Piano Night: LA Songwriters Tickle the Ivories at Home Silverlake

From Piano Night #2 at Home Silverlake, August 10, 2009

Several of you will recall that there were two sonorous Steinway grand pianos for our performing (and listening!) pleasure at the Bridging Hemispheres House Concert that I directed and produced this past Mother’s Day. However, the truth is that there aren’t many spots in Los Angeles where performing songwriters get to tickle the ivories of a real piano, much less a grand piano. Often, when we do find one, our ears and fingers wish that we had left those ivories untickled. I realize how spoiled I was during my years in Boston when I regularly played the Kawai Grand at what is known today as the LilyPad in Cambridge’s Inman Square.

So, when fellow musician Edward “Tex” Miller (of Layabout Band) discovered a baby grand piano in fairly good condition at a venue called “HOME” in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake, he thought it was time to change the landscape. After the success of the inaugural event in July, Tex decided to host Piano Night #2 on Monday, August 10, 2009, for the patrons of this neighborhood bar & restaurant. On this occasion, Tex invited Gilli Moon and me to join him on the bill. We each performed a short set and the relaxed atmosphere gave everyone plenty of time to chat in between sets. The response from the audience was warm & friendly.

Good music. No cover charge. Comfy booths and chairs. Yummy food for all ages. And one ginormous chandelier. According to Layabout’s MySpace calendar, it looks like September 7 will be the next night devoted to piano-playing songwriters in Los Angeles! Check with Tex for details. Home Silverlake is located at 2500 Riverside Drive. Los Angeles, CA 90039. Please enjoy this slideshow of a few snaps from Piano Night #2.