Raggin' Piano Boogie

HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON! ... BONER, THE PIANO DOG ... November 27, 1994 ... February 20, 2010

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February 08, 2007

I used to not move forward in my life rationalizing that other peoples lives, the ones I witnessed, their happiness and contentment, their seemingly smooth riding life was fake. I used to tell myself "they are lying to themselves, they are in denial, they are not real, everything I see is a front, it is not real." My reality and my experience was one of struggle, fear, unhappiness, repression, judgment and stress. Anything good was warped in chaos. That kind of life never worked for me. I knew it was not "me" from as early as I can remember. There was none of what I now know as the good stuff in my past and I have been working my whole life to shed as much crap that I grew up with as possible.

Well here I am, one day away from leaving on my journey. I have this need to constantly remind myself of what my neighbor Ken said, "there's no hurry", another life long neighbor Larry reminded me today, "you can do this", and my friend Josh reminded me, "it is fun day". This Journey is an experiment for my life, an exercise in how life works best for me. I created it and its purpose is to contribute to the world. My biggest challenge will be to keep a strong sense of self and to manifest that sense of self-outward by being interested in others. I want to experience intimately every single person I meet. My story, my music, the truck with the piano on it and Boner they are all vehicles to help open relating. I have twenty-five years worth of experience and the tools to accomplish my intended goals.

This journey I am about to begin came from desire:

1. To have everyone meet my dog Boner, to introduce him to the world before he retires. Bo has been hanging out for ten years on top of my piano and is now twelve years old.

2. To create as much fun life experience for myself as possible before this 20-year gig on this 200,000 mile truck of mine drops dead. I am not getting another setup unless someone offers to pick up the tab and as a self-promoter on my present level of performing I am just about doneÉperiodÉdid itÉdone. It is up or out from here on in and I am going to enjoy every moment of whatever happens.

3. I want to offer and share my music with the world, no strings attached, mine or anyone else's. If money or fame ever comes from it, or I am able to make a living from it, whateverÉ I am going to let the universe decide thatÉ I just want to create music. Wow, that is a new, mind-blowing state of being for this career musician! Music... for the sake of music.

February 07, 2007

I am close to paying off the brochures I printed to help explain the journey that I am embarking on to introduce piano dog Boner to the world and to create music, friendship and joy. It will begin in two days. I continue to do the best that I can and everything I am capable of doing. I look forward to additional help from god, the universe, whatever floats the boat.... as well as present and future friends. My living expenses for the last two months and the next four... the expenses already incurred as well as the ongoing expenses that will incur during the journey while away from home, I am anticipating into materialization while working full steam ahead... today. I know completely that what I have to offer is good, is fun, and brings happiness and joy. I know that when I do the right things the right things happen. This is the story of my life. Boner and my contribution to the world is right and good so I am completely confident.... in the moment that is. Hahaha.

The number of friends who have contributed to this Journey to date is manageable to tell about so I want to do that with a spirit of gratitude and to remind myself that I am not embarking on this journey alone. There are people interested enough to be with me and Boner who support us at the bottom line, physically. I sent out an mailing in late December and Sherry, I don't know who she is but I do know that she is a friend... was the first person to contribute. She sent me $50 via paypal from a mass mailing. Anthony, a generous friend hired me to play for his church affair around Thanksgiving and contributed $600, Fran, the toy store owner on Germantown Avenue where I set up and played throughout Christmas dropped $150 into my tip jar one day when he saw that my attempt at getting tipped was not paying the bills very well. $200 dollars was donated by passersby over a period of three weeks performing on the street in Chestnut Hill. Andrea's school group donated $150 after I went to play for the kids. A senior couple from San Francisco the Cohen's sent me $20 bucks on paypal with some fun video shot on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill. My friend Mary helped me one night big-time designing my brochure and I tortured my friend Brad up in new York who helped with the wording on the brochure. Then there was a local guy, Troy from the car collision shop who started this whole thing. I threw the idea out to him that I might go on this journey and he threw $100 my way to start with the contributing. This woman I met Joan, wrote out a ten dollar check out on the street for me because she did not have any cash on hand. Matt in Ambler offered without my asking to make the new magnetic signs for the truck. My life long friend Cheryl sent me $20 cash from Florida in a Christmas card. My friends Patty and Lance sent me $200. Joe, my printer friend sent me a substantial amount of promo and business cards and put it on his tab. Harry from the local jazz society put in his $20 bucks worth. My tax guy Tim offered to contribute his services for this year's tax return. My neighbor and old town watch partner friend Wes is the reason I have been able to develop this website, his ongoing contribution as my friend and teacher for web design has been phenomenal. My neighbor from across the street came over to give me fifty bucks. I have a new friend Patricia who I met online and sends me emails of support daily. Shera from Canada sent me a hand made card of love and support for this Flight of Peregrinating Musical Exploration! And today, Miriam who owns a health store in West Philly offered to supply me with herbal vitimins to last the entire trip. So there, it is so far. I am looking forward with security and joy.

February 06, 2007

I am planning ahead. Will someone please translate this into Spanish for me so I can present it to the police when they stop me?

I am sorry that I do not speak Spanish. I would like to learn. My name is Danny and I am a piano man. My work has been to play the piano as a professional for the last twenty years on the back of my pickup truck. My dog has been hanging out with me as I perform on top of the piano for ten years. Boner is his name and he is twelve years old. I am on a journey to introduce my dog to the world before he retires. We have traveled here to Mexico from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 3000 miles away to create music for people who have never seen a piano before or heard a piano player play his music. We have traveled here to extend our friendship and will be here for only two weeks. We have no schedule or plan except to find people and families in small towns and villages on my way to Roblito on the coast in Nayarit to gift with our music. In Roblito, we will visit friends who are helping the residents to build their village. We have very little to pay our way and would like to find overnight lodging and people to guide us through our journey. We would appreciate any help you can give.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

I'm serious.....

February 05, 2007

February 04, 2007

I am winding down with entries for the daily performance log. I will focusing towards a major life shift for me, the Flight of Peregrinating Musical Exploration to begin this coming Friday. I will attempt to publish everyday my experience, strength and hope... where I am, what is happening, and I will be posting a picture for each day as I have been doing on this present website link since May 06, 2006. Click on the... Flight of Peregrinating Musical Exploration! link and take part in the journey. I sure would appreciate your support financially, and also with leads as to places to visit, help with overnight accommodations anywhere in the United States and Mexico, people to help guide me in strange lands, setting me up with friends to meet in any town anywhere, media connections, notes of support, spreading of the word, healthy thoughts and wishes, prayers etc... A friend recently reminded me to always remember... "Not all who wander are lost." - Tolkein ...I am so ...not... lost. I am found. I am embracing my gut feeling to follow through with an obligation to share what I have been gifted with... and to offer it all with the world... for whatever it is worth and that... is not up for me to decide. Forward in joy...

February 03, 2007

I am re...cup...er...at...ing.

February 02, 2007

Man Oh Man I had fun tonight at the Philadelphia International Auto Show. My load was lightened big time because my buddy Josh came along to help setup and detail the truck and also to take a few pics. I need to get a new camera this week mine is not focusing anymore. There was to be no slouching tonight, as the television cameras were on me most of the night. My creating music while entertaining, while responding to people wanting to communicate about Boner, while taking constant responsibility for Bo himself with people, while having my own conversations, giving special attention to people who needed it, keeping a watch for my friend Josh who had never before been to an affair like this, making sure I got some decent pictures for myself, addressing the press, keeping an awareness of the television show being taped, and breaking through people's agenda's to promote my future, the beginning of next weeks journey across the country. I had the truck covered in brochures and I was constantl handing them out. It is not easy to sell one's looks, music, personality and agenda's while at the same time putting forth my entertainment talent and creating my artistry while also taking responsibility for the venue, performance, the booking itself and cast members... all at the same time. Let us not forget the few thorns that are always sticking in ones side... part of the nature of the beast, misc security and union workers who seek to empower themselves with self importance by using whatever means possible as in me... "the dog can't come out of the truck" or, " the guy who pushes the button to get you in the building just went to the bathroom he'll be back in another hour or so". Overall, I must say the security and union people were great.

Anyway, everyone was there; Boner is so incredibly popular at this affair especially with his bow tie. I remember last year trying out my improv for the first time in public at this show and how proud I was at having been able to have the nerve to create my own music for five minutes. Tonight ninety percent of my playing and I played for almost three hours was my own improvisational music the rest was the usual Ragtime and Boogie Woogie. The energy for this black tie affair was high flying. The local ABC affiliate, television channel six resented a live show form the gala and I improvised my own music through the entire segment they did on Boner and I. That... I can tell you is beyond my wildest of dreams... to be improvising my own music on television... and it was good as I have always been good at creating chaos and excitement. What I have to offer was perfect for a wild and loud party. I guess that means I can be very flexible with my pianistic musical abilities and improvisational abilities. This experience filled me with self-confidence because I have always been mostly improvising outdoors, non-intrusively in and for completely serene, natural and quiet environments. I like versatility, to be able to do and experience as much of everything as possible.

Every television news personality was there hanging the Traveling Piano truck the entire channel six news team. Now at home I am crashing and I can tell you tomorrow I wonder if I am going to be able to move. Performing as I did tonight takes a major toll on me physically. It will have been worth it. One of my favorite visuals every year, this was my seventh year performance for the gala... is the big buxomed babes. I know that's crude and old man-ish; I am trying to be cute, maybe plump for a word? Anyway, there are always a lot of Beautiful women (with a big B) to enjoy looking at every year. Everyone is eye popping. I have the perfect overall view from my piano seat up above on the truck. Josh made the rounds of the food tables collecting entrees for us to eat when we were done. He stashed them all in the truck cab. Don't tell anyone that Wolfgang Puck provided us both with dinner for about eighteen... for a week. What fun with great tasting dinner entrees. This fundraiser is a benefit for The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and I am always treated respectfully by everyone who runs the charity event from the top on down. Everyone who works the floors of the convention center is always glad to see us and they are as helpful as can be. I wanted to start inviting people up on the truck to play but thought better, especially seeing as the Philadelphia Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation paid top dollar for me to perform. Well tonight was the last, I think... of the high-falutin' lifestyle for a while. I do not think they have tuxedoed affairs in the areas of the United States and Mexico where I will stopping to performing in over the next few months.

February 01, 2007

I was so full of fear about what I have presently chosen to do with my talents last night... concerning my trip... I shut down for two hours, sort of passed out. Once I got going tho, I really started moving, I got into what I was doing, figuring solutions for storage, fixing loose wires, completely overhauling the electrical system in the truck with the help of Josh a great guy who is helping me just because he's a nice guy, works at the local radio shack. My life long neighbor Larry helped me build some storage shelving for inside the piano today as I have little room for anything to take with me. I was spray painting the piano chair and soaked my fingers in black paint, my fingernails are outlined in black! That should look real nice for the International Philadelphia Auto Show Black Tie Gala that I will be performing for tomorrow night. Dirty fingernails, ugh. Of course, it would be impressive for me to say I am completely sure of myself with this trip to Mexico and Hollywood and throughout rural America not having an idea of where I am going or what will happen. The fact is I am wavering big time with uncertainty as to my ability to pull this journey off. I am fifty-one years old and Boner is in his eighties? I found out the areas I will be traveling to in Mexico have no water. It is trucked in once week; do not drink the water... watch out for Boner as people throw out poison meat to kill the wild dogs I am told. Yikes. Well, my purpose is to go into non-luxurious areas, I may be sleeping in the back of my truck, not a pretty thought. I am prepping to keep my spirits high in areas and with people who are not high-spirited. That is partly why I am doing this whole thing... to lift spirits. I want to cry... cry me a river so I have water to drink in Mexico that is.

January 31, 2007

I need a break from this venue writing stuff. Here are pictures from Philly Car Show 2000, 2001, 2002. A picture is worh a thousand words, rigtht?

January 30, 2007

Ha. I sense people are tired of hearing about flashbacks. They want life now and in the present. Where am I playing the piano? What is happening? The truck just got inspected today. I have spent almost $2000 on it to help it through the "Flight of Peregrinating Musical Exploration! hehehe.... that is the name for this journey. The guts of the truck are out all over the place, I am painting the piano, cleaning out the dog hair, checking the electrical wiring, I brought an new power inverter, one speaker to take on the trip, scraping off the mud from the truck bed and getting everything nice and spiffy for the Philly International Car Show Gala on Friday. I am delaying immediate gratification in going out on great days like today (really I have no choice) but I will be doing it forever.............. starting on the 9th of February. Someone emailed me saying... "Hey Danny! I set you up. Good luck on your trip." I am afraid to write back and ask how he has set me up. What am I do with a blank comment like that? I know better than to put any thought one way or the other with it. I am going to use my metronome tonight to practice my ragtime for Friday's gig.

January 29, 2007

!Flashback! My last with Acme Supermarket Openings. Like a good employee, I usually treated people with respect even when they didn't deserve it. There were those unusual times... like when this old bitty (you can say bitch on television but I don't feel uncomfortable saying that in this forum), oh well I know I've said worse on this website, this old bitch came at me yelling, "butter, butter, butter, where is the butter" and I remembered just mirroring her with, "salt, salt, salt, where's the salt". I don't know why I remember this except maybe I was seeing an impatient and obnoxious part of myself in her. Or maybe I was angry because I was always around food, especially free samples and I could never get enough. I remember dieting and consciously breathing in through my mouth and out real hard through my nose as I walked down the aisles to try to throw off the temptation of the smells all around me. Once I ended up spending my entire fee on the food sale items. It was many hundred of dollars worth of food that I brought that day. I often stayed out of the stores so I was not tempted by the celebration food spreads they supplied in the employee lounges. After a new company brought the stores and the promotional money started to dwindle so did those employee spreads. I watched the employee excitement dwindle to. It went right into employee zombie-ism as they took their breaks. The stores went from supplying lavish fruits, sandwiches, dips, donuts, meats and cheeses to... chips and a couple two-litter bottles of soda. Did you know they pump smells into the door areas of supermarkets like the smell of fried chicken cooking? Outside, I watched many people get frantic over parking spots with the fighting and all that goes along with it. I always enjoyed joggers joining me in rhythm to my music, the employees that would boogie out the doors with food, slabs of meat, shopping carts, kids in hand, all the promotional characters, the penn valley milk cow, the purdue chicken, the oscar myer wiener, yep I've met them all in my days. I was always fun even when it was not fun. It was fun because I was able to make a living playing the piano from the back of a pickup truck!

January 28, 2007

...continued... !Flashback! ... Ok two more writings of my memories and visuals created during Acme Supermarket openings, reopenings, refurbishings, ongoing promotions... etc... in places like Clifton Heights, Glenolden, Bensalem Pennsylvania... I did a lot of em'. During one booking an elderly couple was walking across the street to the store, the familiarity of the music caused them to stop walking. They had not yet discovered me and Boner and they were trying to find the source of the music. They were in the middle of the road and became confused and mixed up their thinking as to where the music was coming from with... where they were walking to. I watched them turning in circles and as the guy turned and began to focus on Bo and me he froze and the pipe he was smoking fell out of his mouth. I had to jump off the truck and run over to help them out of harms way. The wind was strong and it was cold. The chaotic sounds of the promotional banners and streamers flapping over my head were driving me crazy. Two elderly ladies pushed on buy hanging on to the same shopping cart so the wind would not blow them over. Boner spent all of his time begging people to come over to give him supermarket food. I saw a guy multi tasking as he drove by. He was doing barbell exercises out his car window. As it got dark, another guy drove by and turned on his car strobe light to enhance the music for me and make a connection. As time progressed, I became fixated, staring at the time clock on the bank wall across the street counting down the minutes until I was finished.

January 27, 2007

...continued... !Flashback! So, I am still going on about visuals from Acme supermarket openings in the cold. One of my favorite memories... because it was so ridiculous, was an opening in Bridgeton, NJ. The weather was brutally cold and the start time was for 8AM in the morning. With that in mind, I decided to take my time and drive the two hour trip the night before. Bo and I stayed in a local hotel where I had to sneak him in and then teach him to be as quiet as possible and not to bark every time someone walked by the door. The next morning I found there had been an overnight ice storm but I went and played at the store anyway. It was located on the outskirts of town in a yet to be developed area. It was freezing outside and I had a flu. There were no customers and only two store employees, one was the manager. They stood and watched me from inside like I was crazy. I was. It was all new to me and I had no one to tell me not to play and I needed the money so I was going to do the job no matter what. A salt truck drove by right next to me and pelted me with salt. I thought, "you idiot" and then I thought, "who's the idiot?" I would run inside the store with Bo every ten minutes to get warm. I was performing in -17 degree wind chill. I am not kidding. I loved the challenge of it. Yea, so I was a moron but I was having a good time being one and making good money at it. I started to get really sick but continued to rise to the challenge. In trying to make the best of the situation I remember saying to myself, "thank God you have the flu and it is making you fart because it is creating the only available source of heat". With that thought I realized I was pushing the "being a real trooper" thing too much and went home to bed.

January 26, 2007

...continued... !Flashback! While performing for supermarket openings, I did them for years... I saw a lot of anger. In Burlington NJ, I remember one guy in particular throwing his crap my way. As he walked by the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck he turned from yelling at his wife to me while shouting at the top of his lungs for me to stop playing so he could hear himself scream. He kept it up until he left the site by laying on his car horn obnoxiously and then throwing trash out of his window and onto the ground. People would give woof-woof talks to Boner and never give me a glance. Some people would actually tell me they stole dog biscuits from inside the store for Boner. Some people purchased treats for him. Sometimes the sound of kids gathering shopping carts would be louder than the music. It was always fun when a fly by shopping cart would appear from no where, the wind would blow it this way and that and I would guess which car it would crash into. In Jenkintown PA, old ladies would tip me dollar bills like I was a stripper. Many people do not realize that piano players do get paid and that not all musicians outdoors play for tips. They would stuff dollar bills down my pants while coping a feel while I was playing. Some would offer me a dollar like they were offering Boner a treat. continued...

January 25, 2007

TripleAAA warned me not to drive in Mexico or the banditos would get me. I assured them that they would never get my piano because it is bolted into the truck! I asked them if driving in Iraq would be ok. I am very much looking forward to my introducing Boner to the world while creating music for people to discover throughout the US and Mexico. February 9th will be the start date after I re-group from the Philadelphia International Car Show Black Tie Gala performance. Ahh... one day at a black tie gala the next day in the mud of poverty. I want to give everything I have to offer to the world on as many levels as possible.

!Flashback! ... continued. supermarket openings... I performed many times for Acme supermarkets in sub freezing temperatures. I would notice the difference in neighborhoods from the coats women wore. Imagine a supermarket where all the women are wearing fur coats. It would be so cold I watched my fingers gloss over while they flew across the piano keys. As the temperature dropped, my hands would sting more. As long as I kept my body bouncing and fingers moving, I could keep going. I remember having a booger freeze in my nose while I played. People would drive by talking on their cell phones and roll their windows down to let whomever they were talking to listen to me play. It was the only way they could prove to others what they were seeing was real. I would watch people jiggling their asses using the rhythm of the music to distract themselves from the cold while trying to get their car keys in the door lock. I felt like a fully stuffed Krispy Cream donut with all the clothes I wore to stay warm as I thought about the free ones being given away inside. I played in blinding snow, rain, and blowing sleet. I would pull the truck in under the store overhangs and pray the wind would stay in the opposite direction to shelter me from the storm. It always did. continued...

January 24, 2007

!Flashback! There were several years where I did many grand reopenings/restructuring promotions for Acme supermarkets. I relied on many visuals to stay interested because I was often performing for a passing audience with the agenda of running in and out of the stores with packages, shopping carts and car keys in hand. I pulled from many natural happenings that I would choreograph with my Ragtime and Boogie Woogie music to stay interested. Sometimes it was not easy because there was nothing around and when I was booked for eight in the morning there were few people. I was usually "it" for these promotions. They put their entire outside budget in me, so I needed to create all of the outside excitement, sound, wonder, visual newness and freshness for the site. This was a big task for little old Boner and me but it was successful and lasted until they were finished opening all of the stores. continued...

January 23, 2007

The moments are ticking by. Where is the music? In the picture today I am performing outside the elf house somewhere near Roblito, Mexico. I am visualizing it. I am looking forward to being inspired with constantly changing environments. I want to create some terrific musical recordings with it all. I wish I owned a piano to play on in my house! I feel stuck in my house without a piano! Just a few more weeks and I will be introducing Boner to the world through my music on the Traveling Piano truck known to by many as the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck. I know it is all confusing or people. Me too. I would go into a restaurant that has a piano and offer to give them some of my music but I know it would not work. I tried that last year. I went into three center city hotels and two restaurants and got attacked with basically, "get out of here you wanna be." Ha, little did they know they could have had some music that usually costs. It took a lot of nerve for me to put myself out to gift them and accept the disrespect. It ain't happenin' again that is for sure. There is a place in Quakertown, PA I know but that is just a little too far away for me. Maybe, if I start jonsin' enough... who knows I might end up there by the end of the week. Does anyone want me to come play some improvisation on his or her piano for bout a half hour?

January 22, 2007

Today I am having difficulty holding on to the dream because... just because. I miss going outside and creating music everyday. I only started to do this improvisational playing a year ago and this is my first cold season so I am feeling my way through it. I do not want to book performances, I just want to play but then how do I pay the bills? I have zero desire to take less then I am worth financially for a booking. So I must stay true to my gut feeling that my needs for financial support will materialize. It is very cold out but that is not why I have not go out today to play. I have been preparing for my journey and there is so much to be done. I must find a way to attract financial support as well as people to help me. It seems to be my karma to not see support that is right in front of my face or when does exist I am blind because I do not feel it? I know it is all around me. Trust is the name of the game. Playing music helps me to trust. I will find a way until I am playing every day... is coming soon... Feb 9th.

January 21, 2007

I can see the creation of my Wildest of Dreams happening. Today I publish a picture of my playing the piano with Bo in Roblito, Mexico. The place is so small it is not even on most maps. Hahahahehehehe... The main goal for this Journey, I still need a name for it... is to introduce Boner to the world. Next, I want to create music for communities and play the piano for people who have never had the opportunity to see a piano player perform live and also to give them the opportunity to create some music via the piano for themselves. This will happen without question while traveling to and through villages in Mexico as well as at home. My joy over this thought is bombastic. I am throwing my desires, ambitions and needs for this Wildest Dream of mine into the world... more specifically on Message Links of my website. I started to create them last night. Everyone who wants to be part of this adventure will now not only be able to come along with Boner and I as it unfolds via the daily performance log link, now also via the message boards. My goal is to share musical joy and purpose, to musically empower and inspire. This is my journey and it is for everyone to share in... or maybe just for one other person in this world who wants to be nurtured with my reality. The more the better. I am realizing more each day that instead of giving the world the result of a life accomplishment... I am giving the world the process of a successful life accomplishment; mine... and in the moment. This is a very cool realization for me and brings my life into a full circle. Also, my feeling of commitment, trust and faith of self... is amazing for me to experience. I am at full throttle...

January 20, 2007

Josh came to my place today to help and lend his support. He is a twenty one year old wiz with truck repairs/rebuilding and electrical stuff, anything he can get his hands on to work with. He works at the local radio shack and was more than willing to share his knowledge and service with his free time. I am going to be set for this journey, I can feel it. This is because of people like Josh. The village in Mexico that I will be driving to with the traveling piano truck is almost 3000 miles away. I was given two routes the highway and the byways. I will be taking the byways so I can stop at as many small villages as possible. We went to the music store to check on equipment and someone who has seen my postings online came up and said, "did I see you on tribe (a great online community) the other day? He was quick to be as helpful as possible. I thought, "this is amazing, at the Franklin Mills Mall I meet up from someone in the international community of tribes? We brought different speakers from inside the store to the outside so we could test them on the truck and I ended up getting a bombastic new speaker to use with an equalizer. People have been telling me to get one of these equalizers for years and finally... I wanted to test the speakers all day because I could not tear myself away from creating music. That fact that is was like twenty degrees out side with heavy winds did not matter. I have not had much opportunity to play for several days and with other people to share my music with, I was not going to miss the opportunity. I also purchased an electrical inverter to convert the boat battery energy for usage. Total... ruffly $700

January 19, 2007

My life is a performance. I am preparing for my journey to introduce my dog Boner to the world, and to create and share my music with the world while having as much life experience as possible. Join me on this trip. Did you donate yet? How about doing some networking? Ask, I'll tell you what I need. So far, I am heading first for El Roblito, which is near the borders of Nayarit and Sinaloa in Mexico. Then I will drive on up to Los Angles, California and then across country back to Philadelphia. I made the decision today to take only one sound speaker. If I take both speakers that would mean every time I play I would need to set them up on the poles and it would be to cumbersome with the small amount of room I have in the truck. The Traveling Piano truck is a small pickup. I will have room for two changes of clothes, two month's supply of Gatorade, brochures, my communication equipment, yoga mat, personal supplies, a blanket, boner's food and not much more. Yikes! The bottom line about the speakers is that I will not be able to take on any professional gigs throughout the entire trip because I would need the lift and sound capabilities of both speakers to do that. It ain't going to happen so at least that is one detail and decision set in place. All performance and music will be without cost for everyone. I'll have one speaker lying in the truck bed. I think that is pretty cool because my music has been all about money in the past. It has had to be... because that is my work, how I pay the bills. For now, it will be about giving and love all around. I truly believe the money will come later on. I need to do this first.

January 18, 2007

I believe in the power of dreams. I am out to show that dreams do come true. I am going to show that fact for my life. My piano guts are presently torn apart. This is only a temporary setback but I do miss playing outside everyday. It has affected my well being as I have an enormous about of energy that needs to be discharged constantly. Creating music has been such a wonderful release and discharge of energy for me. With my upcoming journey will afford a lot of time to communicate musically and discharge, it is what the journey is all about, love, communication, sharing but most importantly, having a good time. Fun and inner happiness... the fuel of success.

January 17, 2007

I have always known about the law of attraction from as early as I can remember. I kept it a secret as a child because I knew everyone around me would ridicule me and the concept. Now I am experiencing it in mind, body and soul. As I was walking with Boner today I kept laughing with joy about it. The piano truck will be out of commission for the next few days again, well today... I am thinking about the performance of my life, as this is my performance log. I am so thankful that music is a part of my life and my dog also. He is the present catalyst for my upcoming musical performances. I am going to drive to LA via Mexico from its belly... from my home in Philadelphia to introduce Boner to the world before he retires and to create music throughout the process... for free to whomever wants it. Yeah! Ha! Yaa. Whoo!!! God, I am having fun. I read a great ditty today. "Not all who wander are lost." - Tolkein. Yep, I'll agree with that. Tomorrow I am going to publish the law of attraction as it relates to me concerning money and security... if I remember.

January 16, 2007

I woke up today with the reminder that I am an inclusive person, I welcome everyone into my life. I do it for the basic purpose of creating a connection. Any resulting relationships are gifts to me. I connect with people for therapeutic reasons, theirs, fun, mine or to bond with comforting dysfunction, or to explore new possibilities of life experience. I was thinking I might be a leader. I definitely nurture well and then my thinking settled on the fact that I have always been and always will be a teacher. As I embark on my present musical journey across the country, I want to communicate and express all of the above specifically through my music. Music will be my safety net. Music will be my communication vehicle. Music will be the tool I will use to bond with people and life on every level. The piano is torn apart in the garage today, the complete electrical system needs to be overhauled enough to keep me going. It will be too cost prohibitive to replace. I am wondering, I thought more than a couple of people would be interested enough to "gift " along with me financially and with volunteer help. I guess there is still some time , like two weeks?

January 15, 2007

The idea for me to drive to Roblito on the boarder of Nayarit and Sinaloa Mexico to play the piano on the back of a pickup truck came my way last night... very strongly. It came from a phone call, a friend who will be creating a cultural exchange community there while staying at a small fishing village for the next three months. It came after my thinking it might not be a good idea to drive to Alaska in the winter. Who would be outside to play for? It becomes clearer everyday that I should be outdoors creating music for people to discover.

Today was grey and cloudy and ready to rain but I needed to play for my mental health no matter what... so I drove to the river access area near my house. One person was there but as soon as I began to play the park started to fill up. This seemed unusually interesting especially for a rainy day. I was glad to experience today's visual, the mist creating shades of grey while rolling across the river, the starkness of the dark bare trees surrounding me, a tugboat trolling up the river, kids running around from the musical energy with their grandparents trying to catch them. One little guy kept coming over to offer me some of the tangerine he was eating. I had to let Boner down from the piano to play with everyone... they all wanted him to join them and that is what he wanted too. My camera batteries were dead. Damm.

I had several what I call synchronistical spiritual experiences today that validated and reassured me concerning my present calling in life. The guy I wrote about on the food/health website link from December 8th came into my path again today at the park. He reminded me of how important desire is in my life. How amazing that was!!! A woman who has seen me perform before also appeared with her grandchildren and she started talking about Mexico's boarder with Southern California and that whole political issue. Turns out the guy, once a young piano prodigy who lost a finger in an accident, volunteers to spread the word of the bible to kids in prisons. I found myself creating a musical soundtrack behind the stories these people while they talked about their lives. I thought, "your good at this musical background stuff." It was really amazing as I witnessed two very passionate people voicing their experiences and concerns, one completely political and the other completely religious. Here is something even more syncronistically amazing... we ended our exchange in a circle holding hands. Two of the boys, CJ and Shawn came into the circle and we all prayed together. Complete strangers in a park a man, a woman, two young boys and a piano man who was playing the piano on the back of a pickup truck with a dog hanging out on top of the piano, standing in a circle praying aloud. Now that... was a missed photo opportunity. I am completely aware that I had invited this experience into my space. Chezzzzzzzzzz.

That was not the end of it. I came home feeling surprisingly not grounded spiritually as I had just been given a major dose of hard core bible thumping and dare I say predjudice? I decided to take a walk to release some insecurity and as I walk to the end of my driveway, a car pulls up along side of me at the bottom of the driveway. I naturally moved towards the car as it felt like someone I knew. They rolled the window down and asked me if I knew directions to a local steak house. They were lost. I thought, "how did they get lost into this development"? Then the woman says, "hey, I know you!" It took a few moments and it dawned on me this was a person who's path I have crossed many times over the last twenty-five or so years. It is difficult to explain to a layperson our connection. We do not really know each other, but we really know each other. We have something major in common. A spiritual path that I feel completely grounded in using. It is built on the principals of the twelve steps. Our paths have crossed in Center City Philadelphia, Glenside Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey but in front of my house???!!! Nothing in life has ever been so gratifying or will ever compare to the synchronistic spiritual reassurance and validation "groundings" that I receive. This gift is available to everyone, my trick is to see, acknowledge and share it when it happens in order to keep it happening. Sometimes I see these gifts, sometimes I do not. When I do... WOW.

So, what does this have to do with performing daily? My music comes through the ability to ground myself spiritually.

January 14, 2007

It is presently raining outside. When I begin the cross-country trip, I hope to have someone to guide me away from oncoming rain territories. How about you? ... Flashback! I've performed for the Warminster, PA Memorial Day Parade for almost twenty years. One year recently, the organizers got caught up in the media hype and fear that an oncoming rainstorm was going to destroy the world so they cancelled the parade. The day turned out to be beautiful and I turned out at the parade check writer's house to get paid because I was not the one that cancelled. I needed to pay my mortgage. Thanks to our terrific relationship, they honored our contract. The next year it was the same deal with the rain threats except that the parade went on as scheduled. Half way through the route it began to rain... hard. I thought, "shit, they paid me last year and I did not get paid yet this year I must be a trouper and finish this parade no matter what, I need to keep up my end of the bargain and I also need to get paid." Mind you, I am thinking this all the while jumping around on the piano seat whaling away at my Boogie Woogie music while screaming at and acknowledging the crowd that is starting to pull out umbrellas and tarps for themselves. The wind began to blow ferociously and the rain became torrential and I thought, "die, die, die truck and piano, I can't take this anymore." They I thought, "Get real, what can you do?" Everything was already soaking so that was nothing to be done to stay dry. The truck has a black tarp over it for travel. I told Boner to get off the piano and he was more than happy oblige. He ran under the piano bench in the back of the truck to hide from the chaos. I jumped up and in a matter of a minute covered the speakers that were on poles in the air with plastic trash bags and threw the black canvas tarp over the piano and myself and continued on with my performance. "This was so amazingly ridiculous and clever that its fun," I thought as I continued with my job of performing. I thought, "stay visual, they need to see you even though you are under the canvas". I began to over animate my movement with the music. The visuals from the sidelines must have been very funny indeed. Everyone was ecstatic that I was being a trouper and going on with the show. The visual of this wild and loud music coming from a wild, bouncing piano man underneath a black canvas cover was very funny. The fact that they all knew who I was just added to it. The sounds of my music along with the heavy rain hitting the canvas and the amazing screaming of spectators from the outside cheering me on... who cared if I was soaking wet and the equipment was destroyed, I was living life in the moment and it was fantastic. And look... I'm still going...

January 13, 2007

I have been getting my house and business in order to be ready to leave on my trip across the country to create music and to introduce Boner to the world. I am concerned on every level because I had hoped for more support. I am still doing it no matter what. It was a calling that I have had and I am going to follow through with it whether it lasts four hours, four months or four years. I have been feeling angry and I wonder if it is because I have not been out creating music. Every time I went out to play today, it began to spit rain. An opportunity of dryness presented myself so I went for it. After about twenty tries, the truck started and I drove to the middle school by my house. I have never been there before because it seemed so visible. I did not care today, it was at dusk and cloudy so no one would notice my parking in the middle of the lot with apartments on both sides and Humeville road in front of me. I was not looking for any attention I just wanted to express some music. There were two kids playing basketball nearby who slithered away after I arrived. I think the sight of a dog on top of a piano in the back of a truck with a piano man creating music scared them away. The piano batteries are no longer taking a charge so I must keep the engine turned on while I play. Oh well, whatever it takes. I will need to get a new Isolator, inverter and two batteries. That is a couple of grand from the house sale that will probably happen when I return. I thinking I will not have the room to take along both of my speakers, as I may need to sleep in the back of the truck, Oh My God... (I tried sleeping in the cab last year and it did not work, both Bo and I were both miserable) so this means no job bookings while on the road because I will not be able to supply the sound needed. Won't this be fun? I think so. If nothing else... it will be what it will be... and that will be... good enough :)

January 12, 2007

!Flashback! While traveling in Europe some years ago I made the acquaintance of a really fantastic Boogie Woogie guy and invited him to come over here to America to play on the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck. Even though he spoke no English and did not understand a word of it... I was game for his visit. Unfortunately I found out this guy did not have a sense of humor so the visit was more difficult than I had anticipated. He arrived during a booking I had for the Annual Ocean City New Jersey Doo Dah Parade. This is an event to celebrate the end of the tax season and the idea is to be as ridiculous as possible about it. The guy, his name was Christoph, drove for me in the parade and then performed on the truck afterwards. The parade route is through the cities streets and then up and onto then along the boardwalk for about twenty blocks to the music pier. There are many strange sights for this parade every year and it was the first sights of America for this first time visitor. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. He did not think it was funny. He considered Boogie Woogie music very serious and thought that America was making a mockery of itself disrespectfully. How could I possibly be presenting this music with fun abandonment! For him the music should have been and needed to be controlled and worshiped, serious abandonment with full attention. So much for that enriching experience... I say sarcastically. I did have an interesting experience for myself from it. I was in awe when this guy played. I became spellbound, he was the real thing. Some of the other spectators responded in the same way, but not the majority. Someone came up to me and said, "I like your playing better". I thought, "what are you crazy?" I thought about that for weeks until I realized that people listen to music for different reasons and have different experiences. Some people listen to music to hear what they expect; they get comfort from the predictability, reassurance and validation of what they know. Other people listen more to the performer, they draw from the personality, the spirit and energy being presented through the music. So I realized I can jump on the truck and mess up all I want for the people who experience my spirit they could care less about the notes. I do not impress the people with expectations concerning notes very much. Then there are those who just want to enjoy an experience, so maybe they find a little of both ways and also twist of their own to make it work for everyone.

January 11, 2007

!Flashback! What would I do without friends to remind me of my past? An old friend, Barbara sent me a note today in the mail to say hello. Barbara is an event producer who got my phone number from the back of the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck while driving down the road back in the early days. She called me to learn what I was about and a few weeks later, I was playing indoors with the truck for an event expo in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. This was back in... I think it was 1988. The expo was held in what was then the hottest disco around. It was off of Route 1, south of Philadelphia and it was called Pulsations. The place became even more famous in later years for being a strip club. It is all gone now. Back to the disco... we put wood planks on the outside steps of the nightclub and VERY carefully started to drive the truck up the steps. No one knew if the wood would break or not. It broke. Luckily, it was on the first step. We readjusted everything and tried again with success. We then drove the truck into the dance club and onto the dance floor where I performed under the disco ball. It takes a certain kind of person with a certain fun like hutzpah to follow through with an idea like this was. Harrah for Barb!

January 10, 2007

!Flashback! It is such a cold day I thought I would bring back some memories of playing on the boardwalk in Seaside, New Jersey. I was hired for about six Wednesdays one summer. Most shore resorts with a boardwalk create a theme for everyday of the week. I think I was the theme for Wednesdays the summer I was booked because there was no other entertainment. They must have spent the entire budget on me. That meant more fun; I could really give them their money's worth. I played the entire length of the boardwalk. Workers from the store booths would yell as I passed every night, "here, here... stop here and play." I always would. Older Italian guys would yell smirkerly and with a roughness, "hey... peeaannnnist". Store tenants would fight in front of me as to who would get me for their spot. One of the guys from inside an arcade booth took a break and jumped over the counter to drive the truck as I played and we slowly moved through the tight corridors of the arcade area. The crowds moved along with me tight with the sides of the truck and the booths were less than six feet away on both sides. Sometimes we had to stop to lift an awning to get by. As I passed game booths, vendors would try to get me to play between the songs. They would toss me balls to throw from the truck to try and hit the bottles set in a row and through the hooped baskets so I could win a stuffed animal. I experienced creative imagery for my music from kids who were playing volleyball under the night lights on the sand. I would watch the moving chair rides glide by from above with dangling feet as I performed. I would drive by open hotel doors and smell the familiar, transient feel of summer at the beach. Can you smell feelings? Specifically with one hotel, I remember the lady working the desk and the door. She was kind of ratty looking from a long life of working the same job every summer. She reminded me of a Carol Brunette caricature with her big, round, thick, black, 60's glasses and red hair.

January 09, 2007

!Flashback! The Philadelphia International Car show is coming. I have performed for their Black Tie Gala opening for the last eight years, in fact I would be traveling across the country right now but the show really wanted me and I have a lot of fun every year. First, it is always fun to take the truck indoors and drive it through the aisles of the Philadelphia Convention center to get to my performance spot. Everyone makes me feel important and all are always very helpful and glad to see Bo and I. "It's the Piano Man and Piano Dog. How are ya"! My sound is connected to the main speakers so I always need to be aware of what I am creating musically for people walking around on other floors and in the hallways, everyone hears the music. I go early and spend the day trying to polish up my 1987 Toyota pickup with 200,000 miles on it... so it looks better than all the other cars on display. Cough...cough...cough. The first year we put the truck in the elevator to lift it to the second floor. It fit within inches. The second year I had my first paparazzi experience. I was front and center as the doors opened and the media flashed their cameras at me for a good minute and a half. It was major excitement. When my performance is done I always walk around for my own private showing, how cool is that. One of my favorite aspects of the event which is a fundraiser for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is the fact that just about every element of society is represented as in people who are loaded with money and prestige, to priests and nuns, to regular neighbors of mine who have never worn a tuxedo before, to people who usually work the streets, to presidents of big companies, the governor, mayor, students, kids, business people there to work the room networking in everyway imaginable, singles out to create a hookup... and since everyone is dressed up nobody knows who is who. It is all about having a good time for a good cause.

