The Power of a Piano

A Few Notes Changes the Tune

It was around 1995 or it might’ve been a little later. Dukey started a new acting class with Tom Todoroff in Santa Monica, California. Dukey didn’t know anyone in his class so he kind of kept his mouth shut the first few weeks and acted basically normal. 

There was a upright piano on the stage that some people used in their skits. By this time in his life Dukey had a list of maybe ten to fifteen stupid obnoxious things he could do when tickling the ivory. There was a break in the action as they were setting up for a new scene. Dukey went up to the stage, sat down, and started his routine click for a video! The class which included maybe thirty to fifty people dropped their jaws, and The Duke got a standing ovation along with a lot of laughter. Not such a big deal, Duke’s been doing these kinds of things at many parties and bars throughout the years. 

The kicker is that some guy came up to Dukey and told him he was a concert pianist and has been studying the piano his whole life. He told Dukey that there is no way that he could do something like that. He said that kind of entertainment is insane, and he wished he had that kind of product to deliver or something along that line. All of a sudden Dukey had many friends in his new acting class. Go figure!

No Keyboard Help Wanted

Tossed but Bounced Back

There are two other quick piano stories you can probably add to The end of this one. 

Pam and Dukey went to see Ray Manzarek, the keyboard player from The Doors. It was 1978 and they were in a cool bar underneath Copley Liquors in Copley Square, Boston. They have no idea what the name of the place was. 

They were pretty connected because they worked in the liquor store above and would go down the back stairs and sneak in. On the night Ray played, he took a break and Dukey proceeded up to the stage and turned on his keyboard and started playing the Munsters theme. The crowd was laughing before he was grabbed by the seat of his pants and thrown out. 

Pam and Dukey waited about a half hour and snuck down the back stairs again and watched the end of the concert.  

How Crazy Can He Be?

Exposing the Bottom of the Subject

Sometimes Dukey forgets how crazy he can be, so he asked around for stories about himself. Dukey did not remember this episode until someone refreshed his memory.

There was a bunch of them at some bar in Santa Monica where a pretty decent piano player was playing. During his break — here we go again — Dukey went up to the piano and started doing his madness. Dukey was facing a wall and some girl behind me said, “Hey you have a nice bottom.” Well, she didn’t use the word “bottom.” 

Dukey stopped playing and dropped his drawers just below his cheeks and continued to play for the rest of his gig to a laughing pile of people. Some memories are better forgotten.