Piano Barbarians

Davina Yannetty hails from East Boston, not far from where she began working as a dueling pianist at Howl at the Moon in Boston when it opened in 2010.  Davina is a wonderful singer and boasts a deep repertoire of classic rock and 90s hits.  In recent years, Davina has been traveling and performing dueling piano gigs around the world.   

iPads, Song Ownership, Drummers, X Stands vs. Shells, Rap, and Lyric Improv, CP33s vs. Privias... Steve Savage and Matt Tobin delve into all your favorite hot topics in the world of dueling pianos.  Enjoy!     

Nate Hopkins and Steve Savage are two skinny pasty dudes who live in Astoria.  They also both have exquisite gingery beards.  For serious, it was great to have Nate on the podcast to discuss his career in dueling pianos, his position at Howl at the Moon in NYC, and his musical theater pursuits.  Tune in!  Feel free to email the podcast:  PianoBarbarians@gmail.com 

Steve Savage and Matt Tobin sit down for a conversation on the first episode of the podcast after a nearly 3 year hiatus.  Steve and Matt are both dueling piano players that live and work in New York City.  Enjoy!  

Cheerio!  Today's episode features an Englishman living in New York, James Barr!  Steve and James sit down for a chat about solo piano lounges on cruise ships and the process of transitioning into dueling pianos.  James also talks about a particular sales technique that he employs with audiences on gigs.  Tune in!  

The Barbarians are back with a brand new episode featuring a conversation between Steve Savage and Drew De Four...  Drew has the distinction of being possibly the youngest player to be doing the gig for 10+ years.  Anyone fortunate enough to share the stage with Drew has a unique understanding of his superb ability when it comes to dueling pianos.  Tune in for a glimpse at Drew's philosophy on the gig!  

Today's guest is the well-traveled Orin Sands.  Steve and Orin sat down for a chat before their Saturday evening gig in Lincoln, NE, and got to talking about Orin's history with dueling pianos as well as his tenure in Holland at Crazy Pianos.  Wondering what it may be like to be a piano barbarian overseas?  Don't miss this episode!  

Deep in the mysterious, northwest-Arkansas landscape, Paul met with Stephen Winter and Piano Barbarian alumnus Brian Lee.  This podcast takes the record for most tangents in an English accent.  The merits of live music and music-capitalism will be debated and discussed with fervor because Paul read an interesting article and is caffeinated.

California King Ryan Bueter spends and hour with Paul, hashing out everything you need to know about your chances as a dueling piano player, especially on the west coast.  Also, deep dives into the male psyche and bar behaviors.

These are some heavyweight Colorado players, people.  Paul finally got a chance to nab Ashley and Piano Barbarians alumnus Eric Blumenfeld for a chat that is sure to transform modern entertainment.  Have you ever considered a LIVE POWER-HOUR?  No?  Pick up the pieces of your blown mind and listen to this.

Steve sits down with veteran traveling piano man Jeff Spence who is currently performing nightly on the NCL Epic.  Steve and Jeff do a bit of shop talk about balancing music with comedy, but focus mainly on some of Jeff's great stories from his years of performing.  Tune in to hear all about Jeff, from his first piano bar gig playing japanese singalongs in Texas, to his jazz studies with Ellis Marsalis in New Orleans.  Towards the end of the episode both Steve and Jeff get philospohical about the emotional cache that piano bar entertainers access on a regular basis at work.  A fun episode for sure, get it in your ears! 

Luke is one cool dude. We invited the UK-based artist on the show to talk about his project "Play Me, I'm Yours," which installs pianos on street corners in a city, allowing anyone to play at any time. But then learned: he also designs hospital atriums. He creates glass sculptures with lightning. He sends hot air balloons up over cities to play music and inspire peoples' dreams. And he's colorblind. Jarret speaks with him about his artistic process, installing street pianos in Boston in Summer 2013, and the differences between foxes and hedgehogs.

If a Piano Barbarians host should be stranded in LA because of a blizzard in Denver, he should take the initiative and track down old friend Kelsie Clark for an interview.  Paul did just this. He and Kelsie delve into life in California, song fads, and Kelsie's feature-film debut.

Part 2 of the epic Savage/Genuardi interview series, in which Steve and Joe delve into health and singing techniques.  Paul's "Whiskey Method" goes unappraised.  Relax your ears and enjoy.

Joe Genuadi has worked at Howl at the Moon for nearly 20 years! Steve and Joe recently sat down in Orlando to discuss Joe's history with the gig. This is the first of a two-part series. Be sure to check back in a few days for Part 2 featuring a discussion of Joe's work as a voice coach and keeping vocal chords healthy while maintaining a full schedule.