January 08, 2007

!Flashback! I was thinking about my first year and tips. I have had a tip jar out recently and I remember saying that I have never before played for tips. Well, I have remembered that did play for tips and it was during my first year. It was for a Super Sunday on the Parkway event in Center City Philadelphia. Back in 1987, this event was big as in hundreds of thousands of people! I remember being hesitant because the organizers would not pay me. I guess I was not worth any money to them. Well... duh. I decided to do it anyway and I set my piano bench up in the back of the truck with a sign saying, "Tip The Piano Player". A guy walked by and yelled, "Hey Tip, how are ya doin'?" To this day, I have no idea why I find that so funny but I still do. I guess I like plays on words and clever thinking. Anyway, doing the gig without pay turned into a lot of fun with my picture the next morning front page and center in the Philadelphia Inquirer. It was a large picture! I did not get any work from it but I will never forget the glee of seeing myself on the front page of a big newspaper for the first time. I went back the next year and it was not as much fun. I still did not get paid and it rained. I tried playing in the rain, I do not know why, but I do remember the water was so bad the keys splashed when I hit them. The piano dried out after a few days and continued to work but only for the rest of the year. I guess I wanted to see what would happen from playing the piano in the rain.

January 07, 2007

Todays priority is to get a grip on my paperwork and the fact that I am leaving for who knows how long... to who knows were... with who knows what money... to create music and lift the spirits of people in towns across the country on February 9th! Yep... Yikes... so my musical venue today is on the keyboard in my house because I must play everyday I can, to keep the commitment I have made to myself. Then again I may fail at this commitment now and then. I hope I get some help soon.

January 06, 2007

Boy, what a roller coaster of energy I was today. Is started out just ok and then fell to having so little energy I could barley push forward to play physically or think. I was waiting for a newspaper reporter, we had made an appointment and after we met, my energy was soaring so much that I had to created music and cold not stop. I started another conversation with a guy who had seen me perform when he was fifteen and he is now twenty. I felt a mutual a mutual karma thing going and after our conversation and his jumping onto the piano to try it out, my energy level was totally out of this world.

I cannot quite put my finger on what feels so good about Chestnut Hill. I realize that I am only seeing the surface but I have seen many surfaces in my time and I know "good surface". I was wondering, "Is the feeling coming from the fact that I am constantly running into people I have known in the past?" I a have been creating music on Germantown Avenue and everything always seems to always be in harmony even when the emergency vehicles fly by with sirens. I thought, "maybe I am truly experiencing an integrated and well functioning community for the first time.". I have been observing an incredible amount of interaction with the people, the traffic, the buildings, the street, the business's... the dogs... I have never seen so many dogs and so many varieties of dogs... and they are ALL well behaved! I have yet to see a group of kids, bored, hanging around or looking for something as I have seen in malls, on other street corners or in the parks. These kids are relating to the street, to the businesses, other people and families, hundreds of small families heading for the nearby playground with parents who are constantly interacting with children, friends, neighbors... hooking up with each other. It seems that everyone was out today taking a walk on the avenue. I was wondering... does real hometown American neighborhoods like this appears to be... really exist? In any case, my music and I fit well into this town's landscape. That is because it is accepted and respected. I have been creating music here for weeks now and have had nothing but a one hundred percent positive response. I have dealt with no complaining or bad attitude from anyone and this is a first. Cool!

January 05, 2007

It is raining today. I hoped it would so I could get some needed work at home done. Unfortunately I am dragging my feet but they are not dragging so much that I would miss writing another !flashback! I My first New Years Eve performance for Providence, Rhode Island's First Night about ten years ago. So much happened that night that I am just going to list some of the visuals that come to mind. Three feet of snow... forty-nine mile per hour winds... 13 degrees... a children's parade with fifteen foot high puppets... hundreds of red sequined dancers in cleated shoes surrounding the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck with choreographed tapped dancing to my music... driving around the city and sliding on ice into performance parking spots... my own private overnight parking spot in an empty city parking lot garage... a cool hotel room in the center of town... my music being used as the sound track for the fireworks with me performing in the middle of a crowd of 40,000 New Years Eve revelers... the mayor thanking me personally for the crowd on the city steps... scarf, hat, ear muffs, glasses, gloves with the finger tips cut off, thermal underwear, heating pads under my "tush"... Boner with two sweaters on, paw mitts and scarf... my running Boner in and out of buildings for warm up breaks... the search and find of the guy who was to film and take pictures but forgot to because he was so drunk from partying... lines of frozen people waiting to get into concerts and shows and crowds making a run for the next venue after a show. We all had so much fun, they invited me back the next year. Boy, oh boy was that a fun night!!!

January 04, 2007

The weather has really been good to me. What a beautiful and sunny, winter day to be playing the piano outside of O' Doodles toy store on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. Today was he first day I felt like those who wanted to create music on the piano were taking time away from my own piano playing time. I actually had an impulse to say, "ok enough, get off, it's my turn, I wanna play some." HaHaHa... I think that is quite funny! Several little munchkins brought me a lot of joy today as they bobbed around on the sidewalk. The store had their bubble machine working and the kids would dance and jump around to my music while trying to catch the bubbles. One mom lifted her little boy up to watch me play. We locked eyes and I watched his stare turn into a big smile for me. Another little girl about six years old walked and yelled Yeaaaa! On a break, I chased Boner around in circles, inside the toy store, as we played our "catch me game" in and out of the toy racks. When I left, I formed a visual of what that must have looked like. "Oh my God the fifty one year old piano man is running around inside the toy store playing "catch me if you can" with his dog." On the way home I was treated for the second night, for the entire ride, to an enormously huge, bright and full moon with a backlight of clouds.

January 03, 2007

I am officially courting Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, PA. I want to give to them and I hope they embrace what I have to offer. The people who have experienced my music, my passion and spirit and of course Boner the Piano Dog... they appreciate and respect. So, I continue to go back to this place everyday to hopefully integrate the Traveling Piano with the community at large. I am coming down with something like an infection in my throat from New Years eve but once I began creating music I had to make myself stop, I just wanted to keep going, going, going... I was enjoying myself. I also enjoyed the many people who played today I wish I could put all their pictures up on the website. I experience a lot of smiling faces having fun the entire time I am there. I watched the sweetest duet I did not know if they were brother and sister or boy friend, girl friend I just knew they loved each other and showed it through their musical experimentation together. I visited a nearby neighbor Tina and she gave me some fresh squeezed orange juice, a vitamin C tablet and some zinc for whatever I am coming down with. The street was finished with its holiday rush and quieter so I felt at ease to simply practice like I would in a park by myself. On the way home I experienced the brightest and fullest moon with a background of moonlit clouds. I wanted to create music for the moon.

January 02, 2007

!Flashback! My second Philadelphia Mummers parade. Some guy from one of the fancy divisions called me to lead his group down the street and we went back and forth over my availability for several weeks. I had to be there at six in the morning and I remember thinking, "these guys are crazy doing this so early in the day" but it was not early for them as they had not yet been to bed. It was still New Years eve to them. When I arrived, the guy said to me, "I changed my mind, we don't need you, you can go home". I said, "You must be kidding, go home? We decided we don't need you? You're not going to pay me???" I told him to get a grip and pay up immediately... upfront, that I was not going home. "I'm doing this parade after you made me come down here." I was pissed. I had to get crazier than him to scare him into following through. I was ready, willing and able to create a major scene for my having to wake up at 5:00 AM on New Years morning to drive down into center city in performance mode. It was not a small task for me to achieve. He paid me. My friend John was to drive and he was nervous. We were to parade up Market street, the first time ever for the Mummers on this route through the city. We were to make a right turn at city hall and then do a circle in the middle of the street at the next corner for the television cameras and spectators in the stands. I was siked. As we made the first turn, my friend John got mixed up and thought the television cameras were on us. He started to circle the truck in the street right at that spot. There was nothing happening at this spot as John kept circling in the street waiting for someone to tell him to stop. I didn't know what the hell was going on, I just kept playing. Someone ran down from the end of the street and started yelling Go, Go, Go... and John thought we were done and sped right through the spectators and television cameras. I missed the climax of the first time I did this parade and once again this time. As we sped by the cameras and spectators I saw them all rising from the benches on the sides to greet us but we were gone by the time they put their hands together.

January 01, 2007

I woke up in the middle of the afternoon still hung over from last night's performance. So today will be a !Flashback! Ahh... yes I remember it well, the old days and performing in my first Philadelphia Mummer's parade on New Years day. I was majorly excited because as a child I used to watch these parades in person and on television ever year. As a young adult, I would always attend the parades but I never watched them because I was so trashed from the night before. I remember standing as a spectator in the crowds without a worry of falling down drunk because I was so crammed in with other spectators it would have been impossible. The performance, I was sober at the time was in the late eighties or early nineties I can't remember exactly. I was there to perform and make my first demo tape. I don't remember how I got into the parade I think I crashed it. No one in the parade would have known the difference as all the mummers I was around were trashed from the night before and preoccupied with staying trashed. I had to ask them not to pee on my truck. It is a different world today I think the parade became wholesome. A friend I had met the night before drove for me. This Mummer's parade was the period where I had just transitioned from my acoustic piano to a sample grand piano which I had sitting on a bench. I stood when I played. I was enjoying the increased sound I was getting from m new keyboard, you heard the real piano sound but it was obvious I was playing a keyboard. I was hyped because I had just come off a major diet and was thin and handsome. Boner my dog was not around yet. People were going crazy as we road down Broad Street but the major crowds that I wanted to capture for the demo tape were near City Hall. The guy videotaping me had a great sense of catching the humor and ridiculousness of the situation but alas one half a block before all the major crowds began the piano died and I just coasted the truck to the side of the road. With all the potential gone, my jaunt ended without a climax.

December 31, 2006

I woke up this morning thinking, "all I want to do is create music". I was not so concerned about the preparation details for the night's job; I just wanted to play music. Off Bo and I went to Haddonfield's First Night celebration where the town has welcomed us for the last seven years. My favorite part of celebrating New Year's Eve with Haddonfield is to be on the stage at the end of the night with Boner and to watch the fireworks go off in the middle of the street, big fireworks. However, that was not to happen this night as Bo was off the piano within the first ten minutes of performing with the first snap thrown on the ground by some nearby revelers. I did not want to think about what I was musically creating tonight but I was forced to, especially because people were listening. What a concept huh? I had the same responses from people listening to my Improvisation as to the Boogie Woogie and Ragtime. I had good responses. Moreover, of course Boner was the star attraction. I was acutely aware while improvising that I had to follow through with my musical thoughts, which was a bit of a challenge because as I said I did not want to think. About 8:45 pm, a test firecracker went off and Bo also went off, the piano again. This time he crawled under my seat. Then the rain started and I threw a cover over the truck. Then the rain stopped. Then I went and ate a cheese quesadilla or something like that, which was really stupid because it is very difficult to perform at the necessary energy level with a huge cheese quesadilla sitting in my stomach. We moved to different locations throughout the night. Kids jumped on the truck to play some of there own music. A young guy came up and asked to play as he did last year and it felt like a new tradition had begun for both of us. I saw a lot of friends made over the years and a lot of characters. I had a hard time talking in sound bites. At one point some friends yelled, "shut up and play!" I thanked them, shut my mouth and complied. A second test firecracker went off later on and this time Boner glued himself to the piano front while half hanging off and then he not only jumped off the piano, he went under my chair and tried to climb into the bottom of the piano casing. He really tried his best but his days of tolerating fireworks are over. I feel grateful to be appreciated and respected as much as I have been over the years by this town's, police, the residents and the event organizers. We all had a grand New Years Eve!!!

December 30, 2006

The fact is... I am having so much fun creating music that I do not want to stop. I have to make myself stop because I physically cannot handle it. I will play at top energy for like 30 minutes without taking a moment to breath musically and almost physically. It is a good thing that people have the option to walk in and out of the energy as they go in and out of stores and while driving cars driving up and down the street, on Germantown avenue in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia that is. I had about ten people in three hours also jump on the piano. Whatever friends they were with had to pull them off the truck as these ten music lovers also did not want to stop creating the music. The fact that the weather was wonderful helped. I woke up this morning saying to myself, get out of bed, you are a musician, that's what you are, go play music, that's what you do." Wow! If you knew what I used to say about myself in the past... well it was not pretty at all. Anyway, what a great way to end the year, sharing my music, my piano, and my venue with people who allow me to appreciate and respect them and who appreciate and respect all I have to offer.

December 29, 2006

We drove to Germantown avenue in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia gladly once again to the front of O' Doodles toy store. Bo likes it here I can tell because he jumps into the truck and onto the piano on his own whenever we park here and he has the strength to do so. Beforehand I was given a good sign. In fact, I was given five good signs. Magnetic signs, one for the back of the truck, one for each side door and one website strip sign for each side of the truck. Matt, from Insignia Signs & Graphics in Ambler made them for me and now "Traveling Piano" is official! I am very grateful for people like Matt who have offered to partake in my Wildest of Dreams. Something new happened today. Several drivers stopped traffic to jump out of their vehicles on Germantown Avenue to run around to the other side of my truck to throw money in the tip jar. I think that was pretty cool. Their effort and gesture meant everything. A guy came buy with the same computer I own and was making an Imovie of me from it. God it was so funny, I brought my computer out of the cab to make dual Imovies. His wife stood on one side of the truck while he stood on the other side of the truck and they made Imovies of each other making Imovies of my performing. Too bad I could not think fast enough for both cameras and my music at the same time. My music was so stupid that I randomly banged on the keys at the end. Ahh... it is what it is and it was all ridiculous fun. I felt like Ashly Simpson when she screwed up on Saturday Night Live. It is crazy playing on this street and running into the most unexpected people from grade school and college, my neighbors, old music teachers, people I know from California, Massachusetts, South Jersey... I guess everyone comes to Chestnut Hill. When I started creating music today on the busy and noisy city street I was acutely aware of the difference from yesterday's peaceful and silent winter park environment. Yesterday, the music I was creating was more attentive to self. Today the music started out that way but as the day progressed the music became enmeshed with the sounds of a busy city street. My musical individuality gave way to the sounds around me.

December 28, 2006

As it was a beautiful day and I needed some down time. Down time these days for me means moving at an easy pace. I decided to take a break from the creating music, promoting on the busy city street shtick... to go to my old haunting grounds the Delaware River Access area park by my house. It felt comforting to return to an old venue. I thought I had better brush up on some of my old repertoire of Boogie and Ragtime for my New Years Eve booking but I could not even start on it. I just had to play my own music, I could not help it. People gave me the usual "thumbs up" and "great" comments, which always gives me reassurance and is appreciated. I started to envision myself improvising for an indoor venue with Bo on top of a grand piano on stage, pre-main concert music while people find their seats. That revved me up. I found my playing definitely was stronger than a few months ago in this quiet spot where I could actually focus better on objectively hearing what I was creating. I get more drained from creating the music these days but I think that may be because I am caring more about it not because of my physical health or age. It was like a breath of fresh air to create music out the chaos of a busy, noisy and crowded city street. Each venue has something different to offer I like both environments and a constant for my life seems to need variety and diversity of experiences to stay fresh and interested and to progress in general.

December 27, 2006

Wow, difficult day. For anyone who does not know, this is all new for me I have not yet performed my own music in the cold or without getting paid on the street (motivation issues). I now play the Boogie Woogie and Ragtime that I am used almost by rote as I am so burnt out of it. The worse it gets through time the less I enjoy performing it. With my own music, it is not easy to keep the focus on music and fun because the weather is not in my favor. No birds, no trees (except for the dormant ones}, and no bees if you can get my drift. I am not sure whether the difficulty today was because it began to snow on my sound speaker or because a gust of wind took my piano bench full of promo and music and blew it twenty feet into the street on Germantown avenue. Maybe it was because some idiot stole the twenty bucks I put in to start the tip jar. A jar that makes me feel like an idiot in putting out to begin with. I have not yet recouped from Christmas, that may be part of the problem with my energy today. When people come up to talk, I did get energized, especially when they jumped onto the piano to create some music of their own. I was once again in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia. It was cold but I know it is only going to get colder. I keep telling myself, "it is all an experiment". Fun... Music... Growth... Creativity... Giving...

December 26, 2006

Christmas wiped me out! I ended up playing some piano for friends after dinner last night and of course, I was playing for myself because everyone was gabbing. They all wanted me to play, they just did not want to have to listen. I was wondering... "If I was a big time piano star I am sure they would all be giving me one hundred percent of their attention but... would it be about me or about the music?" If I was a big time piano star their thoughts while giving me attention would probably be curiosity about, "what's the big deal?" My personal persona, self, spirit does not need any attention directly but I would love for my music to get some and to get my other needs fulfilled through music. A more accurate word than attention concerning needs would be respect but what are you going to do with life long friends? It is what it is. They are what they are. I stayed in bed until I was forced out today. I really needed the down time, especially for the busy week to come. I have a New Years gig in Haddonfield NJ and I will need to prepare for it physically and mentally all week long while continuing to play outside on Germantown Ave in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia to promote the cross-country trip.

December 25, 2006

Ahh... it is Christmas Day, my first Christmas in my new musical world. Christmas will always be special for me because "it is what it is". My favorite thing to do on Christmas Day is to listen to Christmas music, musical memories from childhood Christmas experiences and anything new. When I find something Christmassy, musically new, I get relief if you know what I mean. I crave new Christmas music, I love newness, which is what Christmas is all about and put that with new music and you find one happy pup in me. I was going to go out and play today at a soup kitchen but when I woke up I realized I would have had to rush before the rain started and then I thought about all the promo and prop stuff in the truck to unpack and repack and I thought... uhh.uhh. I am enjoying some down time by myself before I start the days Christmas reveling with friends. Music and Fun and Peace and Love and Growth to all.

December 24, 2006

Well... today for the first time ever, I performed on Christmas Eve. I was grateful that I had something worthwhile to give to Christmas Eve. Chestnut Hill locals smiled as they passed and often thanked me for coming returning to the street. Their attention means a lot to me. I played Danny Christmas music today. Actually, someone asked for We Wish You A Merry Christmas and I had to bring the book out o play it for them. I watched the energy on the street pick up by the hour. A lot of baked food and desserts passed by from the shops and houses nearby. I must have soaked all the excitement and energy in along with my own Christmas chaos because I became whacked... drained. Also, I am realizing that I have not just been just playing the piano; I have been performing on the piano most of the time. There is a big difference. The energy level for performing for an hour stage concert is much different from say, playing the piano in a restaurant for four hours. I have been on stage for like four hours every day. It is exhausting. I love it but need to pace myself better. I have been wondering why Boner has been so lethargic and now I realize it is the same for him. Today he just gave up all the hello-ing to everyone, turned towards the street and went to sleep.

December 23, 2006

I broke my record for time improvising piano music today on the street, Germantown Avenue in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia, PA. I played for at least six hours, yea... at least six hours. Never in my wildest of dreams just a year ago would I have believed music would be part of my life to this depth or that I would have the physical strength to do this. Six frigin' hours... my own music. I thought to myself, "I am going to get better and better at this, I will never bore anyone because I would be the first to get bored and I am not a boring type of person. People may not be interested in what I am creating but it will never be because they are bored. I may fall into self indulgence musically but not into boredom." When I felt like I was getting stale I just stopped and got off the truck for a few minutes, got distracted with something else and then returned to start anew. I have been enjoying my gifting with music to this community and it has been a challenge to make it unconditional. I am doing pretty good considering performing music for the sake of music and not to pay the bills is a new concept for me. Of course I have hopes for funding from what I am doing, but I have no expectations. It is a good exercise for me in focusing on my honest and true purpose, which is to create music. What helped with the focus today is that I had to give up promoting and encouraging people to take the brochures because most of the people coming by are now returns... as in neighbors, return shoppers, store owners, employees etc... who I have already heard my "support" pitch. People seem very appreciative that I am in their neighborhood; they genuinely thank me for being there. I love when little kids come by and suddenly stop... look me right in the eye and spontaneously with mouth open say... wow! That is it nothing else just... wow! I feel "glee" when that happens and it happens always at least once a day. I put on my Christmas hat today and Bo had his reindeer antlers on. Fran the toy storeowner who is supplying me with juice "electricity for the piano speaker", after his record breaking sales day, came outside with his accordion to jam with his manager Chris on the piano.

December 22, 2006

So... ouch, damm, ouch, damm, ouch! I have been setting up or the last week outside O' Doodle's toy store on Germantown avenue in Chestnut Hill and I could not make it today because of the drizzle and rain. Fran the owner calls me to say get over here the local news is going to do their spot from the store tonight. It figures. This is the second time this week that my being in this spot could have panned out some but did not. The Inquire newspaper was there to take my picture earlier in the week and like an idiot, I told them I just had a feature in their neighbor's section a week before. So ended that photo op. So today I am trying to catch up with other work but I am going to get on the keyboard some... to play Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel, one of my favorite Christmas hymns.

December 21, 2006

How amazing that my friend Don happened by while I was creating music today. Don Kawash is the man who coached me with Ragtime and gave me my first break into show business with his show Scott Joplin and friends at a once famous Grendel's Lair cabaret theatre in Philly back in a past life time, the early 70's. Whew, how time flies. Don is one great ragtime piano player and we are close friends. It was really cool to have him play on the "ave', as in Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill PA. I brought my computer with me for some recording and was trying to create short musical segments for the website but I just wanted to musically go on and on. I guess I was being musically long winded but I was telling myself, "there are many musical pieces that last forty five minutes or more." Then I thought of all the bandwidth that would take up on the site and how I do not want to be long winded. I have a new hat I was wearing that better soon stretch because it gives me a headache from being too tight. It is such a cool hat I am being vain about it and suffer. I need to start using hand lotion as the cold is drying out my hands. It was a fun day, once again.

December 20, 2006

Tonight was a lot of fun, a lot of work, a lot of energy output, and a lot of music. I created my own music for at least three hours and I played for four hours. Wow! The energy was intense the entire time as the streets were packed with holiday shoppers. It was COLD. I kept focusing on my motives, purpose and agenda, which was to have fun, create music for everyone and promote the upcoming tour. I have faith things will work out with the money even though there was nothing tonight to validate that fact. After this present experience of self promotion I will be able to say I have worked the music business from every angle I know other than selling my soul which will not happen. I thought about it on the way to the performance location and made the decision that I will not sell my soul to make money with music. That will not be necessary. It is so much fun to share my piano. Oh yea, I was on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia outside O' Doodles toy store and I will remain there at least through the Christmas season. Chris the store manager played tonight and he turned out to be a seasoned piano player with a real fine New Orleans style of performance. Another guy got up to play who was also good. I enjoyed his excitement over the opportunity to play outside on the street for other people even more than his music. He was really jazzed. It was exciting to experience his enthusiasm.

December 19, 2006

I did not expect to get out and perform today because the truck was to go to the shop. I did go to the shop but there was no waiting. While at the shop I ran into someone who had seen me perform a few weeks ago at another location and the conversation lead to a local chamber of commerce so I made an unplanned visit to the commerce to generate some interest in the upcoming tour and to play them a tune. Maybe, something will come from it maybe not. Probably not... but I cannot afford to ignore any opportunity for success. Besides, I needed some incentive to play some music. I need to do it as often as possible because I become afraid when I stop. Hmmm... I need to think about that comment.

December 18, 2006

My original plan was to go into New York city today to improvise and promote the music across the country tour while taking advantage of the warmth and the holiday season. When I woke up, I said to myself... "uhh, I don't think so." I was extremely exhausted from the performing and promoting from the last few days. The clincher was the realization that Boner absolutely needed a break also. I left Boner to hang out with my niece for the day and I went to New York with my friend Brad to see the sights. The street musicians were killing me. I should say they were killing my pockets, my wallet. There were many street musicians. I never saw so many before and they all were creating great music and I could not pass one of them up without tipping them. Also, as I result of my own recent experience in playing for tips I could not contribute only one or two dollars for a street musician I had to go for fiver's. I put out five bucks, six times. When I thought about it that was only thirty bucks, one dinner at a medium priced restaurant for six wonderful musicians expressing creativity in the subways and on the streets.

December 14, 2006

I went back to Chestnut Hill today to the same spot as yesterday outside of O' Doodle's Toy store. As a playful person, the energy surrounding this store is good for me. The town's environment, businesses and people have been inclusive, welcoming, respectful and interested so I am going to call it home for the holidays. New York tomorrow, truck repair Tuesday and then I will park on Germantown Avenue in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia at least until Christmas. The clincher for my decision is that the streets are filled with people from all walks of life and I am naturally drawn to communities full of diversity on every level. I am now acclimated to improvising in a business environment along with in parks and for specific performance venues. The sounds of traffic with my music titillates me for some reason, maybe it is about the movement. The variety of vehicles on the street matched the variety of people on the sidewalks. Buses, old station wagons, trucks, hummers, jaguars, jalopies etc... all passing by within a few feet of me all day long. My neighbor and friend Wes who has helped me with the structure of my website appeared with his cute date for the day. What a coincidence that was! In Chestnut Hill from my home street? Wes jumped on board to play some Charlie Brown Christmas piano music. There was a lot of moneyed people and a lot of no moneyed people floating around and no way to tell who was who, or what was what. I like it that way. I was there to promote interest in the cross-country tour and to create music for the sake of music for everyone. That was the agenda. The tip jar Fran the to store owner suggested I put out was not doing well, so he slipped in a couple hundred bucks when I was not looking. I found it when I was packing up to leave. I knew there must have been a reason I let him play on the piano especially with the hokey stuff he was playing. He was getting down with mummer's music and oh susanna sing-along stuff. It was bringing back past life horrors of mine. Today was all about fun and fun it was. I hate to say it but I think Fran looks better in a picture formate than me while sitting at the piano.

December 16, 2006

I am so exhausted I got dizzy when I came home. That is a good thing because it is exhausted fun but it would be better if I were dizzy because I got so rich. Not really, maybe really, not really, oh... who the hell cares. Fun IS my priority these days. I called a fun and positive guy... the now, sole proprietor as he happily informed me of O' Doodles Toy store in Chestnut Hill Pennsylvania. This was a hopping place! Fran has been supportive of me in the past so I offered to play in front of his store on Germantown Avenue. He saved a parking spot for me out front was willing to be helpful in anyway. He coaxed me into putting a tip jar out and at first, I refused. I knew that I would not crack a hundred in tips even with Boner on top of the piano. People only put in a dollar. They loved and appreciated what I was doing and really loved Bo but I guess the "tip the piano player" mentality demands one dollar only. Needless to say, I did not crack a hundred dollars in tips but I need to collect every penny that I can... in every way... to create this cross-country trip so... for the first time ever today... I humbly played the piano for tips! Is a dollar better than nothing? Is a penny better than nothing?

Anyway, back to the fun. My camera broke so I could not get a damm picture. I will get one tomorrow because I enjoyed the inclusiveness and company of everyone so much that I am going back. I have great brochures to give to everyone. Playing in this spot today was no coincidence as my sound batteries are no longer taking a charge. I would not have been able to play today if I had not been at Fran's store. I am sure it is the $1400 inverter that will need replacing immediately... when I find out where I can buy one. The one I have been using is fifteen years old. O'Doodles fed me electricity from the store. It was a beautiful day. Another store nearby asked me to come on Wednesday night and I said I would. My music original music was awesome to me. I felt like I was riding the piano. I forced myself to try and play the chord structure of "O Christmas Tree" three simple chords that I just could not remember. I even put the sheet music in front of me. Talk about feeling stupid. I will keep trying with this mental block of mine. I know people reading this write now are like, huh? I have never been able to play by ear, chord, or improvise on a song in the past. I have played my hour of memorized music and that is it. Now I improvise via stream of conscious. Give me a chord to work with and I get overwhelmed.

My favorite part of today was when a hot blond jumped onto the piano seat to play. As I listened I discovered that she was a major pianist, real good at what she does. She played Hanukah music on my piano! All I could say was...fun...fun...fun. I hope someone sends me a picture of today so I can put it up on this website.

December 15, 2006

Let the games begin! I started the day with a $200 paypal contribution from a close friend. So, you know where that put my head? In a good place. I drove to Phoenixville, PA to pick up my $1500 dollar order of brochures. I was going to hang out for the day and "work the town". On the way, I said to myself, "synchronicity is happening, I can feel it, I didn't think it would start until I left for California but it started, I can feel it." For those have witnessed my amazing life experiences and for those who have read the Mississippi, New Orleans blog from last year... I am officially in the "Danny World of Synchronistic Wonder". I have begun the last whirlwind on my life. I do not know how long it will last or where it will take me but it is definitely the last. I am going to milk it with all of my ability and most importantly share it all.

I am driving in Phoenixville PA thinking about this guy Mark from the local Jaycees who hires me for their town parade every year. He has always exemplified the enthusiasm for life that I now have and he has always been easy to deal with, a positive guy. And then Mark pulls up in his car beside me while we are driving and starts waving. We stopped and chatted for a few seconds and as I continued on m route I thought, "the right people are definitely coming into your life." It is going to be very difficult to keep short the writing about days like today. Ok, so I stopped at the wrong printing company building but ended up playing some music for everyone there. I continued next door to the correct place and performed for the guys on the loading dock. Oh, I forgot. When I left the house this morning I stopped at the bank to get money. The place is under construction. One of the guys working started to yell to me as he has met me in the past and wanted to connect especially so he could tell his buddies that I was for real. I did my business and on the way out stopped to play some Boogie for them. Of course, they loved it! Me too.

I was driving down the road towards Schwenksville, PA and saw a tall structure that reminded me of the burning man festival in Colorado. I stopped to explore what was going on and met a small group getting ready for the Firebird Festival that is similar. I decided to stop and give them some music. The one guy had a familiar accent and I asked where he was from. He said Denmark. I told him I had a friend in Copenhagen that I have wanted to get on one of my daily Oprah Wildest Dream tapes but the distance has been a problem. He said that he was going there in two days. How cool is this? So, he had a small video with him and I taped the first part for some future date and he is going to get my friend Paul Erik to give his pitch in Denmark next week and then give me the tape to send into Harpo productions. The word for this kind of experience is "synchronicity."

I ended up in Zieglerville, Pennsylvania at the Perkiomenville Valley Middle School West in Montgomery County. Don't you just love the names of these towns? Let me describe the schools and school grounds in this shcool district. WOW! What an amazing environment to teach and raise successful students. Clean, rich, new, intellegent, organized, open, active, caring, nourishing words come to mind. They were having a "stuff-the-bus" with toys activity fundraiser and I played for hundreds of screaming, fun loving middle schoolers. My music was "one" with the chaos. If anyone can do chaos well it is I. Now I get to do it though my own music. Wow! Let me tell you what the energy level was like. I let Boner down to run around on the ground a little. After three minutes he not only wanted to get back on top of the piano, he jumped into the truck and on top by himself for the first time in weeks. I had a real good piano player named Keith get up to play and also about twenty-five kids had their turn with Traveling Piano.

I went inside the school for a few minutes before I left and it rained for that few minutes right through my piano speaker cones. I hope the speaker works tomorrow. On the way home a not good sound started in the truck engine. I tried going into denial saying it was from the cars around me. Every time the car I thought it creating the sound left my view... I would attribute the troubled sound to another nearby car. After I knew for sure it was me I thought, "this sounds like one of the kids cars running through the neighborhood." Bad muffler under the engine? I stopped at a neighbor's house before I went home hoping he could tell me what was wrong, he was out so I stopped at the neighbor next door who knows cars also. The air filter was loose.

December 14, 2006

I want to report like an excited child every detail of my experiences today. I will try to be brief. It was my first good day of musical business tasking. Very little money was donated so far, but I was paced, had a good time, was "gifted" and was able to "gift" myself. The temperature was not too cold. I was the most comfortable yet with playing my sounds on the street. I was able to have direct interactions with many people, varieties of people, and spent time with a lot of kids. I played piano and many children and adults also played. I went to Ambler, PA a town that has always been respectful, inclusive and giving to me as a musician. I have played for their Christmas parade for the last ten years. As I went in and out of stores to introduce myself I found that everyone on the main street knew me. No one on the side streets knew me. It kept dawning on me that no one had ever seen me off the truck before or had the opportunity to hear me talk. That experience was fun. For ten years, everyone has just seen me perform as I drive by. I got my talk down; if you can say it shorter and better, I want to hear that. It goes like this. "Have you ever seen a piano man on a truck with a dog that sits on the piano? (they say yes or no) I have been making my living performing on the back of my pickup truck for twenty years and Boner my dog (I point to him sitting in the doorway) has been sitting on top of the piano for the last ten years. We are going to cross the country to perform for communities that do not have the advantages that we have to gift them with music. I want to ask for your support so I can say the music is a gift from my community to yours. When you get a chance please read over the brochure (I hand it to them) I would appreciate any support that you can give." I started about at 12pm. I got home at 9pm. Before I began, I was thinking about how I need signs for the truck and what to do. I happened upon a sign shop called Insignia Signs and Graphics so I stopped in to ask the guy what my options were. It took less than five minutes of trying to explain what I needed and why for Matt the owner before he offered to make me magnetic signs as his part contribution. I did not have to ask, he offered this to me. The weblink for his store at 43 North Main Street can be found on travelingpaino.com.... Random acts of kindness go a long way with me. Matt's support set the tone for my day. I ran into Bernadette who handles Main Street for the parade ever year. It so happens that Santa was coming to town via the train tonight. All the towns' children were to meet him at the train and escort him up the street to the local theater to have a lap talk with him. As I had just been gifted, it was very easy for me to tell her that I would stay and work to provide music for the town while everyone was waiting. I could tell she was excited which excited me even more. In the meantime, The Shanachie restaurant was hospitable enough to treat me to dinner across the street from where Santa's was to park his butt. I had a delicious Irish stew, how I love to be treated to good food! Wasn't that generous? Santa came, about twelve kids took their turns at playing the piano and so did the "nana" of one of the children. The night ended with Santa granting my request to have Boner and my picture with him. I gave my camera to sixteen year old Mike who was standing nearby. Mike had been playing the piano earlier. I told him the camera battery is almost dead, so he needed take the two best final shots. He did while Santa sat on MY lap! Santa said he wanted to warn me that he was a heavy man. "Do you know how much I weight," he asked? He was the biggest I had ever seen him. I cautiously said," three hundred and fifty... Santa?" He warned me, "closer to four hundred". I said, "I can take it Santa" and he proceeded to climb over the side of the truck. I was amazed at how powerful and agile he was. I thought several of us were going to need to help him up from the back tailgate. I was aware the truck sank to the ground a bit. Santa was a good sport! After he sat on my lap, we switched positions and I sat on his lap. Here Comes Santa Claus, Here Comes Santa Claus...

December 13, 2006

It was a cold damp and rainy day so I did not get to go outside and play. I have an enormous amount of "not playing the piano" work to do so I needed the time at my office desk. I now get so much satisfaction from creating music outdoors that I crave it although not the business part of it. I get a lot of satisfaction meeting all kinds of people and having positive exchanges with them. I get satisfaction from making money from creating music. I do not get very much satisfaction from the hustling involved with the business end of my music... the finding of work, money, dealing with rejection, distractions, uncertainties. For the next few weeks, it will be a challenge to develop the talent, the focus of switching back and forth and keeping a balance. I am talking about sitting down at the piano to be "in the moment" with my music and then to stop and jump into interaction with people, and then to jump into business interaction... all the while being responsible with the different environments and situations and also keeping a hand on the self satisfaction that I am in the process of following through with what I have decided to do. I want to take the good with the bad and focus on the fun.

December 12, 2006

I went o the streets of Hatboro, Pennsylvania to create some music and interest for the cross-country trip. I had recently performed for the towns Christmas parade and was featured on television from the parade, and also had a feature in the newspaper the week before so I would say about one in three people knew who I was. I did not play as much music as I would have liked on the street. I walked into one restaurant where I saw a beautiful grand piano and had to resist asking to play it. I had places to go, people to see, things to do. There were not many people walking on the streets and this was not a situation where the shop owners would have come outside. Everyone was working so Bo and I ran up and down the streets introducing ourselves and putting out a pitch for support. Boner was tuckered out and a little bewildered from my appearing and disappearing in and out of stores. God I hope this works, it better work. I want to be part of a bigger picture with what I have to offer the world. What happened to my writing about my playing music and people's reactions to that? I want to strike a balance that works between creating music for others and paying my bills.

December 11, 2006

Trying to wrap my brain around this business, donation, pay the bills, free performance, career investment of a life time... be part of... stuff... is racking my brain big-time. Dollar tips of respect...? Thousands per performance fee...? Zero bucks...? God help me. After spending $100 and four hours with my printer today in my office, I got to go outside for about an hour to play and create some interest. I pulled into a small strip mall near my house where Christmas trees were being sold and jumped in the truck to play. I felt really stupid at first. It took about five minutes before personal interaction began and then it all became fun. Driving 50 feet down the parking lot, jumping out of the truck into the back bed, focusing on the creation of music for a few minutes, stopping to hand out brochures, talking with people, keeping aware of Boner and the environment around me, running into shops to hand brochures, running back out for a repeat of it all... takes time. About five times for a small strip mall. It is going to be difficult to cover the ground necessary to raise funds for this cross-country tour. I am realizing the limitations but also that the one-on-one positive interaction via music, Boner and myself is the only important thing about what I am doing. At the end of the strip was a playground for the nearby daycare center. The chaos involved with what I am trying to achieve became all worthwhile as I improvised with about twenty... three-foot high jumping beans banging against the fence. Kinder tots galore. The energy I was drawing from these little children was amazingly fun. After about ten minutes, they started to separate and bounce all over the fenced in yard never stopping for a second. Bo could not have been less interested. I was in awe of the situation. Afterwards, I went to a local pizza joint to surprise a thoughtful friend with a few moments of music from the truck before I went inside to give him a one of my music CD's and to have some dinner. The owner freaked running out waving his hands with, "I don't want you taking up one of the customers parking spots". I said, "I am one of your customers, I am here to eat and I am here for a steady customer of yours who is not here yet." I was about as loud as a radio playing in a car. He walked back inside chagrined. As the parking lot was half empty I concluded that he was feeling territorially freaked and fearful of the unknown. I didn't ask him first. Lesson learned. Better I learn it here at home than somewhere in jabip with a shotgun up my ass.

December 10, 2006

I had to work up the nerve to go out today. Playing strictly for the fun verses playing to try and get donations are two different mindsets for me. As I started out driving I thought, "priority Danny, fun." Then I went to thinking, maximum exposure, and performance energy, pacing, number of locations, donation value, time issues and then I started to get bogged down so I said to myself... "just do it, just go somewhere and play!" As I passed a small flower shop selling Christmas trees with kids waving to passers my mind turned to, "these people look like they would enjoy some fun and that is what I want too, fun." I pulled to the side of the road with about two feet between me and the traffic whizzing by at 45-50 miles an hour. I was on Street road in Bensalem PA across the street from the development that I live in. It was fun. Everyone took a turn at the piano. I love the sounds of traffic flying by while I improvised. I was trying to "jam" on Jingle Bells because I could not play the tune from my head no matter how hard I tried. This is even after playing it from the sheet music every year for a lifetime. I tried jamming to the rhythm in my head, "jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way". That was interesting and worthy of exploration but damm if I could remember the next words or phrase. I must have tried it five times in a row and could not do it. It is crazy. I am going to keep trying. The sound system lasted barely forty-five minutes. I am hoping that is because of the cold and not because the batteries or inverter is dying. That will be another thousands bucks. The owner offered to send out brochures with their flower orders so I took advantage of the offer. She tipped me 20 bucks. I took it. It is a humbling difference from what I get for a usual performance fee but, "it is what it is, I am doing a different thing here". I have trust and faith that it will pay out somehow down the line and I do not ever want to reject a gesture of good will even if it comes in the form of a quarter. When I got home, I started a tip jar to hold donations such as this. Lets see... with 3,500 more twenty dollar tips I will be able to finance this trip and get a truck to continue.

I want to remember last nights drive home into the Lincoln Tunnel from New York City. The maneuvering to get into this tunnel is truly an amazing experience. It is anarchy in its purist form, total chaos, a free for all with cars, trucks, limos everything you can imagine coming from at least nine different traffic lanes and directions to funnel into one lane of tunnel traffic. The police are at the entrance to the tunnel, the turn a blind eye to the entry action two hundred feet away. It is a time of dare, aggression and abandonment. It is not a very polite and courteous situation. To drive into the Lincoln tunnel necessitates the lowest and most nasty elements of a driver's personality. To exemplify non-care and respect is not only accepted it is an absolute must. I see the experience as a possible future performance opportunity. I wonder if everyone would move out of the way for the piano truck, have an accident from being distracted or would, "shoot the piano player" to act out the highest form of aggression.

