KPLU Local News
(2010-08-15)
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Photo by Camille Dohrn
A street performer uses a hula hoop in his act, along with a variety of props, as he performs in Pike Place Market.
The piano looked a little lonely - against a brick wall, outside the entrance to the downtown library in Everett. It's painted blue and a bright orangey red and for a while, it wasn't getting much more than a quick glance.
But then 19-year-old Zack Shepherd -- lanky and wearing loose jeans --walked over and found refuge.
He's asked if he had been on his way to the library to check out a book.
"Nah, I was on the computer and then came out for a cigarette and decided to play," he replies.
He explains his music: "Just random notes that come to my head." And he says he's going to keep coming back to play on the piano. "Every day 'til they're gone."
A different scene, a different piano just up the street, gives voice to professional musician Vladimir Sanchez from Cuba.
He was walking past the Mermaid cafe when a piano - this one with black and white striped legs - invited him to play.
The music entertained customers dining outside and pedestrians no longer heard just the buzz of traffic or the occasional seagull.
And just like that, the pianos served their purpose: engage, build community and communicate.
There are eight pianos, eight musical beacons, throughout downtown Everett. The city already has a thriving public art scene - walk the sidewalks and you''ll run into bronze statues of children, as well as a giant yellow pear.
Still, the pianos offer a different kind of street art, says library director Eileen Simmons.
"There are a lot of statues around but they just invite you to look at them. They don't invite you to sit down and interact with them," Simmons says.
Everett's piano project - called Street Tunes -- is credited to Luke Jerram, a British artist who first placed a piano in a laundromat in Birmingham in 2008.
He wanted to spark interaction as well as conversation. According to his "Play Me I'm Yours" website, Jerram's since placed close to 300 pianos in 11 cities all over the world.
Everett officials heard about the project.
"It's been done in Europe quite a bit," says Carol Thomas, cultural arts manager for the city of Everett. The city bought seven sad-looking pianos from a warehouse.
"They were on their last musical legs. They were Scarred, discolored and stained. But they were all in playable condition, which was our only requirement," she says.
The eighth piano was donated.
The city then asked eight local artists to give the instruments a new look. The only parameter was that the pianos not be too heavy to move.
The artists took many different paths. Thomas: "One is Northwest scenery and has a very serene look and feel to it. Another is like a mandala, very colorful and geometric shapes. Another one looks like a leopard. You can see the mouth and the teeth and the tongue."
The eight pianos are located in various locations: outside eateries, the bus and Amtrak depot, an arena. These locations mean the pianos attract a wide cross-section of people: from kids to the unemployed; from skilled musicians to those who don't know the difference between a B and a C flat.
At the Mermaid Cafe, the special item is no longer just six different kinds of quiche. On the first day of the piano project, Caf owners text messaged friends and urged them to swing by.
The piano ended up reuniting a pair of former co-workers who bonded while playing a duet.
Christy Browning showed Kelly Mitchell how to play "Heart and Soul."
Mitchell is not a piano player.
"Nooo. Not in the least!" she says.
And how does she feel about just having played publically in the streets of Everett?
"I'm embarrassed about it," she says.
A few blocks over, outside the children's museum, 7-year-old Brian Clough wasn't embarrassed - he just needed dad's help with his sheet music.
"See, that's where you put it. OK. Try that," Dad says.
It was Brian's first time ever playing outdoors - and that was pretty cool, dad said. The plan was to bring Brian's sister here, after her swim lessons finished. And then hunt around for the rest of the pianos.
The pianos will remain on the streets through Aug. 25, 2010. Then they'll be stored for the winter and return next summer.
Florangela Davila KPLU News.
Map and photos of all 8 pianos in Everett's "Street Tunes" project.
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