff deMark's website.

They're Everywhere! (Or Ought to Be)

Having lunch at a terrific gallery/restaurant in Savannah, and we look up to see a big old grand piano sitting in the middle of the room. Not being played. Just sitting there. There is even a bench blocking the keyboard. Hmmm...

There is art all around--after all it's a gallery. It's not at all obvious if this piano is playable or is just a massive centerpiece for the funky dining room.

Doesn't matter. The mere presence of a grand piano raises the room's feeling from average to special. It might be played. (Or there may not even be keys in it--who knows? Who cares? It's there!)

Someone found this piano and put it right here. There is such potential that it makes the entire room feel more artsy.Wonder what transformations would take place if it were played?

When you're in Savannah, stop by SoHo South and check out the piano. And the art and food. It all goes together, if you ask me, and the food is just as creative as you'd expect from a room with a mysterious grand piano . . . just quietly sitting there, waiting . . .

More Fun Than a Video Game

Had lunch in a meat-and-three restaurant in Duluth, Georgia the other day. When I looked up---there was a piano on the wall. The wallpaper is composed of old Coca-Cola ads...this one features singing at the piano.

Why would Coke--the best marketer in the world--have created an ad featuring singing at the piano? Because a few decades ago it was very popular. People gathered around the piano and enjoyed singing together.

Funny thing is, they still enjoy it, when they get a chance. There used to be many more sing-a-long jobs for us working pianists than there are today . . .but people enjoy it as much as ever. Now such parties mostly happen at Christmas (because people still know the words to Christmas songs!).

Want to have a good, cheap and fun event? Print up some word sheets and invite some folks over. Sing some songs. It's fun. Sort of like do-it-yourself karaoke. Why not?

Tote That Piano!

I've always thought that dragging a handtruck through the innards of a big hotel, loaded with digital keyboard and all the trimmings, was sort of a hassle.

And I've always thought I was fairly entrepreneurial.

But . . . pushing an acoustic piano (actually four pianos!) around the streets of New York City for busking? Now, that's a hard-working piano-player.

(But he made the New York Times . . . )

Mr Steinway Himself Came Down . . .

I played a Samick piano last night. Pretty and shiny, but nothing else to recommend it. The experience did, however, remind me of a favorite joke.

Bob Hope once said that when Phyllis Diller played, "Mr. Steinway himself came down from heaven and rubbed his name off the piano."

That would hurt! But . . . I was thinking . . . how much worse it would be if your playing caused Mr. Samick to come down and remove HIS name from the piano.

Ouch.

There's An Old Piano Next To The Haunted Jail Cell

Had a wonderful dinner last week in Dahlonega (GA) with Tom, who owns what must be one of the best used/rare bookstores in the world (Quigley's Rare Books and Antiques). The conversation turned to pianos, and our server, Maggie, said, "There's an old piano down in the basement, in the room with a creek running through it. Want to see it?"

Well, not having seen a creek running through many basements, we went down to have a look. Yes, this circa 1830s building does, indeed, have a nice stone arch with a creek running right into the room.

And, there's an old console piano there. Not really badly out of tune, but at least half the notes won't even sound. They don't feel mushy from humidity, though. They just won't play.

Maybe the piano has suffered from being across the old stone hallway from the haunted jail cell. Or maybe it's the river that runs through the room. Or maybe it was a wreck when it was moved into the basement decades ago.l

Either way, it was cool to see yet another piano popping up in an unexpected conversation, and in an unexpected place.