December 09, 2006

Today is a holiday. I am almost scared to say it. Today, I am going to demand balance in my life. I am going to take a day off. I have been social over the last year and a half but I have not taken one full day off since June 1, 2005. I am writing this in the early am and posting it because when I wake up I am going to do no work. I am going up to New York City for the day to hangout with a friend and I am going to play for the day. Play as in anything but the piano. It will be a challenge not to take a camera, spend the day thinking about how I can work angles, take brochures or business cards to drop off... I am going to focus on seeing a play, movie, eating out, the sights, people etc... no Traveling Piano, no Raggin' Piano Boogie, no I have to do this... I need to do that... Oprah... I am doing all before I go to bed and after 12am so I can say it is for the correct day. It is amazing for me to think that this would be a challenge. The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy for me in trying to get donations for the cross-country tour and I need to make sure that I have the choice for myself to walk away from it all. I am doing what I am doing out of choice not out of obsession, habit, fear, guilt. I am living my life out of the choice for passion and love and it is going to stay that way. Fun.

December 08, 2006

Let the experiment begin! With piano, truck, dog, brochures, business cards and a passionate spirit I set off to Newtown Pennsylvania's main street to perform and collect funds to provide music for no cost to communities across America. Booking performances is not the same as soliciting a donation. Was it easy? No. Was it cold? Yes, a 21-degree wind chill factor cold. Anyway... there is a reason I have never played the piano to collect tips before and why it has never worked for me. It became clear today. For the first twenty six years of my life I was humiliated beyond belief for ever, ever... even having the idea... of asking for anything at all. That is the truth. It was not until I was twenty-six years old before I ever experienced the feeling of, "it is ok to ask", from another person. That feeling of freedom had to be given to me from another human being and then I had to accept it with trust. That is where the word "grace" comes to mind.

I set up the truck, put Boner's coat on him, and jumped onboard to "wail" away with about fifteen minutes of improvisation. I kept telling myself to not look strained when I was playing from the potential of feeling ridiculous, or from the cold. Then I would jump out of the truck and start running in and out of stores to do... "the ask thing". First I would say to myself, "make sure when you introduce yourself to people you look like you want to have sex with them". That meant communicate that I am secure, happy, passionate, glad to see them, personable and attractive. I am constantly amazed at how many people do not use a computer. How was that for a quick shift of topic?

I would then ask, "are you the owner of this store?" Then I would say, "hi, have you ever heard of a piano man with a dog on a truck?" They would say yes or no and then I started to develop the soundbite "spiel". I don't have it down yet but its like this so far... "I have been making my living playing the piano on the back of a pickup truck for the last twenty years and my dog Boner (Bo was sitting outside each store on the sidewalk waiting each time during the second hour) has been on top of the piano for the last ten years. We are going across country to "gift" music to communities that do not have the advantages that we have and I would like to ask for your support. I want to say nationally, that what I am presenting the gift of music from my community at home to yours."

As I was driving home, I thought. This is going to be a major challenge, to reach enough people in the amount of time necessary to drum up support. As of today, one person has donated from over the four thousand emails I sent. Well, this journey is going to happen no matter what because I have made the decision to do it. It is a good way for me to contribute to the world what I can best offer, it is a good idea and my motives are clear and worthy.

Fun is the operative word for me and to remember also, "pace yourself, Danny."

December 07, 2006

I was multi-tasking today. I really needed to get out and play and I also needed to pick up a few cartons of stuff from a friends house so I loaded the truck and then pulled in the backyard... My music was like a turbulent ocean of sound with no stability whatsoever. That felt freeing for me. I really needed to express my mind body and soul musically. I have been going through an amazing life change since the pursuit of my wildest of dreams. Now a days I need to exercise, I need to create music, I need to be with people to share, I need to care about what I eat, I need all that life can offer... as balanced as possible, more often than ever before. I need all of this because I truly want it. I woke up this morning and said to myself, "you are a musician, an artist". I know most people cannot understand that this is a new awareness and acceptance for me but it is the truth. I have a respect for myself as a musical artist that never existed before.

December 06, 2006

This past week has been about... "keep going". My outside playing has not been practical. I will be making up for all the time missed in the coming weeks. So, another "flashback"! In the late eighties, I went out and played in 0 degree weather and big winds under the big Adams mark Billboard on City Line Avenue in Philadelphia across from channel 10 and 6. I was next to a big trailer and a small plastic covered stage. I do not even think the hotel is in this spot any more. It was a prime spot back when. I was playing for the annual radio station food drive. I remember there were a lot of slobs around and the WYSP rock and roll radio DJ doing the broadcast live from inside their van. There was beer, a sleazy girl, an unmade bed and a guy with dirty black beard growth. I played for about an hour and they flipped, loved it while I was playing for the rush hour traffic. They hooked me up to their sound system big time and my sound blew them away. I came home hearing me being plugged on the radio... as I drove "you gotta come down here and see Danny Kean play... Rockin out the tunes from the back of this pickup truck. I came home and called them to tell them it was great playing and I appreciate the plugs but I want to do pickups and perform for the people giving the food. I wanted them to promote the idea of a piano playing Santa that would go to the listener's work place to pick up the donated food and play for them while they filled the truck up to take back to the food trailer. I wanted the DJ to play the music and describe the visual. I wanted to be a Santa's helper. They brought the idea and plugged it a couple of times on air but did not describe it or play the music even though I left them a tape and flyers. I went back the next morning 7am and played again, nothing came of it. I wonder if they are still doing it, maybe I will call and see what is up tomorrow and have another go at it almost twenty years later.

December 05, 2006

I am still "flashback"! ...ing from yesterdays West End fair in Pennsylvania. I experienced a scooter salesman with a booth at the fair. He was obsessed with my ability to play the piano and wanted me to come to his house to play on his new, white, hundred thousand dollar recording, self-playing piano. I was impressed by him because I watched him work and listened to what he told me about his life and saw what it took for a business man to be successful with his work, twenty four hours a day being on call for 800 phone number orders, showcasing, wheeling and dealing constant working with high energy. Money will do that to most people. I'm ready for it. Fun is what I experienced playing for the farm plow derby races while listening to the roar and putt, putt, putting of the tractors with the music. I was selling home made dog treats at the time for a dollar a piece and I had to be careful about that concerning Bo. I wanted people to buy them for their dog at home but everyone was feeding them to Bo as he sat farting because of them all day long on the piano. He didn't mind he just wanted more, more, more. Some people gave me trouble trying to bargain over a dollar treat. I thought to myself, "these are not Tip the Piano Player people they don't want to give it up for a dollar purchase." People would eat the treats from the basket, on the bench, in the back of the truck thinking they were freebie food samples. That fact was very interesting to me. I enjoyed watching Boner's reaction to the smell of the tigers that were performing nearby. As soon as he caught their scent, he had a look unlike any other. To this day, I cannot describe it. Was it fear, curiosity, intrigue? I caught a glimpse of myself when in the truck mirrors on arriving home the last day. I wished I had a picture of the sight. I had been wearing big old-fashioned headphones while trying to stay awake listening to music. I wore these funky sunglasses and my head was plastered back against the headrest with Bo sitting upright next to me oblivious to anything as he was zonked out from work. It was a fun visual.

December 04, 2006

I am "flashback"! ...ing still from yesterday from the West End fair in Pennsylvania. After dealing with the Sheriff, I remember positioning the truck in another designated spot. No one told the Grounds Keeper I was going to be there and I think he must have had some brain damage or something too. I guess he didn't notice the nice shiny truck with big speakers high on poles, professional signs on the trucks, a guy dressed in a shirt and tie unlike any of the fair goers and a dog sitting on the piano. He thought I just drove onto the fair grounds from home with the piano on the back of my truck to play without permission. I sat and listened to him chew me a new asshole for a good ten minuets without letting me get a word in. When he finished, I explained that I was a performer for the fair. He walked away to his office yelling into the air. I remember positioning the truck into yet another designated spot and no one told the Amusement Ride Owner that I was to be there... well, you know the rest. One day I was driving between two buildings to get into the fair grounds and a couple of kids on go carts delivering Pepsi thought they could pull a fast one on me. Instead of waiting for me to get through the path as I was already half way through, they tried to drive through from the opposite direction at about twenty miles an hour. Everything came to a sudden halt as I heard the sound of my drivers mirror crunching against the side of my truck. They has successfully wedged their way off the ground between my truck and the building next to me. I was insidethe truck. This created a lot of very polite people all throughout the day while an all point bulletin was sent over fifty miles away to find me a new mirror. To find parts was not an easy task for an old truck like mine. I am going to keep on going with this one again tomorrow.

December 03, 2006

I am still recovering from yesterday's performance so today will be a "flashback!" These are just random memories of a county fair I performed for in Pennsylvania a few years ago. It was a five-day booking which was unusual, a challenge especially since I drove back and forth over two hours each way, each day to the job. It was cheaper than a motel and the driving gave me time to wind down each day before falling to sleep. I remember this guy who looked exactly like Yogie the bear and he worked on me every day to play "Roll Out the Barrel" every hour, every day. I remember a guy coming up to me to show me how Boner talks by just dropping his mouth open for food? I remember positioning the truck in a designated spot. No one told the Sheriff I was going to be there and I think he must have had some brain damage or something. I guess he didn't notice the nice shiny truck with big speakers high on poles, professional signs on the trucks, a guy dressed in a shirt and tie unlike any of the fair goers and a dog sitting on the piano. He thought I just drove onto the fair grounds from home with the piano on the back of my truck to play without permission. I sat and listened to him chew me a new asshole for a good ten minuets without letting me get a word in. When he finished, I explained that I was a performer for the fair. He pulled out his walkie talky and yelled into it asking who the hell I was and then just walked away. Now I am starting to remember stuff. I am going to continue this into tomorrow.

December 02, 2006

I started out with a new parade today, the Salem City New Jersey Christmas parade. I do not know what it is with this area of New Jersey, I feel so comfortable with the people in this area. It is near Alloway New Jersey where I do a Halloween parade every year. It was a short parade, I should have done a pre-hype to give them more music for the money and because I drove two hours to get there. I did not know what to expect. Maybe next year we can set it up better. We needed to start at the beginning because I had another parade to perform in way up in Ambler Pennsylvania and I had to get there right away afterwards. Something went wrong with the start; I noticed all the parade unites leaving without me. I jumped off the piano had to run ahead of the truck to lead my friend Cindy who was driving in and out of the start lineup to get me up front. Everyone running the parade was very cooperative. In the meantime, Bo decided to not sit on the piano and jumped into the back of the truck. The parade went by so fast I didn't really get to see the crowd. I played like a maniac and then when I was done tore down the equipment like a maniac and then raced like a maniac to Ambler. I got there in plenty of time, good thing because my dyslexia took hold and I took a wrong turn. A half hour later, I realized I was really lost. It was amazing I got to the parade just in time. I usually do a pre-hype for Ambler but for some reason they had expected me to play during the parade in between musical units on main street after I went through the parade so that worked out well. When I arrived, the police lady yelled over to me, "now it's complete were ready to go, the piano man's here! That made me feel real good, as this was my tenth year with this community. We are all buddies. Boner was so patient throughout. He turned twelve years old this week.

December 01, 2006

Out of a nice guy impulse, I agreed to go play for the opening of Barbara's frame shop in Newtown, PA during the town's first Friday event. It was killing me to do it without getting paid, as it was a business event. My business is music so I should have been making money too. I was going to use the situation to try and raise funds for the tour across country but I fell into a problem with getting the promo printed so I had none to use. I am completely out of promo; I do not even have any business cards left. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Barbara is so nice and such a hotty, how could I resist in helping her out. She also did a great framing job for a painting of Bo and I. Maybe something will come out of it all, I doubt it. I have never received anything directly from giving a freebie in my life. Oh well. I am due for some financial gifting from my work! I'll take a moment here to say yo peopleÉ if you tip the piano guyÉ a buck is like a penny and do give me the old, "well pennies add up routine, please. A Burger King lunch meal is like six or seven dollars É cheessszzeÉ (and no onions please). After about an hour we all experienced the frightening rainstorm that had been hyped for the last two days. It lasted for about five minutes and then the moon came out and I went back to work. I had wanted to improvise only, but the environment demanded excitement so I was forced to do the Boogie and Ragtime for everyone. I do what I need to do, what can I say? They loved it.

November 30, 2006

What a day of stress and what a beautifully warm day! The stress was not going to win. My truck has come back to life and we all went to the river's edge to make, create and record some music. It was 70 degrees. Bo wanted to stay in the cab of the truck so I let him. It was wonderfully windy. There were tens of thousands of seagulls flying chaotically in every direction over the water. Some would fly over to check me out. As it has been cold, rainy, and the truck broken though the last two weeks, today reminded me of how it felt all summer going outside to play. I love to create music and be interested in music instead of myself and all other forms of reality.

November 29, 2006

It ONLY took $700 dollars to bring "the little truck that could", back to health, that is after the $500 and the $250 a week before that. Better the chances to make it across country and back eh? Better it all fall apart here before I get started. I had to go to Newtown PA for some business and while I was waiting, I tinkled on the piano keys some. There were allot of people around and they were very interested and liked what I was doing. I keep screaming in my head, "Soundbites Danny, SOUNDBITES". I do not have the time to give every person I talk with a half hour thrasing of what is going on and that I am o perform across country to gift communities, and that I need them to tip the piano player $100 because its going to cost a wallop... etc...etc...etc... even if they want to hear it.

November 28, 2006

Help! My gears arn't workin'! My flywheel is...! My shaft needs to be replaced. My stick shift needs a lift! Ohhooowwww, this is gonna cost. Where's Boner?

November 27, 2006

I completely lost this days writing. I was so tired, I had slept two hours the night before and I stayed up this night anyway and wrote for an hour to keep my commitment. I lost it all. Boy does that hurt. I know I mentioned that the truck is still in the shop and busted. I spent time over my friend Mary's house and played on her mother's piano and old Mason and Hamilton. Maybe I dreamt about writing this. Hmmm... Anyway, I really enjoyed feeling the keys hitting the hammers the feel of wood, strings, and the vibrations. I felt at one with the piano. It was rich and earthy in sound and feel. It was real. The music in my mind became much more pleasing than from the keyboard I use on the truck. Maybe my experience of feeling and sound, the stimuli I get outside while creating music... compensates fro the limitations from the keyboard I use on the truck. I know I would get bored playing on a keyboard everyday in my house or studio. I feel much more... on a real piano. What is wrong with me that I do not own a real piano? Isn't that crazy. Well, before I never played for my own enjoyment, I did not practice, and I did not play because I did not want to be bored for when I had to perform. Remember, I had played the same friggin' hour of music for nineteen years! There was no way I would have enjoyed playing that stuff at home by myself. Now, if I was to get a piano I would need the best, so I can be the best. I also know I would be playing all the time. Then I would not have time to write this stuff.

November 26, 2006

The "little truck that could" is in limbo while sitting in the garage waiting for its diagnosis tomorrow. I think it is the clutch plate, if that is something that can break, and the flywheel? Anyway, pray for it. "Flashback"! As I was performing during the Collingswood, New Jersey Holiday parade yesterday I remembered one of my top ten fav moments and it was during the first time I did that parade over ten years ago. It was a big year for the energizer bunny; he had recently been released into the advertisement world. He was in the parade and to have fun... we both decided to do a pre-run of the parade route to hype everyone along the route and then return to the back to follow up the end of the parade up with a little tongue and cheek, "still going". So, the twelve foot tall energizer bunny with a young guy inside the costume marched to the beat of his drum in front of me while I followed down the parade route. At the end, he jumped into the back of the truck and we raced through a parallel side road to get back to the parade and lined up at the end. As it came time to begin the parade route once again, at the end, we started off but the energizer bunny who was sitting on the back ledge of the truck fell into the truck bed and all I could hear was a muffled guy yelling through his suite, "I can't do it, I can't do it again I am too tired. So I boogied down the parade route for the second time with my energy, "still going" while the energizer bunny depleted of energy with his feet and ears hanging over the sides of the truck laid flat in the back.

November 25, 2006

It was a great day fo a Holiday Parade and Collingswood New Jersey and my eleventh year performing for the town. I was happy to have my friend and neighbor Larry with me. He's an old fart of seventy-five and I say that because I am jealous of his drive for life. I want to be like him. By the way, Larry drove for me. I started out under a railroad bridge, one of my favorite environments for sound against the cement walls. The parade was a sucess. I had several visuals but they have blured from my mind because right now I am letting life wash over me as I do not want to get stuck. You see, the clutch on the "little truck that could" broke about a mile from my house on the way home. Luckily, it was not during the parade or on the highway far from home like say somewhere in a Kansas cornfield. I was able to get it to the top of a hill where it just stopped working and sat as I directed traffic around it and waited for the tow truck. God seems to give me these little distractions with life that make me wonder. It was very interesting that at the top of the hill where he truck stopped the guy sweeping his driveway came over to offer me his cell phone to use. He happened to be the first guy who ever jumped on the truck to jam in the park back in May. He is the very first blog entry on this Daily Performance link. I never knew his name, never saw him since May and here I break down in front of his house. He is a local chruch music director and kept me company while I waved on traffic. The cross country trip we are planning will be interesting indeed with the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck, if it lives to even start the trip.

November 24, 2006

My life could not be more full. I used to think about things I need to or want to do; now I am doing them. There is a difference from being rushed and rushing, the first is wasting time in thinking about it, and the second is living it. I am rushing and the challenge is to keep a healthy pace while doing it. I went to the high school parking lot in Bensalem today and played while the track team practiced and played games. The coach came over and told me how much they had been enjoying the music. It would have been a picture perfect day for a good camera shot but my picture card malfunctioned. I improvised in three chord progressions all over the place, God was it fun. I have mostly been thinking in terms of two musical chords back and forth or just chords in of themselves when playing. I am growing! I also enjoyed playing for like twenty minutes straight improvising at high energy without musically breathing. It would drain anyone who was to listen without another activity going because I have allot of intense energy when I am expressing the millions of thoughts I am having at any given moment in a stream of conscious mode. It is sort of like that last sentence you just read. Ha. I am really looking forward to my parade tomorrow every year going back to Collingswood NJ to perform is like visiting old friends.

November 23, 2006

It is another rainy day. Sounds like a song. Thanksgiving is today in case you don't know and well, happy, happy or whatever. Today's choices were to work all day as I have allot to do, family hop at different dinner times, sit in the movies to catch about four of them, hang out with a couple of friends. I decided on going outside to play at different soup kitchens but that is not going to happen because it is pouring rain. When I got up it was miserable outside but not raining so I started to feel like I had to do it even though it would probably be too miserable for anyone to enjoy with the cold, dark, windy, damp, grey, ugly... am I pushing it? Boner does not want to get wet. I will be improvising with a family of artists and musicians and on a REAL grand piano at the Bryson clan's abode, friends of mine where I am sure to get some good Thanksgiving meal eaten'.

November 22, 2006

There is a Nor-Easter outside! Is that how you spell it? Who thought of that term? It is a recently new term of a few years back and sounds wonderfully scary and big. Not scary like a hurricane or tornado but something really big. Big rain, big snow? All I know is that it is wet and cold today and crazy because it is the day before thanksgiving. The chaos of it all brought on a "flashback!... Imagery from a drive to a job. It was in the early days when I was still using the piano I grew up with. For travel, I had a cabinet like case built that would lock everything together. I was driving up the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the roof of the cabinet had blow off. I did not notice but what I did notice were people constantly waving to me as they drove by. There had been a newspaper feature written up about me the day before so like an idiot thought everyone was acknowledging they had read about me and were waving hello. I was wrong about the saying hello part. I was right about the idiot part. They were waving at me trying to tell me the roof of my cabinet had just blown off and I was so full of myself that I was not paying attention to their communication. I never did find the lid even though I searched for hours after the job. It had cost several hundred dollars!

November 21, 2006

There is no one around to take our picture anymore because it is too cold for 98 percent of the population to hang outside? The other two percent is Bo and I. It was about 44 degrees out. I monitored Boner closely to make sure I did not see a shiver from him. He is jumping onto the piano less and less; I had to lift him up. We were in the new neighborhood being built next to mine. I love an open environment. At first I thought, "shit it's too cold" and, "I don't want to be crazy about what I am doing". Then I took it on as a challenge seeing as I am going to start playing outside local business to ask them for money for to help fund the tour across America. I cannot express how much oomph!... it will take to go asking for money. I do not think I ever did it "in your face" before. I can just see myself going up to my local gas station, I start playing and Joe comes outside and says, "Dan, please don't do that here". Then I ask him for a hundred bucks and he says, "you got to be kidding, I'm not giving you a hundred bucks"! Then I will have to brush that off and keep going. That is how it works right? Anyway, my improvising today was actually a release of mind body and soul. I have only recently got to the point in my life where I can experience exercise and music as a release. It took me fifty years to get to where I am. I am really glad I made it. I was not cold once I started I just had to get over the lack of incentive, there were no people around and I was not getting paid. Yes, my hands were numb when I finished.

November 20, 2006

I have spent my entire day and the better part of the last three weeks trying to decide on what and how to present my planned trip to Hollywood in writing. It is crunch time so there is no way I could get out today. This is a "flashback"! In 2004, I was asked to play for a barn party of 12 guests in Lawrenceville New Jersey. It was a christening for an old barn that had been refurnished. Now it was time for a great party. I drove onto the very monied residence and through the lawn, around the pool, through the trees and settled on the incline that was used in the past for horses to get into the barn, There was a theatrical spotlight awaiting me at the barns opening. This crowd of twelve could have been a crowd of forty they created so much fun. They were without question party people. After an hour of high energy rollicking music in the night I noticed out of the corner of my eye down below that the rhododendrons next to me were moving. I thought a deer or large animal might be stuck in them and stopped playing to see what it was when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a glowing flashlight in my face and a nightstick waving cop. I was a bit stunned as he starts yelling how he and his fellow officers had been looking for me for the last half hour. The sounds of my let down your hair and kick up your heels Ragtime and Boogie Woogie music had been bouncing off the walls of neighborhood houses. Some old bitty had called to complain three times since it started. The policeman said they had all gave up scouring the streets and decided to try searching through the bushes in the neighborhood. I got thrown out... nicely... after I was paid.

November 19, 2006

I woke up this morning feeling a little scared, feeling physically tight from last night's performance and weak from this flu or whatever I have been going through. My first thought was, "Danny, your job is to have fun today, your going to do the Hatboro Holiday parade and have fun making people happy." I got my act together; made sure I ate some breakfast (chili I brought home from last nights job, my protein) and waited for my stick shift parade driver, a new buddy of mine to arrive. He called at the exact minute he was supposed to be at my house, "I'll be right there", he says. I waited. I waited. I waited and finally called his two phone numbers, no answer. I had to go... the parade was not going to wait for me. I had no worry the entire time I drove I thought, "whatever the day brings Dan, have fun". Then I thought about the money needed for my mortgage if I missed the parade, "whatever". It was a last minute booking so I would not disappoint many people in missing the parade, as they did not expect me to be there. I arrived and immediately all the parade setup guys started putting out the word for my need. A stick shift driver who will not throw Boner or me off the truck while driving up the hill. Within seconds, Tim the parade co-chair steps up, "you need some help, I'll do it for you." What a wonderful show of spirit he gave to me! I was an extra happy camper. To experience this display of cooperation and willingness to assist goes a long way with me. I played full energy non-stop pre-hyping the parade route up and back before the parade and then performed once again in the parade itself. It was truly fun. The people of Hatboro PA have been telling me for at the last ten years that they hope to see my every year and finally we all got it together. I wore my Santa hat and Bo grew his holiday Antlers and we all had a good time. Afterwards Ira, a freelance writer stopped by the truck to talk and I got to unload some more enthusiasm onto him.

November 18, 2006

Tonight Tony Aquilante secured my services to provide music for a harvest hayride party he held with his church. The parishioners were greeted as they came out of mass to a farm tractor pulled wagon, two bonfires, a display table decorated with pumpkins and flowers, friendly servers, fantastic home made chili, hotdogs, hot chocolate, a playground for the kids, hot Boogie Woogie piano music and an extra hot dog named Boner sitting on top of the piano. Tony is a top of the line gourmet buffet caterer and his food is unlike any other food I have tasted. His family's food has a distinct flavor and it is as good as it gets. I have used Tony's services for myself in the past. He provides the best whole pig ever! Off topic of today's performing a little, I must say this because it is significant. Tony is running the event, setting things up, checking in with his family members who are helping and he sees that I am looking for someone to take a picture for me. He immediately sets me up with his son in law to help. The camera batteries go dead. No problem, Tony sends someone away from the event to the store to get me new batteries and then personally brings them to me. Is this a "tell" about this man, his business and how he runs it or what!!! That is a host of hosts. Besides Gourmet Buffets, Tony also runs a company called Trolley Concepts, Executive Dining Car. This company provides trolley cars with onsite catering inside of them. One of these days, we will hook up to have a major party together on wheels. It has never been done before. Are you interested, do you know of someone who might like the idea? Can you imagine the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck acting as the pied piper leading the way down the road with music as we pick up the party guests onto the trolleys from house to house and everyone keeps switching trolleys at stop off points to eat, drink and be merry and even take their turn being musical on the piano along the way? That might even top the harp jam from a few weeks ago. Tony is contributing to the Traveling Piano cross country tour so you will soon find a link to his company's site on the Traveling Piano site that is being built.

November 17, 2006

What is the matter with me??? I got sick. No fair. I still considered going out today to perform but I do not want to compromise my ability for the bookings I have scheduled this weekend. I was going to go play outside the Old City Holiday Inn downtown in Philly where the new BurnLounge Internet guys are pitching their service tonight but I think would be wiser for me to lay low. So, for anyone who may think I have been obsessed, yes I do have the ability to balance my life and take a break, almost. I am going to tinkle on my keyboard in the house before I go up to my bed to finish reading Teacher Man by Frank McCourt.

November 16, 2006

It was supposed to be raining when I woke up. It was not. I am going to New York to help a friend today but when I saw that it was not raining I ran to the waters edge at the Delaware River access to get my playing in. It was warm so I did not take a coat. Wrong move. The heavy breeze was blowing inland so I had to duck behind the piano as I played. It is still strange to see the leaves off the trees. I noticed the sounds of them clicking across the parking lot as the wind blew. The grayness of the day with the clouds and the rippling water with a glint of sun trying to shine through was amazing. I would find myself caught in musical rifts while playing and Bo looked at me like, "are you stuck"? I have so much energy in the morning I did not want to stop playing and I wanted to record it but I have so many things I need to do. I have three modes I am becoming more aware of while I improvise. Music while being stimulated by the environment, music while my eyes are closed and conscious thoughts are flying by in my head by the thousands at a speed so fast it is immeasurable and music with the music and nothing else. The last one is a little scary because I have no other awareness going on concerning my surroundings. I think I might want to work towards integrating all three at the same time and creating a balance .

November 15, 2006

I was going to wait until after watching Dancing with the Stars to improvise tonight because I knew I would be pumped up from it and I wanted to musically record that energy. Everyone on that show is always smiling, and I find myself inspired to smile from that. As I continued to think I thought I better go out earlier because it might rain. That was a good call. I drove into the new neighborhood next to mine that is being built and parked in the middle of a street with no houses on it. I could play as loud as I wanted and it was loud. Big sky, I do not remember playing to such a big sky before. I am looking forward to big skies as I cross over America in a few months. The leaves from the trees seem to have fallen early this year by a week or two or is it that I have had the biggest dose of tree leaves in my life from being outside almost every day this spring and summer playing the piano. I had some new musical ideas and that is always good. As I was driving in the city afterwards I thought how much I enjoy the cities also. I am sure I will always be musically inspired with each new venue. I hope I can continue to make that happen.

November 14, 2006

I was hymin' and hawlin' about going out tonight to play. I really wanted to and then I really did not. It was raining the last two days and I was feeling like, "keep it going Danny", and then after watching Dancing with the Stars on television I just had to do it, dance on the keys some. When I see how much work people put into their lives it inspires me. I went to the local school parking lot. I had my eyes closed most of the time and as I was playing I was just a little worried of what I might find when I opened them up. I was hoping for Oprah. I could feel the vibrations of the music tonight from the truck bed and piano. I do not ever remember feeling that before. I wonder if the fact that it was dark and wet out had anything to do with it. I hope the vibrating doesn't mean the piano casing is starting to fall apart. Bo hung out in the cab tonight. Creating music tonight was good for my soul.

November 13, 2006

I do not think I ever had two rain dates in a row. It is time for a "flashback"! It was a typical Fourth of July for the Marple/Newtown Pennsylvania parade and a beautiful hot, sunny day. I knew I would be sweating a lot because I was in a fat stage of life. I felt like a stuffed sausage in my clothes. Behind me a gaggle of priests from the local parishes where getting revved to march with me. They were up for a good time as one of them yelled, "that's the devil's left hand your playing'! Within the first five minutes they had figured out a routine for themselves to go along with my music and in unison they swayed to the left, swayed to the right, bowed forwards, bowed backwards to the rhythm as we traveled down the road. I was completely lost in being a maniac for the crowd throwing my body all around. I had subconsciously heard a large rip but it was not until the priests started screaming in unison, "you split the seat of your pants" that I realized that I had in fact split my pants... big-time. You would think I would have noticed the air flow immediately as I was not wearing any underwear! It was not easy finishing that parade trying to keep my ass cheeks closed while blowing out all the energy that was necessary for a good time.

November 12, 2006

Unfortunately, I fell into watching the weather report for today on television last night. They labeled a fearful weather report warning everyone to prepare for a "code orange" with heavy rain starting early in the morning. I thought those codes were for terror. Hmmm... I woke up to find nothing orange about the day although it could have been labeled code grey. I went to make a run to perform in the park while it was still dry and as soon as I got the garage door open, it began to drizzle. Drizzle! Drizzle is worse than a code red. It is not like anything is black or white. It is a state of indecision, somewhere in the middle... can I play for a short period (if money was involved), will it stop, will it get worse, how long would it take for the drizzle to turn into drippy drizzle? I stayed home to play for Boner and myself.

November 11, 2006

I hung out with friends the entire afternoon and into the evening. It was a warm and sunny day and I wanted to enjoy the nature of it all and be with good people. It is so very new to me to provide music in a socializing aspect and to project my music socially verses for performance. I like it but it is very confusing for me. The respect value is very different. It is a challenge to make a distinction as to who and what I am when I play. Am I a professional musician, an artist, pianist, performer? Am I a guy who plays the piano for fun and is really good at it? I am both. The first part is where the money to pay the bills comes from. I am having trouble combining the two. People will not pay a regular piano guy. They will tip him but then five and ten dollar tips will not pay the bills. Enough of that, I had a great time in the field today with my harp playing friend Mary and her bagpipe playing husband Jim. Imagine that, Improvising piano music on the back of a truck in the middle of a field on a bright warm and sunny day with my best buddy Boner hanging out on top of the piano while Mary plays her harp named Isabella who is some eighty years old and Jim improvises on his bagpipes that provide beautiful raw sounds. That was just too cool. I never improvised with two people before. There was a moment where I felt like I was a kid with a bunch of other kids trying to be serious about the noise we were making. I am so used to playing by myself it is a challenge to listen to others while at the same time being in the mix... negotiating a musical conversation. It was fun exploring musical spots to inject interesting sounds, to see where and when I could fit in. Mary suggested that next time we include a tuba player. Good idea!

November 10, 2006

Tonight Bo and I went to a winery as a few friends of mine were having an art exhibition. We brought along the piano truck to play in the crisp night air. We were on the outskirts of Newtown, PA. After about a half an hour I was exhausted and I have no idea why. I wanted to play simple but had impulses to perform with complexity. My soul wanted simple. When I started to think about my friends I became very creative and got lost in the music, simply, through the thinking. I have a great desire to live in the moment these days, my head has other desires.

November 09, 2006

I was playing on the water in a great spot in Croyden, PA at Neshaminy state park. I have been there many times before but never before had the warden (ranger) shown. He did today. "Off the grass", he says. I looked around there were no cars in the park. I was not disturbing anything, doing no harm, no one was there, and I was on a dead sandy, stony weedy area. I was six feet off the paved road and he wanted me to go to the back in the lot where it was viewless for me. I said, What are you bored? He just looked at me, Luckily I had already been there an hour. I left. I wanted to call him a" dick head" because he was, but I refrained. I wrote and sent a letter of complaint when I got home because theses guys have been consistent with their self-importance and unfriendliness since I have been using the local parks for the last twenty years. Now onto the nicer sire of today. These two guys in a van stopped earlier to thank me. They said, we were not sure what you were going to do, play boogie or what and then you started to play this.... music and it took me a few minutes to realize you were improvising. It was really beautiful and peaceful and calm and perfect for out here. Thanks A lot. When really ruff looking guys say things like this to me it really affects me in a positive way because it is obvious they are showing me their insides not putting up a hard front with their exteriors. This obviously means that I am doing the same with my music. To have a guy missing his front teeth who has not shaved in two weeks and is looking sore while riding in a rusted out van, stopping to call to me to use the word beautiful. I am very grateful to be able to affect people in positive ways.

November 08, 2006

Today is a rainy day, time for a "flashback"! When I was a young pup with lots of energy I would take on the big challenges with six bookings a day!!!. On a good sunny Fourth of July, I would get up bright and early and head off to the Rockledge Pennsylvania parade to start first in line, 9am. I would end in about forty five minutes and run to, no that would be... race my ass off to... get to the end of the Marple Township parade which was at 10am, a fifty five minute trip at 70 miles an hour. I always made it in time. I cannot tell you how I use to worry about the piano blowing out of the back of the truck on the turnpike. I always and still do keep one eye on the spacing between the back of the piano and the back of the truck while driving. The spacing is always on a slant from the wind and I have never felt easy about it. After Marple Newtown I would race to catch the Willingboro New Jersey parade at 1pm finish with that and make a run back to Pennsylvania for the Glenside parade at 3pm a parade that always takes forever but I love doing it especially for the sound when we drive through the stone tunnel under the railroad bridge. For 6pm I would head back to New Jersey for the Washington Township parade and then head right to Ocean City New Jersey for the fireworks on the boardwalk. Whew! It would take a hefty incentive to do something like that today.

November 07, 2006

People are really getting used to seeing me. I am no longer "music to discover" in my area it is, "hey, the piano guys here". Everyone comes over to say hi, cars pull up next to me to listen. It's pretty cool but I cannot practice scales with the metronome this way and if I am to create music, it needs to be while I am having a conversation. That is a talent in of itself. I was at the Delaware river access area in Bensalem, PA. A guy came over who saw me by the local volleyball fields earlier in the summer, he said it is the fourth time he has run into me. His son Aadesh jumped on the piano to play but did not want to have his picture taken. He had a good time and when he was done, I had him take my picture instead. Eighty seven year old Dave with his wife of sixty seven years stopped by, her Alzheimer's is getting worse. They have been together since they were fifteen years old. I was a little scattered with the fresh fall scenery, the river was full and at high tide, the fisherman in the distance enjoying the last of the warm days, the people in cars, the onset of a rain storm, thinking about everything I still need to do today like vote... but in the moments I had to create for myself... my thoughts all made for some interesting musical ideas.

November 06, 2006

I wanted to get my neighbors Don and Joan to ask Oprah for my Wildest Dream with me today on my daily video. I parked in their driveway to improvise until they discovered me. I was playing quietly when Joan came out and started whispering even quieter, "I don't wanna do this". I made her do it anyway. She was a good sport. These guys have been neighbors of mine for forty two years. Don was the captain of our neighborhood watch when I belonged and absolutely the friendliest of neighbors. Don is a ham like me, Joan does not want the limelight in anyway. Lucky eight year old Alex from across the street walked buy to take a picture for us. Joan ran back into the house but Don hung around. After we finished, I did not want to torture Joan anymore so I went to the high school parking lot and zoned out in my music. Bo lay beside me on the truck bed floor. It is getting too cold to be sitting up in the wind.

November 05, 2006

I came home to find my neighborhood illuminated by a large, bright and full moon hanging low in the sky. A half hour before I left the same scenario but with a sunset in Tyler park near Newtown, Pa having just spent a few hours improvising with eight lovely harp players. It is not like I look for these situations. This "Piano/Harp Jam" was created from playful spontaneity last Sunday. I thank my lucky stars there are other people I can share the same sensibilities with in the world. We are open to and have fun. Edie, the founder of Bedside Harp jumped up onto the piano to play, as did Nancy, Cheryl and Clarita. I think it was Donna who said as everyone was walking around the truck plucking and stringing, "I don't know whether I am having a musical moment or an autistic moment." Mary likened it to "applied chaos". I had a personal experience of about sixty seconds where we were all creating music together and I left the world to savor the visually musical moment from above. I was reminded that the piano is a harp; the inside of a piano is the shape of a harp the only difference is the approach to the strings. Today I was outside enjoying the crisp autumn air in a beautiful park improvising piano music on the back of a pickup truck along with eight beautiful woman all around outside and inside the truck with their creating music on their harps while my best buddy Boner hung out with me on top of the piano. Thanks to Nancy's husband Bill who was kind enough to snap some photos we can now leave this moment for future civilizations to discover. I can envision it now... so that's what they did back in that age... what were they doing... is that how they communicated?

November 04, 2006

On my way to play today I stopped in Newtown Borough, Pennsylvania to drop off a very special painting at Countryside Framing as I was told they were the best. Artist Hariette Prevatte created a wonderful watercolor of Bo and I that I have always wanted. We met her by chance one afternoon in the French Quarter during my time of donating performances down in New Orleans. I consider this painting one of my most treasured possessions. I will be sharing it with everyone. The store changed ownership this week and both present and past owners were there to help design the frame. Being interested and free spirits they encouraged me to play in the meantime. I sat on the street corner improvising while cars whizzed by constantly about two feet next to me. It was not as cold as I had expected maybe because I had my warm winter coat on. I love this coat but it is now too big and I had just brought it last year! You can be sure I ain't going to gain weight to fill it that is for sure. I think the cold weather is making the piano sound more like metal. That will not

November 03, 2006

I was in Quakertown, Pennsylvania today to give an interview to for the Free Press and as I left the building, I saw a cafe sign with piano keys on it. I went inside to find a piano that said, you are welcome to play so I sat down and for the first time in a restaurant played my improve. It was interesting but not quite satisfying. I sounded like a piano player playing background in a restaurant. I felt completely confident in being musical. I thought, "this restaurant shtick is a breeze, I can create music for a restaurant setting easily". I could not decide weather I wanted people to respond or not. That would have been nice but it was also nice to just explore my own experience. Playing on a real acoustic piano certainly created a craving to do it more. I do not own an acoustic piano. When I used to play for clubs and restaurants, that was in another lifetime, I spent ninety percent of my time in fear of someone complaining. When I played in a good setting for example like a big ballroom or for a large corporate event, I had moments of "look what I can do". I could impress. I have rarely put myself in the position for people to be present specifically to listen to my music until this year. When I did the people I exposed myself to would turn and start talking to each other as I played. I have always been a proficient musical ambience man. I never before felt like I had my own musical sound or voice to offer. Energy, feeling, technique, and familiarity from cover songs I could do but now I want to share all of that from a deeper level of soul.

November 02, 2006

I went to the Bristol river front parking lot to hang out with a few fishing buddies today. Maybe I should rephrase that seeing as I don't do any fishing. I am the fishing buddies piano player. I had a photo of one of the guys, his name is Jim. He asked me to print a copy for him. We had a picture taken of us a few weeks ago and he asked me to remember for the next time I was in the area. It was of him fishin' me palyin'. The river was still and I did not want to disturb the environment so I tried to play as still as possible and I gave a lot of space to the music. I was trying to be present subliminally. I wanted to enjoy the quiet for myself yet be present with music. It felt really good the four of us just hanging out together. This was an experience I had never had and would not have been able to be comfortable until now, even as a kid growing up. I never played as quiet and simplistic before. I tinkled until the polish guy said, "hey, wake us up a little" so I went into a rendition of the Maple Leaf rag and then some boogie woogie. They liked that. Another guy had tons of treats and a piece of bagel for Bo. Bo liked that. The sunset from across the river over the yellow trimmed treetops with the moon almost full in the day light was amazing. As I left one of the guys daughters pulled in the parking lot with her kids and said, "hey we have your picture from the newspaper on our refrigerator at home." I could never feel alone in knowing information like that.

November 01, 2006

I was glad to be able to enjoy this beautiful day. Bo and I hung out on the river in Bristol PA. I enjoyed the fall season look of the trees across the river while Boner sat on top of the piano and watched me play. The sun was warm with the temperature in the 70's. Hundreds of birds leisurely drifted by while floating on the water. I noticed people in cars behind me listening to the music while I concentrated on not becoming self-conscious about it. I was a success; I hit my soul while playing. Berth Ann and her 86 year old mom Johanna Strouse could not resist in coming over to tell me how I touched their hearts and then Johanna pulled out a harmonica from her stroller and started to jam. Too cool! She is a retired crossing guard from the neighborhood and the three of us had a grand old time together.