Congratulations to the entire Piano Barbarian family as we crest into our 50th episode!  Paul randomly bumped into Frank McGlynn and Dave Puszykowski in Denver last week, and they were gracious enough to be guests on the podcast 24 hours later.  This episode features a deep-dive into straight-to-video Disney animation, which is a requirement for any podcast reaching 50 episodes.  It says so in the podcast manual.

After a year of running Piano Barbarians from different corners of the earth, Paul and Steve had a chance to work together in Denver for New Year's Eve.  They tell their survival stories of the night, and wax on the future of the music and entertainment industry.  All this from the comfort of their pajamas.

Steve sits down with The Piano Whore himself, Mark Weiser of NYC's "Shake Rattle & Roll Dueling Pianos."  Steve and Mark get to the root of Mark's philosophy on a "New York Style" dueling piano show, as well as some discussion of Mark's stake in musical theater scene in the big apple.  Tune in!

It's been a while since the hosts have gotten together for a chat.  Steve has been busy recovering from pneumonia, Paul has been busy interviewing guests and keeping the podcast alive.  Jarret has been busy surveying real estate in Boston.  That being said, we're back with another episode discussing a variety of topics... "new country" music, facebook dramas in the DP forum, cover charges, and celebrity encounters in the world of dueling pianos.  Tune in!   

Get ready to get your culture on as Paul and Alissa D discuss race, women, rap and pianos.  Also, in-depth discussion of the n-word and "the n-word" and why they both suck.  Don't forget your email your comments or report us to the FCC.

Battered and bruises from some weird Halloween shows, Paul sits down with Lee Huff and Hannah Kendle to argue the merits of playing the solo of Great Balls of Fire with your breasts.  Lee and Paul advocate this, Hannnah actually does it.  Also, a dissection of the California piano bar scene and ponderings of how many ass-exposing-Disney-princess costumes is too many.

Paul has the incredibly talented Brian Lee on the show, he of playing-organ-for-Leon Russell fame. Brian is our first ever blind guest, and he nails his appearance on all fronts. Caught up in the excitement, Paul toots and asks Brian for analysis...for science!  Also, the merits of nerding out on Rush are discussed, as well as a brief dive into retro-future-music.

Sarah Angela will be taking the 2012 award for coolest girl that has ever recruited Paul to play in her band.  We brought on her on the show to not only showcase her music, but to talk about working as a musician and the importance of artistic vision.  She also weighs in on piano bars, and how those skills can help you outside of a dueling-setting.  Do a search for her on YouTube, and you'll find Paul shaking his ass in the background of her music video for Lost Cause, the track featured at the end of this episode.

Matt Mello will always hold a special place in the hearts of Jarret & Steve.  They were both trained by Matt at Jake Ivory's in Boston several years ago.  Jarret and Matt sit down to chat about Matt's long career at Jakes, training new players, and the Jake Ivory's "format" that worked so well for so long.  Tune in!  

Rich Cooper is a veteran of dueling pianos and one hell of a musician.  Steve caught up with Rich while they were both performing on the Norwegian Epic back in August.  Tune in to hear their conversation about traditional dueling pianos vs. bandalong dueling pianos, playing solo vs. dueling, and what it's like playing for such an eclectic mix of audiences out in Europe.  

Fresh off their recent hiatus, the hosts are back with a brand new episode.  Steve and Paul sit down to catch up on what they've been up to this past month, and Paul shares a story about having a rough weekend on the job.  Tune in!  

Not many musical theatre composers developed their chops while dueling in a basement-level Times Square Irish bar. Brad Alexander has, and in this episode he and Jarret discuss the challenges of performing dueling pianos in Manhattan while they try to solve the age-old entertainer's question: what makes New Yorkers tick? The show "See Rock City & Other Destinations," for which Brad wrote the music, won a 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical. Even so, he still gets bashful when his friends request to hear it at the piano bar.

Today's episode features Adam Brooks, an improv comedy pianist and songwriter whose new show Paragon Park: The Musical opens this Friday.  Jarret chats with Adam about the "groove" of an orchestra being channeled through the conductor, and the groove of an improv or dueling piano audience being channeled through, well, the performers.  Lastly, everyone involved with this episode is a big supporter of the "yes, and..." principle of improv!  Tune in!   

Dave Roberts is the CEO of Chicago Dueling Pianos, co-writer of "The Curly Shuffle", and an undisputed veteran of the dueling piano concept.  Steve and Dave sit down for a chat at Dave's home in Chicago to discuss the origins of dueling pianos, the future of the concept, and a wide variety of other topics.  Tune in!  

