Come Together... right now... in New Orleans (for the 1st International Piano Bar Convention)!

Today marks the first day of the first annual International Piano Bar Convention, where piano bar entertainers and enthusiasts from around the world will "Come Together" and share knowledge, experiences, jokes – and of course – great music! And what better place to have the first Piano Bar Convention than New Orleans, where the founding concepts of Dueling Pianos originated over eight decades ago!

Literal 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, when B.H. O'Brien and Charlie Cantrell opened Pat O'Brien's Bar in New Orleans, they included a room where two 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 Dallas Alley (aka "Alley Cats") opened in Dallas, Texas as an attempt to copy the piano bar style of New Orleans. Players at this club started redefining the style of dueling 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 clubs over the years, as a staple of the industry. From there, many dueling piano clubs and chains opened, and there are currently well over 200 different clubs across the United States, and even more in other countries.

We are excited and grateful to be a part of furthering a new era of Piano Bar entertainment that is gaining popularity worldwide. Over the past decade alone, our entertainers have been fortunate to have countless opportunities to perform in piano bars, cruise ships, and all kinds of venues across the globe. With a brand new generation of talented entertainers joining a solid base of piano bar veterans, at Rock It Man Entertainment we are proud to be on the forefront of this modern phenomenon that we call Dueling Pianos.

Here's to many more decades (and hopefully centuries) of belting out the lyrics to "Piano Man", drinking to "Friends In Low Places", booty-shaking to the beat of "Baby Got Back", and of course... "not stopping believing!"

Our VOW (Video of the Week): "When Someone Tries to Sing Along With You..."

The next time you're singing your favorite anthem and someone tries to sing along with you**:

1. Stop singing
2. Shout, "NO*!" 
3. Resume singing

To see a perfect example, just watch our VOW (Video of the Week) below!

• *if Bohemian Rhapsody, shout "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"
• **DISCLAIMER: if you're a Piano Bar Entertainer, you should probably disregard Steps 2 & 3 (and just let your audience sing along... since that's part of your job description!)

#dontsteponmyvocals #antisingalong #stopsinging #no
#bohemianrhapsody #queen  
#mama #nothingreallymatters #anyonecansee
#rockitmanentertainment #duelingpianos

#dontsteponmyvocals #antisingalong #stopsinging #no
#bohemianrhapsody #queen  
#mama #nothingreallymatters #anyonecansee
#rockitmanentertainment #duelingpianos

A Day in the Life of a "Rock It Man" (traveling dueling piano entertainer)

9:00 AM - After a full 4 hours of sleep, wake up to the beautiful sound of my [generic] ringtone

9:30 AM - Attempt to go back to sleep; instead, catch up on emails and return phone calls from booking agents and prospective clients

10:00 AM - Once again attempt to go back to sleep; more emails

11:00 AM - Actually go back to sleep

11:15 AM - Wake up and pack way too much stuff for three nights on the road

11:45 AM - Order lunch (To Go) from Noodles & Company

12:00 PM - Load up the car

12:30 PM - Hit the Road; pick up lunch to go; rock out to the tunes of Anberlin, Ben Folds Five, and Led Zeppelin

4:00 PM - Make the one and only "pit stop" after holding it for too long, fill up on the gas tank

6:00 PM - Check in at hotel

6:30 PM - Skype with the wife at home, who's just winding down for bed

7:00 PM - Go to performance venue, sound check

7:30 PM - Order a ton of food, eat a few bites, box up a ton of leftovers (minus a few bites)

8:30 PM - Start the show; open with something like "Tiny Dancer", "Dock of the Bay", or in tonight's case, the theme song from "Cheers"

1:30 AM - Finish performing the final song of the night, often times "Piano Man", "Don't Stop Believing", or on nights like tonight, "Closing Time"

2:00 AM - Get back to the hotel; heat up leftovers

2:30 AM - waste time on Facebook, YouTube (Epic Rap Battles of History, Bad Lip Readings, etc.)

3:00 AM - Respond to emails and check voicemails while eating leftovers from dinner (which are now cold since they were heated up an hour ago)

3:30 AM - Attempt to sleep; instead, more Facebook & YouTube (Sad Cat Diaries, True Facts, etc.)

4:00 AM - Update website, satisfy the "munchies" with a healthy dose of potato chips & peanuts

4:30 AM - Realize that there hasn't been a new blog post in over a couple weeks; attempt to write a blog post

4:45 AM - Publish blog post

5:00 AM - Wind down to some Scripture Lullabies

5:30 AM - Hopefully begin the recharging process known as "sleep" (fingers crossed)

(REPEAT)