October 31, 2006

I had about as much fun as I could have tonight doing my truck/music thing. I was at Jim and Judy Best's house. It was a Halloween street party for everyone. They hired me to play, set up booths with games for the kids on the sidewalk, had a traditional harvest scene on their front lawn with bales of hay for photo's where teens had their picture taken with their Halloween dates and then made their own frames in the driveway to take home for souvenirs. Jim's brother and a few neighbors were helping. The old lady across the street served cotton candy freshly made from an old carnival machine. It was a spontaneous gathering, a celebration for people to discover. It was right up my alley and I was part of a big, "give". No formality it was as casual as could be neighbors milled around and chatted. I loved the sounds of children and adults interacting with each other. Everyone was involved with the night. I could play no wrong music. My improvisation fit in perfectly. I was amazed at that. I think it was because my energy was compatible with the spirit of everything that was present. Because I was physically sick today I was concerned where my energy was going to come from. I played straight through for three hours with no break and I am still pumped. Lots of people got up to play... kids, adults, a father and daughter team dueted it. The neighborhood was old and Victorian, a perfect setting for Halloween.

October 30, 2006

Today I drove deep into the back yard of Flo and Craig's home. Craig is an Ebayer who is to sell some stuff for me to raise money for the tour across country. Flo is Craig's mom and she cooked me a real "mom" dinner of meatloaf, cornbread, peas, mashed potatoes and gravy with home cooked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and coffee for dessert. I got a doggie bag to take home and it was for ME not my doggie Bo. Everyone came out to greet us in the field, the house dogs, neighbors from both sides... pictures were taken, they all listened a few minutes and then until dark... Bo and I were left to the moon. I was tempted to howl even though it was not full. I found it interesting that Flo is a witch and I asked her at dinner, "are you a good witch"? She said "yes", and I gave myself a silent sigh of relief. She is also a wonderful artist.

October 29, 2006

What happens to the word "unconventional" when that word becomes the norm? I gave my first talk for a musical group today and also improvised for them. We talked about me. What fun. Actually, my goal was to share my passion about the discovery of self and how I have been creatively expressing that specifically with musical improvisation. We were also phone conferenced with others all the way to Hawaii. I find this period in my life incredibly challenging as I step daily into a stronger sense of self while seeking to stay connected and interactive with others. My new friend Mary who improvised in the park on her harp with me the other day introduced me to a national group that she works with called, Bedside Harp. They happen to be based near my home. For the health care profession there is a resource for bedside musical harp therapy. Who knew? They provide assistance with healing through music, document research concerning the values of live harp music in the health fields, teach the harp and also provide support for professional harp players. Who knew? They were a great bunch a musicians and I am coming to terms with that fact that I cannot possible enjoy harp music unless I am present with it and not in a chaotic headspace... or at least willing to try and calm down to listen. I can see how if I was already down and sick this music would without question, bring me up. I performed through my fear and they liked it. That is as "cool" as it gets for me.

October 28, 2006

PART ONE. I am going to try and not rant. It will not be easy. In the old days of performing... twenty years ago ... Before people were filled with fear and terror because they might get wet with rain or the wind may blow their hair out of place events were held... regardless. Tents and tarps and hats and umbrellas were used. People actually enjoyed a rainy day or thought nothing much of it. When was the last time you saw people walking with umbrellas? It is now a rare sight to see. Bottom line, my mortgage payment was lost today due a festival cancellation because of rain. I should be performing right now. The sun is out. This is happening more and more from cultivated fear in our society. I need to get back completely to my contract of rain or shine, a rain date, or some other makeup clause because people no longer use coping skills with inclement weather. They either run, quit or put their head in the sand until all the yelling dies down. The RESPONSE-ABILITY quota is dropping by the wayside and people like me suffer. There is always a way to make it work out. I should know. If I can find a way to make it work in the rain when an event has tens of thousands of dollars and people invested, the event should happen whether most of the vendors bail out or not, whether the majority of people stay home or not. What about the people who care? The vendors and people who bail out should lose the money not the troopers who stick with it. So now, because I went against the grain and stood up for what is right, I vocalized what was not "their" opinion... I will probably be labeled as difficult... especially because money is involved. What was to be MY money. I will most likely lose a relationship that I enjoyed. I did not demand the money but the loss needed to be addressed. That was the right thing to do. My character and self-image necessitated it. If my professionalism is not respected through immaturity, guilt, fear, denial, greedyness whatever... so be it... I will adjust my future dealings as needed. Sad but necessary. I still have hope there will be some resolution but I have my doubts.

PART TWO. Tonight I did the Alloway/Salem County Halloween Parade for like the fifteenth year. I love this place. I used to be able to say it was in the "boonies" but it is getting more and more gentrified every year although the people stay the same... very down to earth, loving of dysfunctional fun just like me. Alloway is a really neat little South Jersey village. This is a tight group that runs the parade and they always pay up ahead of time which makes me really, really love em'. One of the volunteers, Jennifer drove for me as she did last year but this year she was not "looped" which made me feel safer but I'm not sure about Boner. He was off the piano within a half of a block into the parade. He would never had lasted in this parade anyway, the wind alone would have blown him off the piano, as there must have been gusts of forty miles an hour. It was as cold as any Christmas parade that I have done along the ocean. There was a steam locomotive horn blasting in front of us along with a hotrod car shooting off fireworks behind us. Boner was flat on the floor next to me while I pounded the truck bed with my feet. I did the entire parade route with thousands of people yelling, "where's the dog"? I am preparing myself to expect alot of this in the time to come because I am not going to make Bo sit on the piano if he does not want to. I kept telling myself, "thank God I never felt like I needed Bo for work. I was doing what I do for many years before he came along and Boner has always been there because he wanted to be. I never trained or planned for him to be hanging out on the piano it was a natural occurrence. The local newspaper had published an article on the parade yesterday and included a couple of paragraphs about me in it. I want people to know me more so I appreciated the write up. Many people who had read the article came up to me and introducing themselves while wishing me well and shaking my hand. I do not think I ever had that happen before in this way with so many people. People were glad to know me better. I was in the local convenience store before and after the parade and I got my first dose of like... everyone staring at me, "there's that guy". It was not my imagination and it felt really weird. I liked the handshakes much more.

October 27, 2006

Damm. I wrote over this file with October 28th's writing. I guess I am upset about the booking cancellation that created this scattered brain of mine. It is the first time I messed up and it is killing me because it takes so much time to write this stuff and publish it! Oh well, I was in the Croyden Pennsylvania part of Neshaminy state park and a guy named Bill took the photo for me. I remember feeling really energetic and wondering how I am going to get through the next few months doing this outside.

October 26, 2006

Ernie took today's picture from his truck for me. A guy named Don stopped by to say hi. I was at the Delaware River Access area near my home. During the first half hour, the parking lot started to look like a drive in movie and I was the movie screen. Instead of the cars and trucks facing the water, they all started facing me even changing from their present parked spots. A post office truck, landscaping, heating and air, misc cars... it was interesting because that had not happened before. I was practicing some of my repertoire. Then when I started to improvise, three of the vehicles started their engine, I thought they were going to leave. I started to feel insecure about my improv but they ended up maneuvering their cars so they could view the river while I played. What a compliment that was!

Bo is developing a new quirk. He wants me to nudge him out of the cab and then when it is time to jump into the truck he waits for me to think he does not have the energy so he cannot do the jump. Then I go to put the back truck flap down so it is easier for him to get in and at that point he seems to say, "no, I will do it my way" and he jumps up the side as usual. My putting down the back seems to give him incentive. He barley makes it but gets the job done.

October 25, 2006

When I began this outdoor improvisation performing everyday it was in the spring. Oh how loverly it was to be outside. It has not been so "loverly" lately. It has been friggin' cold! It still is fun but I can feel the inspiration needed changing from fun enjoyment of the outdoors to "challenge". This is especially when the wind blows. I went to the local high school parking lot at dusk. With the colder weather I can feel the incentive to get out earlier in the day because if I need to deal with the cold that will be better in the sunlight. I put Boner's coat on him tonight for the first time to see if that would help him as he is just sitting on the piano and not moving around in the cold. The sweater did its job.

October 24, 2006

Ha.hahaha.HaHa... Today... I cannot resist saying this... an angel appeared. Not only that... she did it with her lovely harp! Her name was Mary, I forget the harps name I know she has another at home named Isabella. I am so bad on remembering names. They came to play with me in the park. We were at Playwicki Farm I am not sure of the town but it is in Pennsylvania. We plopped ourselves deep into the park off a paved path. Can you imagine what it was like for the walkers rounding the bend to find a piano guy sitting on a truck playing music with a dog sitting on the piano and as they pass on the other side of the truck they a woman sitting on her chair playing the harp? Yep, and Mary looks angelic too... at least to me. It was not so easy for me to hear her because the harp is a soft instrument. It sounded like the grass blowing in the wind around us, like wind chimes. I have a lot to learn about musical relationship with others. I have practically no experience with that. It became evident as I self-consciously found myself more comfortable in having a parallel monologue with Mary musically speaking... rather than interacting with her. Such a child musically, I am! "It was what it was". I hope we do it again.

October 23, 2006

Since it was cool today as soon as Boner came out of the truck I said to him, "you might not want to get up on the piano and sit because it is a littler cold, so if you want to go back in and wait in the truck that would be ok. Without my waiting ten seconds or moving an inch, he jumped back into the cab. If he could run around on top of the piano to keep warm that would be one thing but such as it is, I am going to miss him up with me through the cooler weather. He is ok on jobs because there is a lot of energy and distraction going on. Of all the fisherman that hang out where I often play, the biggest fisherman of them all in his big fishing coat and big hat with big floppy ears climbed onto my truck to play Good King Wenceslas on my piano tonight. I am still kicking myself as I forgot to bring my camera! I told him I wanted to get a picture in the next few days to put on my website and he said, "I don't think so". Me and my big mouth. The days are getting shorter and colder. There were only two people at the Delaware River access area in Pennsylvania today. After the fishermen left, I was alone for the first time on the water playing in the dark as the park ranger had not arrived to shut the gates. I am becoming more aware of my need to play a keyboard that can provide nuance and I am told that might be possible with a piano sample module. I will need to look into that.

October 22, 2006

I love to laugh at myself; I do it as much as possible. Today's piano playing was for the Quakertown Halloween Parade and I got to wear my silly Halloween hat. This town has been like a supportive family to me. I have had a relationship with them for almost ten years now. Everyone was asking about my wildest dream. I arrived just in time to jump on the truck and start the parade route as Tom Klee the big man who puts this parade together for everyone yells, "Hurry Danny". I do a once around to pre-hype the parade route by myself before the actual parade starts. When I got back to the beginning Tom said, "that was fast". So I said, "well lets do another runaround". Tom says, "you sure"? Like an idiot who wants to please I said, "for you guys I'll do anything". I told my friend Cindy who was driving to whip it through once again and we drove the route for a second time at around thirty miles an hour. I must admit at that speed it was fun especially watching peoples faces as I whizzed on by but by the third time for the actual parade there was not much power left in me. The associated press saw me for the first time and took some serous footage of my playing but I could not give them a solid sound bite. I was sloppy with my playing while kicking myself for messing up a potentially good media opportunity. The parade was moving very slow and I kept losing my performing all throughout the third time around, my hands would give way, my head would stop thinking. I would mess up and all I could to was scream and laugh. Nobody cared, it was all about having stupid fun. Boner on top of the piano was all that anyone cared about anyway... I hope not. Bo keep farting through the entire parade route and guess which way the wind was blowing.

October 21, 2006

Some piano players... "play for their dinner". Today this piano guy "played for his pretzel". Boner didn't have to do anything except be Boner for his pretzel. He's "special". I made yet another bold move today and sat on US route 1 in Langhorne PA to play on the highway outside my nephews new pretzel store. Bold because it was "out there" on the open highway and bold because it was "for family". Family relationship has never come natural to me but I never cease to give in to the opportunity to contribute if it can be a healthy contribution. The constant moving traffic gave me energy and inspiration and I was able to get lost in the music. It was fun. Funny, I am only distracted when it comes to sounds of individuals or small crowds. I get lost in the music with all other forms of sound distraction even with large crowds. My music feeds off of environmental sounds.

October 20, 2006

In a matter of hours, the day turned from a dark heavy rain to skies of sunny blue. Through an act of spontaneity, I ended up in front of my niece's house in Fallsington, Pa. In a matter of minutes, the area was full of neighbors and the truck was full of kids. The energy was amazing. It was freezing as the temperature must have dropped twenty degrees, the wind was blowing about 40 miles an hour, the kids were screaming and jumping around while my niece cajoled me into playing The Bumble Boogie. I had to chase eveyone away for a moment to capture my favorite moment which was while playing the piano with my grandnephew sitting on my lap. He was bouncing on my knee to the rhythm of my foot tapping.

October 19, 2006

I brought my sheet music to the park today, the Delaware access area, and I practiced with the tick, tock, tick, tock metronome. I am an adult piano playing pro doing the tick, tock, tick, tock. What can I say, "it is what it is". I have a booking this week and I have not played the old routine in a while. I get sloppy and forget so I need to stay at it constantly. The park audience thought it was cute. Ernie came over to let me know it was a good thing I was playing Ragtime and Boogie Woogie because he was sick of hearing that other crap. He was going to tell me to get the hell out! He was there the other day and told me that he asked his buddy what all the racket was. The friend said, "look over in the back some guy is playing the piano on a truck". He vowed to throw me out the next time I created noise. Today, he liked my noise. I find it interesting how people in this park, young and old, male and female... when they come up to talk to me they have a need to tell me they do not drink. I do not know whether they are drinking when they say this or not and I do not have a need to know. It feels sort of like the normal guy thing of needing to slip in something about women during the first five minutes of conversation looking for mutual validation.

October 18, 2006

I am finding the need today to de-prioritize my energy in thinking about performing outdoors and when it comes to finding new and exciting venues. The focus today is more, "just do it", get outside and play even if for a short time. The "where" is not so important today. Consistency at the basic level is most important. I played on the Delaware river today in Croyden, Pennsylvania. I love the change of seasons as I experience them while playing on the water. Every day is new and different in some way. I was catching the wakes of passing boats on the river and following them in to the beach with music. I am into giving myself a break today. It is not so important to always have intent, purpose, structure, thought, discipline. Yuk with all of the today. The best part of creating my music was just to... "be"... with whatever it was. It is really important for me to be able to experience life as in just... "be". That is the best.

October 17, 2006

It is raining out side. "Flashback". I can remember my hottest performance date. I was booked for two days in Hatboro, Pennsylvania for the town's annual sidewalk sale on route 611, which happens to be on majorly trafficked thoroughfare. The heat from the hot asphalt under the truck and from long tractor-trailers roaring by was oppressive. Bo at the time a young pup and able to tolerate most environments but even this situation was too much. He waited for me inside different air-conditioned storefronts. It was difficult to breath from the traffic exhaust. I kept thinking, "challenge, money, extreme adventure, pay". I was moving from block to block along the street and finally found a shady tree. The vibrations from my performing must have hatched the millions of little nats that began to fall on me from the tree above. A guy came up to me after I finished the job saying, "hey I heard you're really a hot piano player". I wondered if he got that from the visualization from my sweat soaked clothes, the tie hanging off my shoulder and my unbutton shirt that was running from the colors of my dripping bandanna.

October 16, 2006

This is a picture perfect day. I drove to the Delaware Access area to play in the sun. The fisherman and I are like distant buddies now. We are glad to see each other and we wave to each other as I play in the back of the parking lot and they are down by the water. A couple was in front of me doing their "thing" by the side of their car. I thought at first, "oh nice a romantic couple to create music for." It did not take me long to get a sense of dirty and sneaky, sleazy vibes. I ignored them as much as possible. I wanted to create a playful, natural clean feeling music. I closed my eyes while I played. The music of the fall season sounds very different for the spring or summer seasons. I wondered if through time my music would change with the seasons. The fall sounds deeper and warmer to me. It has the same intensity as the other seasons. I realized that while I am away... I have decided I am heading cross country and back to create music for people to listen to... while I am away I will be able to create solace for myself in playing music if I start to feel lonely. I will never feel alone again after the last tour, but I do feel lonely from time to time. Now I "got the ticket" to assist me with that.

October 15, 2006

The birthday dog went to grandma's house to visit my friend Robin and to wish a beautiful baby girl named Autumn a happy third birthday. I was hoping Autumn would jump onto the truck to create some music but alas, she was not a happy pup having been awoken from her nap. By the time she was bobbing around it was too dark out to play. Maybe we can try again on another day. The house was along the Neshaminy Creek and it was feeling like a perfect autumn afternoon. It feels wonderful to not want to stop playing music. I have really been enjoying myself.

October 14, 2006

I wish I had all day to play. The crisp autumn air, a large shiny lake, flocks of birds, the sounds of the breeze through the leaves filled my senses as a sat and created music by the waters edge at Mill Creek park in the Levittown area of Pennsylvania. I had my friend with me and she meandered around the truck while getting creative with the camera. Bo could not wait to get down and explore all the smells on the ground.

October 13, 2006

The "Little Truck That Could" is up and running. The auto mechanic Ken was very considerate in rebuilding the carburetor overnight for me. As I was paying him, he said, now here is the deal. I replaced the air filter where the mice were living for no charge but I want to ask you to drive next door and play a song for my business neighbor. I said, "absolutely". I should have had my video camera to tape the neighbors, these heavyset guys at the auto shop next door dancing with each other as I played! A guy drove into the lot from my neighborhood and said, "come on over to my place and play a little". I said, "sure". I drove over to the Knights Collision Center on Byberry Road in Bensalem PA and parked the truck right on the lawn at the street. I got lost in my playing. There is something about the distraction of other sounds like road traffic that inspires creative thought for me as much as silence does. I played for about 30 minutes. I was across from the police station. Also, across the street, a hard core political Bensalemite came out of their house to take pictures of me. Another old neighbor came out in front of me and threw both hands into the air. It seemed like he was thinking, "Now... what is the world coming to". Whatever he was thinking his look made me chuckle.

I have been throwing around the idea to continue what I am doing cross-country. I know it will be a lot of wear and tear on Bo, the truck and me but the benefits will certainly out way any difficulties. Besides, I am living my wildest dream here. I want to continue to create music for people to discover. I want to present the Traveling Piano truck to those who need a lift in spirit and for those who would never have the opportunity to see and hear a piano player and also for piano players who have never had the opportunity to play on a piano outdoors for themselves. I have a desire to create no fee performance for people who have little means. I want the world to meet Boner before he retires. I would never dream of doing something like this by myself and I may never connect with a partner as good as Bo has been so I want to take advantage of his company and enjoy the most life experience that I can with him while he is still around. I want to see my truck that is coming on two hundred thousand miles make it all the way to Hollywood and back!

I was telling Troy Brennan, part owner of the KNIGHTS COLLISION CENTER about my cross-country idea. It is a costly proposition, as I will have ongoing bills and house payments as well as months of daily hotel, gas, food expenses etc... Going along with the premise of including as many people as possible in my wildest dream I am thinking about collecting small "Tip The Piano Player" sponsorships, strictly from small business owners and from my home area of Bucks County Pennsylvania. I could pursue the big companies and go for a lot more money with less work but at this time in my life, I am still enjoying the one on one intimacy of relationship with people, home neighborhood and business. I want to travel throughout the nation creating "Music For People To Discover" and be able to announce, " The Traveling Piano and music is a present for you from my home, my community of neighbors and small business in Bucks County Pennsylvania." Troy jumped right on the idea and handed me a hundred dollar bill saying, "here is your first contribution". Wow! That was very cool because now it is official. It has begun. My wildest dream mission has just stepped into a new realm. Troy says he supports people who go after their Wildest Dreams. He has experience at it himself in creating four successful businesses' in just five years. He is a man on a mission to contribute worth to the world just like me. I love a challenge. This will be without question my biggest life challenge yet! I am a home body by nature and this will be an adventure away from home for several months, just Bo and I. Hey all you internet readers... show me the money!!! Be part of the Wildest Dream!

October 12, 2006

Pray for my baby, the little truck that could. It is in intensive care and hopefully I will get it back tomorrow. Today will be a "flashback". I once played for the National Women's Gymnastic Championship on route 611 in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. It was to be a block party. Unfortunately, the block was a short one. Along with a musical ice cream truck, I had to contend with the sounds of a blaring DJ. No one in charge was around. I had a speaker fight. That is when we all point our speakers on each other and turn them up full blast. The loudest speaker wins. The DJ won. I had to get out of the ridiculously loud and chaotic noise. I was trying to make the performance worth the money spent so I searched other areas on the road to setup. Nothing was really happening the streets were practically dead except for a group of kids who came by from a local private school in Bryn Athens a nearby town. They were a little drunk and a little high but they were also quite creative. They did some unique and cool dancing with my music as well as scatting and howling so strong you could see veins popping from their necks. They were really good. They all had their own sense of style, blond, dark, smooth, hip. The shadow of the truck, Bo and me performing on the brick wall at sunset was totally cool. It even got better when one of the guys started doing run and jump full body somersaults off the side of the brick wall in rhythm with the music.

October 11, 2006

I could have played before it began to rain today but the truck's engine is in permanent race mode. Bad carburetor. It will go into intensive care mode tomorrow... I hope. That means into the shop again. So, I will use today as a "flashback". I can remember playing by the water on Swan Creek, Maryland. It was dark and I was on a tall grassy patch of ground. The booking was for a sailing club's party night and it was one big party on about fifty boats rocking from a humid breeze while tied to their docks. It was a bug nightmare, the worst I can remember. A million bugs flew everywhere. I was breathing bugs. I felt a specific mosquito land on my chin and could feel the bite. I was unable to smack it, as I was right in the middle of performing a difficult musical section. I had a bug fly into my nose and I was thinking, "I need a picture of this". Everyone loved the music and brought my cassette tapes. They gave me a tribute as I drove away. I could here the sounds of my music coming from the boats as everyone was playing my cassette tapes at the same time.

October 10, 2006

I do not know if I can get away with writing this in my mind because I am really "pushing the envelope". I will surely try. I did play outside today if only for a short time. I played outside a truck mechanics garage in Newportville, Pa while waiting for the mechanic who was talking on the phone. I thought, "no time to waste"! The Traveling Piano was in the shop over night and during most of the day. A new starter was installed so at least the truck will turn on now. After that, I took it to another garage to trouble shoot the carburetor. Can't drive the truck to play music without a carburetor. Apparently, carburetors are a dying breed. Everything now a day is fuel injected. The Raggin' Piano Boogie truck will soon be an antique! We opened the hood and took the top off the filter. Guess what... I have a mouse living in the Traveling Piano truck's air filter!!! The round cylinder type device was filled tightly with empty sunflower seeds, a nice little nest. Apparently, when I bring the truck home everyday, at night a mouse has been creating a nice warm bedroom for himself. When the garage door opens everyday, it is the mouse's signal to vamoose for a day into my back yard until I return. Cute eh?

October 09, 2006

I have been losing my chops as in my strength and ability to use my hands and fingers to slam the keys with clarity so it is back to the old grind. Believe it or not, once again I need to delve into the basics and make more time to practice. The way I handle the keyboard with ragtime and boogie woogie is completely different from my improvisation and one does not seem to benefit the other when it comes to technique. Hmmm... Anyway, for the first time there I was at the delaware river access area with my sheet music going over the same old notes that I have been playing for twenty years like I never saw them before. I want to be dramatic and say I am embarrassed and all that... but in reality... it is what it is and if I need to do it... I need to do it. I sat with the keyboard metronome going tick, tock, tick, tock, tick tock... to keep me slow as I went over the notes... over and over again. I think the people in the park liked hearing the repetitive musical phrases even though I would stay on one phrase and repeat it like twenty times. They were more at ease in coming over to say hi to me because it was so obvious I was practicing and not performing. They knew what was going on. God, my mind can get lazy. At least I am not in denial about it. Tonight I went and had dinner and to meet for the first time with a group of musicians like myself. I introduced myself and worked the room telling what I do and then I performed the Maple Leaf Rag for them. I was nervous and jittery. There is no way I would have had the balls to do this before I began pursuing my wildest dream last year, that is play for fellow musicians. I would have been too chicken. I am maturing and that feels good. My sense of self is growing. I am secure that my motives are not to impress but to express. I wanted to let them know me. I sure did that. I gave them a typical Danny. I ripped through the whole musical piece in what felt like fifteen seconds. It is supposed to last like three minutes. I think I broke the speed record for the Maple Leaf Rag. I had just drunk a twenty four-ounce cup of coffee, which was not a good idea when I am nervous to begin with. It was what it was. It was fun. I hope I gave them a stimulating feeling of friendship.

October 08, 2006

I decided to crash the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Out Festival today in center city Philadelphia. I thought it was a fun idea. It was definitely a different crowd for me to perform in and a type of venue that I have never played before. I like different and I like diversity so I went for it. It was unnerving at first. There was a lot of chaos and the volume from the club music on the street corners visibly shook the nearby buildings. I found a street that was not barricaded because it was one way. I drove down the wrong way right into the center of the festival and setup in the middle of the street. I was attacked within minutes, "you can't do this, you can't do this". I had no problem with that as it was already mission accomplished having played a few songs and someone had taken a few pictures for me. The problem came when the truck would not start. I was wondering if they could hear the dead click of the engine each time I tried to start the thing. I just kept clam in order to not panic. I started to visualize the crowd giving the truck a push into a nearby empty lot. The word embarrassment entered my mind. Then while using a lot of love and care I tried once again. It worked. As I was driving out, they stopped me and suggested I play in the spot where I had paused to answer someone's question. I stayed about an hour. I ran into an old friend I have not seen in many years. I lived in the city for ten years. Lots of people jammed on the piano. I have many good pictures from the event but I chose to feature for my collection a lovely lady before she lifted her top over the boobs to play some more piano. They were amazing boobs and I am sorry I am too chicken to post them on my site. Maybe I will do that once I get a satellite internet deal going with some big pay per view company. I knew there must have been a reason for my wanted to check out this fun event today.

October 07, 2006

Well, we did it! We had our community jam in the borough of Langhorne today for Artfest 2006! The teacher inside of me really came out because so many youngsters who never tried the piano did so today. I felt it my duty to help empower a musical sense of self in the spirit of fun with everyone. It was a mission accomplished. Over fifteen boys and girls played and even families played. I would leave the truck to come back and find a kid sitting there playing the piano. I hardly got a chance to play myself. When the event was over, I jumped on the truck to play some just to put in my daily time. My fingers would not move today. I wondered, "whats up with that?"

October 06, 2006

The rain had stopped, as it got dark out so I took Bo for needed walk. I had planned to practice indoors today and was justifying that with the rain but it had stopped. When I saw the full moon bright and surrounded by the billowing remnants of storm clouds I thought, " how can I not take advantage of spending time with this beautiful sight? I wanted to take a picture of the night but I could not figure out the directions for my camera. I made sure I had my cell phone with me because the "traveling Piano" truck has not started in the first three attempts for over a week and when it starts the bad carburetor keeps it stalling for the first few miles or the motor runs out of control after a steady ride of over forty-five minutes to the point that I need to just shut off the engine while I am riding and coast until I get it started again. I cannot leave the truck on my driveway because the driveway is on a slant and the gears are so worn the emergency brake will not hold the truck from rolling into the street. Nice eh? I am going to love this truck and enjoy it to the very end... with my cell phone nearby. I drove to the local cemetery and played to the moon. It was glorious. I felt healthy in spirit. It was a crisp night so Bo stayed in the cab. I missed him while I performed. I wondered if any spirits were around in the cemetery to listen along with me. I gave myself the perfect amount of self-indulgence and enjoyed creating piano music in peace. I like to get on a rift and just sit with it forever. I think that may be the most powerful thing I can express, my tenacity with musical energy once I get it going.

October 05, 2006

Four people took their turns on the truck today. I was by the river. The fishing guys moved their trucks for me so I could get into a good spot. A family stopped by from Levittown, Pennsylvania, mom, daughter and son all piano players; they all took their turns. I felt a little need to show them my stuff as in the Boogie and after I did that the girl asked for some more of my improv. I feel so grateful when people do that. They wanted to hear my stuff more than the Boogie. An older couple stopped by to tell me that they had to come over and find out where the "glorious" music was coming from. A musical duo from North Philly where on their way to a gig and stopped by. I did not get their names but the girl did some fun janmmin' on the truck. I hope they contact me to go play in a park in their neighborhood. I became focused on being still and silent through music, I tossed off any feeling of need to impress with energy and technique thanks to the girl's request from earlier. It was becoming dusk and a new full moon was out as bright as the sun. I was thinking how I have been in New Zealand, Montana, Egypt, the Alps and the view I was experiencing was a beautiful as it gets. Here I am in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

October 04, 2006

It was such a beautiful day I wanted to present myself to the world. I drove to one of my favorite spots, Tyler Park in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I have been enjoying the orange and black monarch butterflies around my house and they were fluttering by me as I drove through the park. A mom with her son stopped by, they had seen me in another park a few months back. A truck pulled in with two guys and they listened for a while. When they left they simply said, "thanks". That felt good. An official looking white car pulled up and this guy got out wearing dark sunglasses and a dark blue shirt and grey pants. He was carrying a long case as he walked into the field. I could not figure out if he was going to post a pole for some reason or was pulling out a gun or bow and arrow for hunting. He had a large orange and black kite with about a six-foot span looking like a monarch butterfly. This guy was serious about his kite flying; he looked like an aviator now. I had already been there for about forty-five minutes already and was about to leave but I could not pass up the opportunity to improvise while being inspired watching the kite take off and the tricks the guy had to show. Also, he had just joined me to share in the music. I continued to play for about a half hour more. Boner was fine until I stopped playing. He got real nervous and could not wait to get off the piano. After he jumped into the truck and onto the floor, I realized the kite was making a buzzing sound. It flew like, looked like and sounded like a large black fly. Bo was bite by a large black fly when he was a youngster and has been traumatized from that incident ever since. If there is a fly in the house, Bo will be under the bed until I catch it and kill it. Then I tell him to follow me and he ducks his way with every step from the bed to the bathroom. He feels safe only after seeing the ceremonial flushing of the fly down the toilet. I recorded my music and am realizing I am much more inspired after meeting someone new and having a conversation with them.

October 03, 2006

I traveled to the Tower of Oaks area of Penn Valley Pennsylvania tonight to visit for a short while with a friend. I found the bottom of the parking lot, it was down a big hill like a gully and I was tucked away and nestled deep in tall trees on two sides of me. It sounded like a forest. I enjoyed listening to random sounds of the night they freed me to feel ok with randomly hitting notes on the keyboard. I was trying to compliment them with the music I was creating. My friend said he could hear the music by his building it sounded like someone playing the piano in one of the condos with the window open. A woman parked in the distance and I knew the dark silhouette of Bo and I in the distance was driving her crazy along with the music sounding non-intrusive and safe. She wanted so bad to investigate but she were over a city block away and did not have the nerve to walk down the parking lot. As I was leaving, I saw that she had gone inside and was on her way out with a phone to start the exploration. I thought, "when she gets back to the area I will be gone, it will drive her crazy." Was it a vision? Did she imagine it? Ha, love it!

October 02, 2006

My improvisational performance location today had a double purpose. It so happened that one of my favorite spots, the parking lot on the water in Bristol PA is also in front of the Bristol Pilot news publication and they will be doing a story for the upcoming Community Piano Jam in Langhorne PA this Saturday. I have been here at night but never during the day and I forgot my camera! Tim, the newspaper guy took some pictures for me, he had a great view from three stories above. A guy sat next to me while fishing. The scene in front of me looked like a picture in of itself, the river with a tree lined background setting, boats motoring by while I watched groups of birds migrating down south in the distance. It was twilight, the moon was directly in front of me and the water was just beginning to shimmer from it. The textured and mirroring effect of the water was mesmerizing. Some guy started telling me how he has seen me in Tyler state park a month ago. What a coincidence as the park is some distance away. I started a conversation with a carload of adults. Now I have often seen car loads of kids hanging out in parking lots by the river but this was my first car load of adults, three girls and two guys definitely an over fifty years of age bunch and dressed up to the nines. I found that very interesting. I wondered if they had hung out there together as kids. They must have been early for a nearby dinner reservation or something. One of the guys asked me when I was going to be in Ocean City NJ again as he has seen me there many times in the past. It seems that the people who have seen me before see me all the time but the majority of people have never even heard of me. I have never pursued large scale exposure but I am ripe to do that now.

October 01, 2006

There were to be eight of us tonight jamming' on the river but my friend Wes was the only one to show up. Good thing I had no expectations. I was in Bristol on the Delaware river's edge and worn out from yesterday's performance but glad to be sticking with today's commitment if only for myself. It was a beautiful night and I played to the moon while it was still daylight. I brought my chair and sat on the water's edge to relax while Wes improvised and I watched the water at twilight. I never knew my friend played so well until the last jam we had. I enjoyed his music. When anyone ever asks me what to look for in a piano teacher for their children I always tell them to ask the teacher what they do to inspire their students. I had emailed and talked to ten different piano teachers about the jam for themselves and their students and not one responded. When I taught (in another life time) I looked for opportunities where my students could share what they had learned. Maybe that is why I had fifty-four private students weekly and bi-weekly at the height of my teaching blitz and the parents were paying top dollar for the lessons. Onward to the next jam.

September 30, 2006

Today was a day full of fun, chaos, trouble and friendliness. This was my tenth year performing for Schuylkill Haven Borough Day in East Central Pennsylvania. This community exemplifies hometown America more than any other place I have been. Everyone is like family and this is a yearly festival where everyone cooperates to create a great day no matter what. The "no matter what" of the day was rain. Ugh. This festival does not start until the piano man begins every year and that is at 9 AM sharp. It was crisp and cool. That was not a problem. When the drizzle began, now that was a problem. I persevered until the water was dripping off my hat and then I came to my senses. I drove the truck under an overhang and went to buy myself a big fat smoked turkey leg that took me a half hour to eat. I ran back and forth in and out of the rain all day, I was using Boner's sweater to sop up the water off the piano keys. I was thinking, "I wonder how long the piano will last, the speakers are blown, I don't care about them anymore, I wonder if there is anything under the piano keys that will rust. I know this is all crazy, "it is what it is". I wanted to give the town their money's worth and to make a good day for everyone so I stayed around for the full day and continued to create performance when possible. I found my friend Celeste's beach umbrella and set that up over the piano. Having Bo with me was really the only thing needed to make people happy, they all love him so much.

The speakers were frustrating the hell out of me. Oh, that reminds me, my Country and Western singer friend Brenda also had a booking here today and her husband told me she took the word "hell" out of a song because these days it might offend someone. I said, "whats the world coming to", although I thought I was supposed to be saying it for the opposite reasons by the time I got to be this age. Anyway, the speakers created distortion with crack, sizzle and pop sounds that made it almost impossible to play at times. It was awful. It was ok with the Ragtime because it sounded like I had tacs in the piano for an old timey sound. I think the cones are busted. It was a lousy sound for the improve and as long as I did not accent any of the notes I barley got by with the Boogie Woogie. I was frustrated because this was my first opportunity to let my improv fly in a street festival performance, up to now it has been in parks. I was trouble shooting all day with the speakers, the amp, the batteries, the isolator, the inverter, the keyboard, and the trouble areas kept switching from one thing to the other.

I'll just state some visuals that I can remember like... this is a great crowd of around 40,000 people, the farm tractor parade travels by behind me twice every year; I used to lead it down the main street I do not know why I stopped doing that. Bo's hair is growing back for the winter; I give him a shave in the summer. He was shedding like a snowfall all over the piano and me as people are constantly petting him. I performed across the street from the local water rescue team; they sit for the dunk tank everyear. I was thinking it must have been freezing for them every time they hit the water. The police chief guy came up to say goodbye this will be his last year and he wanted me to know how much he has enjoyed my performances in his spot every year. A woman made a point to tell me how I turned her on to Boogie Woogie completely. She said that whenever she is having a tuff time with life she tunes into my version of the Flight of the Bumble Bee. It was a lot a fun for me to coax this guy up onto the truck to play, I knew he wanted to and he was great. He was really nervous, I was so happy for him that he was able to jump at the opportunity. Then one of my strongest fans Ellen, local music teacher, crossing guard, borough hall cleaning woman, known by everyone jumped on board with her dog Heidi to play. Bo was like, "what the hell is that dog doing in my truck". Celeste's husband Gary turned on the truck motor and hung out in the front seat revving the engine to charge the batteries that were almost dead while I tried to console the dog Heidi who was shaking like a leaf. Ellen had a good old time playing, "How Much is that Doggie in the Window". Yea it was a fun day!!!

September 29, 2006

Music created by the Dam in Bubeck Park, Schuylkill Haven Pennsylvania. Yea, that is where I ended up today. I arrived early for a booking tomorrow. Oh baby, the coldness is falling upon us. I actually love the change of seasons. No more denial, my speakers are blown. I will suffer through the job tomorrow working extra hard so that no one notices. I will notice. Yuk. My piano sounds like a little electronic keyboard. About fifteen hundred bucks this will cost. The price for playing in the sun, rain, snow, hot, cold and humid weaher. Most people do not realize the costs involved with the need for new equipment every two years. speakers, amps, keyboards, batteries etc... Playing in this new environment almost three hours from home, my energy is different I have a desire to create specific nuances with the music. Change is good for me.

September 28, 2006

The wind was strong today and the air warm, the sun was bright, it made me feel alive. I drove to the water's edge on the Delaware river in Northeast Philadelphia and I was feeling the power of nature and especially hearing it from the leaves in the trees. The tide was high and I like the full feeling that comes from that. I mixed improv with making sure that I remember my old repertoire because I have a booking coming up. I also needed to play some of the old stuff to help bring up my energy level for the improv. I tend to want to use improvisation to lull myself to sleep, which is ok sometimes, but sleeping does not help to develop my physical and intellectual skills on any level that I can be aware of. I need awareness. People were hesitant to approach me because of my placement on the grass, it would have been such a direct approach. I could tell they did not want to be intrusive so I called over one person; Cindy and she took some photo shots for me.

September 27, 2006

I went to the local school parking lot tonight. Blah, blah, blah almost the same old stuff. A four foot skunk ran right across the middle of the parking lot I could not believe how fast those things can run and how big they can get. I played to a beautiful crescent moon; a stray firework went off in the sky. Bo chooses to stay in the cab. The speakers were cracking and they have been doing that a lot lately. I keep telling myself it is from the batteries being low and not that the speakers are blown. I think I am trying to seep into denial here because new speakers will cost over a thousand bucks. I cannot remember anything about my improvising.

September 26, 2006

I am wondering how this daily improvising is going to work out once it gets really cold. Me soo crazy. I just drove out from a field by the local school to come home. I had my hat and coat on, kept my shorts on, and I am glad it was dark because I looked kind of silly. What definitely looks silly is what I look like when my body is failing around from the improvisation. I cannot help it, as I get into playing the music takes over my body and I don't want to inhibit what is happening, I really enjoy going with the flow. It will probably gross some people out when I get performing in front of crowds. It is what it is. I am so aware when I am present with the music. Yesterday I could not get there, tonight I did. I am a strong piano player, I always have been. I can be strong in a hard way and I can be strong in a sensitive way. I like versatility.

September 25, 2006

My sanity has been hanging by a thread today so I thought maybe the energy might make for some strong and charged music for recording. I headed to the easiest and closest place the local river access area. As I improvised, I realized that I just needed to feel secure with some basic structure so I practiced on my technique. I sat and practiced scales. After a half hour of that, I started to record and some of the music would have been great for the web but I am so crazy today that I put the recording output plug where the recording input plug should be and the input plug where the output plug should be. Therefore, I ended up with recorded music, nada.

September 24, 2006

The raindrops did not stop me today. Why should I be afraid if it should rain? If it rains, I throw the cover over the truck no big deal. I went to the Delaware river access area. First thing that crosses my path and I notice because they were very blatant, was a grown woman obviously giving some guy in a truck a hand job. It is not so cute when grownups do this in public. They were not attractive and seemed to want to challenge my sense of decency, they were going to give me a show. There is no challenge for my sense of decency because I have none, although my music is pretty decent. I could sense their desire to intimidate me. I thought, "they are going to love what I have to offer them in return, not really". I set up, Bo jumped onto the piano I started playing some music, I thought, "this is really going to wilt that willy, maybe the park systems should hire me to clean them up". They have these services now a days where country clubs and schools phone "geese chasers", guys go out with their dogs to chase canadian geese from properties because they are a nuisance. I could do that with park varmints. My music is not conducive to shooting up with drugs or lurking about with dark and seedy behavior. The couple's escapade ended, they vamoosed when all the little kids started to come over to dance with the music. Then came Silvia. Happy 42nd birthday Silvia. Her picnic group, a bunch of crazy Ukrainians pulled me to their picnic table area to provide some music for them. How could I resist? They were a sharp and intelligent group and I am fifty percent Ukrainian myself. I had an appointment at home or I would have stayed to party with them. I grabed some meat to eat and as I left they yelled, "freedom!"