Today's episode features Greg Asadoorian, road warrior and consummate pro working the dueling and solo piano bar circuits around the globe.  Steve and Greg sit down to chat about what it's like maintaining such an intense schedule and constantly bouncing from one format to another.  From St. Maarten to Aruba, Amsterdam to Boston, and New Haven to Lincoln...Greg has seen a million faces, and he's rocked them all!  

Deep talk about Goldfish racing and Mermaid anatomy, with Jason Marion and Travis Von Cartier...and Jen the waitress.

Broad questions are confronted in this episode, such as the merits of YOLO and the level of pride we invest in artificial appendages.  Also, Dave Alan and Travis Von Cartier allow Paul to have a mini-therapy session after being ridiculed while enthusiastically playing key-drums.

Steamy Dean Madonia is a man on the move, constant traveling for gigs and working on multiple musical projects in Nashville. He and Paul sat down to chat in Paul's hotel room after their first show together.  We can all agree that a microphone in front of Dean's face will not go wasted.  www.deanmadonia.com

First of all, look past all the references to prison showers and blow-up dolls.  Once you do that, you'll find a a great interview with Jeff A and Jeff D of ComedySportz Quad-Cities, located in Rock Island, IL.  Paul worked at this club back in the 1900's, and the Jeffs were kind of enough to sit down and discuss the tenants of improv...and prison showers.  Find out more here: http://www.establishmenttheatre.com/

Brian and Paul met up in Kansas City and chatted about where to draw the line, Clint Eastwood style, when a heckler goes too far.  A host of other topics come up, such as how Sweet Home Alabama is actually in two keys at the same time...WHOA!  MIND = BLOWN!

It's time for another roundtable discussion with your Piano Barbarian hosts!  Steve, Jarret, & Paul get together to talk shop about hecklers, wrist injuries, vocal care, and much more.  Tune in!  

Piano gigs abroad can be hard to come by, unless you know the right people.  Pat George, CEO of The Entertainment Agency, is one of them, and he's booked pianists in rooms around the world for decades. Jarret talks with him about performing solo versus dueling pianos, how disco killed rock shows, and what bar owners look for in an entertainer. Plus, proof that Diana Krall can't cut it as a singalong pianist.

Jason & Adam work nearly every night in the touring production of Wicked, the smash-hit musical about the land of Oz before Dorothy crashed her house in it. Jason is the conductor and Adam is one of several keyboard players, ocassionally conducting himsel.  Basically, they have bad-ass musical theatre jobs, and Paul managed to talk them about their careers and musical theatre whilst only bringing up Hawaiian strippers once.  Wicked has done much to keep theatre alive in this world, and guys like Jason & Adam are the backbone of that success.

Steve Dorian of Rockapella fame sits down to discuss his unique career in the music business.  The multi-talented tenor reminisces about his time as a rollerblading singing guitarist for Busch Gardens as well as his current work with the world famous Rockapella.  We also find out Keith Lockhart, conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra, is a great guy to have a few beers with!  Tune in!

Being around smart people makes you more smartier!  Mike Cappo is a brilliant Colorado musician, and he and Paul hashed out the value of pro-marimba gigs, big rooms, and what makes you a success.  Is bar-singing an artform or a sciene?  Stay tuned at the end of the episode for an original track by Mike called "Watch the Walls."  Paul already feels much smurter.

To celebrate the 25th episode of Piano Barbarians, your intrepid hosts Steve, Jarret, & Paul discuss poisonous crowds and tipping in cashless societies.  Also, we compare the sack of our podcast to the sack of Facebook forums and draw conclusions that will shock you.  Are you in the 90, the 9, or the 1?  Tune in!  

Feast your eyes and your ears upon one of the most solid entertainers you'll find behind a piano, Jennifer Lane.  Paul and Jennifer had a not-so-serious talk about chauvenist crowds, certain compressed air-bursts and the "mac-daddy gig" of dueling pianos.  This show also features "Bone Happy", a cut from Jennifer's album In A Magazine, available on iTunes.  jenniferlaneonline.com 

Our guest this week is Chris Keenan, Entertainment Director of Boynton's Taproom in Manchester, NH.  Chris sits down with Jarret to discuss the Jake Ivory's mystique, the challenges of a "theater style" performance space, and his auspicious beginnings performing for the Boston Derby Dames.  

Greg Sampson is a world traveled veteran of the cruise ship piano bar scene.  He sits down in Barbados to chat with Steve about his background in radio, his transition from playing in cover bands to dueling pianos at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, and his eventual tenure on the high seas with various cruise ship companies.  Enjoy!  

Steve sits down with Mr. "Fake it till ya Make it" Steve Kouba in Barbados to chat about Chicago, Dueling Pianos, playing solo, the NCL Epic, and much more...tune in!

