Over the Rhine Tour Diary, December 19, 2014, Installment 7 I’ll begin by saying we are back in Cincinnati. We have slept in our own beds for a few nights. We have had good dogs welcome us home the way only good dogs can. We have felt crisp country air on our faces. Deep breaths all around and gratitude for safe travels, health and so many good people along the way coming in out of the cold to share an evening of music. We played our penultimate show in Chicago, Monday evening. Playing Chicago in December feels like a tradition through and through. Old Town School of Folk Music is always a favorite stop. Thanks folks for the sold out love. Stuck around Tuesday afternoon to tape five songs with a cool little outfit called Audiotree. Blew out of the big city at dusk heading east. Stopped for dinner on Route 30. The lights of Cincinnati loomed around midnight. Dropped off some gear and luggage and our traveling companions – Justin, Bradley and Katie – in Cincinnati and bade each other farewell for a few short days. Karin and I pulled up to Nowhere Farm at about 1:30am. Home. Yes, it felt good to see the wagging tails, see the pile of mail on the dining room table and to fall eventually into our own bed. Slept in, made our own coffee in the French press, I headed out to run errands while Karin took the first run at getting the laundry started. The last thing on my list for the day was picking out a piano for this Saturday’s concert at The Taft Theatre in Cincinnati. We use a company called Piano Pros. Greg, the proprietor, has a huge selection of grand pianos, uprights, spinets and everything in between. They are all used pianos. And every one has a story… People have deep emotional connections to pianos. Greg told me one time that a woman put a piano on consignment that took about two years to sell. She would call every so often to check on it. When it finally sold, he called her and she began crying and eventually handed the phone to her husband. The closing of a chapter... A few years ago, I had found a Steinway that I really liked which I used for our performances with The Cincinnati Ballet etc, but Greg informed me that a Korean woman studying at The Cincinnati Conservatory found it and took it back to South Korea with her. She obviously has good taste. So I was starting over. I usually start with Steinways (they do have a reputation after all, for good reason). Each piano is completely unique – even the same models. They all have a slightly different action, tone, feel, sustain, personality. There were some beautiful instruments to be sure, and some had quite a bit of flash and fire, but after about an hour I still hadn’t quite found the right dancing partner. I’m usually looking for one with a broken heart. Finally, after playing 8 or 9 different instruments over the course of an hour, I noticed one in the corner. When I sat down it was immediately obvious that it had some imperfections, but there was something about it that made me want to linger. And the more I played the more it was like having a good conversation – one musical idea seemed to lead to the next, effortlessly. Little things were being discovered along the way. I was being drawn out. And I don’t know how to put it into words completely but it was like the piano was glad to see me. Like it needed to be played. Greg, the owner of the store, noticed a difference too I think and eventually came over. I said, I think I’m leaning toward this one. It has a loneliness about it… He smiled and looked a little surprised. Funny you should say that, he said. The woman who owns this piano inherited it from her father who passed away not long ago. She doesn’t spend much time in the USA, so she has decided to sell the instrument. But the last time she was in the country, she came in and just sat quietly with it for awhile. She wanted to see her father’s piano and just be near it. Maybe this piano misses its people. Misses being played. Misses the music. Well, we are going to make a little music with it Saturday night at The Taft Theatre in front of a few thousand good people. We’ll play this one: Whatever we’ve lost I think we’re gonna let it go Let it fall like snow ‘Cause rain and leaves and snow and tears and stars And that’s not all my friend They all fall with confidence and grace So let it fall Let it fall I think we can make this piano happy. The band of sweethearts just flew into town. We are back in the city now overlooking Fountain Square. We’ll be rehearsing the next few days. There will be six of us on stage Saturday night leaning into the harness of an evening’s worth of music. Karin and I will be joined by: Jay Bellerose: drums Jen Condos: hollow body bass Eric Heywood: pedal steel and guitar Bradley Meinerding: mandolin, guitar, dobro, harmonica, vocals And don’t miss our special guests: Lily & Madeleine. We’ll see you then. Peace like a river, love like an ocean, Linford (& Karin close by) ps Thanks to Kylie and Bradley for a few of these photos...
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 18:01:17 +0000