September 23, 2006

Someone had turned around the no entrance sign at the parking lot in Neshaminy State park near the Delaware river in Bucks County. Usually a good seventy five percent of the parking areas are closed off. I took advantage of the opportunity to drive into an open area where there were no other vehicles around. A maintance guy came up for some conversation he is a teacher and also musical. A neighbor as it turns out, his name is Pete was riding by on his bike and stopped. He is a local music teacher who performs for his kids. I got him to do some piano jammin' and he sang with a great voice. He helped me to decide on having another piano jam for next Sunday.

September 22, 2006

God, what a crazy time I had. I decided to go into Philadelphia to play along the Schuylkill River near a dog park that Bo and I frequent. When I arrived, there was a big new large sign that had a big red X with DO NOT ENTER printed on it. I became hesitant especially because I would have had to drive across the railroad tracks to get to the other side and a big freight train was sitting there waiting for the signal to move. I did not want to get caught on the wrong side. I thought about the dog park but it did not feel right. I like to slip into spaces and tonight I would have come across as making a grand entrance. I drove around for another half hour looking for a river spot with no luck. It was late so I decided to go for Rittenhouse Square once again, the familiarity felt safe. I drove into the park and within 2 seconds, a bike cop raced to Bo's side of the truck and started to bang on the window as though it was not completely obvious that I knew he was there. I got out of the truck, as I did not want to reach over for the window; the guy was freaking Bo out. I said...." ", he said, "get out of here, get that dog, piano and truck out of here", I said, " ", he said, "do you want a ticket, what is wrong with you". I thought, "this guy must be having a bad day or has a need to feel self-important because he has no squad car". In any case, he was bordering on hysterical. I just got into the truck and left. That led to my driving to the Delaware river. I wanted water. I drove for over an hour looking for a spot with a water view in the city. There were none. I have been around the block a few times in this city but tonight I found places that gave me the feeling of being in another world. Lots of rats, trash and "lets take the stolen car apart " garages. I even found a one lane metal road, not railroad, bridge that I braved to drive across just to see what was on the other side. It was under the Betsy Rose bridge and the area was full of signs with the word transition on them. I was discouraged and thinking how I do not have this time to waste. I had also wanted to be helpful to a friend tonight but I would have had to drive back into the city and at this time that would be too much driving. I was disappointed. I could not find a spot so I decided to drive to an area close to where I was before at Lyndon Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. Ugh, it was dark by this time and the place was dirty even in the dark I could feel the trash, mud and lots of cars full of strangers lurking in them.

I drove up the street to where I have been in the past and maneuvered along side a parked car to drive up a small hill and onto the grass towards the river embankments edge. I got onto the piano fast and started to play. I heard someone yelling from behind and thought a good fight was going on in one of the houses across the street. About five minutes later, this young guy comes up and walks by the truck to hang on the nearby guardrail over the water. At one point, he kicks it hard and loud and I thought; "now I know who was doing the yelling". After a little while he turns around and stands there just looking at me until I stop and say, "what's up". He said, "thats really good stuff, I love to listen to live music and that really helped to calm me down". Now is where it gets interesting. I had a strong desire to be helpful tonight and also create some music in a comfortable setting. Can you imagine being a struggling twenty year old sitting in his car, the only car on the street, with no one in sight and while having an out of control screaming fight with your mother on the phone and a strange truck slowly pulls up along side of you and onto the lawn in front of you where no car has parked before and the truck has a piano on the back of it and some guy gets out with his dog and the dog jumps into the back of the truck and then again jumps on top of the piano and then the guy jumps into the back of the truck and starts to play creative piano music? It became clear to me almost immediately the two of us had crossed paths tonight in order to help each other. He said he was fighting with his mother and trying to get his life together. We were a "present" as in the moment for each other. As information is revealed it is discovered we both live by the twelve steps. I have been on my life journey for a long time and Ben is just starting his. I was meant to end up in this spot tonight. After talking for a while he went to go meet his girlfriend for a movie date and I went back to playing. No one had been around the entire time until after this guy Ben left. Then another person walked by and repeated Ben's phrase, "thats good stuff". I got what I needed. What a jolt for our sensibilities. It was no coincidence or much of a surprise to me that we had much in common, as this was not the first time a scenario exactly like this has materialized while I have been out performing. It happened almost one month ago to the day about ten miles North.

September 21, 2006

Balance is the operative word today on every level. I gave myself a break from trying to be creative in finding a new spot to play, I headed for my local river access area. As I have so much to do everyday, having even that little space in my head to use elsewhere was a relief. Musically, I practiced some, performed some, experimented some, and enjoyed some. The hot sun against my body with the cool temperature reminded me of how wonderfully alive I am, scared but wonderfully alive.

September 20, 2006

It was difficult for me to stay committed to playing today. I was in King of Prussia and wanted to try a new spot but that did not work out. I was driving home in the dark with the first cold snap of the season. I have very conflicting feelings at this time of year. I experience a child's fear of separation from his mother in going to school and at the same time feelings of snuggling under my mother's coat safe and secure. If anything, I do not want to be alone. With it getting late, I wanted to either go home and hide or find some dark bushes to hide in if I was going to play. I drove to the top of my street ready to go home but forced myself through my fear and drove forward to end up doing something really cool on a really cool night. I pulled into an open field near my house off of Route 132. It was a really large field and I was out there in the middle with emptiness a quarter mile in every direction. I was not alone with the steady stream of cars about a half-mile away in front of me. I thought about the grilled food I smelled from a nearby Applebee's and the large trees in the distance blew loud from heavy winds. I felt completely free to express what ever I wanted and was able to release much angst. I do not even remember much of what I created musically but I know my fingers hurt when I was done. I was glad that I accomplished my commitment. I would never have tried this spot in the daytime because it is very visible. I wondered if the truck would start and if I could get it home. It had stalled no less then eight times driving to the spot. One of these days, the truck will probably explode. I am not prepared to do anything about that yet and I am not interested in wasting my energy with truck worries... consciously at least.

September 19, 2006

As I drove to the local park thought about the fact that I have not been getting feedback lately and I was wondering what part of that fact belonged to me. People were looking at me wanting to connect but I was consciously avoiding them for some reason. I know the reason. I have been feeling vulnerable. After playing for about fifteen minutes finally the park maintenance guy Joe drove up along side the truck and started a conversation that lasted over an hour. People love to tell me how they discover me in the park. "I finished my lunch and heard the music but did not think anything of it. I was lulled into a nap. As a woke up I was thinking about the music. I was trying to figure out what it was, I knew the property next door does a halloween thing every year but the music was not ghoulish enough. Then I saw the dog and still could not figure it out. I really liked it a lot", etc... As we talked, I continued to improvise the entire time. The conversation stimulated musical ideas, nuances and accents. I grew up with a lot of chaos so thinking and hearing more than one thing at a time might be considered a talent of mine when I am relaxed enough.

September 18, 2006

A few weeks ago, I met a guy in a local park who recently called me asking if I would play some music for his mom's birthday in Cinnaminson, NJ. I had been impressed with the guy because he had some major physical body impairment going on but was able to maneuver almost unbelievably to his spot in the park where he relaxes. He also seemed well adjusted emotionally and was in fact a therapist for others with disabilities. I was looking forward to meeting this "mom" who had a role to play in this man's adjustment to life. She was seventy-one years old today. The three of us talked out the specifics by conference phone about three days ago. She was hesitant but I said I would go with the flow and do whatever was needed to bring her some "happy birthday" even if it was to play the piano off the truck and in the house for her. I told the guy that I did not want a fee but to extend his generosity, as I knew he was not a moneymaker and it felt right and good. Well, I arrived and all the goodness and generosity came to a stop. Mom had just arrived home herself with her friend and the first words out of her mouth were, "that dog is not coming into my house". I said, "not to worry he stays in the truck, I play music outdoors." She started to speak to me as though I had personally insulted her and her intelligence... to think that she would ever allow music to be played on her property where a neighbor might see or hear it. It continued downhill from that point on and it was all without me saying a word. When she was finished and I realized I was dealing with a psycho, by the way, it takes a lot for me to know that I am at dead end when giving, I said, "your not being very gracious, in fact your being abusive in your language and manor to me." That was difficult to say but very necessary. I turned around and left. In all of my years of working with people, this woman's unprovoked behavior was as demeaning as it gets. I called the guy and he apologized while validating that I had made a mistake in assuming that she was an asset to his life. He had just wanted to do something nice for her as she used to play piano and loves piano music. It turned out with me getting the brunt of some major dysfunctional behavior and the waste of a good day. I knew days ago that today was to be one of the last warm days and I had planned to spend the day at the beach because I had not one day vacation for the whole summer, I love the beach and I wanted Bo to have some fun in the surf. I had given up the idea to do something nice, so much for good intentions. I went back and forth in my mind trying to decide what to do. I could race to the beach for sunset or stay with the same old, same old. I decided for the beach making a stop off to pick up a hefty speeding ticket. I came home and immediately jumped into the piano truck and headed for the local high school parking lot to have some fun on the piano. Bo chooses to stay in the truck for the first time. To be completely honest it was the first time I did not have it in me to persuade him to come out. I really get good when I am allowing my body to follow the music. I have always been a physical player and people love it when I flail myself around while having fun with the Ragtime or Boogie Woogie. I am not so sure I will get the same response as they watch me flailing myself around while having sex with the piano through my own music.

September 17, 2006

Where the hell was I today? Somewhere in South Jersey, I know I was in Cherrywood Park. My friend Pat recently moved to the area and I went there to play some music for her. She loves piano music. The situation was different in that I played among a grove of thick maple trees at sunset. I was conscious of staying engaged with what I was doing. Traffic flowed by on both sides of the park but I just ignored it. Pat is my friend Cindy's mother and they sat to listen on a nearby park bench with a very special dog named Lacy. Lacy has the distinction of being the only other passenger dog that Bo will let ride in the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck. It is very close quarters in the front cab so everyone rides cuddling close together.

September 16, 2006

The sun came out hip hip whoreA? I drove to the local Delaware access area. Only a few people were there because the sun just started to shine. More and more I am giving Bo the option to jump in from the back because it is easier but he still wants to try from the side even if he can barely make it. He is an old guy now. I was able to record from my new laptop and the sound signal seems really good. It will be interesting to see what a difference there will be on the daily recordings from this point on. I hope the quality will be better and my music has more clarity in the moment. I want to play in the morning more often. I am stronger in every way especially with my ability to think. As the day goes on my mind becomes cluttered with thought, deeds and needs. I am finding that there is a difference between creating music with thought and intent versus creating music while being lost in it, at least that is the way it is at point of my development.

September 15, 2006

The weather could not decide whether to drizzle water down on us today or not; it was on and off all day. Finally, at dinnertime we got to go out and drove to the local school field where I positioned myself up against the wall of a deserted middle school and played while watching Ecuadorians play volleyball and while soccer mom and dads scurried around their kids. A few came over to investigate. I was surprised they could hear me a quarter mile away. The clouds were billowing and brown. Through them, every once in a while I would catch a glimpse of bright blue sky and sun far beyond and behind them. I was recording music for the web site so I attempted to have short complete thoughts of music. I thought I did well but alas, when I came home I had recorded the entire time through the truck speaker and not the piano. This means the sound of leaves blowing on the trees and my musical grunting was as loud as the music. Oh well, there is plenty of music in this head of mine.

September 14, 2006

Someone asked me today what I do in cold weather so I will take advantage of this drizzly day for a "flashback"! Cold... First, I take it on as a challenge. I love a fun challenge. I focus and motivate myself with the uniqueness of the situation, the accomplishment, absurdity, money, the people I am with. I enjoy being a trooper and finding a way to make things work where others say, "I don't think so...". With the Ragtime and Boogie Woogie, it is very high energy so as long as I am moving I am creating body heat. If I am excited with what I am doing, I am not thinking about the cold but about getting the job done.

Heat and humidity was has been a bigger challenge and amazingly enough I found myself more physically fit than ever just this last year while performing at top energy level non-stop for three hours and twenty-eight minutes while dressed as Elvis Presley for a crowd of 500,000 in the Metairie, New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. I was in so much pain my fingers swelled up and both legs had charley horses in them but I figured if I was going to die in the moment, this would be the way to go! You can read about that and see pictures on the Raggin' Piano Boogie Tour Blog link.

I have had fifteen-year runs with local Christmas Parades. I have been booked indoors when it is cold for example the last six years I have played for the Philadelphia Car Show Black Tie Gala. I suffered the cold for about two years through many an Acme supermarket opening back when they were restructuring. I performed in three feet of snow for Providence Rhode Island's First Night one year with 59 mile an hour winds in 20-degree weather. It was so crazy... right up my alley. Bo was wearing three coats and his paws were wrapped. I had a ski mask on at one point. We would run inside a different building every twenty minutes or so and thaw for a few minutes while recharging for another run outside. God, that was fun. We would drive through the streets and stop on street corners to entertain people who were waiting in lines to get into a show. For the last five or six years I have performed for Haddonfield NJ's First Night. I need more motivation with $$$, excitement, co-workers or on behalf of someone significant in order to keep going!

September 13, 2006

I could not resist taking a picture of my favorite fan today. He laid in front of me for a good twenty minutes closely watching and listening to my creating music in the park. I was at the Delaware River Access area in Bensalem PA. I was playing very lightly and almost still today just letting my mind escape from thoughts. I don't know what I am going to do about this performance log. People are getting the impression that I just go out and play for free. The need to move this blog to another place is becoming more apparent everyday. The message being sent is that I go out and play the piano just for fun. The operative word in that sentence is "just". I have not spent the last thirty years refining my craft, self-promoting it and working my ass off "just" for fun. I do it to pay my bills. I need to make a living. I want to play the piano for people without charging a fee. So, this playing for fun verses work stuff is getting very confusing for me. I want to work for fun. God, I hate saying this part... I am going to need to go and get business or patrons to pay my bills so that I can continue contributing my music and everything that I can offer to the world. I cannot continue to do this alone!!! If anyone out there in the internet world has money to blow around in the wind... blow it my way.

September 12, 2006

Danny found a new spot today and it was Roosevelt Park across from the South Philadelphia sport stadiums. It was nice except for the trash in the parking lots and quite the cruisy area. I found an open space where I had to choose between facing a large scummy algae covered lake with a non-descript building on the other side or an open field with route 95 rush hour traffic in the distance housing a skateboard park underneath it, the old navy shipyard beyond, traveling freight trains inbetween and airplanes coming in for landings overhead at international airport. I spent the time interpreting plane landing patterns into musical phrases. A couple sat and listened on a nearby bench and took a picture for me. The planes were a lot larger than the one in the picture. As I left, there were many after work tailgate parties happening along the road out. The guys would yell at me to stop to play as I drove by them but I had an appointment to get to. I would have done it for fun. I thought to myself, "habits die hard, I'll bet this tailgating is an extension of the games and concerts these guys go to all the time across the street. It's better than and probably cheaper than sitting in a bar after work."

September 11, 2006

I was playing in a beautiful quiet and peaceful spot in Core Creek County Park, PA. I have been there several times in the past and I parked next to a lunch area where vehicles often park to unload supplies. A young couple sat with their two children on a nearby park bench enjoying the music and a guy is sitting in the grass behind me meditating to the music. I was about five feet off the paved path. Up drives Barney Fife in his park ranger van. He waves his thumb backwards like a hitchhiker at me, "into the parking lot" he croaks. "Ugh, an ineffectual, self-important park ranger I thought". I said, "it would be silly for me to play music in the parking lot sitting next to cars. He thumbs back to me, "into the parking lot". I went to the park office because I felt it necessary to assert my right of voice. "There are hardly any people around and anyone present was enjoying what I was doing", said I. "I was non-intrusive and what I offered to the park was healthy for it." I got the standard reply, "Someone might complain, they complained about the light show at Christmas time". I replied with, "I appreciate your vote of confidence but I doubt if I would attract the 80,000 people who were coming to see the light show every year." " My appearances are random and not very often". If anyone would have complained I would have left but that has never happened. I would say I might attract around 50,000 on a good day, tops. Heehaw... So back to the conversation... she goes on, "you might come across as promoting yourself." I wondered how many times I was going to take this conversation around the world. "If someone is riding a bike in the park... the brand name on the bike could also be considered promoting". On she goes, "other people will want to do it". I decided this would be my last. "How many pianos have you seen on the back of a pickup truck", I asked. Yet again she goes... "you can't even bring an accordion into the park". "Now your getting ridiculous" I replied and left. A friend told me a bagpiper is always walking through the woods and everyone loves it. This was once again typically bad bureaucracy always looking to see what can't be done. I feel very strongly that a community park should have a welcoming feel not a policed feel. Lunacy and its not even a full moon! Healthy contributions should be left allowed to co-exist without impediment. I went to my friends backyard around the corner to play.

September 10, 2006

Here is something new, a first for me to say without any reserve whatsoever. I love my job! Wow, after all these years I can say without reservation I love my job. If you ever heard me say that before, I lied. Bo and I just finished playing for the Hamilton Township New Jersey September Fest. It was a killer gig because of the performance time, five hours on top of the last two days performances. It was no sweat and I had a great time. This was because I was able to pay around with my own music as well as the Ragtime and Boogie Woogie. People have the same response no matter what I play. Bo is pooped out. As an old guy, it is not easy for him to be so attentive for a five-hour stretch. Everyone enjoys him so much he was willing to do his job and let everyone ooh and ahh all over him. I had a playful time experimenting musically. I learned how to end an improvisation with a big bang to create a response from people. It is amazing to think that I have improved on a job less than twelve times ever. It feels so natural and I get more confident and comfortable every time I do it. It is amazing to find the energy I can draw from people to give back to them. My stamina is almost back to where it was 20 years ago. I talked with many people; my interacting has become an integral part of my appearances. Many people asked me about my wildest dream with Oprah as I remembered over a thousand people from this festival signed my sheets of support for it last year. I had about fifteen people get on the truck to create some music. I love to watch the intent in people's eyes as they put forth the courage or abandonment or curiosity of just plain fun to play in public. People have been sending me pictures they took and I appreciate that a lot.

September 09, 2006

Today was the day for Franklin Township, New Jersey. I have had a relationship with this community for over ten years. It felt great to be acknowledged from the stage as part of the family. Young adults now come up to me to say I remember you from when I was a little kid! Hahahahahahaha....ouchocuhocuhocuhocuhocuhocuh. I got stuck in traffic on the way so I was a few minutes late and had to hop to it. They hooked me up through the main sound system so I was really "present". I was LOUD!!! I had to deal with a delay in sound for the first time in memory from the festival speaker system. When I played the sound was like two notes past what I was playing. I was not focused yet and the guy from the sound both yelled, "just play from the heart." Yea right, easy for him to say. Every person in the place could hear every single note and nuance... LOUDLY. Love that bass. They loved it. I love them. It was a love fest. I started to play Nola and thought, "you idiot, what are you a masochist, you have not played this in a month and you chose to bring it up right now before your warmed up, while still in a rush and it is all going through speakers from every corner of the place??? Good thing I have my new attitude of "it is what it is" in my heart because I know that I cannot miss when it comes from the heart! I traveled to different spots throughout the day. A couple had followed me and I asked if they played. They said no they just like to listen to music.

I am sorry for writing this so often but I need to get it out of my system my accepting and the newness of people listening to my music and enjoying it, my trusting that. The truth of this is new to me as of these writings and I know most people will not be able to understand that or believe it but it is the truth of my life. I want to cry just writing about it. I am so grateful for being able to grasp onto what small trust I have developed. I must have some really serious relationship/trust issues. Anyway, I set up a multi colored umbrella for Bo which worked well especially as the event was a Mardi Gras theme. Lots of kids jumped onto the piano to play. I improvised while watching two fire companies have a water fight over a keg tied on a rope. It was like a tug of war through water for the keg. People responded to the improvisation, it was interesting because every situation improvising is different and new and as a result I am able to let loose in a new way. Like for example I can just slap my hands on notes randomly and hardly anyone would notice, so I can pretty much do whatever I want as people enjoy the performance subliminally which is ok by me because IT IS STILL NEW FOR ME AND I AM STILL GETTING COMFORTABLE when they consciously listen.

September 08, 2006

Bo attended my fifth paid improvisational performance tonight. Of course he did. He is a critical player in every aspect of my life. Bo supports me as a friend, co-worker, audience member and soul mate. He hung out as always on top of the piano. Boner really enjoys his work. We performed for the Woods community in Langhorne. This was my third time this summer for these people and I always appreciate the opportunity to connect with them. I felt an unusual ability to be creative with people's body language tonight. There was not much inhibition concerning physical expression. Everyone took full advantage of the opportunity to explore musical expressiveness in fact, I especially loved it when they could not contain themselves and started jumping, swaying, flinging themselves around spontaneously. They gave me a lot of validation, "wow, great, your good" etc... This helped to create a connected joy with each other. This one short guy who could barely see as his eyes were almost permanently shut and he could not talk stood next to the piano pretending to play on the upper keys for about 10 minutes with me. We were definitely jammin' together, we totally connected with the music. I congratulated him when we finished. It was real. As everyone left to go home, I stayed and played while a couple of guys shot some baskets with a ball on the court next to me. I choreographed whatever musically came to mind according to the strategic hits and bounces of the ball.

September 07, 2006

I love New York city, I really do. As I was driving home riding across the night lit skyline tonight I thought, "New York is like a brother city to me, it feels like a brother that I do not get to visit often enough." Then the word "kishke" came to mind with my coming from the city of brotherly love. I'm not sure why. I started out today visiting my friend Stephen in Brooklyn and hooked up with a friend of his, Duke. We went to play on the docks overlooking the East side of Manhattan. After looking for about a half hour for a view, we found a dead end street with nothing but two warehouses on it and a rush hour view of New York City from across the water. Within five minutes, ten people had drifted into the area to hang out. It was a beautiful day.

After about a half hour of music we drifted over to McCarren Park in Brooklyn not to play more music but to get a bite to eat. I did in fact end up playing where I

was parked on the street because the cook of the restaurant initiated a conversation about honky-tonk piano and England where he came from. Crowds are starting to gather when I play and it feels good. It used to be just single people drifting into my musical space. A woman came running down from her fourth floor apartment with her young boy. He had been in his bathtub begging to come down before it was too late to see the piano man on the truck with the dog. He wanted to give a donation. He did so with a quarter, wet and wrapped in a bathrobe. I returned his generosity with a Raggin' Piano Boogie poster I found behind the seat of the truck. His mouth dropped open in awe. I live every day to the fullest through experiences such as this. I was not done. I was on a "tear" today as I do not get up to New York often with the piano truck.

I had an appointment with my friend Brad in Manhattan so I decided we should meet in Washington Square. I wanted to perform inside Washington Square. As we drove to the area, we all pumped each other up to get the nerve to drive in. As I circled the park to scope out the area, I settled on parking behind the huge cement arc. As we drove in and past the arc we discovered a band performing in the spot I had chosen. I was already in there I was not going to back out so I started to make my way through a major crowd of people. It was still daylight so I could see fairly well. The guys started with, "oh my god, oh my god" and I kept saying, "shut up, shut up". We continued that way, as I drove around the bends looking for a spot to settle in. "Oh my god, oh my god", shut up, shut up, oh my god, shut up, oh my god, shut up." I found the perfect spot and it became even more perfect because the dog park (which I did not know existed) was right next to us. The guys jumped out and started taking pictures for me and Bo jumped quickly onto the piano. I followed and began to perform my improvisation. I was friggin' scared, my fingers were shaking; I could not look up at anyone. I thought, "they are just seeing is my energy and that is good". It was a major crowd for me to be playing in and everyone stopped walking when I started. When they clapped, I was thankful that it was not so loud as too draw additional attention. I could not stop because people applauded every time I did so I just kept playing.

Some guy came over to share his special white chocolate covered raisins with Bo and me. I could tell it meant a lot for him to share them with us. I especially enjoyed watching a couple sitting directly in front of the truck. They stayed the entire time. As I began to play, they immediately picked up on the music to make use of it with some romancing. As I changed modes of musical energy, they would change positions and behavior. At one point, oh my God it was so funny I cannot give the visual justice through my words. I had just finished intensively going real deep into the music and when I "came to" I looked up from the piano to see them sitting there like they were passed out. Their heads were hanging back over the bench as their arms dangled loosely at their sides. Then they composed themselves to look at me and smile. God, I love body language. We left when it got dark. This was a real high for me. I am still processing it. I used to hang out in Washington park in the early 70's!

September 06, 2006

Today I found a little park area on the river in Croydon PA where pleasure boats are launched. It felt like an Indian Summer day and both Boner and I needed the sun. I tried not to focus on the trash by the waters edge. Lee, a biker stopped over to say hi and tell me how great he thought the music was. An older couple wondered over from the neighborhood they needed to get out of their house on this beautiful day and they were happy pups in finding me. The sat together for a time on a tree stump in front of me looking out on the water and then I watched as the woman waded in bare feet by the waters edge and as they both looked for treasures that may have run a ground. I needed the distraction of mind with my music to just hear something else from my spirit other than the rambling of random resentful thoughts. Music really helps when my frame of mind is chaotic.

September 05, 2006

"Flashback"! In the old days before Raggin' Piano Boogie was born I used to play piano for parties in the Philadelphia society circuit. I was also the piano man for many of the cities organizational fundraising dinners. The Boy Scout scouts held six or seven of these dinners every year and I was the official Philadelphia Boy Scout piano man for all of them. The performance run lasted a good twelve years. I was affectionately and quietly nicked named honorary because I never made it as a real boy scout. I went to about three cub scout meetings as a kid and chickened out of the rest of them. When Raggin' Piano Boogie began and I started to switch over to performing solely with the truck, the Boy Scouts were real team players and continued to use my services whenever they could. This lasted until all of their controversial trouble began. I was "in the club" so they wanted me no matter what. This resulted with my first indoor appearance with Raggin' Piano Boogie. We did it in the Philadelphia Horticultural center. I went to drive the truck through the front entrance doors of the banquet room and the truck got stuck in the doorway. This was a men's event and everyone was already sitting, about three hundred guests, the party had begun. I had one shot at getting this truck into the room and the drive needed to be straight through. I was a little slanted in my approach. These great guys responded as good scouts do and they all got up from their tables to come running to my aid. They completely surrounding the truck and then proceeded to shimmy and shake the truck lose while lifting it up to straighten it out so I could finish driving in. This about twenty-five guys between forty and sixty years of age. Concerning the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck in performance situations from that point on I adapted the philosophy that there is always a solution of you want to find one.

September 04, 2006

The weather was perfect today and I am grateful to have shared the day as well as to have shared my music with other people. I pulled onto the ground overlooking the Delaware river where the first piano jam was held last week and I noticed two cool looking bikes leaning against a nearby tree. Boner jumped into the truck and onto the piano, I followed. As I began to play I noticed a couple having a picnic on a large cement slab down in the water about fifty feet below me. I thought, "this could not be more magically perfect." I had fallen into the space above this couple and here I am providing just the right music for their picnic. We stretched to acknowledge each other and then went about our business. Can you imagine picnicking with someone special on a beautifully sunny day by the river and along comes a man with his dog and piano to lull your tete-a-tete into a double whammy of romance? I was in my own world looking out over the water. I never saw as many boats as I did today, there were hundreds going up and down the river, all different shapes and sizes and colors.

September 03, 2006

I drove to the Keswick area outside of Philadelphia and found an open playground where Bo I settled under two trees. As I started to play it felt the same old, same old. A guy came by with his three sons' and they hung out on a nearby fence to listen. They had recognized me from past Raggin' Piano Boogie performances. I was thinking I might contact the Keswick theater and see if they would be interested in using me as an opening for some of the performances there. I can definately see myself now on stage for about twenty to thirty minutes. Two kids were playing on the swing sets and stopped over to say I was awesome. The girl who was into theatre said, "you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, this is so cool." I thought, "so what if that comment was over the top it felt good to hear!" The boy said how cool it was to watch everyone just hanging out doing their thing while I created music. After meeting them I started to be more interested in what I was doing and some new ideas began to emerge. I am feeling better and better in trusting the fact that people are hanging out to listen to me perform.

September 02, 2006

As it rained all day, today I played a little inside for a friend. Now I will tell another favorite "flashback"! I once played pied piper for a local summer camp in Willow Grove PA. The camp director drove the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck while I played throughout the camp. It was in the morning and we were waking up all the kids. As they heard us they would come running out of their tents and as they did they were thrown kazoos and told follow us. We all headed for about a half mile down a tree covered path into the woods and drove while I created a raucous with Ragtime music until we came out the other side and onto a sunny, grassy clearing where I began to play the "Boogie Bumble" as in the "Flight of the Bumble Bee". The kids all started jumping around and circling the truck as they buzzed on their kazoos and then breakfast was served.

September 01, 2006

Before the rain started today, I went to the Delaware river access area near my house. This was the first time I played improvisational piano outside in the morning and I brought a friend named Sue with me. She may start helping me with bookings so I wanted her to se what I do. Bo jumped into the truck and I performed in the parking lot for about a half hour. The water was choppy and the river was full. There was a crisp breeze and the sky was cloudy. I wanted to just stay there all day and escape life into the music but alas, reality must come into play and I started to feel spritz's of moisture so we headed back home.

August 31, 2006

I slithered into my parking spot on the Bristol riverfront. Actually there was a couple smooching while parked in my usual spot. I asked them if I could have it and they said sure and moved their car. It was dark and the water was just...just...just about overflowing the brink. It could not have been more on the edge. Just like I like it, on the edge of life. It is such a great spot. Bo went to jump into the truck. He has been having trouble as of late. It is a high jump and he is now an old man. I went to open the back to make it easier for him but he said no he wanted to go the side route as usual. He barley made it but he did it. I applauded his effort. I want to be just like him as I get older. I could hear the water lapping at my side and sometimes water would run to the wheel of the truck. A boat raced by and created a large swaying mirror of water in the night. I made a commitment to play only for me tonight. I did not feel like developing... stretching my skills... or being interesting... intelligent or smart... or performing for anyone... or needing to think. For the first fifteen minutes, I had to keep reminding myself to relax my ass muscles while I played. I had a very stressful day and I tend to tighten up with my musical emotions, which is not good. I wanted to let my music out... not internalize it. I closed my eyes and breathed deep as I played. It was fun. I even brushed up on some of my Ragtime and Boogie Woogie. I did what ever I wanted to do.

August 30, 2006

Today Boner and I took a little trip to the Roxborough section of Philadelphia and ended up at the back end of Gorgas park. We were just driving around exploring and came to a spot where there was a group of about twenty neighbors hanging out with their dogs. So, we drove up onto the grassy field and parked not too far but not so close that the truck was intrusive on the area. I wanted to improvise while I watched the dogs at play. Bo enjoyed being king of the hill on top of the piano. He especially enjoyed the fact that no dog could each him. A friend took some pictures and curious people came up to the truck so I did not get much playing in. A couple came down from the gazebo up on the hill to tell us how much they enjoyed watching Bo hold sentry over the piano and enjoyed listening to my music while they smoked their cigar.

August 29, 2006

Can you believe it? It rained today. It has not rained in months to stop me from going outside. I could now actually, but I want to have another go at the new hookup I created in my house today. I was able to connect the keyboard to five big speakers all throughout the house. I was improvising and it was so good the glass was quivering on the shelves. Did I say good? I meant good and LOUD! I heard the music with much more ability to create nuances inside the house but it had to be real loud. What to do, what to do. The sound is also a completely different experience when I use headsets, on a real piano also. I must create music to the best of my ability. I need to find a way to present the sound of what I am capable of in order to develop, outdoors.

August 28, 2006

I went down to the Delaware River Access area today. Nothing special except that I played some at home before I went out. I am jonsin' for more time to develop my piano craft and skills. I need a business manager to take over some of my work. While I was hitting the keys, I noticed a guy playing guitar in the distance. We had met a few weeks before in this spot and I inspired him to bring out his guitar. Sounds good to me. Another guy walking his dog stopped to suggest that I put a tip jar on the piano. I asked him how much he would put in it if I did. That got him, "oh, nobody around here has anything to put in." It is a little irritating to have the need to act and look like I have money to make money. Many people seem to need some sort of marketing to create an illusion to decipher whether music is good enough to pay for. I do not seem to have much worth in kaki cutoffs and a tea shirt. Put a shirt and tie on and it is a whole different story. Well for me right now, "it is what it is".

August 27, 2006

Ha ha ha ha ha... It rained for the 1st Traveling Piano Jam today. We played in the rain! Who cares what happened to the piano! It was not pouring so we all dealt with the steady raindrops. Now we can all say not only have we played the piano outdoors but we did it in the rain! The first four piano players... to the left, the famous Ragtime Piano man Don Kawash... bottom up, rock and roll Piano guy Tyler Howgate, followed by You Know Who... along with the improvisational hobbyist piano man Wes Powers and of course Piano Dog, Boner. I never had a doubt in my mind that this jam was going to happen. I was prepared to do it in my garage if necessary even though there is no room to stand in there. We are going to do it again and I hope others will join. The music was of a New Age type improvisational, a few renditions of Fur Elise, rock group Toto's Hold the Line, classically Don played The Banjo, and we had some Boogie Woogie. As soon as we stopped, the rain started, steady.

August 26, 2006

I left my house with storm clouds so dark and low it looked like it was going to pour rain every second. As I drove I thought, "thank God it will be dark soon because I would rather not see it coming if it does rain. I was heading for the Somers Point NJ Harbor Festival, my fourth or fifth return engagement. When I arrived, I felt good about the change of scenery in being at the shore. I wish I had a place down there to stay. As I began to perform, it started to sprinkle rain and then stopped after about three minutes. It started to rain again for about three minutes immediately after I finished. I was lucky. This crowd has always been a party crowd. I drove and stopped at different parties that were going on and at the central walkway intersections. It was interesting to watch people appear from every direction when I started to improvise and even more interesting to watch them settle into the music. I think I got more attention and more of a response from the original music than from the Boogie or Ragtime tonight. It was difficult for me to try and keep my mouth shut when someone asked about what has been going on musically for me. I must get a grip on giving short soundbites with what I have to say. I learned today that while I have been counting the unique hits to my website everyday, tallying up the numbers since I started publishing in December, the 3,400 hits to date was wrong. The actually number with the average person staying on the website for five minutes at a time is more like 34,000 with over 1,600 pages hits per day. Yikes! After the job, Bo and I went house hunting through the different parties that were going on. Everyone invited us into their houses, Bo especially, to have some food and drink. The name "Boner" was very popular tonight used almost constantly in everyway imaginable. On the way home I sat on the Atlantic City expressway for more than an hour due to an accident. As I moved along at no more than two miles an hour, I wished that I had someone with me to drive as I performed on the back of the truck. It would have made for a terrific distraction for all.

August 25, 2006

Just got back from playing my 4th paid improvisational performance. I will stop counting at five. It is so amazing to me. If anyone would have asked whether I thought I would ever be creating my own music fifteen months ago I would have said, "can't do it, tried a little, just can't do it." If I was asked whether I ever thought I would be getting paid to perform my own music I would have laughed one hundred percent of that idea off into the spirit world. Well, not only did I get paid but also, it was my going rate which is nothing to sneeze at. So much more importantly, I loved doing my job and everyone loved what I had to offer. I played from 7pm until sunset. It was in the Ceaderbrook area on the Woods Campus in Langhorne PA. This is a high-end community with people who have issues physically and with how their mind works. I realize we all have issues they are just more acute for these people. This was not the first time for Boner with this crowd. He loves everyone and lets him or her handle him in ways that he would never put up with from other types of audiences. He amazes me. Usually when people are jerky in movement towards Boner, he flinches or gets up and moves to the other side of the piano. Not with these friends. They reach around to Bo's hind legs to pet him and he just moves in closer to make it easier for them. I am not kidding. One of the guys came up to me while playing and said, I am turning 80 years old in 2007 and I want you here for my birthday. Another guy came up and pulled out a harmonica. We kept a decent rhythm together. God, that was fun. Some guy in his 30's came up from behind and gave me a slap on the back while I was playing, saying, "man your great." I kept playing while the kids around 15 to 18 years of age left to walk home. As I would finish a piece of music, I could hear them in the distance screaming a clapping for me. As I drove off I heard them talking to each other, "man he is awesome". What is truly awesome is what I am feeling. To experience the level of humility and gratitude that I have grown into... I cherish more than anything else I have ever known.

August 24, 2006

I needed to go to the mall today and I decided to take my piano with me. I ended up on the King of Prussia Mall parking garage roof. There was no one there so it felt safe. There were two super sized crows and a bunch of seagulls nearby. They did not want Bo around and protested loudly. The crows each had their own pillar to stand on and all the other birds were stuck together on another pillar. A woman drove by and stopped so I asked her to video some. My camera batteries died so I could not get pictures. The hotel was to my left, Bally's behind me, the main part of the mall roof was to my right and behind was also parking and highway. I was very conscious of the movement down below with traffic whizzing all around. I must have been a site to behold for the people looking out of Bally's Fitness while running on the treadmills. My ears were burning with, "do you see what I see way up there across the street on the roof of the mall?" Well a cop did see me from below and came racing to the scene. He looks at me as says, "you can't do this". I said, "what?" He said, "this whole dog, piano truck thing". I said why not, there is no one here, I am not bothering anything and I am breaking no law." He says, "someone might complain". I repeated, "there is no one here to complain, if someone does I will leave." He talks to his dispatcher and then says, "you have to shop in the mall to park here." I said, "my wife is inside shopping and I told here I would wait here for her." I lied. I am confessing my sin right now, I am sorry for this lie. Anyway, after I said the lie I pretended that the policeman went away. I looked down at the piano and started to play again. He went away. I was there for about an hour. It was very cool to be up in the air and around all the huge rooftops of the mall and corporations that surrounded us. I thought, "maybe someday I will get to play while parachuting down to earth.

August 23, 2006

Ballsy. That it how I needed to feel to have the nerve and gumption to drive into my local Lion's Park today. I climbed onto the back of opportunity as in I knew my neighbors were there so I thought I would get them to video Boner and me for an upload to youtube.com. My friend was there so I asked her to film for me. We were in the spot and I said, "come on I need to do it before I think too much and the energy is still with me". I was nervous about being in the park because the people who built it did not think I was worth the money to perform at the opening. My friend snapped like a viperous snake and said shut up and wait, you are so self-centered, that is why you are alone. She was sick but still... Ouch! Talk about hitting below the belt. I thought, "were you threatened that way as a child also?" Then I thought, "I am anything but alone." Whew! Glad I got past that stage of life. Had she said that over a year ago I would have crumbled. I asked a guy standing nearby to take the video for me and he did. What I need to put up with concerning life long relationships in order to keep them can be a real pain in the ass. Once I processed that bad energy out of my system I got the nerve to back the truck in near where the kids played. There were allot of them and from many different ethnic backgrounds. After about ten minutes I said to myself, "what are you doing, turn the friggin' truck around so you can watch the kids play." I did. It is funny how I need to ease into a situation. At first, I was too afraid to face everyone. Most everybody acted as though my being there was a most natural, routine experience for them. Every few minutes a youngster would run up and give me a big smile and say hi to Bo. The feeling was surreal playing the piano outside on my truck, in my neighborhood, watching the cars go by on the road I travel on everyday. A guy named Paul jumped up to tinkle some, he used to play when he was a kid. His daughter jumped in and sat beside him. I left them and went to sit on a park bench to watch for about ten minutes. This guy would have stayed just to mess around with musical notes the whole night if he could. He was a happy pup. He got the idea of what I am doing and had a great experience. Bo sat on top of the piano looking at me like, "how come you can leave and I can't".

August 22, 2006

Music to my ears! I had the speakers up so loud that is about all my ears could hear. I was in the local high school parking lot and I was meandering over five Dorian scales. (see last night if you do not know what I am talking about) It seemed strange to be thinking intellectually about the piano keys. I liked it. This was the first cool night I can remember playing in. It was almost crisp but not quite. I think the barometer level affected the sound nicely. There were a few rendezvous in the area between cars. One of them ran when they saw me coming with the truck. I think they were being naughty. The hand area where I crushed my fifth metacarpal some years back hurt last night and all day today and I was getting a bit paranoid. When I played all the pain disappeared and I felt as strong as ever with my technical abilities. Thank God. My ears were sharp tonight also.