Choke holds, chipped teeth, and getting arrested on stage.  Paul sits down with dueler Steve Dakin in Boise, Idaho for some great stories highlighting the absurdities of dueling pianos.  Oh yeah, and there's also some discussion of adapting to the energy of a room.  

Jarret sits down with "Barry from Boston" to discuss the lifestyle and the wild variety involved with gigging in the Caribbean and Europe.  Tune in for some great history about piano bar world!    

Troy Neihardt from Chicago sits down with Steve in a New York City Hotel room to discuss Howl at the Moon Singapore, the merits of playing the accordian as a kid, and the history of dueling pianos.  

Steve sits down with singer-songwriter Rebecca Muir from Nova Scotia to talk about Berklee, gigging around New York, and the merits of rapping like Nicki Minaj in a wedding band.  

Paul sits down with Tony B between gigs in Iowa to discuss songwriting, playing covers, and extended vacations in the friend zone.  Check it out!  

Paul met up with Papi and Jimmy C at the second floor of their new pub in downtown Denver, The Kraine Station.  For those of you who don't know these two jabronis, strap on your safety belt for the ride, as Papi and Jimmy hold court on the dueling piano business, what it's like to run a restaurant, and how to find the right chemistry onstage.  For those of you who DO know these two raisin cakes, this interview is exactly what you want it to be.

www.krainestation.com

Cruise ships, Berklee, and the life of a working musician today.  Christian Colabelli of Boy Meets Machine sits down to talk shop and impersonate various guitar teachers from a certain music school in Boston.  

Introducing a new member to the Piano Barbarians squad... Jarret Izzo sits down with Matt Nichols of Howl Boston to discuss friendemies, the life of a freelance dueler, and how it feels to be a house player at one of the country's busiest dueling piano bars.  Enjoy!  

Pour the wine, light the fire, because Chris Hatfield is about to make sweet sweet love to your ears.  Steve had a chance to sit down with Chris at his house in Nashville to talk about everything from getting punched in the nuts at 6am to spending your days off working on finishing a record.  

To behold Dave Hawke onstage is the equivalent of cracking your eyes when the Ark of The Covenant is opened .  And then super-natural spirits rip into the most blistering rendition of "Wanted: Dead or Alive" you've ever witnessed.  Grandiose comparisons aside, make sure you hang in there with this episode past the bits on boob-flashing and Uranus for some brilliant words from Dave Hawke, a performer in his own class.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a bad-ass session musician in LA? You have? Well, affix your earholes to this podcast, as Travis Von Cartier holds court on life as an LA musician, and the differences between NoCal audiences and SoCal audiences. Follow Travis on twitter: @tvoncartier...Also, Paul makes a blatant at controversy. Did he succeed? Were you “WHA?” or “meh..”

What’s the impetus to start dressing up like Elton John? Are iPads just fancy frisbees? Can you tell how much fun the audience is having by the sweat on the walls? These and other questions are explored by Steve Savage and Bill Connors, a dueling piano player and EJ impersonator.www.eltonimpersonator.com

Steph & Ashley are partners in owning and running That Bar Danville, a piano-club in Danville, CA. When not mesmerized by their beauty and charms, Paul was able to ask them semi-intelligent questions about running a piano-bar business.www.thatbardanville.com

Steve and Jacob sat down in New Haven to discuss the proper way to harass somebody in a wheelchair. Also, have you ever been accused of looking like Condoleeza Rice? Listen up. Plus, the merits of actually playing a banjo during Dueling Banjos.

Steve and Jarret caught up in Boston to talk about the east coast dueling piano scene and performance philosophies. What’s more important: feel or accuracy? Timing or energy? A keytar or a pile of fertilizer?

Eric is among the most talented young men in Denver. He sings well, he plays well, and he is so totally cool about it...about, you know, being so good at everything.

Please welcome to the stage, Hannah Kendle! Steve and Hannah met up in Dallas to contrast the dynamics of a team-environment vs. life on the circuit. Also, guess Hannah’s LEAST favorite song to play on the fiddle, and then request it anyway.

Jon Sherman is a kingpin of Colorado dueling pianos. A master improviser and show-man, Paul and Jon sat down in Denver to cover topics ranging from bachelorette parties to compressed air blasts. WARNING: Adult thematic content.

We sat down with Jen at her current gig playing solo at Soprano’s piano bar in the island of St. Maarten. We are proud to present the Caribbean Queen of Piano Entertainment.www.jenporter.com

The debut episode is here! Paul & Steve tackle deep topics such as life, love, and getting groped onstage while playing piano.