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What is Half of Dueling Pianos?
- Spike Blake, IS Half of Dueling Pianos....with the unique twist of the crowd being the other half!
- It is All the IMPACT of full dueling pianos for about HALF THE PRICE!
- I'm assuming you've already watched the Google video- If so, you see, hear and feel the difference between Spike and the any other dueling piano "companies" videos you have watched.
Audience is "the other half"
- It means that the audience will be more involved. Spike frequently has people come up on stage with him to sing on songs like "Baby Got Back"or play or tell jokes - or- get the whole audience to sing along to songs like "Brown Eyed Girl" and become "THE OTHER HALF"...
- So with Half of Dueling Pianos you will be more involved and sing along more (since Spike is counting on you to be “the other half ”).
- With Half of Dueling Pianos you get all request traditional dueling pianos and comedy / a kickin’ dance band / and highly interactive DJ hits ---- ALL IN ONE SHOW!!! --
-it's entertaining and fresh from beginning to end.
More than just "Hilarious Comedy"
- To be the Total Entertainment Package you have to do more than be funny the whole time.
- Especially at corporate events- the audience also wants to hear great singing, sing along, dance and be part of the show.
- Listening to players that are not good singers doesn't make an emotional connection with the listener , and gets really old.
- Why do most all dueling pianos acts include drums and guitars today? Because plucking your favorite songs out on ONLY PIANO for an entire show has proven to be really boring and stale. Plus, when's the last time you danced to the 'beat" of a piano?
- Even though Spike is an incredible singer and player, he gets that it's not just about playing and singing prowess--- it's about ENTERTAINING! This is why Half of Dueling Pianos utilizes highly interactive DJ hits.
- People DO want to hear Pianoman, but they also want to hear and dance to songs like "Cupid Shuffle" or "Baby Got Back". Those songs do not have Impact when plucked out on piano-period!
So Spike's philosophy is more like this--- use the piano for "Pianoman," be an interactive DJ on "Cupid Shuffle," perform spontaneous comedy - THEN show off your piano chops getting the crowd on the edge of their seat with "Devil Went Down To Georgia." In addition, get people in the audience to sing along as well as come on stage to sing and do hilarious things. Finally, bring the crowd to their feet with world class vocal skills -- ALL IN ONE SHOW!!!
what is "dueling pianos" and it's history.
The literal definition of dueling pianos can be verified as early as the late 1890s, when ragtime piano players would actually "duel" in an effort to see who could play better and faster. In 1933 Pat O'Brien's opened in New Orleans, It was where 2 piano players would entertain the crowd on copper-topped baby grand pianos. Players would take turns singing songs requested by the audience, written on cocktail napkins.
In 1986, a piano bar called "Alley Cats" opened in Dallas as an attempt to copy the piano bar style of New Orleans. Players at this club started redefining the style of dualing pianos by playing more contemporary rock and roll music, coupled with humorous bits that involved lyric substitutions and audience participation. These "bits" would become commonplace at many dueling piano bars over the years, as a staple of the industry. From there, many dueling piano bars and chains opened, and there are currently well over 200 different bars across the United States, and even more in other countries.
The name of the concept has also " evolved to be called "sing along" since THE GOAL OF THE PLAYERS IS NOT GENERALLY TO WORK AGAINST EACH OTHER ( so why need 2 ?)--but rather to gain audience participation with singing and clapping etc..." This is widely accepted as the current incarnation of "dueling pianos.
Current definition of "dueling pianos"
- Is 2 people sitting at baby grand pianos (usually replicas with an electronic keyboard inside) facing each other, taking requests from the audience, then taking turns trying to perform the songs requested.
- It often involves trying to get the audience to sing along with their favorite songs of all styles, plus some comedy along the way.
- Then in the last few years people were getting very bored with hearing iconic riffs and their favorite songs try to be plucked out on piano for the duration of the entire performance.
- So- most of the acts (when they can afford it) have turned to adding drums and guitars, thus turning the "dueling pianos" into a band. If they can't bring the additional players, you are stuck listening to JUST PIANO all night.
- IF the piano players are really good, it’s a display of vocal, musical, and entertainment ability. There are some really good "piano players", but very few entertainers and even fewer great singers. Spike posses ALL three abilities. You’ll be amazed at how much he sounds like the artists he emulates.
Summary
Half of Dueling Pianos show is All the IMPACT of full dueling piano for HALF THE PRICE! The audience is the other dueling half! People dance, get on stage and sing to sing along songs like "Baby Got Back"or tell jokes. Spike uses comedy plus gets the whole audience to sing along to songs like "Brown Eyed Girl" and become "THE OTHER HALF"... This is especially fun as corporate entertainment, wedding entertainment, college entertainment, dueling piano bar entertainment, special events or just to party.