August 21, 2006

Fran from last night joined me today at my new favorite spot on the Delaware River and we decided to have the first, "Traveling Piano Jam" for this coming Sunday at 7pm. It will be behind the huge Lenox Building off Radcliff street at the north end of Bristol Borough on the river. You cannot miss the building and you cannot miss us if you drive to the back because there will be nothing else there on the river bank in a big wide open area, only the Raggin Piano Boogie truck. We both agreed to bring one person each and we will play with eight-minute stretches and continuously switch off until the last man or woman is sitting. As I played today, I was surprised to see a guy kayaking on the river when I looked up. My piano keys fell victim to a "fly by" bird dropping from the sky. We shot some video for YouTube.com. Fran showed me the Dorian mode on the piano. He told me how to play the scale. When he left, I started to get lost in the playing of it. I had to stop after about fifteen minutes because I got scared of what I was doing. He gave me the one idea and I had to say stop because I would have become overwhelmed with anything else. Lets see here if I can remember, the scale goes in steps... whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half-whole ... a half step is from one key to the next, a whole step is two half steps up or down on the keyboard. The scale can start from any note. It gave me something musically interesting to think about while I improvised instead of having my mind just wonder on about life. I think is where an opportunity for some musical discipline enters the picture. A simple way to use and develop my mind. Hmmm... yes I still have that desire.

August 20, 2006

I just had a most amazing experience. I drove to the riverfront to play but there was a Sunday concert happening so I drove on to the new spot in the middle of nowhere that I found the day before yesterday. I was having a good old time messing up as bad as I could on the piano as no one was around and out of no where appears jazz pianist, Fran Danis, yes the one and only. He said, "what are you doing here on my turf?" In the almost twenty years I have performed with Raggin' Piano Boogie only two other pianists have performed with me on the truck. One was a Boogie Woogie guy from Vienna, Austria and the other was Fran Danis from Bristol, PA. This was just too strange and funny. I had not seen him since 1998 and here he was jogging along the river. So, we got reacquainted and started talking about a piano jam. He is a great player and he jumped on the truck to play some. I was in heaven. Then he said, "have you ever heard of the website YouTube?" I said, "Oh my God, a friend sent me a link to it just yesterday and I thought it was important enough to download one of the videos from the website last night and I have just been thinking about making one from this spot while I was playing. We set up a time and he is going to film me for it tomorrow. Cheezzz. As he left, I was kicking myself that I was just messing around when he heard me earlier. Of course, I love to impress. So much for "it is what it is". After Fran left there was one guy parked in the area sitting on the back bed of his truck. It was dark. I felt like I needed to play some more to discharge the thrill from moments before. After a few minutes, he lay down on his truck bed and I thought, "he is totally soaking in this scene". When I stopped, he yelled over, "your not done are ya?" I went over to say hi and it turns out this guy, Jack and I have an incredible amount of commonality in our lives, way to deep to go into with this forum. Suffice to say it was an even bigger event than Fran turning up beside the truck. Jack had a musical concert of his very own on a breezy, warm and clear summer night by the water and it was just the two of us sharing in all the spirituality flowing around. When I went to leave I was alone. I started the truck and it began to accelerate out of control and then came to a stall with clicking sounds. The carburetor. I thought, "this might get interesting." I shot up a short prayer and carefully turned the key to give the truck a start. I sputtered the way home and made it into the garage. Tomorrow is another day.

August 19, 2006

Today I went to get a free dinner over a friend's house so I took the truck along to give some free music. Don and Peggy have been friends of mine since high school in fact Don was my music teacher in high school! I pulled into the park in front of their house and soon a gaggle of neighbors appeared. There were some nasty sounding neighbors setting up to eat behind me, they were complaining about the mulberries lying on the ground, on the chairs etc... when I turned around after about five minutes they were gone. I will assume it was the fault of the mulberries. One of the neighbors came over to me and said, "you know the ragtime you play is just not my cup of tea, it is this music that brought me out of the house as it is so beautiful to hear." Then the rain started and I threw the cover over the truck and got ready to head for home.

August 18, 2006

Wow, new spot... good spot... great spot! I was heading for the Bristol Riverfront I wanted to try it during the day. It is Friday night. Lots of people were hanging around the nearby theatre and resturant and I looked like a slob. No way was I going to stop, I just kept driving on. I drove along Radcliff street. It runs along the river but there were no access areas. At the end of the street, I found a huge, what used to be industrial building being turned into offices with an even more huge back parking lot walking area along the water. I am talking spacious here. I drove right up onto the grass and was able to use the speakers full blast. I don't know if it was the wind blowing in my face, the openness of the area with land and water or the energy drink I had before I left the house; I was flying strong with the music. Whatever I played, I meant it. People would come by and they were completely blown away from the visual and sound. One woman said she heard me over by the office buildings (which were about a quarter mile away) and she could not believe what she heard and saw. It was fun! Fun! I watched flocks of birds starting their migration up the river. Countless motorboats on the river were trying to figure me out and I watched a football field size barge float by. I played until it got dark. Except for the night parking lot lights this would be a perfect spot for in the middle of the night. I love natural settings.

August 17, 2006

I found an area along the Delaware River in Lower Makefield PA. I drove right up to the rivers edge and landed on a ridge over looking the water held together by sand a tree root. If you were able to push the truck any, it would have slid right into the river. Boner and I were in the shade under tall locust trees with a cool breeze and no humidity on this warm sunny summer afternoon. The water was shimmering. Some nice folk, a family enjoying water rides on their jet ski came over to say hello to Bo and take some pictures for me. While I was playing the locusts above turned on. I have never heard the pulsing of their rhythm as strong as it was today. They must be at the height of their breeding season or something. The sound would build and build and build to a loud climax and then they would snap like a wind up toy unraveling. The experience was so intense it surpassed my sense of sound and began to taste sweet in my mind. Cars started to pull into the parking lot to check me out and it felt like a drive in movie parking lot filling up for the show. Towards the end, three guys jump into the river directly in front of me. They were like little kids splashing in the water to the music, a bunch of Mexicans having fun.

August 16, 2006

I finally found my way onto West Philadelphia today. I have wanted to play there for some time. I had no particular reason. I arrived at Clark Park, drove into the center, set up and began to play. My first encounter was a guy who rode up to me on his bike to ask for some money and after that he tried and sell me a gold chain. I said, "no thanks." I am a silver type of guy. West Philly has a style of it own. It is an old and mature neighborhood. The park was culturally and ethnically diverse today and it felt like everyone sharing the park space appreciated the mix. I certainly did. I choose the sitting area instead of the playground area because there would have been allot of screaming kids around the truck and little opportunity to create music. A guy sat near me and I felt as through I had a Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes backup the entire time I played. Low, sensual, male musical breathing... sighing... feeling type responses. Several people came up to tell me they really liked what I was doing and mom's lifted their children out of their baby carriages to pet Boner. A couple guys came up right next to me again today and sat down while pulling out their game board to begin a game of chess while I played music. Cool, huh? I would have stayed but I was afraid by battery would die and the truck would get stuck in the park. I do not think I would want to be stuck with no way out of the park after dark.

August 15, 2006

Every time without fail that I face my fears it works out better than anything I could have imagined. This fact never makes life easier and it is always difficult whether the fear is large or small. Today, little panic attack feelings of rejection and bad consequences were hitting me. This happens every once in a while and it is most interesting when I push forward and go out to perform anyway. Damm, where's my camera when I need it, I forgot to take it with me. I went to the Bristol Riverfront parking lot a spot I found about a month ago right on the waters edge of the Delaware River in PA. I choose this spot tonight because it was so peaceful and I did not think anyone would be there just like last time. When I arrived no one was there but then a car drove in and a guy and girl got out to set up their fishing rods and chairs... right behind me! Yikes... like ten feet away from the speaker. I thought, "oh shit". Then another guy pulled in on the other side and setup the same distance on my other side. I thought, "oh shit". Then the second guy's buddy pulled up and set his chair like a foot from the right front side of the truck and I thought, "oh, shit". They all just sat there fishing and listening to the music. I hope I get over my insecurity of people specifically listening to ME soon. I just got an idea. I must realize that when I am thinking with insecurity I am self-absorbed. When I am like this I am forgetting what is going on. It is not about ME, it is about the MUSIC. Yea, I need to pound that into my pysche. These four fisherman all in their twenties, loved my music. They kept telling me that. "It's really great, awesome." The guy sitting in front of me said, "I thought this spot was the most relaxing experience I could have, listening to you play, who knew it could get better", and they all chimed in agreement. This was very cool for me. While I was playing, I saw him sitting there with his eyes closed totally soaking in the music and I had such a hard time accepting that fact. I want to remember, "it is all about the music, not the performer or the listener, it is about the music". I want to learn to respond to that with humility. The one guy played drums and said, "the only thing I can play on the piano is, doe a deer". I said to come up and play it. His friend said, "you don't want that, your piano keys will smell like fish bait." I played while a tugboat went by. There were a few motorboats in the dark. Something big jumped out of the water and back in before anyone else arrived it even startled Boner. I started to think, "horror movie, monster in the water." I liked playing to the sounds of the fishing rods being cast and hitting the water and also when they were reeling it in, especially with a catfish on the hook. I told them to call me to bring me back, I hope they do. Their good company felt safe and secure even through my own insecurities.

August 14, 2006

Nothing can brighten my day like a little piano playing in the park and it is even better when I make some new friends while doing it. I wish I could remember names. I was once a "society pianist" and I had to give up that type of work because my career was going down the tubes, I could never remember the names of the people who hired me! I drove the truck today into Core Creek County Park in PA right next to the pavilion where I played once before. I interrupted a romancing couple but they did not mind, in fact they took pictures for me. The guy, (I forget his name) recognized me immediately from parade performances through the years. The locust sounds in the trees were wonderful. I watched the great blue herons glide over the lake along with canadian geese. The sun's yellowish hue created an incredible lush green visual on the park greenery. A group of bike racers stopped by. I told them I was on the lookout for new friends, Erin and her mother, who were trying to find me. They said they would keep an eye out for me as they raced around the park. Sue, Erin's mom and I connected on the internet today and we all made plans to come to the park and play some piano. When they found me Erin climbed on board the truck and at fifteen years of age she could bounce a Boogie Beat as good as eighty three year old Dolores from Mississippi who played on the truck a few months ago. They both seemed to have more bounce than I. Erin's sister Chelsea was a mighty fine pianist herself. Erin said my improvisation is the same as what they use on the Sim computer games. Hmmm... I need to check that out. Two turkey vultures tried to keep us from leaving the park. Bo was hanging his head out the truck window within a foot of them being sure to keep his tongue in his mouth because these birds were fearless and aggressive. They started to follow us out of the park two inches from the side of the truck. This was the first time I went out to play in daylight and did not get back until after dark. Fun day/night.

August 13, 2006

My mind is all over the place today. It was such a beautiful day I had to drive to Tyler State park for the sunset on the hill. I parked between two sets of lovers, one on each side. They were laying on blankets doing what lovers do in the park, in the grass, at sunset, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. It felt good to make their romances even romancier. I tried not to look at them too much; I just created some love for myself. Several cars stopped and people got out to listen for a while. I can go for thirty minutes and then my head says nothing. I think I will experiment with that 30 minutes tomorrow and make it three distinct 10 minute improvs. I came home to find two emails; one said my music is, "expressions of a beautiful soul." Ahh... the other, "your amazing I hope you get your dream." I am truly in my wildest dream and so is everyone who shares in my experience.

August 12, 2006

Today started with my performing some Ragtime and Boogie Woogie piano next to a corn field in front of the Delaware Valley College Farm market for their Peach Pickin' Festival. It felt wonderful to watch Boner jump into the truck and onto the piano although I think he might need an umbrella for future sunny days in the hot sun.

Afterwards we traveled a little bit north to play piano music improvisationally, in the country, in the backyard for Erica and Jason's engagement party. We sat under the "something" tree while I played and a couple guys where playing horseshoes next to us. Bo had a nice sized hunk of the roasted pig form the table. I am getting used to the idea that the performing of my improvisational music works! It does and also, it is enough. It's music. People like to hear things they recognize but more importantly, they want to just enjoy music. We stayed for a while ate and socialized.

August 11, 2006

I just had a most amazing experience. I drove into an industrial park near my house and parked in the middle of a gigantic empty black asphalt parking lot behind a distribution center. It was the equivalent of being in the middle of a huge grassy field but with no natural ambience. I was very happy to see Bo jump into the truck and then up onto the piano although he needed a little help. He was very ill the last two days. As I performed a nest of nats came by and started to swirl off to the right of the piano. I got off the truck to spray some bug repellant around me. They stayed the same distance, opposite Bo, close but not in my face. After about ten minutes, I started to study the chaos of their movements. They reminded me of neutron chemicals or some kind of visual that I have seen of chemicals moving. They stayed in the same spot in a ball like form. Then I wondered if I could affect their movement. Without trying I started to notice that when I hit bass notes that created a response from them. I started to explore. I was fixated on these tiny guys for a good twenty minutes. They would go from being centered in a ball to stretching out to a length of about three feet and then back into the ball. It reminded me of watching listen to music while watching the sound visuals on my computer screen. They jumped according to the strength of my attack on the piano keys. The harder the attack on the keyboard the faster they jumped. The bigger, louder or deeper the sound the wider they jumped always going back into the ball. The pitch did not seem to affect them. Where they jumped was random. I swear to God I am not making this up, I said to myself, "ok you guys, I gotta stop I'll see you later." I stopped and they all left.

August 10, 2006

I woke up through my subconscious this morning. I had not set the alarm clock correctly. I woke with just enough time to realize that I may miss my performance. I throw on a shirt and tie for the race to the Ocean City New Jersey Boardwalk for their annual Baby Parade. This is my eighteenth year performing for this parade. Before I leave the house, I give Boner a cup of water and hopefully his body will process it. If he throws it up that will be a sign that he is seriously ill. We spent the night at the veterinary hospital emergency room because of a possible failing kidney. Bo drank his water, we raced outside to the truck and Bo throws up the water on the driveway. We get to the boardwalk and I have no driver. The parade was starting in two minutes. Bo stays in the cab, for the first time ever he is not on the top of the piano. While I am asking random people if they can drive a stick shift people are asking where Boner is. I start to cry every time someone mentions his name so I run back to the truck to get my sunglasses. A kind soul, Charlie Miller from Gaithersburg, MD tells me he will drive. He lost a dog like Bo six years ago and I could see I was bringing up some emotions for him. Thank God for this guy. I did the parade with people screaming, "Where's Bo?" I thought, "Danny, thank God you have this routine down pat with no water in you, coffee to get you going, nourishment for energy, having rolled out of bed into the two hour race to get here and dealing with Bo not in front of me for the first time, not knowing if he is dying or not." More about Boner's ordeal is written on the Boner and me link. On the way home I am riding along the river seeing storm clouds across the way. I say to myself, "they are South you can beat it because it is clear up North where you are heading." As I start the incline onto the Ben Franklin bridge a sudden fog overcomes the truck and a sudden torrential downpour begins at exactly half way across the bridge. I cut off to the side as soon as I am off the bridge span to throw the cover over the soaked piano and equipment. It is not until the truck is covered and secure and I am completely soaked, dripping wet that the rain stops and the sun comes out.

August 9, 2006

Today I performed my improvisation in a concert setting for the second time although it was not a situation where I needed to command attention. It was very relaxing, a hangout environment, which is best for what, I do. It was at the Holland Vocational Training Center on the Woods Services Campus in PA. I feel a special connection with these people and have performed for them in the past. It was a gratifying performance because I felt safe. Everyone was enjoying the music for the sake of music. They were not looking for a specific type or style of music so in not having any expectations from them I really enjoyed the connections. I am learning to negotiate my performance. I threw in some Boogie and Ragtime not to fall back on, but to create a level for me to jump off into my improvisation when its energy started to fade. I was able to use the Boogie and Ragtime as a tool to learn during performance and not as a crutch to fall back on.

August 8, 2006

I had an appointment in Valley Forge, PA today so I took advantage of the opportunity to play in the National Park. There were not many parking areas that accessed a view I felt good about, so I just drove out into a field and hoped no one would come to chase me away. I got lucky. The environment was as majestic as it gets in full sun with rolling hills. I got into a left hand octave, chord like trance with melody in the right hand both hands spanning the length of the piano. I enjoyed the visual inspiration especially when a big orange monarch butterfly would spend a minute or two flying around the truck.

August 7, 2006

I needed to keep it low key today. I went into the bushes near my house out of sight, out of sound. I randomly hit musical notes for quite sometime. I am used to creating music while allowing my mind to wonder. I like that but... it will not always work for performance purposes. (see yesterday) It will take practice and work to stay immersed in musical intent over a longer period of time than I have been used to. I have had short periods of being totally immersed in the music but never for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time. I usually ... create with focus ... then create while thinking about whatever pops in my mind ... create with focus ... then create while in discussion with someone ... create with focus ... then create while listening to sounds around me ... and so on.

August 6, 2006

Today I was booked to perform two hours of my ambient music in a park. As I drove in the driveway I saw that clearly was not going to happen as there were a couple hundred people setting up their lawn chairs for a concert on the parking lot edge, in the shade. They were there to hear my Ragtime and Boogie Woogie music that is what was advertised. Ninety percent of the crowd was older and nothing was going to make them move from their spots in the shade. So much for an evening of ambient music in the middle of the park. I felt that I needed to give them what they wanted so I blew through an hour of heavy duty performance and then told them, (warned them) that I was just going to play some improvisation for the second hour and that it was going to be mighty low key. I was hoping they would get up and walk around or leave. Ha, Ha, Ha the joke was on me they did not leave. So here I am for the first time improvising in concert for a seated audience who had been blown away from my high-energy non-ambient music a few minutes before. It was not possible to bring my improvising up to the energy level of the previous set. I was amazed that they were pleased and I played for about a half hour. After that, I found myself musically with nothing more to say. They just sat there letting me know that they were content. I went stir crazy and dumbfounded. They were so patient. They were kind. About half left and the other half stayed until the end. I started to joke with my anxiety trying to stretch the time out. "How much more time do I need to play." "Ok I'm going to play some more, tell me when eight minutes are up." God I can be pathetic. Ha,Ha, Ha. Ya gotta start somewhere eh? They were all troupers. For the last five minutes, I called the entire crowd over to the truck and they all did my daily Oprah Wildest Dream video with me while the police taped it.

August 5, 2006

I was way beyond tired tonight but needed to play and several friends wanted to listen to me. It was close to midnight. I pulled to the end of a residential block in Laurel Springs, NJ. I was trying my best to tell three carloads of people to turn off their headlights and not make a peep or any movement so no one in the neighborhood would wake up... and call the police. I was very reserved in my playing and tried to relax with simplicity. The coffee I just drank was kicking in. I feel incredibly grateful for my ability to connect with music even if it is only for moments at a time. I can now experience music completely with no outside influence even though I am aware of everything around me. As I was playing the adults were all on one side of the truck and the kids were on the other side. All but one of the kids went home after I finished my first improvisation which was about ten minutes. A girl named Emily stayed. She never moved from her spot the entire time I played. She stood frozen. Emily is nine years old. I was completely aware of her short dark silhouette standing beside me through the music the entire time I played. Emily was one hundred percent attentive to the music. She gave herself completely to the music. I was familiar with our connection. As her mother said later, she felt me. What she felt was the music and we were connected through it. She stood there never moving the entire time I played and even when I was not playing, she stood still and in simple awe. Afterwards she said that I was the most wonderful piano player that she had ever heard and then she asked me for my autograph. This experience with Emily was a significant for me. As I wrote in detail in my Wildest Dream Story, I was Emily one year ago listening to musician Pat Methany in concert. Emily was having a total expireience... with music... through me. The difference between one year ago and tonight is that this time I was the musician and Emily was the listener. It was all about the music. That phrase, "it is all about the music" was in my head intellectually all my life. Now it is in my gut. It is my heart and soul.

August 4, 2006

Beechwood Cemetery is a few miles from my house near Penndel PA and that is where I ended up today. I was in the back end on the top of a hill surrounded by tall green trees. A plane flew overhead in the direction of the swirling cirrus clouds. It was a beautiful dusk and this new environment with the passing of the heat wave gave a feeling of freshness. A falcon flew over us. A flock of Canadian geese crossed from the side in perfect formation over the treetops. I need to start pacing myself with energy because when I am finished performing I am exhausted. I have my first paid improvisational booking in Hamilton NJ on Sunday at Sayan Park. It will be a two-hour gig and I do not think I ever improvised for two hours non-stop. I have started to think about the job but I just do not know what to think! A couple stopped nearby to visit a fresh grave and I just went into a musical focus. The thought that came into mind to giveÉ to the situation was to be consistent. I was. The couple smiled and waved as they drove off into the sunset. I let Bo off the truck to run around but surprisingly enough he just laid down by the side of the truck while I played.

August 3, 2006

The news was on the television. It was more, more, more about the heat wave. In a space of two minutes the weather guy said there was no end in sight, there would be relief tonight and then once again there was no end in sight. I thought, "Do I want to listen to this crap that nurtures a fearful world, a hysterical world?" I turned it off. I went to find a spot to play. I end up in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia at Richmond Street and Leigh Avenue. I wanted a shady spot for Bo so we parked in an empty lot underneath the steel and cement of route 95 above. This was a great spot! It was as cool as in my air-conditioned house and there was a wonderful breeze. The highway traffic roared above. Across the street, there were guys from the city sanitation department hanging out. They could only see me from the front so it was not obvious that I was playing the piano. It took ten minutes for one of them to check me out by walking across the street. He acted like he was looking for a place to piss. He was not going to look at me so I asked him if he could hear the music over there and he said, "yea." He must have been a guy in his thirties that got used to wearing his pants in the "pants half off the ass style" when he was younger. Well, he is still in that style and seeing his shirtless sweaty ass crack was not a sight to behold as he returned back to his crew. It took forty-five minutes for the penndot crew to check me out. One of them had seen me perform in "Night in Venice" in Ocean City last week so they came up to use that as a conversation starter. There were about fifteen work guys all hanging together sitting in a straight line as I left and I gave them a manly nod of acknowledgment as I was turning the corner. Immediately and without hesitation, they all gave a strong nod back in acknowledgment, in unison. It was a great visual and really felt cool!

August 2, 2006

I am not into... "oh the drama, oh the suffering", when it comes to extreme weather and a performance... especially if I am going to get paid to play. I say, "Come on, Bring it on!" I love to rise to a weather related challenge. So off Boner and I headed to the Ocean City NJ boardwalk to perform at 12:30PM in 100 degrees of direct sunlight for the Annual Miss Crustacean Hermit Crab Beauty Contest. (don't ask) The truck is loaded with two chests of ice with water, my vitamins, 2 bananas a nutrition bar and coffee. Bo is laying with a warm 60 mile an hour wind on his neck from the back window as we drive down the Atlantic City expressway. I am grateful I shaved him about three weeks ago so he has a good undercoat of hair protecting him but not too much. I have two beach umbrellas in the back of the truck to prop over the piano to give Bo shade and a battery operated fan for him just in case there is no ocean breeze. I reminded him to drink water every half hour on the way. For me, it is difficult to be hot when you are constantly sucking on an ice cube. I knew it would probably be a record breaker day when my super gulp sized plastic cup full of ice completely melted before I was half way to my destination. I was prepared to be strong and I hydrated myself the entire way down.

When we arrived at the base of the Ocean City drawbridge that was closing... it broke. I was the second car in line at the barricade. The kids in front of me jumped out of their car and started playing frisbee on the bridge while I sat for fifteen minutes wondering whether I should turn around or go another route. It was getting late. At the fifteen-minute mark, I did turn around and drove to the Longport bridge. I raced the truck into Ocean City and onto the boardwalk to my performance spot. Nobody was there. I thought, "those wusses have really caved into the media heat hysteria. It's summer for Christ's sake! It hits a hundred every summer." A small sign on the fence said that everyone was at the music pier. Boy, was that disappointing. I wanted to test my stamina and my manly endurance. I wanted to break my record of playing in heat, which was 102 degrees for a town sidewalk sale on Route 611 in Pennsylvania back in the late 90's. I raced to the music pier and played the grand piano on the stage. Yuk. I watched out the windows at thousands of beach umbrellas and thousands of people who were in the water. I thought, "probably everyone of them will pee in that water at least once today". Boner sat on the piano as two incredibly big at least 5" span dragonflies hovered above us for about five minutes. That was dream like for me. They flew so fast it was difficult for my eyes to track their movements.

During the performance, Boner had to go to the bathroom. He gives me a certain look and his hind legs start to quiver. I think the dragonflies did it because he has had a life long phobia about black flies ever since one bite him as a young pup. I took him off the piano to go outside along the pier. He kept running back and forth the full length of the pier like a maniac. I said Bo you need to do it here, but he just could not. He also knew we were in a rush as it was in the middle of the performance. I finally said OK go to what you need to do. I did not know what that would entail but I knew the boardwalk was involved. This fantastic dog of mine ran to the boardwalk to find steps down to the sand where he could go to get under the boards to take a shit because he can pee in public but he cannot pookie in public. He found a spot where only I could see him and he could see me and I saw him having difficulty but trying the best that he could. He did his business and wasted no time running back to the beach, up the stairs, onto the boardwalk with everyone around him, through the crowd, back to me, inside and went to jump back up to the piano on the stage. Isn't that a wonderful story?

August 1, 2006

The plan was that I had an appointment in Center City Philadelphia so I would take the truck with me and go find a place in West Philly before it got dark to play, as I have not been out there yet. I was turning the corner of Rittenhouse Square and there were police officers. I spontaneously asked one of them if I could go into the park and play. I told them that the night officer allowed me to do it before, I would be very non-intrusive and I would leave right away if anyone complained. He said go ahead. I thought, "shit Dan, you have been taught as your foundation in life not to ask for anything and to be happy with what was given you. Here you are asking. Such an easy thing to do yet it has been so difficult. You have come a long way." So, I drove into the park for the first time to play in daylight. People did not know how to take me. Instead of standing on the cement plaza, they would go behind the bushes to watch. When I tried to convey that I was approachable, someone came up to talk. The only problem was that she was from Leningrad, that word I understood. She had no problem with a one-way conversation for about ten minutes. A guy came over to say, "you don't dress like this when you're getting paid do you? I thought that was really funny, especially because he was serious. Two "old biddies" stopped to glare at bo and me from behind the truck; they were definitely looking for trouble. I started to play cocktail music like sounds and that mellowed them out enough to leave in a huff. I especially appreciate when people who live in the park coming up to me afterwards to say, "I really liked that, thanks allot". Mostly everyone kept to themselves; it is in the low nineties at sunset with no breeze. Most everyone is zoned out. One older guy stuck around and finally came over to say, "do you ever play strange sounds". So, I started to really mess up and play randomly obscure like sounds. His face would light up like crazy. It reminded him of when he used to work with strange sounds on a pipe organ. I played with him. Turn on some crazy sounds, face light up like crazy, turn on normal sounds, face smile, turn on crazy sounds, face light up like crazy, turn on normal sounds, face smile, turn on crazy sounds... God was that fun.

July 31, 2006

The local policeman found me. He found me in the field. It was dark, in the field where I look at the moon between the schools about a minute from my house. The policeman was patrolling. He shined his spot light from about 50 feet away, right in my face. I think he was stunned. After about a minute of being blinded I asked him if he would like me to come over and say hello. He said, "no, I'm just taking it all in." and then he sped off. Nice breeze tonight but those damm June bugs. For Christ's sake, it's August! They are the most obnoxious bugs alive. I think they are attracted to "Off" insect repellent. They will not leave me alone. Just now... as I am writing this... I found a friggin' June bug crawling up my chest from out of my shorts. Ugh. My music was completely non-forced tonight. I realized that if I play from one note to the next slowly and carefully enough it is impossible to sound wrong or bad. When I tried to start the truck to come home, it was dead. It would not turn over. Deader than a door nail. This is the second time it did this in the middle of nowhere. I stopped and said a prayer and then it started after about five tries. I think I better start taking my cell phone and reading glasses with me so I can see the phone number to call triple aaa. I am on borrowed time with this truck. Where's Oprah!

July 30, 2006

I have new neighbors across the way. I usually welcome new neighbors with a plant or something but this was a young couple and I thought... a plant would not do. So I drove the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck into their backyard, purchased a couple of pizzas to be delivered and we got to know each other some. Megan and Jude are newlyweds, it will be a year for them in October and they make a great couple. I think they were great sports to go along with the flow of my offering. Can you believe this? I almost cannot. I just came back from performing in my neighbor's backyard! It is so humid outside the sweat was pouring over me like a rain shower as Boner kept himself busy fighting off the mosquitoes. I was in a nice dark silhouette of trees. I focused on bringing love to this new home with my performing. Jude said he was not only impressed with my playing, he liked the music as well. I appreciated his saying that because I can tell he is a discerning guy. When I was about to leave Meagan discovered they had floodlights and that was just in time to get the camera for a good night shot.

July 29, 2006

It is not easy to sit down and write when I am so exhausted. I have a difficult time thinking where to find the keys to type let alone the words to form on this paper. I just got back form Paul and Debbie's beach house in Ocean City New Jersey. I was there to help celebrate Paul's 50th birthday. I knew I would have a good time because they are fun, respectful people. I played at their house in Bucks County PA a couple times back around 1999. I also knew I would have fun because it is not worth it for me to play the piano any more just for the money, I want good people around me. Everyone joined in for my daily Wildest Dream video. I pulled the truck up onto the sidewalk next to the house and grassy dunes. Once I sat down to perform a cool ocean breeze started. Good thing because it was a hot day. The sound of the waves crashing reminded me of when I played on the beach in Pass Christian, Mississippi a few months ago. It felt completely natural to weave in my improvisation between the Ragtime and Boogie Woogie. I am feeling more and more at ease just exploring on the piano even when working. I am careful to not forget that I am in fact working. It is self-empowering to not worry about playing specific music and just concentrate on the creativity, energy, and what is needed for the environment. I am allowing myself to allow others to enjoy my creating music however or whatever the music may sound like. I am learning to stop the musical stream as soon as I begin to feel repetitive or bored and give it a break and then just start anew. Several of the kids jumped onto the truck to play and they were good at it. It became dark and the feeling really softened into a soft glow of yellow porch lights on a warm summer night at the beach.

July 28, 2006

Today, I was the most daring yet. After negating the torrential rains that could have returned as in this afternoon's storms according to the television and even worse the reports of a possible tree branch breaking and falling to the ground, horrors... I ventured into the park... in the middle of MY housing development... to play for my friend, neighbor and business associate, Esther and her family who has a house that borders on the park. I took the easy way out and used Esther as my catalyst to have the guts to do it. I have wanted to play in this open space from the beginning but I was unsure whether I wanted to open myself up to all the neighborhood kids and the entire neighborhood houses that surround the park. I decided I was "going for it". I was to enter "the inner circle," just like in Rittenhouse square. I had made the decision so nothing was going to stop me not even the threat of sinking into the several inches of water and getting the truck stuck in mud that I needed to drive through. I drove into the park as I drive in snowstorms, "just don't stop". I would have surely sunk into a dead halt if I had. I found my spot on the grass and began to play. If anyone noticed, they did it from behind the curtains in their houses. Ester's family came out to greet me and took pictures, "you guys better send them to me!" I felt like I had to "produce". I was fighting old familiar patterns of fear that no one cared or they would shy away because I was so different. It took some time and I put myself on the right track. I actually for the first time consciously lulled myself into the really cool dream world that I often experience while performing my music outdoors. A very strange bird checked me out in the tree above. It created beautiful music with me. I just sat and played the same patterns of music over and over until I tamed my fears. Damm, I am getting more control over my creativity and I like it! Afterwards Bo and I went into Esther's house to visit and have some barbecue.

July 27, 2006

I was a little rushed today because I have my friends, Gucks and Ty with me who I am moving from Wilmington DE to Brooklyn NY but I was not going to miss my day of improvising. We did not get to bed till almost 5AM so needless to say we got a late start. They came with me to the Delaware River Access Area to play for a half hour before we left and they took pictures. Gucks really enjoys photography and Tee is starting school as a film major. It was a typical scene, I asked the guys sitting by the water if they minded my playing some piano music and they jumped at the opportunity to say they would love it. A sax, bass player stopped to say hi he might be playing locally next week so I told him I would go to support him. I ran into these guys who I connected with last week at this park over the "Wagon Wheel" song to find we have a lot more in common then that song. It is too long too explain but... it's like that theory that everyone knows someone within a number of six people. I am having incredible synchronicity happened every day this week with people connections of having a thought and it comes to fruition and also with people as in.. "so and so" knowing "so and so" knowing me, and I know etc... My playing to day was full of energy and it is interesting to be able to stay focused on the music while say Ty is in my face taking a picture or people are talking, basically with any distraction I still feel myself front and center with the music. I am not afraid to keep it there where in the past I would feel the need to divert the energy to where I was being distracted.

July 26, 2006

I thought I would try and torture myself by playing in the full sun. I knew it would not bother Bo as he lies in the sun while in the backyard all the time. I lasted about ten minutes after a realized there was a shady area about ten feet away. I was playing in Core Creek Park above and overlooking the lake. It is a nice open area. I played there last month. I negotiated the shade with the truck being on a slant. I had a different sort of clarity when I was improvising. I was steady with my intent musically. I liked that and took advantage of the moment to exercise some left hand movements independently from what the right hand was doing. I have no idea what the right hand was doing but I figured anything was better than nothing. The only person I saw the entire time was a runner.

July 25, 2006

I went to have dinner with my friends Barbara and Carl and used the occasion to stop at the Briar Bush Nature area in Abington PA to check. It was twilight and I was the only person there until the park ranger came driving around this huge tree to find me doing my thing while he was doing his nightly rounds. It is always so funny. He was dumbfounded, all he could think to say was, "dog's are not allowed in here." I said, "well he's on the piano". He said, "don't worry I am not going to chase you I have to say that for next time." After some more short chit chat he went on his way and I watched the bats circle and play above as I performed really low key, not much energy happening. The locusts were more intense than at home and all worked in unison with the crescendo and decrescendos. There were many textures in the trees. Carl came walking around the bend to find me and was interested in the new sounds I was created. He has only heard my Boogie and Ragtime. He found a tree stump to sit where he could meditate and do his yoga stretching type exercises. I watched him and tried to connect via the music. It became almost pitch black and the big fat mosquitoes started to use me as a landing strip. When that started, I stopped.

July 24, 2006

Being with the musical sounds of a clear summer night, creating musical sound myself with almost total darkness surrounding me gives a feeling of belonging. Having been treated to dinner and a good cup of coffee I climbed on board my truck in the back of my friends house Patty, Lance and Gregg in Langhorne PA. I sat under a canopy of trees watching the fading patches of sky disappear into the night. I have never been so aware of the vastness and variety of life existing everywhere around me. Lance called all the neighbors to warn them that they would be hearing some music, to invite them over, and some sat to listen on their decks.

July 23, 2006

I am a committed man! I am committed to performing on the piano everyday. My body is stressed out and exhausted from last night's performance but that was not going to stop my going out today to do some improvisation. I drove to the Delaware River in Bensalem PA to explore what is down beyond the many shrub-covered roads that dead end into the river. These are driveways that I am sure everyone is curious about but would never dare take a chance to check out because they look so private and there are no trespassing signs all over the place. The first road was a private house and no one was home so I left. The second driveway I already forget what was there. The third driveway was full of small residential houses and had a beautiful riverfront. I met the head honcho Rich, the president of the community to make sure it was ok to play some piano and he was really cool about it, excited even. I really enjoy people who have an appreciation for piano music and piano players. I think Rich got right on the phone and within five minutes I heard this mumbling behind me. I turned around to find what must have been about fifty people standing there listening. Scads of kids came up to the truck trying to vie for a good position so they could reach Boner. This is a summer resort community and most of the residents are coincidently from the neighborhood where I originally grew up. I think it was the best view yet of the Delaware yet. The sun was setting on the other side. I was sitting under big oak trees that gave shade to the grassy green lawn. We were up about ten feet above the water. Pleasure boats would be flying back and forth up and down the river. There was a hot air balloon in the distance. My musical energy was still strong from last night. I have not come down yet. That scares me a bit but I'll be ok as long as I am conscious and just ease myself on down the road to normalcy in body and mind.

July 22, 2006

Today started out as dreadful. It was raining hard and I had a performance in Ocean City New Jersey. No one could make a call as whether to cancel the event or not because it did not begin until 6:30 PM. I decided to go with the flow and not worry about anything. I was driving down to perform for the first time... not only for "A Night in Venice" which is a boat parade, but for the first time ever to play the piano on the back of a boat! This was also a first to perform in the water... as the boat is motored in and out of the lagoons. I get deathly seasick in a boat. Needless to say, I was scared shitless. I did not know the people who were going to be on the boat and I had no idea what to expect. People have been telling me for the last fifteen years that I should perform for "Night in Venice" and this was the first year the city took an interest to work with me in participating. I joined a boat whose theme was "Alex's Lemonade Stand" a cancer organization for children. A group of neighbors from a condo complex in Sommers Point, New Jersey rallied around the idea. When I arrived, the wind was strong and I mean strong but the sun came out so all was good. I had to take apart the entire truck and that was not fun. I am talking about the keyboard, heavy speakers, amp, boat batteries for juice, the inverter, wires and chords it all had to be hauled onto the boat and we had to find a way to set it up. Bungee chords were the tools of the day. I set the piano on the lemonade stand counter.

Bo was terrific as usual. He always loves an adventure and really enjoyed being in a boat and on the water for the first time. He stood tall to look at the wake behind the boat as it speed across the bay. He sat on an ice chest high enough for everyone to see him and right next to me while I performed. It was great to see people recognize us, they would shout, "its the piano man with the dog on the truck" and then they would "boogie" with the music. Good thing I had on my prescription patch for seasickness behind my ear. As I am writing this, I still feel like I am swaying. The crew was great! They were behind me screaming the entire time, I'm pretty sure they were words of encouragement in any case they really helped me to keep going. I could not hear them because I too was screaming most of the time at the people on the docks who were screaming at me. It was fun. I played standing up for the first time in fifteen years and on a boat swaying in the water and it was for over two hours. I have always loved a good piano playing challenge. I was thankful that I am more physically fit than I was last year at this time, as I could never have done this job today. I did not anticipate the fact that I had to not look like a dummy at a keyboard. I had to move to communicate the music by throwing my body and head all around while performing. I was hoping that I would untwist the stiff neck I have had for the last few days. I was almost dancing on the deck the entire time because I had to keep shifting my legs to keep balance. The fact that I had continual charlie horses in both feet helped me to keep movin'.

I had to completely throw myself physically into what I was doing in order to keep the energy high. My fingers stopped working towards the end and I was hopping it was from the humidity. One of the guys kept saying, "your a talent, your a talent" and that felt really good. I really enjoy situations like this where I can play around and develop my talent even more. I was concerned because I had two completely different audiences at the same time, boat audience and parade audience. For a parade, it is all about energy and for a regular audience it is more about music and variety. The boat audience was very accepting of my needing to perform the same music over and over for the constantly changing crowds. They were getting off on the crowds getting off on me. This is one of my favorite situations where people get to experience what I do from my perspective and share in it all. When it was over everyone helped me unload the boat and move the equipment back to the truck. I really, really appreciated that! As I started home, the rain began once again. I am going to go to bed dreaming that someone will be in my garage in the morning unloading the truck and putting it back together. Fat chance.

