What is "Dueling Pianos"?
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Way back when...
Dueling Pianos has its roots in the city of New Orleans. By most accounts, it began at the legendary Pat O'Brien's on Bourbon St. in the 1930s or 1940s. The concept was indeed of two pianists "dueling" with each other to showcase their skills, and to compete with each other for the crowd's attention, involvement, and ultimately their tips! At that time, the crowd showed their approval by throwing coins at the pianos, forcing the management to cover the pianos with copper sheets to protect the wooden instruments. Thankfully for the health of all within throwing range, inflation has made this practice obsolete! (Folding money is much more benign, and less likely to put somebody's eye out.) In the beginning, the music mainly consisted of bluegrass, dixieland, and big band standards.
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Oh the times, they are a'changing...
In 1986, a group of musicians decided to try to recreate the Pat O'Brien's magic with a bar in Dallas, TX called "Alley Cats." After a short time of playing in the format of Pat O'Brien's, the decision was made to revamp the concept. The musical repertoire shifted to Rock'n'Roll, with a bit of Country music as well. Rather than "dueling" with each other, the pianists became a team, collaborating on singing, playing, and getting the crowd involved in the show. They added "novelty" songs, known as "bits," began the practice of "call-downs" where people celebrating special occasions are called to the stage and roasted, and "showtimes," where the staff leads the audience in a fun and silly dance. These innovations made the concept of "Dueling Pianos" take off. Soon individual clubs and even chains were opening up across the USA.
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The State of the Union...
Dueling Pianos is such a popular phenomenon now that it seems every city has to have a Dueling Pianos Bar. Unfortunately, it takes a great deal of time and extensive training to become an effective entertainer in this genre. To cut corners, many clubs simply hire one good entertainer and several mediocre or untrained musicians, hoping that nobody will know the difference. As a result, there are many Dueling Piano bars around the nation that have a very poor talent pool, leading to a bad impression of what Dueling Pianos is all about. Thankfully, there are some clubs that seek very actively to buck this trend, refusing to hire any entertainer not skilled enough to meet the high demands of the dueling world.
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Hey Mr., I've got an inside tip for you...
Dueling Pianos is an "all-request" format, meaning that the audience dictates the musical content of the show. This is done by the audience writing down their request (request slips are generally provided on each table), and bringing it to one of the pianists. How quickly the song is played is determined by the size of the tip; if the song has a very generous tip, it might get performed immediately! But if it has either a small tip or none, the entertainer may decide to hold off on doing that song for an unspecified amount of time, placing other songs ahead of it. Untipped songs are often referred to as "suggestions," rather than "official requests." The song is not ignored, it's just not considered a high priority - the rationale being that the more urgently a person wants to hear a song, the larger a tip they will put with it. Exceptions can be made to this, of course; it's a guideline, not a rule. But you will generally see the songs performed in the order of tip size. Also, if the song is exceptionally difficult (like "Bohemian Rhapsody"), lengthy (like "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"), or if you ask a male performer to sing a very feminine song (like "Redneck Woman" or "Like a Virgin"), be prepared to tip well or the performer may simply decline and offer you your money back.
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Sing us a song, you're the Piano Man...
Since it is an "all-request" format, people sometimes get confused as to what songs to ask for. "Do they know old Jazz tunes?" "Can I get the latest rap songs?" "Do they know songs from great albums that were never released on the air?"
The answer to all of these is possibly, but probably not. The idea of Dueling Pianos is much like the old campfire sing-along. You want a song that everybody in the room knows, that is fun, upbeat, great to clap your hands to and sing at the top of your lungs to the chorus. Between Cody and Jess, the Mountaintop Musicians can field over 2,000 different song selections. But that doesn't mean they know every song ever written. And many songs simply aren't appropriate, no matter how great they may be. A perfect example of this is "Wasted Time," by the Eagles. It was on one of the highest selling records of all time, "Hotel California." It's beautiful, and poetic, deep and meaningful. But it's not a song that everybody will hear and immediately want to cheer along, clap along, and sing to. So what kind of tunes are appropriate? Here's a small list of ideas - you don't have to ask for these specific songs, of course, but they should give you an idea of the right types of songs:
1960s
- Runaway by Del Shannon
- Runaround Sue by Dion
- My Girl by The Temptations
- (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones
- I'm a Believer by The Monkees (or Neil Diamond, or Smashmouth...)
- Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel
- Hey Baby by Bruce Channel
- I Saw Her Standing There by The Beatles
1970s
- Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen
- Bad, Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Croce
- Take It Easy by The Eagles
- Bennie and the Jets by Elton John
- Down on the Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival
- The Joker by The Steve Miller Band
- Country Roads by John Denver
- Play That Funky Music, White Boy by Wild Cherry
1980s
- Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
- Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
- I Love Rock and Roll by Joan Jett
- Don't You Want Me by The Human League
- Hurt So Good by John Mellencamp
- Come On, Eileen by Dexie's Midnight Runners
- Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams
- Tainted Love by Soft Cell
We also do songs from the 1990s and some currently on the radio, but the newer the song, the less likely it is everybody will know it and want to sing along.
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It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to...
So, you're celebrating a special occasion with your friends, and you go to the piano bar. There's a group of you, and you want to make night memorable for your friend's birthday (or bachelorette party, or anniversary, or whatever the occasion may be). What do you do? Write his or her name down on a request slip, along with what occasion he or she is celebrating, and take it up to the pianos. If at all possible, they'll call your friend up to the stage and sing them a wildly inappropriate and embarrassing song!
*note: if you're in a hurry, or REALLY want them embarrassed, see above section on tipping.
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How low can you go? How low can you go?
If you've traveled to piano bars across the nation, you'll find that there's a wide spectrum of so-called "blue" or dirty material. There are different philosophies on this, and what works in one bar may not work in another. Elaine's is one of the cleaner Dueling Piano bars in the nation, for several reasons. The most important is the clientele; The Grove Park Inn caters to a more sophisticated and upscale individual than many downtown bars and clubs. What may be appropriate at other places is considered gauche and tasteless here. While neither Cody nor Jess has any problems being risque when it is called for, they both feel it possible to be funny and entertaining without being filthy and crude. Therefore, there are certain songs heard in other clubs that are simply not going to be performed at Elaine's. The lack of base humor has not kept anybody from having an absolutely great time - if you don't believe it, come out and listen!
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