Play Me, I'm Yours... Day 9

On May 21st, my friend Jessica was the first to let me know that the public piano project was coming to New York. But to back up even further, over two years ago, I used to tell Jessica how much I wanted to play the piano that was in our old office's entryway.  The piano belonged to the company we shared the space with, so I never had the courage to ask permission to play it -- or just play it without even asking permission...

After four consecutive days of actively participating in "Play Me, I'm Yours," I figured I had enough experience under my belt and was ready to perform for people who know me -- as opposed to getting to be anonymous. I extended an invitation via e-mail and Facebook for friends and family to come and see me play starting at 7 PM.

Piano 15: Lincoln Center - Columbus Avenue and 62nd Street
While I was waiting for my friends Kerri and Jessica to arrive, I sat down and listened to a man play the piano. He played a lot of pieces from memory and was a wonderful player. It was rather breezy out, so I was concerned about my need for sheet music. Kerri and Jessica arrived at nearly the same time, and we inched ever closer to the piano, so that I could begin to play. Technically, the "Play Me, I'm Yours" instruction manual says to limit your playing time to 10 minutes if there are other people waiting. That particular piano didn't have the manual at it, so I was little concerned, but it all worked out. The man got up and I plopped myself down at the bench, handed Jessica my Flip cam, and played Brooke Fraser's "Arithmetic" from memory. It's pretty ingrained in my head these days.  I prefer to close my eyes when I play that song.  While I don't exactly visualize the written notes in my mind, I don't like to look anywhere for the most part when I'm playing -- I find the peripheral visuals I can't control, such as walking passersby, end up break my concentration -- so I keep my eyes closed when I can.  The Flip cam battery died shortly after I finished the bridge, but it really did end in a nice spot... here's the video!



I invited Kerri and Jessica to request a showtune, but they both told me to play what I wanted.  So I chose "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked. I know Kerri enjoyed watching that musical (as did I, even though I haven't seen it in a few years).  For the first time, I played it in public, and it went pretty well.  Kerri and Jessica held down the pages for me, since it was still breezy.

The next song I chose to play was "I Will Never Leave You" from Side Show.  Being that it's a duet, I asked Jessica to sing with me, and she did!  She was Violet to my Daisy.  It was beyond thrilling to sing those harmonies with her!  I can't possibly express the elation.  After we finished, we hugged.

I started to play "Private Conversation" (also from Side Show) but didn't get very far because I didn't want to sing and play at the same time, and it doesn't work well in performance without the singing, so I cut the song short to be merciful to all!

Finally, I moved onto RENT and played "Your Eyes" and only sang the last "Mimi" at the end of the song because I couldn't resist.  After the song, I said goodbye to Kerri, who had to leave, and then Jessica and I walked a short distance to the piano at Damrosch Park.

Piano 16: Lincoln Center - Damrosch Park ("between" Metropolitan Opera and David H. Koch Theater, home of New York City Opera)
A father was taking pictures of his young son at the piano.  When the photo session was through, a man waiting to play performed some classical pieces.  He asked if we wanted to play, but we encouraged him to keep playing.  He said he didn't like playing in public.  It was nice to see he was pushing past that discomfort to actually perform in public.  While we were waiting, my friend Meghan joined us!  When the man at the piano finished, I sat down and played "Nightminds."

Afterward, I took requests again, but I got responses that it was my decision.  So... I picked "I Know the Truth" from Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida.  I used to play this a lot back in high school.  Hadn't pulled it out until a few days ago, and it came back to me like riding a bike.  I used Sherie Rene Scott's riffs, but I love what she does with that song, so it was an homage to a great Broadway talent, who can currently be seen on Broadway in Everyday Rapture through early July. (In case you're wondering, I don't work on the show, I just enjoyed seeing it!  She is phenomenal!)

Next, I played the snippet version of "Another Day," and I thank Jessica for singing Mimi.  I'm sure she would have wanted to sing "Out Tonight," haha, but I can't play it on the piano.  Or the guitar, for that matter.

The final song at Piano 16 was "I Will Never Leave You" from Side Show.  Since Meghan wasn't there for the first performance, Jessica was game to do it a second time.  Again, those harmony lines are so good!  At the end of the song I gave a little flourish my lifting my hands high after the final chord, and we all figured that was the song to end the set. After I got up from the piano, a middle-aged man came up to us and asked if we'd sing a song... we turned him down, but I invited him to follow me to Riverside Park if he wanted to go, which was a bit crazy on my part, but a) this project has made me do things I wouldn't normally do in NYC and b) he declined anyway!  Meghan and I said goodbye to Jessica and then walked to Riverside Park.  I'm so glad Meghan wanted to come with me because I wouldn't have known how to get down to where the pianos were located without her!

Piano 17: Riverside Park - yellow piano
We arrived at the pianos when the sky was beautiful with pink streaks.  It was a really gorgeous evening.  The two pianos in this park face each other, and a man was playing and singing a growling, gritty rendition of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" on the blue piano. Nobody was sitting at the yellow piano, so Meghan suggested that I wait until he was done and then begin playing. Good call. I sat down on the bench and took pictures while I waited for my turn.

Listening to "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" on the blue piano while I sat at the yellow piano

As you can see, I placed my Brooke Fraser piano book out.  I figured I'd put it there because most people wouldn't recognize the song, so I wanted people to know the original artist/songwriter whose song I was playing.  Right after the man at the blue piano finished, I began to play "Arithmetic."  I immediately knew the piano was out of tune and turned around to look at Meghan and I made a sour face at the sound, but I kept  playing anyway.  Also, a few of the lower keys had weird vibrations, so something was probably wrong with the hammers and/or strings...  When I finished, the people standing around the pianos clapped, and one woman complimented the song.  I stood up from the yellow piano, and a man in a suit sat down to play the blue piano.  When he finished his song, the question was posed, "Who's next?"

Piano 18: Riverside Park - blue piano
I jumped at the chance to squeeze in a song at the blue piano.  It was very nice for everyone to take turns after each song.  I haven't seen that happen anywhere else so far.  Unfortunately, I don't have anything else other than "Arithmetic" 100% memorized, and I wasn't about to play it again.  I decided to play something that would be recognizable from popular music, so I chose "Grow Old With Me."  The sheet music wasn't staying put, so Meghan helped out by holding it down for me.  Though I was concentrating on reading the notes, I could see a couple embrace in my line of sight, and that was nice.  The crowd applauded after I finished, and then Meghan and I headed off to dinner on the Upper West Side.

A shot of the blue piano before Meghan and I took off.  The "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" player returned to perform another song on the more in-tune piano.

Total Pianos Played By Borough:
Manhattan: 16 pianos
Queens: 2 pianos