July 21, 2006

I need to drive to the shore and back today to prepare for tomorrows performance. People think I just pull the truck up and play and have fun. I take my career very seriously and trust me, when money is involved work is involved for a fun result. I went to the Delaware river access area to improvise before leaving so I could better focus later on the tasks needed for tomorrow. I will need to start taking a camera with me because the visuals are just too much to miss. A small detail like thinking about taking pictures when I am out improvising will clutter my brain everyday but I will make myself get used to it. It'll be worth it because I have found other people rarely send me the pictures they take. A construction truck was in my usual spot and there was no shade around so I went right up to the front by the water for the first time. There was an old couple sitting there and I asked them if they minded my playing some piano and right away, they said no, no as in NO. They were older and Ukrainian and spoke little English so "no" was the safest answer for them as to whatever I was trying to communicate. I started to play and the lady drifted over and started to hang on the truck. When I finished, she clutched her heart and said she used to play. Of course, I had to offer the invitation to "do it" and there was not a split second before this rather large 80-year-old woman was climbing over the speakers to get in. She sat down and began to play beautiful Ukrainian melodies. She had not played since she was 12 years old. We became pals. Three guys probably on their lunch break got out of their cruiser to come and say they thought I was great and we bonded over a mutual favorite song we know called "wagon wheel" recorded by the, "old crow medicine show". I was reminded while driving home how I used to tell students, "in another life time", how you will get better at what you are doing if you practice five minutes everyday then if you practice three hours one day, skip two days, then practice one hour the next day, then skip etc... it is the continuity, even if only five minutes a day, over what may seem to be a long period of time that works best for me. It is about the process not about the time restraints that I tend to put on myself. I got home just as the raindrops began.

July 20, 2006

What a treat I gave to myself today. My good friend and life long neighbor Larry put in a new headlight for the truck. I am hopeless when it comes to stuff like this. I heard the locusts in the field out in the back of his house and I could not resist. I had to break the taboo of playing in my neighborhood. I have been doing it on the outskirts. I drove around to the back of the middle school field and parked behind his house. I have been very trepadacious about doing this because a little old saying "you don't shit where you eat" but I wanted to do it. I want my neighbors to know me better, its just a matter of how they know me and how much that is the question. I went through high school with Larry's daughter Sharon and we are still friends. I used to sleep on their back porch when I played hooky from church on Sunday mornings. His wife Arlene is the school lunch lady and she takes care of me with a steady supply of hoagies and pizza throughout the school year. In the picture, she has food for me to take back to my house tonight. Today I sat and played music to support the locusts singing. It was truly wonderful. I found a musical pattern and just repeated it softly over and over while I listened to the locusts create their different timbres and levels of reed like sounds over my head and far into the distance fading in and fading out while connecting from tree to tree. It was truly magnificent music and I could not believe I was playing an active part in it. This is a very different sound from the summer crickets. I enjoy them also. Strange bugs flew around me; they were like tiny light feathers and would land on the piano and hold on while waving their tails. I could see single strands of web floating and glistening in the sunset from the tree limbs that extended out into the field. I am playing closer and closer to home only a block away now. If I could fit the truck into my back yard to play I would probably do it.

July 19, 2006

I was chased out of my spot for the first time! The high school parking lot was the most convenient spot for me to head to while it was still daylight. I also wanted to be around people and tennis players and walkers are always in the vicinity. Tonight it was empty. It seemed weird the entire time just Bo and me at twilight. It was nice though because it was different and the weather was great. One big problem did exist. Big fat June bugs and I mean big! They were hovering around the piano and Bo and attaching themselves to my head. I would try to slap them off without missing a break in the music I was creating. I thought, "this is July what's up with that, June beetles? For some reason a visual of big fat stubborn floating cows came to mind. I could not take it; they chased me from the spot. I moved to another area but I had to look at bright parking lot lights and well, just yuk. The crickets were louder where I was so I had some fun just making single sounds and listening to the night music with them. On the way home I thought, "gee, it only took fifty years to accept that I am an artist and that I am creative". Better later than never.

July 18, 2006

I did not think I would get the opportunity to play tonight. As I was driving, I had an amazing weather experience as never before. I was on route 95 going North the winds were blowing fiercely. Traffic slowed to an almost complete stop three times because of low visibility. I thought my windshield would crack from the debris hitting it. The air was filled with what looked like billowing smoke, like a horrendous rainstorm. There was no rain it was all hot dry dirt and bits of particles flying through the air. I stopped the car to wait for it all to end. I had an appointment in Bristol PA so I drove to the riverfront for the first time. The park was closed to any area where I could park comfortably but I found an almost empty commercial parking lot nearby. I pulled right up to the Delaware River. The water was so high it was even with the wheels of the truck. Water bordered us on two sides. I was literally on the river playing in the dark. The piano keys were lit by a small blue bank sign behind us. I played very lightly as this was a new area and I could not tell how far the sound carried and also I think I was compensating for air filled with heavy moisture. I enjoyed playing while watching the water ripple. The police came into the parking lot shinning their spot light around. I wondered how they found me so fast; there must have been a plain-clothes man around who radioed them. They pulled up and yelled, "we brought a spot light for you". I appreciated their manor. As they left, I am almost positive I heard, "it is a pleasure to have you here". I said to myself, "did I just hear that?" This could become a favorite spot. It started to spit rain. I refused to stop. I played in spitting rain for ten minutes. All those spits add up. Bo was getting wet and so was the equipment. I sadly had to stop.

July 17, 2006

Sure is hot and humid outside. Oppressive even. The media tends to make it more unbearable so I do not listen to them. Bo and I have performed for days in a row in heat over 100 hundred degrees. Of course, we were younger then. I waited until dark and drove to a new spot near a shopping center but the sounds of traffic, business and air conditioners made the energy really too hot, sharp and metallic like. I drove to the shed in the open field by my house. The lights around me seem brighter, more hot than usual. I covered myself, Bo and the truck in "off" insect repellant because I knew all those little buggers would be trying to attack us, especially after my clothes became soaked with sweat, which they did within fifteen minutes. I started to actually feel cool in the warm night air. I liked the feel. I improvised the kind of music that I want to further develop. It is really interesting to catch a thought or sound out of wherever thoughts and sound come from and hang onto it and then just go... deep. No fear, just go with it into never, neverland. It is better than bad sex. It is equal to good sex. Hot sex on a summer night, it was the real thing! Ahh... sweet and caring, intense, loving, strong and hard music. I stopped while the going was good to keep the energy flowing and to entice me to create more tomorrow.

July 16, 2006

My friend Cindy and I took a drive to Margate New Jersey to plan for a performance booking next week. Cindy brought along her pup Laci for the first time and I was surprised at how well Boner handled another dog in his den, the truck. It was no problem. I was not going to miss the opportunity to play at the ocean so we took a drive to find a perfect overlook which we found in Longport, New Jersey right on the beach at sunset. The sun was behind us and we pulled right up to a beach wall. I do not think I have played on the beach like this since I was in Mississippi a few months ago. The air was so full of ocean. The waves were light and small and in long lines along a vast beach area. There were residential homes behind me and it took about ten minutes for neighbors to begin to wonder up to us. At one point, there must have been about 15 people who slowly walked up to the truck at the same time and right to the beach wall to stare at the waves. Everyone just listened no one talked. The music was much more than the dog or truck as everyone wanted to experience it as they watched the ocean. I think I am beginning to draw on the energy response I am getting from people. Their feelings about the experience are feeding my creativity. A Rafael from Russian jumped onto the truck to play. He was with his beautiful wife and newborn baby boy.

A woman came up to say that the music was inspiring and when I found out she could play I cajoled her into the truck. She swooned and swayed as she played, "When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and at the end exclaimed, "I'm in heaven". I was reminded that the piano is not like the guitar, an instrument that you can just carry around and how special it is to be able to hear it outdoors, and then to have the opportunity to play one outdoors... I get allot of fun in seeing people have the experience. A group of about 10 kids came by on skateboards and bikes and one of them tried the piano on for size. There were about ten neighbors chatting and I heard on say they thought it was a boom box at first but the music was too good so they had to look. On the way home Cindy and I wanted to get something to eat but the outdoor grill we found had just closed. I asked the manager to make our cheese stakes even though he was closed and I would play some piano for them while they did it. I played about two minutes and they presented the steaks. I asked them how that happened so fast. They said, "because the chef wants to get outta here and go home.

July 15, 2006

I have just arrived home and it is three in the morning. Peaceful is how I feel and I know why. I just finished musically hanging out with the same people for the last few hours in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. I played close to three hours. This was the first time the same people hung out for an entire time and that I played this long. I really enjoyed the company. My energy ebbed and flowed. Sometimes I would just sit and create sounds and then I would get into something serious and then I would go into a period where I needed to wakeup! The residents who all sleep in the park came around the truck to hang out. They sat on the ground, on the wall and on the benches. This was something different for their night and they liked it. I liked it too because I was accomplishing exactly what I like to do most which is create a presence, give of myself and do it as part of something larger (the park). I was conscious on the drive down to not make this an event for me and I did not want to be in the state of mind to perform for people. I just wanted to "be with", to improvise and create an ambience. That is what happened. There is definitely magic happening with what I am doing. One person came up to me and said, "this sounds and feels so natural". I met Jord and John from Kansas, Jord is a one-man band guy traveling around John is taping everything for their documentary. I connected with them because they are so with the flow creativity in the present. If you think I'm off the wall check out www.jayrodin.com. This guys making a living doing street performing and he's making money! I never developed that talent for collecting tips. Some people threw money into the truck tonight. As I was leaving I gave it to the crew that had been with me. When people started to applaud I said, don't applaud you'll get me thrown out if they hear us! Then I thought, "who's they"?

July 14, 2006

I am chuckling to myself as I write this. I went to the field by my house where I played to a full moon a few nights ago. I figured if I positioned myself with the abandoned school to my back, I had a clear six-city block view of fields. That worked. I drove to the end of this dead end driveway and parked in the middle, shaded by a tree. There was no chance of anyone coming into this area so I thought. Two cars come racing down the road. They drive around me maneuvering this way and that. I could not figure out what they were doing, I am not sure they knew what they wanted to do themselves. They turned around right next to me I mean like four feet away, passed me again and then parked right on my other side. It really was strange. They got out and when I stared at them long enough to catch their eye, seeing as they had not looked at me once, they smiled and that was that. Then another car came and did the same thing. Then many cars started coming I was right in the middle of the turn around. I just kept playing. Funny, it was funny. Finally a guy came over to pet Boner, what would I do without him, and I discovered that this specific spot I had chosen in all of this humongous area was where a bunch of Indian guys get together every night to play volleyball. Who knew? There was to be about 50 of them. They liked the music. I gave a few my card. I had to leave before the game started but I may go back to play for a volleyball game and see what that is like. They were nice guys. Before they arrived I was smacking the keys with my palms and thinking, "so what, so what if I am smacking the keys"? I don't have to be coherent. I did not feel coherent; I didn't need to be coherent so I was playing around on the piano keys just smacking them. I enjoyed it but I am not so sure anyone else would have enjoyed it.

July 13, 2006

Whew! After last night I definitely needed a less stressful spot to head for today. Seeing as last night I played at the first place I ever performed Ragtime and Boogie Woogie on the truck, today I decided to go to the first place I ever played my improvised music on the truck. It was in Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem PA. The first time was at night; today I did it during the day. The place really filled up since my visit a year ago. Dead people had token my spot so I had to find a new one in the back of the cemetery. I drove onto a grassy plot near some trees. My friend Kathy is buried in this cemetery. She was the only person I was able to trust in being a true musical fan of mine up to the day she passed through to the other side. She's still around, just not physically. The way I was facing the trick it looked like I was playing for my first audience. It was a seated audience, a big one, all in rows. Everyone was there, the Mr. Fienstien, Miss O'Hara, The Giuliano Family, the Zizelberger's. They were all headstones. A group of woman were walked around and around the cemetery for exercise. They never stopped but gave me a great big smile as they passed. Maybe they weren't smiling at me but for my Boner.

July 12, 2006

While on my way into town tonight I prayed for God to give me the balls to drive the truck into the center of Rittenhouse Square with Boner on the piano and to improvise. I had an appointment until 7:30pm and had to wait until 11:30pm because that was when the officer I had met the other night came on duty. I could not do anything during the four-hour wait, not even go for a walk. I was so full of angst. I drove round and round the park, got out at a corner and walked in to scope it out, Bo kept looking at me with his, "what's up, something is up", look. I waited, waited, waited. I once bungee jumped off a bridge in New Zealand and I thought, "this is the same feeling". 11:30 comes around I setup the truck and spit, spit, spit the rain starts. Damm. I cover everything up and the rain stops. I do a repeat and the rain follows. Damm, Damm. Third try, I drive in Bo jumps up, I sit down, and the rain starts. I said to myself, "you are here and you are not leaving". I started to play in the rain. I was wet, the keys were wet, the speaker was wet, I was not leaving so the rain decided to stop. Then the police started to swarm the place with police cars coming in from all directions. I just kept playing as they checked me out to see if I would cause a disturbance, stand out too much, be too loud etc... They left me alone. Thank you police officers! I am fairly certain the officer I had met brought everyone around to meet me while he was there in order to see that I was ok. Thank you again!

So, I started to get into my playing. The grass sprinkler systems were hissing away and it was interesting to play to the visual flow of the water. A really large rodent scurried across the path beside me. He wasn't dumb he knew that nearby sprinkler was about to turn on. A group of break-dancers gave me their space and then started to do their moves to my music. One of them sent me the picture you see here from his cell phone. Thanks guy. A skate boarder guy came buy and hung out. We talked while I played. He is a sculpture artist. People thanked me. Everyone left, the sprinklers went off and it was me and Bo and the music. We were alone. All I could hear was the roar of the tall buildings all around me. I never before heard the roar of a city so distinctly. I thought to myself, "Here I am in Center City Philadelphia, in the center of Rittenhouse Square Park, that is in the Center of the City. I am not going to be able to leave here until the sun comes up". I felt like I was in a dream and then I realized that I was actually in a dream. I am living my wildest dream. It started to rain again so that ended the night at about 1:30am. I am going back again Saturday night.

This was a very symbolic evening for me. You see, the first time I ever went out into the public to play on the back of a pickup truck it was to Rittenhouse Square and that was over nineteen years ago. I synchronistically got a parking spot on the corner on the outside circumference by a meter at lunchtime. I remember very clearly putting money in the meter and then going to a phone in a nearby hotel to call a friend. I literally cried to her over the phone in fear and then I went outside jumped on the truck and began to play. Thus, the career began. Oh, the drama of it all. The thing is, my entire life I have mostly circled around everything. I always stayed on the circumference, on the outside. I was never was able to fully go inside experience anything too deep. I was too afraid. Well, here I was tonight and I was not playing outside the park on the circumference, I playing inside the park, right smack damm in the middle and with my own music as in, "it is what it is". I call that progress! Thank God... or whatever.

July 11, 2006

A very muggy night indeed it is. I went to an unused parking lot on the Bensalem Township PA municipal grounds. There was an event going on nearby and the energy did not feel good so I left and retuned to the same spot I was in last night. I did not want to waste any time and I feel comfortable in this spot I suppose because it feels so familiar and it is the most open space around yet private. The moon was maroon in color and set more to the left than last night. If I had stayed, I could watch it float up and across the sky from one side to the other. Three kids walked by in front of me less than fifty feet but still we could not see each other's faces. They did not stop; I would love to read the minds of people who cross my path this way. They never looked back once they passed and completely ignored me as they went by. I felt almost detached from the music I was creating; it was from my subconscious for sure. I am not certain how I feel about it.

July 10, 2006

I feel like I just let go of some of my twisted psyche, not sure that makes any sense. I did a lot of trance like banging on the keys. Some of it was really nice and then again some of I thought, I hope no one can hear this it would weird them out. I started out with staring at the moon while envisioning all the people who I love that have already passed through this life swirling around me. Gertrude, Kathy, Mike, Mom, Dad, Laura, Ray, Oni, Thelma, Dave, Marty, Eleanor, Jerry, Sam and a few extended people of the one's mentioned who I have never had the opportunity to meet. Then I started to connect with a few people that are disconnected presently in my life. They all brought a smile to my face. It was a full moon at midnight and it was showing bright with no stars. I drove to a new spot, a place I would not go in the daytime because it is too exposed, close to home and an ugly view in the light. It will be nice to go again to this spot on another night. It is in a large open area between two old schools across a main street next to the development I live in, far enough away from any apartments or houses and no lights. I parked by a football shed looking straight at the moon in front of me. Every once in a while a flash of lighting would show through the clouds. I have not yet played with lightening, that will be something to look forwards to. I was very much into exploring sounds tonight hitting notes and holding them while listening to the breeze, the leaves of a nearby chestnut tree and I really noticed the sounds of crickets tonight as I explored how the swallows would respond to my mimicking their rhythm and sounds in unison as they flew around us. Behind me was the football field where on summer nights just like this, at just this time of night, my high school girlfriend and I used to spend time together on the fifty-yard line. That would never happen these days as skunks now rule the ground at night in this area. They were running all over the place. I was really jonsin' for someone to discover the music, Bo and I tonight for some reason. Maybe because of all the personal interaction yesterday.

July 09, 2006

For my birthday present today I decided to specifically go and give other people performances. I went to the Trenton New Jersey Island neighborhood that had their homes flooded for the third time a couple weeks ago to do exactly what I did in New Orleans and Mississippi earlier in the year. I have been meaning to do that since it happened. It was a lot of the same thing with piles of trash on the street from gutted houses, many houses without electricity, house for sale signs had started to go up, etc... The energy was depressed, people were moving slowly. I saw a woman sitting on her porch waiting for a volunteer group to show up and decided to pull over and play some piano for her. I did this at about five spots today. Everyone was responsive and appreciative to me. It would take about ten minutes before neighbors would wonder out of their houses to find me and then as usual everyone would gather around the truck to talk with each other and listen for about ten minutes more. One guy said, "I thought my neighbor got a new stereo and changed his taste in music because of the flood". These neighbors all have a bond now through hardship. One lady said, "we have all stuck together, we leave the neighbor together and we all come back together, we deal with it". It is a beautiful spot I can understand why people put up with these floods. A woman took me to the back of her house she wanted to show me her beautiful flowering garden and pond that was destroyed and is now being restored. I found a huge pond at the end of a block and played while families fished together. One family ran away when I pulled up to play in front of their house. I tailgated on the back of a red cross truck at just the right moment. They were about to leave for the day and as I learned from my trip down South, they waste a major amount of food at the end of the day because they have so much that nobody wants it. They were happy to load me up with about 12 hoagies and packages of peanut butter crackers with a case of water. I was tempted to take more. They toss what is left over for the day in the trash. All good food from good donations... it is the "gotta use up that money game". Ouch. Well, I do not waste food; I'll use it all. My favorite interaction was with a group of three adolescent kids lying on a curb, sort of punkers. I asked if they would like some music and they said, "sure". I said, "up music or down music". They said, "up". I played some Boogie. They said, "great, now down". I improvised for about five minutes. After I was done, I said without thinking, "now which did you like better?" Then I said to myself, "you just set yourself up for possible disappointment Danny so prepare to deal with the answer no matter what". They said they liked the "down music" better. Hurrah!

I then really put effort towards a birthday gift and went to play for my nieces... husbands... mother... who is eighty years old today. I have known her for about twelve years and had a pull towards her this morning when I was thinking about giving presents. We have been together the last several years on our birthdays. I knew there was going to be a party so I stopped by my nieces house in Fallsington PA on the way to Trenton to find out where the party was. I didn't know my neice was throwing the party and it was in her backyard so it was an easy hit for on the way home. I was parked on a nearby deserted road fifteen minutes beforehand psyching myself into giving more and aligning my motives correctly because family was involved (issues). This guy drives by me, turns around and comes back, gets out of his car and starts with, "a piano in a truck..." That ended up with me sitting down to play some music for him while he called all his friends on his cell phone to listen. Into the birthday neighborhood I go, Bo jumps onto the piano, we drive up onto the sidewalk, onto the lawn and right into the backyard. I played while watching about fifteen little kids swinging and sliding and climbing all over a swing set. There were lots of new babies floating around; this was an all age celebration. Someone said, "your music is perfect for swaying with the baby"!

July 08, 2006

This... was a dreamy and magical saturday night. After working in the yard all day moving belgium blocks around and pulling weeds, my hands are feeling rough and pricked from cactus. I wanted to do something special tonight and it was to either go on the prowl for a hookup or go play somewhere stimulating musically. I choose the later. Tomorrow is my birthday and this has been an incredible first year for me in many ways. I have "found myself". That is first and foremost and it has been through my wildest dream. I thought, "I want do something grand to take myself into my fifth-first year". I left the house at about 10:30pm and drove to the top of the Art Museum to play overlooking the city of Philadelphia from the top steps. I am still amazed at my courage to do stuff like this. It was not without insecurity and effort I can tell you that. This space could not have been a more perfect fit for my music. I was Rocky the champion on the truck only I drove up to the top and he ran up to the top. It was wide open, there were the sounds of the water fountain behind me. I listened to the light ramblings of people chatting while they

meandered around in the night. Right in the middle I was. If you know what the Philadelphia Art Museum looks like, take a moment and just visualize me up there on a beautiful summer night front and center on the top step and I am facing directly forward into the city! I was making "love connections" for people. Couples took advantage of the romanticism that I was creating. I really enjoyed manipulating the love connections between several women and my dog Boner. I was making them ooh...ahh... and swoon... head to head with him and I watched as they became more and more incredible mushy together as I would delve deeper and deeper into the music. That really was fun! The space felt sacred to be creating music in. The police officer came by and he was into the music. This is his city beat, so we set it up for me to play on Wednesday night at 11pm in the middle of Rittenhouse Square in center city. That will be an adventure! I hope he follows through for me. I love the ability enter different spaces and not come across as intrusive, to fit in and be a perfect part of people's experience.

July 07, 2006

I wanted real bad to try a new spot so I forced myself to go to the Lynden Avenue park area of the Delaware River in Northeast Philadelphia. I drove right up on the grass overlooking the river. It did not feel like police would give me any trouble. I was aware that there were residential houses behind me. There was a couple lounging in chairs directly in front of me with their Doberman sitting on a blanket between them. I went up and asked if they would mind my playing a little music and their response felt like they knew me and were expecting me. It was like a concert just for them and they loved it. Next came the first time ever that someone has hung onto the piano listening while I played. It was Andre from the Ukraine. He was with his daughter Elizabeth who has just started taking piano lessons. With a little coaxing, she came up onto the truck and we jammed together. When they left, Andre said I was from God. Nice. Then a whole crowd of people sort of appeared and everyone was talking to each other including me. Get me talking these days and I cannot shut up. I'm beating myself up now because I could not resist impressing the group with a Boogie and a Ragtime moment. I don't want to use any crutches in presenting my improvisation.

I need to stay focused that I am out on this truck simply to improvise, develop and share my creativity. Of course I need to make a living and music is my career to do that so it gets confusing for me when the issues of... am I performing for the public or for myself, am I exploring, experimenting and practicing my improvisation or looking for work or exposure or to meet new people. Even though it was not dark yet, the moon showed bright directly in front of me and the sky was open with clouds swirling. I was in tall trees overlooking the water.

A lot of pictures were taken I hope someone sends me a couple. Someone's dad gave his kid six bucks to offer to me. As it was getting dark four kids came up saying they had seen me in Peddlers Village in the early days and also Ocean City last year in fact they signed my wildest dream signatures of support sheet at a performance last year. You can find out more of what that is about on the Raggin' Piano Boogie Wildest Dream Link next week. I said to the one,"you must have been a little kid when you saw me at Peddlers Village". It was when he was 17. What was interesting about these guys was that I used profanity in our conversation three times. The first time I saw a strange response. It barely registered in my brain. The second time it was more specific I could have sworn that I just saw them all physically cower sort of like what you see in religious pictures when people cover themselves in fear and from the blinding light of God. I would never have connected the dots had they not expressed that they were uncomfortable with "the word" after the third use. Sure enough, they were from a gospel church. Two from the group were brothers and the one got on the piano to improvise for a spell. The other explained he had difficulty improvising, finding the time to play and his issues with the need of a teacher. I said to improvise all you need to do is take the judgment out of it. I said "use the tool you care about most, just hit a musical note and give it up to god, don't think past that". It turned into a fifty-fifty night, half music and half social and I feel grateful for it.

July 06, 2006

As I was driving to the river thinking how I just wanted to be left alone as I am distressed with computer problems and loss of hours of writing for the second time. I was determined to go on with my life but I needed to clear my head. The reality in situations like this is I need to not go into my head and I would rather not use music to create and express chaos even though there is nothing wrong with that. Anyway, because of my wanting to be left alone more people than usual approached me, figures. I am glad they did because I need to be around and hang out with people as much as possible especially in times of distress. One guy says, "this is amazing wait till I tell my friends that I was sitting in the park today and some guy pulled up in his truck with a piano on the back of it and started to serenade me." Another guy, he looked like he was in his late fifties, and I were talking at length and as we talked I was "diddling on the keys" to the conversation. At one point he said, "that sounds like Mr. Rogers on television, my kids used to listen to him all the time and after awhile I got used to it and started to like his piano music". I laughed and thought, "it is what it is". I am definitely going out again tonight to play; I need more of a "keyboard fix".

July 05, 2006

Here is a rainy day "flashback"! When I need to do a job, I will find a way to do the job! I always say, we can work something out and I always have worked something out when given the opportunity. One of my first real challenges was for the Ocean City Doo Dah Parade back about ten years ago. Before that period, I had a claim to fame of being able to say that if you hired me for your event there would be no rain. For ten years, I would even drive to a performance and if it was raining, when I arrived the rain would stop until I finished and then start again after I left. This is a true fact but my luck ran out and I was dealing one day in April with a rain or shine parade to celebrate the end of tax season through the streets and on the boardwalk of Ocean City NJ. The spirit of the parade was to feel and be silly. Well, I was not only silly but a real "trooper" too. The other musical units bailed out and I said to myself, "I can do this". I threw a clear plastic tarp over the entire truck and fastening it with duct tape. I cut a slit in it for my head and a slit for Bo's head. Out our heads popped and away we went. It was a big hit and an even bigger success for me in overcoming the obstacle. Bo just dealt with it. I think he was still at the stage where all he wanted to do was be with me and part of the crowd no matter what it took. Ahh... what I have done to be with a crowd, have fun and make money no matter what it took.

July 04, 2006

I need to give myself more than a half hour to shower, shave and leave for my jobs in the morning if I want to be cool, calm and collected, I know better. I survived last nights performance physically, my hands do not hurt as bad but I thought they would but I also know that it takes forty eight hours for my body to catch up with my mind or my mind to catch up with my body. My Goddaughter Alicia came up from Wilmington to help with her friend Matt who was the driver for today. One of my favorite feelings is to have other people experience what I do up front and center so I was glad to have Matt and Alicia with me. We left for the Oreland PA Fourth of July parade. I really enjoy this community every year they have been so appreciative and respectful of what I have to offer. They save me to be the last in the parade every year and it has become almost like a tradition, "It's not over until the piano player plays"! Matt practiced the clutch without incident and we were all set. It is not easy to drive in first gear, stop and start on a two hundred thousand mile stick shift for an hour without throwing the piano player and his dog off the truck. I started improvising with my energy beforehand and created a real pre-start feeling with the sound. During the route we stopped on an overpass with cement walls to listen to the sound bounce back at me. It is like my little tradition each year at this spot. In this town the feeling is like we all know each other, there is a real family feeling for me.

I booked two parades today; my record for booking parades on July 4th is five! Those days are over for sure, as I am not a young pup anymore. We took a short break and headed off to the Glenside PA parade. I have had a relationship with this community for over ten years. I value this longevity and I enjoy giving my all and feeling welcomed back every year. Rain was looming overhead so we raced to get my check to get that little/big detail out of the way. Everyone was trying to maneuver in two directions on one-lane streets to line up and then the wind started and it began to pour. Everything became about opportunities. Ways to deal with the chaos while looking for a place to duck under with the truck, how to cover the truck, figure out how to perform in the rain I needed a towel to wipe down the keys etc... Every time a situation like this arises the engineering for the problems are unique and thought of that day. Knowing about late afternoon summer rains that hit certain towns more than others... certain towns like Glenside PA... I brought along two plastic garbage bags to throw over the speakers with wire to puncture through the plastic to keep the wind from blowing them off. I had two huge beach umbrellas, one for Alicia to hold over the piano and the other for a lucky parade viewer who I would pluck from the crowd and beg to hold over Boner for protection.

Luckily, the rain stopped but then came another challenge. Close behind us were a group of civil war enactors with guns to shoot off throughout the parade route. That does not work well for Boner who has become very, very gun shy over the last year. One of the parade organizers shifted us in the lineup, which helped, but during the parade, everyone squeezed together. It took one big gun shot and Boner was hanging off the piano shaking like crazy. I thought it was all over for him until a lady asked the fire trucks behind us to create some space, which they did, and this calmed Bo down. I really appreciated those guys caring so much for this dog who creates so much enjoyment for everyone. We stopped under a traditional cement train bridge, love that sound!

Along with the incredible responsibilities that I am dealing with, I become completely immersed in the ridiculous fun we are all having in these parades. If I think about what I look like, I can get grossed out. If I saw someone else do what I am doing, I would be filled with excitement and the experience of utter absurdity. It is all about pure fun. I am jumping like a bodacious maniac on the piano keys with my hands while flailing my body all around and shaking the truck with my pounding feet and screaming at everyone screaming at me all the while creating music. Parades are two times the work of performing stationary but also two times the reward. When I come home, I am completely soaked like I have jumped in a swimming pool with my clothes on. I often thank God when I am in the middle of all the insanity.

I visited with friends afterwards for some Fourth of July dinner. This has been a long grueling and fun day, not to mention yesterday, and I could not resist sitting down at their piano afterwards to play some improvising for them. I wonder if I am going crazy, I just want to play the piano all the time. It is a way of communicating that is starting to suit me like never before.

July 03, 2006

I just got home and I am numb. I wonder who noticed the sharply brightly sliced half moon tonight. I was waiting to pay for my gas on the expressway and the guy asked if the cops were after me. I said, "you can see that energy level of mine?" I told him that I just got off work and the adrenaline was still pumping. I was on Beach Drive in Cape May the southern most part of New Jersey where there are neighborhood beach houses on one side and the bay is on the other, perfect setting for a Fourth of July festival at sunset. The atmosphere was a bit testy when I arrived but how could it not be with everyone making last minute adjustments to work out the kinks in a temperature that was about 130 degrees in full sun and no air movement. The crowd and traffic control setups these days are amazing. I got settled and began an almost non-stop four-hour set. Some passed say, "glad to see you back". This is the second day in a row that this happened.

If there was ever a setting for my improve this was it so I said to myself, Its now or ever". I decided to really put my stuff out there strong for the first time at performance, performance level. People say the strangest things and they have been good one's so far. I finished after about seven minutes of improve and a guy came up to me to ask if I had a CD with the song I just played on it. He said the music reminded him of the Jersey shore and he would like to have it to play while driving that it was relaxing. Another guy came up a little later and asked if I knew any John Legend. I said, "does Ragtime and Boogie remind you of John Legend"? He said, "no but the music you were just playing does". I forgot that I was improvising. The mind is a funny thing. I can not yet visualize myself performing improvisational on stage solo but I defiantly heard myself in my minds eye as though I was outside a huge outdoor summer concert hall walking towards the entrance hearing this concert of piano music coming from inside and it was the music I was playing in the moment. People applauded for me and people stood dazed as before when I stopped. It is all very interesting and wonderful as I spent so many years afraid to express myself musically. When I began I said to myself, "just relax Danny you are allowed to mess around with the piano and mess around with music", and then I began.

The parties in the beach house kept offering me food and bringing it to the truck. Marie Hopkins without question makes the best lasagna I have ever had. There is something about witnessing a mummer's string band passing by dressed in full American Indian regalia, plums and all while performing the Washington Post march for the Fourth of July. I hope my fingers work for tomorrow's parades. I couldn't stop playing as it was so much fun in adding my own material. The crash will come, it will come... hopefully not until I am done my jobs tomorrow.

Bo had some good chicken on top of his piano. He spent the first three and a half hours tail wagging and head hanging for thousands of petter's and then he had enough. I mean really enough. He was like, now leave me alone. He situated himself with his head front and center and down plastered against the piano front, less than an inch from my fingers while I played. He was trying his best to get on my nerves enough that I would stop so he could get down. He also knew the fireworks were coming and he did not want to be on top of the piano when they started. The little while snappers that kids throw on the street were getting to him. The guy who hired me came up at the last minute and said I could not leave until it was all over, the police would not allow it. He knew better than to try this, especially when the barricade was less than 500 feet away. I said, "that is not going to happen because there is no way that I was going to chance my dog going over the top with stress so that he would never want to come back to a festival on the Fourth of July", I had told him we needed to leave as we did last year and pronto because of the fireworks and also because I had a long drive home needing to get up early for the next days job. He said he would go and ask again and while he was doing that, I asked a policeman on a bike to lead us out which he did with no problem and another policeman held the barricade open for us. No big deal and we were outta there.

July 02, 2006

The truck is packed from yesterday's performance and I am going to leave it that way for tomorrow's performance so today will be a "flashback"! Performing yesterday reminded me of a few years ago on the Fourth of July weekend when it was fun in the sun and hot on the keys in Mays Landing on the beach, it was Cove beach and the truck got stuck in the sand. As the tide came in about twenty sunbathers came running from their blankets along with a few swimmers from the water to push me out. No problem.

July 01, 2006

This was a picture perfect performance day. I had all the necessities and props in order so I did not need to leave the house in a rush. It was a late morning start which is perfect for me, sunny and hot but zero humidity and the performance was for three hours, which is not too short and not too long. I was down to the minute in leaving but did not feel rushed. I felt a good sense of self as I drove along with all the holiday vacationers on their way down the shore. There were a lot of cars filled with kids in shorts with feet and toes to the dashboards. I was in my shirt and tie going to work with Boner. There was major traffic on the way down but coming home there was three times more traffic then going down so I considered myself lucky. I joined the Mays Landing New Jersey Community as I have in the past few years for their hometown celebration today. When I arrived a guy driving by in a pickup truck greeted me. He yelled, "hey piano man, glad to see you, we are glad your back!" Comments like that go a long way to help me through my day.

I was not certain of how much energy I would have but I knew I did not have the energy to bring the improvisation up to performance level along with the regular music and I needed to give to the job everything I had so I took no chances and stuck with the Ragtime and Boogie Woogie music. Actually, I was probably just too chicken to improv it. I did feel strong today and I defiantly listen to myself play the regular stuff more closely because of the improvising.

Man, I love great bookings. It is all about cooperation. Everyone does his or her part with appreciation, respect and trust. It is wonderful when we all know the game rules and plan and I am given the space and freedom to get my part of the job done and I am given a full vote of confidence to do it. Smiling police, I don't think people realize how much the police can add to an event when they are friendly. Sometime they just stand around like they are looking for trouble and it is such a downer. I have never seen this at a Mays Landing event. Organizers ride around on golf carts doing their rounds throughout the event waving hello at everyone. They stop by me to thank me for coming and drop off my check. Ahh... to be able to do my job without worrying about chasing after the pay at the end or the need to even ask for it. That goes a really long way.

No need to check in with anyone, I just get right to work. I pull into the crowd and setup while scoping out the environment for troublesome booths... for that special someone who will always step out of their booth to walk up to the truck and give me trouble because they need to control, I am too much in their space, I look like a vulnerable doormat for them to step on in some way, etc... There is always that special someone in the crowd. Yep, sure enough after two songs a guy comes up, "you can't park here a horse wagon comes through". These people are like fellow employees telling me how to do my job. I reassure him I can handle it. The wagon comes by, I move out of its way and then continue back to the original position. Not a big deal. Sometimes that special someone comes up to complain that the music is too loud but I "nip them at the bud". After nineteen years I can usually sense the approach of this type of person. Before they get their mouths open I step in with, "I am here for five songs and then I am gone". That usually sends them on their way. I will spend the next couple of hours traveling through the crowd providing music, filling in needed areas, making sure that everyone who wants a piece of me gets one and that I avoid as best as I can those who do not. Most booths yell for me to stop and play for them. I enjoy bringing my energy to people.

This is the second day in the sun that I was talking with a group of people between songs and we all sort of zoned out together dazed in silence for several minutes, like three or four minutes. It was really strange for everyone. I'm wondering if it was them, me, the sun, age, my vitamin, emotional deficiency, something unknown or a mixture of all of that. I'll need to just observe it over time.

Little kids were jumping up and down to the music on the street as well as inside the balloon jumpy amusement things. It feels so cool when skateboarders and low bikers start doing their moves to the music. Two boys walk by and tell me "I rock". I have never taken these phrases of support for granted ever, ever, ever. My favorite all time phrase came as I started playing today. Someone from the crowd yelled, "Go Danny Go"! For some reason that particular phrase of encouragement always gets me going full force. I did not come home to an empty house. People had already emailed me pictures from today. One from a cell phone and a whole bunch from a great photographer. Thank you whoever you are and Lynn!!!

June 30, 2006

I went to the river to play because I wanted to look at water while I was performing. The water was high and I could see where it had overflowed the banks. I decided not to go play in the Yardley PA flood area today maybe I will next week. I can sense that everyone is uptight and the people are not even allowed to get to their homes. What a state of the world. I played through some of my repertoire to make sure I can remember it for the fourth of July bookings throughout the next couple of days. I still get nervous about performances. I take my work very seriously. I said this before but I need to bring the energy level of the improve up to the Ragtime and Boogie energy level. Self-motivation is not easy for me.

June 29, 2006

The need to get up earlier in the morning is shoving itself into my face theses days. By nighttime my energy level is just not "cutting the mustard" if you can catch my drift. Especially when it comes to performing. I went to Tyler Park in Newtown and played on the open field with the direct sun on my thinning head. (I am losing weight and my hair is also slowly falling out) It was ninety degrees. I did not feel the heat at all because I was having so much fun. Actually, after an hour and a half of sitting in the sun, I felt a "runner's high" coming on. A woman with her two children stopped by and I started to tell about what is going on in my life. If this happens watch out because I cannot stop. I want people to tell me to shut up and play because I want to channel all the passion I have into my music. The park ranger Vince stopped by and said I should go to Yardley and play for the flooded people. Why didn't I think of that, it is exactly what I want to do. It is what I did in New Orleans and Mississippi a few months ago. It took all of my willpower to not go right then and there. I have way too much work to do at home especially in getting ready for the fourth of July gigs coming up. I was going to spend the day tomorrow getting ready but now I defiantly am going to pay my neighbors a visit to play some for them and maybe do some grunt work in-between. I think Bo had difficulty with the sun. After about five minutes he started to freak and just came down from the piano not caring if he was stepping on the keys or not. I did not question him I set the rug up on ground beside the truck in the shade with water. He chooses to lie on the stones under the back of the truck and there he stayed while I practiced. It was as though something scared him and the only thing I can think of is a scent as there was nothing around. This was a first, I think it was the sun.

June 28, 2006

To the back of the high school parking lot tonight it is just me and Boner with two kids in a car practicing for their driving exam with a clear crescent moon above. What I like about this spot is the open area. The school is far enough away that the ugliness of the building does not bother me. I am playing with fresh blisters from cutting the hedge in my backyard today. To keep from falling asleep while playing I keep telling myself to, "care! care! care! ... about what you are doing." Bo wants to go for a walk...

June 27, 2006

Bo and I went ventured out to perform between today's rain showers. I was jonesin' because yesterday we could not go out to play because there was a steady rain. It is becoming more difficult during the day to find any new spots and while driving in and out of streets looking, Boner really got into it like we were on a hunt together. We both love to explore. You can tell how excited Bo gets standing, sitting, sniffing at attention out the window. I gave up on finding anyplace new and started to head towards the river, I didn't want to waste anymore time and then a new spot came into my head. We made an immediate right into the Cornwells Heights train station and drove to the far end to park. We were overlooking a lot full of parked cars with route 95 traffic streaming by to my left and an occasional train zooming by on the right. I parked in front of a small tree with was a nice patch of yellow wild flowers growing on the grassy curb behind and I was near one of those roadside memorials. I thought, "how could anyone have died from a car accident here"? I got all setup, started to play and then came the showers. Bo jumped off, I covered everything up and of course, the sun came out. Bo jumped up; I set up and then came the showers. I decided, "I'm not doing this I don't care if I get soaked and the equipment gets ruined and I focused on playing. I ignored the drizzle. I stopped after a few minutes to take advantage of the keys being wet and cleaned them with my tea shirt. Then I went on playing and the drizzle stopped and started until finally the sun won out. It was a really comfortable breeze and creatively I produced some new ideas. One of the Septa bus drivers for the lot passed and waved. I had a "flashback". The environment reminded me of one of my very first ventures in exploring performance outside. In 1987, I drove to the Lindenwold Speed line in New Jersey to play for commuters coming home from work. The police stopped and detained me for an hour and a half trying to find something on my record because they thought I was crazy. Two years later I was performing at the Pacto speed line entrances in New York city but this time I was given "star treatment" and paid big bucks from the city to do it.

June 26, 2006

Yikes, it is wet outside. It does not look like I am going to get a break with the weather so I will practice indoors and get some of my old repertoire into better shape. I will also take advantage of days like this to tell a "flashback"! During yesterdays performance a clown reminded me of one favorite past creative performance environments. It was indoors. You can find a picture of it in the photo gallery. I helped to create the celebration openings for many Acme supermarkets in my day. One year the store in Mooresville PA wanted to extend the promotion for two weeks and asked if I would play for it. It was Christmas time and too cold for the customers to enjoy me outside so they fork lifted the piano and me on top of the freezer cabinets where everyone including myself could have the best view. I perched up there performing wild Ragtime and Boogie Woogie piano music for two weeks while watching people below pushing their shopping carts around wondering where the piano music was coming from. To experience their amazement in finding me up among the Christmas decorations was priceless. Luckily, my hot music did not melt the food in the freezers underneath.

June 25, 2006

The humidity was really getting to me today. I knew it was a mistake in not having had some nourishment before I left the house. I went to help some friends at the Langhorne Historical Association in Bucks County. They were having a strawberry festival to raise funds for the building and their planned entertainment flopped at the last minute. I pulled right up on the lawn under an old English Oak tree that was brobdingnagian. It sheltered Bo and myself from the on off drizzle of rain. I had not played my Ragtime and Boogie in a while and was amazed at how much my repertoire had deteriorated as a result of the improvisation I have been doing. The flexibility, attack and approach of my fingers to the keyboard have changed. I have been concerned about the energy of the improvisation and that really showed itself when I went into full performance mode. I had to "snap to it" with effort to bring the performance up to any kind of acceptable energy level. It was interesting to weave my improvisation throughout in-between the regular set that I do at the high level especially with the improv at top sound level for the first time. I was able to focus better front and center on my musical intention. It is still such a relief every time I play my own music to not worry about if it is good enough.

I have been notating different comments made about my music and every time I hear a different one I share it. The following came with photos via email last night. This guy is just too cute not to share. John and Lisa wrote... Boners biggest fan!!! He loves hearing the music on the videos. Giovanni is 5 weeks old and loves music he quiets down when i play it yay for danny and boner!!! LOL

June 24, 2006

I am grappling with a trade off of losing some eye vision permanently from an operation yesterday but I am not going to let that stop me today. The impending thunderstorm was not going to stop me either. Bo I went to the closet spot we have been, behind an officeplex on Humeville road in Bensalem. There were two cars parked there that made me hesitate but I decided to do it anyway and prepared the truck for a quick escape with the first drops I felt. I realized the piano has a metronome that plays through the speaker. Duh, it only took ten years to realize that one. Bo was like, "whats up with that"? Realizing that my music needs to expand from its one-dimensional state I started to work my improve with a walking octave bass using the metronome to help keep my steady. Without it I would just speed up and up until my hand got too tired to continue and that just would not work. I am realizing that I am getting better because the music did not sound as stupid to me as it used to. It is all about my mindset right now more than the musicality. I had to consciously create interest in what I was doing for myself. After about twenty minutes, the first raindrops started and I was outta there.

June 23, 2006

I am out of commission today due to an eye operation so I will take this opportunity to log in my first "flashback"! The first time I went outside to improvise on the truck was in June of last year. I did it at two in the morning and decided to drive to a nearby cemetery. I parked on an open grassy area. It was an amazing and beautiful experience on a quiet, spacious rolling lawn with a full moon, millions of lightning bugs and zillions of mosquitoes. I could not believe I was doing it. This was so much fun, it was so freeing. After about fifteen minutes of playing a carload of kids drove into the other end of the cemetery. I'm sure it was kids doing what kids do in cemeteries when no one is around. They parked and I watched the two of them in a distance first discover the music and then ever so slowly inch there way closer step by step, stop... start... stop... start towards the dark silhouette of a piano man playing quiet soft music on the back of a truck in the middle of the night in a cemetery with a dog sitting on top of the piano looking at them very curiously. You never know what you will find in a cemetery in the middle of the night eh? They never got close enough for me to see their faces because they turned and ran like there was no tomorrow. They tore outta there with car screeching and I thought, "damm I wish that had been on film". Funny, it was so funny.

June 22, 2006

Back to the high school parking lot again but this time, it was dark. I have not played in the dark in awhile. Two walkers came around several times. While wondering why I feel a comfort in this one spot that I park in I remembered that when I was twelve years old I explored and fished in a pond with a big willow tree that used to be at this parking spot. I thought of the buddy I used to hang there with. I was improvising while focusing on one star. I started to ponder it and everything got too complex so I started to think about the snap, crackle, and pop behind me. It was a grassy area and there is a lot of life and stuff going on in that there grass. The nightlife is wild. I'm a piano man experiencing a wild nightlife.

June 21, 2006

I really didn't want to bother with people today but I did not want to be alone either. Bo and I drove went to the Bensalem PA high school back parking lot and played while watching parents teach their kids to practice for their driving test and while people played tennis in the courts about a quarter mile to the front of us. When walkers passed, I gave a polite nod and went back to trying to focus on music. I need to expand my thoughts and ideas and get clearer with some technical flourishing or I will bore myself to death. I am trying to relax when I am recording but it is not working. I am trying to motivate myself from the "outside" using the fact that I am recording, "so don't make a mistake and make it sound good". I need to motivate myself from the "inside" as in, "feel free to explore with my spirit" and "don't worry about the results".

June 20, 2006

My high school music teacher, we are still friends, lives in a development where the neighbors get together on Tuesday nights to eat dinner in a grove of trees near their condos so I thought I would show myself a vote of self-confidence and offer them some improvisation. Along with being older folk, they all know me with the Boogie and Ragtime piano so the change of musical personality that I was offering I knew would be a challenge for them to except. It was a real stretch for me to trust myself because I knew it would be a difficult crowd. There was a big black lab running circles around the truck while I played, he wanted to play with Bo. A birdhouse hotel was in front of me with all these sparrows popping in and out of it, one hole to the next. It looked very funny. It was a luscious evening and I think it went well. They wanted to relate to it and I appreciated that. They gave comments like, "perfect dinner music" (maybe I shouldn't have included that one), artsy, easy on the ears, almost classical, I noticed a lot more right hand verses the usual fast boogie left hand, it was very nice". I will take all of that and am very proud of myself that I did not ask once, "did you like it?" Ha.

June 19, 2006

Bo and I went to play in the Pennypack Park, Mayfair section of Philadelphia. I lived in that area until I was ten years old and my parents are buried there. I have taken Bo to swim many times in the creek and I have fond memories of childhood picnics where there used to be a big waterfall. No more. Each year more rocks tumble away from people climbing all over them and the water quality is deteriorating with dirty people swimming in it. There is a shopping cart in the middle of the creek. There are groups fishing with their hooks to catch dinner next to little kids swimming. I watched some guy fill his bag with about twenty water bottles from the creek and then he started drinking from one of the bottles. People are living in the bushes. One would think they would use something other than bright blue plastic tarp or set up camp farther away from the main path but I suppose no one is bothering them. The space did not feel good anymore so we left.

I drove and snuck onto the grounds of an old mansion on state road in Bensalem PA and settled in a clearing off to the side of it. No human made sounds of boats, trains, planes, cars etc... only air made sounds, strong and breezy sounds of leaves and grass telling of an oncoming storm. I am having a difficult day and the green all around me helps numb my brain into contentment.

June 18, 2006

Raggin' Piano Boogie went backyard house hopping in the heat today stopping over at friends of thirty-five years (ouch!) and twenty-four years, contributors to the recent tour. I am realizing if people are looking to be entertained, they will not want the improvisation but it is not difficult to hypnotize them if they sit and listen long enough. I get the same reaction when I am done every time. With an almost glazed look they nod their head approvingly up and down while saying, "that was beautiful". One of the people I played for was Aunt Marge and I was wondering how she would react as she is one hundred and five years old. She was one of the head nodders. Marge is more alive and kicking then some seventy year olds I have come across with all her real teeth, one hundred percent brain function, she walks, does exercises and still cooks her Italian pasta. Is that unbelievable? She is a hero.

June 17, 2006

Bo and I discovered a new space last night while taking a walk so there I went. It is behind an officeplex two minutes from my house and very private. The back of the truck was bordered by tall marsh grass and the traffic sounds were blocked by the long office building. It has always interested me how something can be so invisible in the middle of everything visible. There was an owl present. All the birds came out and lined the treetops and the roof of the building when I began to play but they soon got bored and left except for the dancing pairs that continued to fly up and down and all around. I became adventurous and decided to play in a new musical key for the first time. It was A flat and very strange to me. My hands were landing as usual on the keys but the sounds were as confusing as hell. I'm glad for bug spray because it's getting very buggy outside.

June 16, 2006

After driving around in Newtown PA, lost over an hour while looking for this wonderful place on top of a hill were I was to meet a group of people, I finally gave up. I settled in a shady spot under a small oak tree with branches like an umbrella 2 feet over Bo and my head. There was a comfortable breeze on this sunny day overlooking the edge of a green, leafy, tree lined meadow of wheat grass. There were many black birds with red stripes on their wings flying around us with trails of white butterflies. We were next to a covered bridge that I had not visited since I was 18 years old.

I was playing musical thoughts of last night's memories. Bo and I went for a walk about two in the morning last night and crossed through a new housing development going up in my neighborhood. We heard strange, pulsing shouts. It sounded like a large exotic bird on the ground screaming for us to stay away from its nest. It was just too loud and odd to not investigate. I told Bo to stay close as I edged forward in the direction of the sound. The shrill was incredibly loud, I thought it was enough to wake people from sleeping blocks away. I look up on this dirt incline and I see in the moon light the most amazing side silhouette of a handsome red fox at least four feet long, tail straight out, head cocked perfectly towards us. We are talking here in Bensalem PA people. Bo was unfazed but the fox and I were freaked. I picked up a stick to hold while leaving the area and the fox followed us while continuing to scream for at least a half mile. As we walked towards my house and by my secret neighborhood performing spot, I hear huffs as I witness two young dear jumping into the brush. There is hardly any space for them to live here as it is only about a quarter of a neighborhood block size wooded area between a parking lot and the highway. It felt really sad that our social system cares so little for these animals. "They will be extinct soon", I thought. A church area nearby just cleared an entire 10-acre unused area from all underbrush leaving just the trees and no place for the many animals to survive in. I thought, "this serves no purpose unless people think of these animals as pests because they eat the garden marigolds or they afraid kids are hanging out in there doing dirty little things while thier parents and authority figures don't really care enough to spend time with them. It is not like these animals are bothering anything important unless the backyard flowers are more important than their life. Where is St. Francis when you need him, he was a friend to these animals, he even fed them.

So that was the music I was creating until two little girls came by with their mother and that jarred me out of my thinking into a better place. They had lunch on a nearby picnic table and then came over for pictures with the truck. A middle-aged couple came out of the woods huffing and puffing all dirty with mud on their nets and pails full of frogs collected for their backyard pond. I could tell they definitly had fun down there in the mucky waters below. They proudly showed me all the frog eggs they had collected on their nets. Now here is a visual for this period of civilization. Two adolescent girls came riding by on their horse oblivious to the truck, Bo, the music and I'm listening to the clip, clop, clip, clop of the horse while at the same time hearing the girls with fuckthis, shitthat, fuckthis, shitthat while they talk on their cell phone. My mind tried to blur them out as they rode by totally self absorbed. Ahh yes.... I did not want to come home today I just wanted to continue playing the piano around with all of this outdoor stimuli.

June 15, 2006

It is bing cherry season and I have bing cherry on the brain. I talked about them a few days ago and my niece mentioned them last night. I decided to go to a family run pick your own fruit orchard in Langhorne PA as they had a few ripe cherry trees and I want some cherry pie. I went to play the piano and pick cherries. Failure. I started to talk to the woman and her son running the place and after one sentence; it was the beginning of the end. Would you like some piano music? That was about all I was able to say. There was about a two-minute interaction and I am not exaggerating when I say I could not get a word in. I heard the words like "worth", phrases such as "what's in it for us", "not unless there are enough customers around like on the weekend", "we will decide when". There were phrases from the son like, "I couldn't be legitimate because of the way I was dressed", "I was a nut" (not said affectionately). I stopped them and said, "I just want to play some piano under the cherry trees not make this into a big deal, this is about spontaneity and contribution not about what will it cost you or what you can get from it". They might as well have been from another planet their radar antennas were perked as high as an elephants eye. (farm, country, corn, Oklahoma song... remember?) The feeling was like I had a stretched rubber band at the end of my finger and it was pointed at them. I got away from them as soon as possible. It was not like I wanted to pay for my supper. For Christ's sake, just a few cherries. I escaped feeling triple "ugh"...

So onward I ventured into a new area of nearby Core Creek park. I parked on the grass overlooking the lake. A few people who were finishing lunch nearby welcomed me and told of a special place that would be perfect. We arranged to meet there tomorrow. The park ranger drove by and waved. I played for a while thinking everyone was gone and then turned around to find Jen sitting, listening to me on a nearby park bench. She is a piano major from West Chester University. Of course, I made her jump onto the truck to play some piano. I was treated to some beautiful Debussy from her. We talked about having a piano jam in the park with some of her friends and I hope she gets in contact with me about it.

June 14, 2006

There have been so many days I have complained about in the past that it feels good to say I am glad I to be alive today. I went to check out a park area by the Riverview Home in Northeast Philly. This is one of those end of the line shelters next to the prison. It is a pit. The home is fenced in around the park so I thought I would drive into the fenced area to play for any residents who were able to wander outside but of course, the bureaucracy of the place would not allow it. Reminded me of a religiously run school group last week afraid of me because my dog is named Boner. Bureaucracy verses Anally Uptight. Thank God, it takes all types to run this world so I can choose these two types, not.

I drove into the park and there was a group setting up for a picnic so I decided to ask them if they would like some piano music and they said, "sure", and I thought, "this was my kind of people". It is the first day for improvising around a group chatting in the background. I am a natural for creating music for this kind of environment. I wasn't totally secure so I started out with some Boogie rationalizing that I would use it to learn how to segue in and out of improvisation. I found out the crutch was not necessary as they were responding to my improvisation even more than the Ragtime or Boogie and I was completely comfortable creating my unique sounds. One lady asked if I could bring some of that Romantic Music to her house. Cool. A group of about six children got up on the picnic table to dance artistically to the improvisation. Every once in awhile a big fat raindrop would plop on the piano but that was not going to stop me. The breeze was delicious overlooking the river. It was not as delicious as were Sylvia's homemade ribs. She cooked them last night and I was the first to get at em'. I joined the picnic and they all encouraged me to stuff my face. This was a department picnic from the Prison full of guards, administration and office workers. They were loose and welcoming and I really had a good time. I felt secure that I was not going to be chased off the grass area so I just pulled right up to the pavilion. I lost the computer recording I made because I ran out of memory but I reminded myself there is plenty more music where that came from. I am just getting started.

June 13, 2006

Beyond gratification hardly describes today while playing in Core Creek Park PA. Bo and I could not have been more comfortable with the temperature and humidity as we sat parked under a shady tree overlooking a beautifully huge lake. There were little motorized distractions of planes flying overhead, highway sounds, boats, vehicles etc. only the rhythmical sounds of nature. I pushed myself into this park today because I could feel myself retreating in past days to perform in areas away from where I would be assessable to people. For the last few days I was starting to become fearful because my mind, body and soul have been vibrating like crazy. I have been criticized for that my entire life growing up by others who have had difficulty tolerating it. Last night I realized that it had been a full moon and that does affect me big time. I thought I would go out mid-afternoon today while my energy was high and practice channeling my vibrating positively through music and to do it while not shying away from other human beings because of past experiences. I just want to fit in, have a voice and be part of.

I reached a new level of feeling "part of" and "one" with nature in creating space within myself musically for all the sounds around me, the birds, children in the distance, the splash landings of the water foul on the lake, even for the canoe paddling on the lake that I could not hear. The reality of me and everything I was experiencing was being expressed musically in total harmony. Wow.

And now for the people response. Ken and Millie approached me to say hello

and tell me how much they were enjoying seeing Bo behaving so well and also the music. This is the third time in three weeks that my past has crossed my path. They turned out to be the parents of Ruth a girl who I went to high school with. I think I still have her graduation picture with a typical note on the back, "take care, I'll remember you always". I was about to leave for home and some guy pulled up in his car and pulled out his blanket to spread himself out nearby so I felt obliged to stay a little longer. I am glad I did. Another guy came from a distance who had been listening for about an hour, he was shy to come forward so I motioned him to come over. He was trying to figure out what he was seeing and hearing the whole time, it sounded so beautiful like those tinkley things in the wind (windchimnes). I had to meet Ed, before I left he sat on a nearby bench with his dog for the entire time. He said he had been feeling sick that morning so he came out to just chill and was reading, listening and watching people react to the music and what they were seeing. He said he really enjoyed it, that this has made it really a special day for him, and he said something else that several others have said in the past. "You never know what life will bring you", referring to this experience we both have had together with all of its creativity and uniqueness. He said I reminded him of a phrase, "find out who you are, what you want to do, and do it on purpose". I said, "that's what I'm doing, how cool is that"! Two people asked if I had music to sell.

June 12, 2006

The Delaware River Access area was my spot and I decided to go out this morning before the rain and of course, the sun came out. I cannot stress how dysfunctional it is to get caught up in the news weather hype. I could count on ten hands the number of events that have been destroyed in the last ten years by sensational weather reporting and the acceptance of it by the public. Then I could tell you about the loss of my employment bookings because of it! I still sometimes get caught up in these reports when my guard is down or when I am susceptible to needless distractions into my life. I listened to the news helicopters going back and forth to over the river as they all hope to be the first to find the guy lost from a drunken boat accident on the water the other night. On this website's daily musical recordings, every time you hear one of my hands not hitting a note on the piano it is probably because I am using it to smack a bug that just landed on my head.

June 11, 2006

I went to my neighborhood-hiding place today. I have to rethink travel time, cost and exposure with what I am doing. I cannot afford a half hours time back and forth each way to practice in my favorite spots every day. The cost for the Ocean City NJ trip the other day with gas and tolls was forty dollars not to mention the wear and tear on the 200,000-mile truck and equipment. It is practically impossible to tune out people standing to listen while practicing musical thoughts or ideas. Maybe I can work at making my practicing fun to listen to can't be be worse than some of the ongoing ramblings that happen.

June 10, 2006

What a windy day. It felt like fall; I wanted my candy apple but I had cotton candy instead. I performed for Buckingham Township Community Day in Bucks County PA While I performed at the park I interspacing my own music with the Ragtime and Boogie Woogie when I thought no one was listening. As I drove through the neighborhoods to perform in them I was thinking these are not housing developments this is just tons of castle like mansions, a very well kept "neck of the woods", full of regular neighborhoods also. There was more of a response than I expected as neighbors came out of their houses with all their kids gathering around the truck to talk and listen. I needed to tell people to shut me up when I started to talk because once I start talking about the last year I could not stop! I felt like the local ice cream truck. It was fun to pull up to a yard and watch about ten kids on a trampoline choreograph their jumping and somersaulting to the music. Corey, Erica and Cody had the opportunity to play some piano on the truck.

June 09, 2006

Beautiful day, beautiful venue, Sayan Gardens in Hamilton NJ. Took me awhile to get there. I asked someone at a red light for directions and they had me pull over to the roadside got out of their car and described the route in great detail for me. There was no place to really drive in; the parking was on the outskirts. Harry, who runs the place let me perform behind the park office, thanked me for my music, which felt very good. A couple of girls came by and called it all, "cute" the word used to describe me physically all my life... ugh. I knew it was a well-meaning description. The catering/wedding/gazebo garden area guy came over. He thought I was there to play for a wedding in the afternoon and that I had the wrong time.

I am changing some terminology as of today. My piano improvisations are now called ramblings. That is what I'm doing, I am rambling outdoors with expressions of musical idea and thought, just like the song birds in the trees chirping away. Anyone who has a negative thought after just reading that, deal with it. Ha. I could balance it all out with something hardcore right now but I will resist. I can be very hardcore.

I am starting a non-profit to continue what I did in New Orleans and Mississippi and what I am doing now. "Have Piano Will Travel". I am also going to create "Piano Jams" where other piano players come outside with me to play all levels, all ages, all types, all backgrounds. Do you know of anyone who might be interested?

June 08, 2006

Ocean City New Jersey was the place for me to explore today. There are very few spots to perform on the truck while looking out over the ocean. There are places along the beach to park and perform if I want to pull into a spot and watch a large sand dune grow its grass. I think not. I ended up parking at the end of a residential street overlooking the bay. The screen door was open on the nearby house so I went up to ring the doorbell and tell the lady of the house what was going on so she wouldn't freak out. I said I was going to play a piano for a while and record some music. She was ok with that. Everyone was there, me, Bo, a crow, a seagull and the woman from the house milling around on her back porch for a little bit to listen. She said she like it. I know one of these days someone will say my playing stinks. It has happened in the past. I was thinking about how an hour ago, I found a boat dock company that might have a floating raft I can use to float the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck through the bay lagoons while Boner sits on the piano and I perform. The city would like me to perform for A Night in Venice a 100,000 spectator annual boat parade event in July.

June 07, 2006

I want to go outside and play today. I really do. The denial that it is raining just won't work so I will just have to sit inside and play for myself. It will be a lonely job but we all gotta do what we gotta do. I have been enjoying my music and exploring conation from within while trying to connect and understand my feelings.

June 06, 2006

Well, I went to Tyler State Park, PA today and met up with Steve. He had his guitar with him and I jammed with guitar music for the first time ever. After that, he sat and listened to me for a while then jumped up on the piano himself and played. Three guys stopped in a car for a few minutes. A couple of people honked their horns as they went by. The park rangers all came buy. One ranger was a musician himself and suggested I get a piano amp. I did not even know there was such a thing. They thought the concept was really interesting and I felt compelled to impress them with some Ragtime and Boogie Woogie when they asked for it. They were very receptive and that felt good.

Now here is a little oddity. I have been thinking about bing cherries (sour) because my mother used to make cherry pies at this time of the year and I loved them. The last time I was in this park I went over to a row of old trees about five hundred feet form the truck to relieve myself and I was amazed to find a family of bing cherry trees. The older ones were incredibly large, as high as some oak trees. I have never seen a cherry tree over 20 feet tall. There were not that many cherries on them but I considered having a ladder at hand next time I came to the park for when they were ripe. I re-thought that idea as I realized I might be taking the food from the beautiful bluebirds that were flying all around so I decided to opt for trying to find them for sale at a local agricultural school where I found them about two years ago. Then last night I went to the local supermarket and they had them for sale. I had never seen bing cherries in a supermarket; they were from California and a ridiculous six bucks a pound. I tasted one and they had little taste but it reminded me to call the school to see if they had them because they are in season for only two weeks each year. I did that before leaving the house today. They were on my mind and during my conversation with the ranger, I asked him if he knew that there were huge cherry trees in the park and I pointed towards them. He went over to see for himself and was also fascinated the trees were so tall. Then he showed me a bag of bottled water that he had found and asked me if I wanted them as I turned at the same time to discover a nest in the cherry tree area. It had empty bottles of water, used tissues and an empty box of baby crackers. The water he found was ice cold and no one was around. It seems someone had been in the cherry trees feeding a baby only minutes before but there was no place they could have run to hide. Hmmm... why am I telling you this? I guess I just want to share my curiosity and observances.

June 05, 2006

.... Things have been sizzling and now they are beginning to pop. Bo sat on the piano while I played with cars whizzing by on Route 202 in Buckingham PA today to let the residents know that I will be participating at the park and throughout the neighborhoods on Saturday for the community day. I was also making music with jackhammers jacking away next to me on the road in Bensalem PA.

June 04, 2006

.... The words to describe what I offered today at Tyler State Park were awesome and perfect. When people say this stuff to me, I say it right back to them. There is total lack of ego in these situations, I'm really into that fact, it just feels sooo.... good. Performing outdoors hit a new notch today. I am up on this hill overlooking the tall grass in a field playing... I figured out how to officially hook the piano up to the computer so the music I upload onto the site daily is now being created from whatever location I am describing in this blog and not from at my home. This guy pulls his up gets out of his car and sits down on the ground in front of his car leaning against the bumper to just chill and listen with me. He plays guitar and later he gets on the truck to play for awhile. Then two muscle shirt types come up in a silver bronco type pickup truck to check me out we talk a few minutes, real nice guys, I go back to playing they get out and start playing Frisbee in front of me for about thirty minutes. It was so cool all of us just doing our thing together. The Frisbee playing became like a dance for me improvising. Then a carload of artsy type kids pull up, set down a blanket and they all begin to work on a painting together on the grass. All of us together doing our own things. I like it. I like being part of along with everyone else all enjoying just "being" together. I like what I have to bring to the table. I'm good at what I do and more importantly to me is that the music is without question crossing all stereotypical boundaries of age, type social class etc....

June 03, 2006

.... Ahhh, I did a full circle today. I spent the day celebrating a very special high school graduation in Wilmington Delaware. No truck, it was about 12pm and everyone started to help clean up, especially in the kitchen. As a ten year old, when I first started to play the piano I would get out of doing the dishes by asking if I could practice. It was the only time I asked to practice. My brothers hated me for it because Danny never got his turn at doing the dishes because he had to practice and they did not want to play the piano. Well, so it goes as a child.... tonight I did not feel like doing the dishes in the kitchen so I went and provided music instead on the most untuned piano in existence. I created untuned music for everyone until the dishes were done. I think it worked for everyone all around.

June 02, 2006

.... I was down by the river today playing up against the back of the parking lot as to not be intrusive and noticed most of the fishermen were gone. I realized that there is a buzz in my speaker that is being recorded. I need to figure that out. When I was done I took Bo to the water for a swim because he loves the water and I wouldn't need to worry about his getting caught in any fish lines with hooks. A guy Mike reached out his hand to introduce himself and said, "you know the fisherman like it when you come around here, next Spring you'll need to bring the truck up to the front here with us and play on the loading dock, we'll set up a pole for you and call you off the truck when there is a bite." I said, "now that's a visual." He told me that they are gone for the season, they come only in the spring for the stripped bass and the fish are all gone by June 1st back to the ocean. He said he has caught two 40lb fish at this spot in the past. A mother and her daughter came running up to ask me if Oprah called to have me on her show yet. They want to see me on Ellen.

June 01, 2006

Today was one of those "god like" awareness days. First, it is the one-year anniversary of pursuing my wildest dream. Improvising my own music officially started one year ago today as aprt of that. I have NEVER continuously pursued anything in my life for more than eight months straight. I went to my secret spot the "small unused parking lot" to find it was filled with employee vehicles from a nearby local school. I just pulled into an empty parking spot. It was hot and sunny so I let Bo stay on the ground for the first time to stalk whatever he could find in the shady bushes below. Boner stalks like a cat. A women came up to the truck and said, "I heard this music and was wondering where it was coming from and here you are this is so wonderful. You have made my day, this is so inspirational." We had a little chat about what we have in common. I just loved it! I may also have found an opportunity, this woman as a catalyst, to perform some of my improvisational music for a group or two, for the first time, and even get some work done on the truck in return. We shall see. The best part about today's playing was that for the first time I was able to pursue and complete the simple task of transferring my computer music recording application onto my labtop. I was then able to connect the labtop to the piano on the truck so I can make the daily recordings that I upload onto the web from outside on the truck! This would be a simple task to figure out for many people but for me it is a major accomplishment. I found by accident that I can record sound straight from the computer like a regular tape recorder. I learned that I grunt, moan and hum while I'm improvising and they are not pretty sounds to listen to so I will need to keep my trap shut so listeners can hear the birds with the music instead. I can also record direct from the piano as well.

May 31, 2006

.... My appointment in center city was over by 7:30 pm so I thought I would take the truck down and scope out the Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts festival that is to begin tomorrow. I'm afraid of rejection but I can take it. What I found was a very quiet, relaxing, controlled environment. If I had been invited to play there it would have been beautifully surreal for everyone. If I had tried to insert myself into it, I would have been rejected as an intrusive distraction from the desired focus. So.... I drove over to the art museum and then to the top back parking lot. At the very top I took my place up against the wall in the corner where I could watch the sunset. We all watched it together Bo, myself and the many noseums attacking any skin that they could find on my body. The even roar of water over the dam from the historic waterworks below sounded synthetic. I was to "chicken" to drive and find a better spot. A group of pre-adolescent kids from the neighborhood stopped by and we chatted. One boy asked if I make people cry. I assume he was talking about the music. A tour group of IGlides came buy. It was a bit much for Bo. He started to bark his non-threatening, "yo guys, this looks a little too weird" bark. They are probably fun to ride around on. A photographer found me. I really enjoy when people respond to me as a "find". I really wanted to bang the keys hard tonight.

May 30, 2006

.... Talk about hot days! I waited till dusk to drive to the local high school parking lot where I could find a wide-open area and enjoy the warm evening breeze. It was musically nothing special but I did enjoy pacing the joggers that ran by with rhythm. I get allot of cell phone pictures taken of me these days. I wonder if I will ever find myself on the front page of Time magazine performing while wearing my dirty shorts and a dirty from working in the yard sweaty white tea shirt. I have been saying, "it is what it is" so now I will add, "I am what I am". What can I say? I'm doing the best that I can.

May 29, 2006

.... I performed for the Bucks County PA Warminster Memorial Day Parade this morning for the sixteenth year! It feels good to have a performance relationship that has lasted this long. I have a couple relationshps like this. I have grown up with everyone in the town through my performing. I have respect for what Veterans have gone through so I feel grateful that I am asked to participate.

May 28, 2006

.... I found a perfect spot. I couldn't believe it, two minutes from my house. It is hard to explain but its in a small unused parking lot set back in a small and I mean small patch of woods in a brand new developed area. I am practically hidden from everything backed in and angled out on the corner of the lot. The highway is behind the trees and I'm sure people filling their gas tanks across the street at the station can hear the sound a teeny weenie bit, just enough to drive them crazy trying to figure out if its live music and where it is coming from. They would never figure it out in a million years. Anyone in the new housing development in front of me would need binoculars to really see that it is a dog on top of a truck.

Poor Bo, he is a tortured guy. This is a little oasis area for wildlife. A squirrel walked up to the truck, walked and stopped, walked and stopped just looking, no fear with both Bo and me right there looking back. He got about two feet away from me and I got scared. I thought he was going to jump in the truck and bite me while I was playing. I shooed him away. I think that is fairly strange. On the other side, two rabbits played with each other the entire time. Bo was convulsing so I was going to let him down to chase them but then I thought how wonderful it was that these animals do not know about fear when it comes to humans because they do not interact with them. I'm sorry I shooed the squirrel away. The songbirds raised their levels with mine. I noticed the sounds of crickets for the first time. Boner's ears look especially perked, because I shaved him yesterday. He sits at full attention watching, looking, and sniffing. I brought a can of "Off" with me for the mosquitoes.

I am breaking new ground with my improvising. Yesterday I mustered the courage to try and improvise with the walking base of a Boogie C chord, real slow. I know there will be people who will not believe this or cannot understand it, but it is true. I just used to feel real stupid trying it. Now I am moving forward and "going out on the limb" ever so slowly. Today, wow! I'm really glad my attention span is not great and I get bored easily and that I want change... more, more, more all the time and that "more" presently is to expand myself musically. I found a way to want to learn the music of my soul and to express it. Its outdoors on the back of a pickup truck. Writing this makes me laugh.

I figured out the chords and structure of the first section of the Maple Leaf Rag and improvised on it and remembered it all the way through the first section. Short-term memory here. It was interesting but I got bored with it quick. Then my back started killing me, no matter how I sat, I was in pain but I did not want to stop playing. I wanted to be out for at least 45 minutes and its a beautiful dusk with a light cool breeze. I just kept playing until something happened and all of a sudden I was walking octave quarter notes with my left hand and even eight notes with my right hand for about 15 minutes and I did not want to stop. It was REALLY good. I'm glad I was able to leave with a good feeling.

May 27, 2006

.... went to the Delaware River boat dock park tonight after performing in a parade this morning and giving Bo his summer shave which takes hours for me to do. All I could muster up concerning energy was some light, "tinkling of the ivories". It fit along with the vans pulling in and out of the parking lot creating the sound of light rubbing of slow moving tires along the stones and gravel.

May 26, 2006

.... first thing this morning I went to head out before the rain. As soon as I opened the garage door, too late... I performed inside for Bo today. You can find out what he thinks of my music on todays The Book? page.

May 25, 2006

.... looks like rain so I did a quick sprint to Neshaminy Sate Park PA for today's music. Not my favorite place because I have never experienced a park Ranger in this park who was not roaming around looking for trouble. I like to feel welcomed not watched over. I ended up not wanting to come home I was enjoying the music so much. They had cut off 90% of the parking areas so all the vehicles were herded into one small spot but I found an opening to the park some distance away and drove in. I was wearing my yellow "live strong" wrist band and had to take it off because it was attracting bugs. Am I smart or what to figure that out right away? Nineteen years of experience playing the piano outdoors helps. A guy in his forties named Jim came up to say hi. He was excited. He said, "I was walking through the path and I heard this music while watching the trees and sky, I began to feel like I was in a Felini move. It brought a tear to my eye. Then I saw you playing against the tall green trees, it was surreal, really amazing to see and hear."

May 24, 2006

.... this afternoon I was on East River Driver next to the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It's a beautiful day with the trains rolling along in the distance, a few rowers heading back and forth from boathouse row, the birds taking head dives into the water for food, joggers applauded as they passed. It was my most visible spot to date. A cool looking bassist with dreadlocks stopped by and I got my first compliment from a musician. He tried out the piano while I wondered around listening to his playing. Zack... don't forget to send me the pic I took of you!

May 23, 2006

.... oh my God what fun. I was fearful to go out and play today but I did it anyway. I ended up in a place to be fearful. It was a dark place and it was nighttime, on the street, with the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck backed up to a barricade fence so nobody could jump me from behind. I was in an abandoned area off of Route 95 and Delaware avenue in Philadelphia. I watched the traffic go from the highway above. Bo was uneasy, keeping his eyes peered with a look of, "why the hell did he choose this place?" I was amazed with the amount of activity. There's always those "few vehicles" in places like this doing "hanging out kinda things" and then there were those that come and go every few minutes checking things out. A couple saw me from the road and turned around to stop and chat. And then, from around the corner, mind you there is nothing in this area except warehouses, fences and weeds... about seventeen kids come walking past holding hands. I'm not kidding. They never stopped but they did ask me to sing with the piano as they walked by. With this musical, improvisational experimenting outside, my experiences of people are often as strange as their experience of me.

May 22, 2006

.... today I traveled to Hamilton NJ, Veterans Park. It had a nice wood elevated walking path through the woods so I was able to get our daily walk done while we were there. Bo's entire body vibrated with restraint on top of the piano as he watched a groundhog munching away in the grass about two hundred feet away. After about forty minutes of emptying my mind of various psychotic thoughts through musical performance, two carloads of kids who were playing volleyball nearby drove off with all thumbs up in the air through their car windows.

May 21, 2006

.... visited the small boat slip dock park area off of Station Avenue and State Road in Bensalem PA and played for a guy who lives in his van. He had a cell phone and was calling everyone he knew. He asked me to say hi to them so they did not think he was crazy. He called his old neighbor, his mom, his sister in Michigan, and then he phoned two tv stations and told me about it later. as I practiced some guy played with his roaring remote control toy truck back and forth in the parking lot.

May 20, 2006

.... had not "crashed yet from a parade performance today so with the manic energy that I still had going I stopped at a neighbors yard sale to give them some improvisational music hoping to calm myself down in a positive way.

May 19, 2006

.... I visited a new friend in the Kensington part of Philadelphia on Martha Street today. He is a clown. He is a famous clown, one who told me he has had many lives. Found a vacant street corner lot to park on. Within five minutes, several lawn chairs appeared along with a small hibachi to cook Sabbretts, juice and beer. One neighbor tipped me $3 bucks and then another $5. Home bound "Mom" asked me to come and visit her row house as she could not get outside with her walker. She wanted to tell me that she was enjoying the music from her back door. There were photo opts for about five picture cell phones walking by. The local ice cream truck driver's family came home. Bo was a must for this Muslim family brood of about eight screaming, excited, happy, exuberant kids. I gave them all a business card with Bo's picture on it.

May 18, 2006

.... played in my house today, I was too tired from office work to go out. I put the screens in the doors so I could feel the air outside.

May 17, 2006

.... was in the Bensalem High School parking lot tonight at twilight. A guy was walking with his daughter and stopped to compliment me. He started off with, "do you come here often"? After a short discussion, we traded names to find that we knew each other having gone to grade school together. I had not seen him since.

May 16, 2006

.... visited the small boat slip dock park area off of Station Avenue and State Road in Bensalem today and played until it started to rain. I raced home with the truck like a maniac.

May 15, 2006

.... drove to my friend Patty's house to play some music in her driveway. The neighbor was lawn mowing with his tractor mower ten feet from me while I played. He never looked.

May 14, 2006

.... went to a big beautiful lake in Fairless Hills PA today. My niece's husband stopped by with the kids and everyone took their turn at the piano as the Canadian geese circled the sky with the seagulls. Jim said he had never experienced music like mine before and was surprised that he would enjoy something other than what he was used to listening to.

May 13, 2006

.... today I was on top of a hill, at sunset, with fields of tall grass blowing in the wind, overlooking the hillside in Tyler State Park PA. People would drive by and often stopped to listen in their cars for about ten minutes each. One father sat with his son for about half an hour until conversation started which ended with his son, a piano student, giving a recital of his piano songs. I had a twenty-dollar drive by tipping.

May 12, 2006

.... visited the small boat slip dock park area off of Station Avenue and State Road in Bensalem PA. The fisherman came over to tell me they enjoyed what I was doing; they said the music was relaxing.

May 11, 2006

.... I brought my friend Cindy out today to play some music for her at the park. She brought with her material that she needed to study for a play that she was starring in. As we were leaving she said that she had planned to read but found more enjoyment in just sitting and listening to the sounds.

May 10, 2006

.... to Maria's house today as is depressed, older and does not get very much company. She is the sister of an old neighbor that moved away. We set a chair in the shade under a tree for her to sit in. Her nephew happened to stop by and joined us. He said the music was inspirational and Marie said it was healing.

May 09, 2006

.... went to play for a few friends in their backyard while they ate dinner. Nobody ate. The entire family was there. They all sat in a semi circle and talked and watched and listened. Six lawn and one wheelchair, three screaming running kids and one little something or other dog running around on the ground touring Bo as they each take turns marking every six inches of turf. The descriptive word of the night was that the music was invigorating. $20 tip. it is a gesture... a nice gesture... a thank you token. I'll take it.

May 08, 2006

.... up on Kelly drive in Fairmount Park Philadelphia on this sunny Sunday afternoon I setup in the middle of the field on Lemon Hill. It took about a half an hour for a group of gutter punks partying under a big tree to approach us. We talked for about ten minutes, they gave approval, went back to their site, turned off their ghetto blaster until I was done. I thought that was great! Dave took a few pictures and sent them to me. Thanks, Dave.

May 07, 2006

.... in the middle of a Kentucky Derby backyard Boogie Woogie, Ragtime piano music party I started to improvise my own stuff. This was on the job and for the first time ever. I got lost in the music for the first time ever. When I came out of it, I did not know how long I had been playing. Everyone applauded.

May 06, 2006

.... my first official performance experiment day I go to the park along the Delaware river in PA. After I finish playing and a humongous black guy gets out of his dark grey cruiser and slowly walks over to me. He says, "man you just saved my marriage, my wife and I drove in here fighting and ready to call it quits and we were jarred by what we saw... we stopped yelling at each other, turned off the truck and just sat in silence listening to you. When you were done everything was ok, thanks alot". He was also a piano player. His wife came over, he jumped on the Raggin' Piano Boogie truck and began to play.

The Next PIANO JAM !

Langhorne, PA Saturday October 7, 2006 At 2PM. Check out the ArtFest! 2006 Piano Jam link to the left of what you are reading here. You Don't Need To Be Good This Is Not About Ego or Impressing or Performing.
It Is About Having Fun And Creating Music.

The FIRST PIANO JAM EVER WAS!

On The River In Bristol, PA This Sunday August 27, 2006 At 7PM. Call Us For Directions Found On The Contact Link Page. Four So Far. You Don't Need To Be Good This Is Not About Ego or Impressing or Performing.
It Is About Having Fun And Creating Music.