Happy New Year!

  I have been so sick this winter!  Living in Utah, the inversion has been causing respiratory problems for most of us in the valley and I keep picking up viruses.  But I figure, as it is now March, I should probably post some photos form the beginning of the year.  Here's the New Year's party from the Keys on Main dueling piano show!

 

THE PIANIST:

GEORGE

 

KENDRICK

ERIC

And everyone's favorite bartender, Benny.

This is what the place looks like at midnight:

...aaaaaand this is what it looked like after the party.

CLICK HERE to see the whole gallery from that night

Happy New Year everyone!!

Dueling Pianos

  My sister's in town this week!  So, we took her to the dueling pianos at Keys on Main last night.  I love going there on week nights because everything's just a little more relaxed.

Now, in the story of my life: before there was photography, there was music.  I've always needed an artistic outlet, and I've sung all my life and played most every instrument at some point.  I actually studied Music Education at BYU.  Here's the thing, though:  I grew up listening to jazz, classical, my mom's favorite music (usually stuff from the 40's), and occasionally my sister's music in the car.  So, my knowledge of music theory might be strong, but my the song I actually recognize???  Well, my repertoire has definitely been lacking.  So it is amazing to just sit in a piano bar on Wednesday night and hear a huge variety of different styles and songs all with insanely talented musicians and a friendly bartender to serve our non-alcoholic drinks :)  I'm learning new songs, enjoying the music and the emotion... Very little compares to good live music.  And I was excited to get some cool photos last night.

There was an awesome saxaphone player!

And my two favorite pianists.  First, Kendrick.  This guy is an entertainer.  Along with many other wonderful songs of course, he managed to successfully and impressively sing Lady Ga Ga's "Poker Face" last night.  And the crowd went wild!

Then there's Rich Wyman.  When I first heard him sing, I just sat there with my jaw dropped.  He has such a unique style in his voice with so much passion for the music, it's contagious!  He has released several albums of original work and also recently released one called "Songs I Wish I Wrote."  It's my new favorite "I've been sitting at a computer editing for too long and I'm going crazy" music.  Refreshing and motivating, full of emotion.  I love it!

Check out his website

Buy his original music on itunes

Or his new album on CD Baby

I loved how the lighting worked in these shots too.  Perfect atmosphere!

Check out more photos from this evening at Keys on Main HERE

Karaoke

When Thomas and I met, we were swing dancing like it was a part time job - 15+ hours a week.  And it was awesome!  Somewhere along the road, though, we turned into boring... err... "responsible"... adults.  I had health problems, he got a full time job with an investment firm, then I got a business that grew much faster than my social life could handle.  We haven't exactly gone dancing much over the last few years...  But a couple months ago we vowed to be fun people again!  Yay!  Discovered a dueling piano bar in Salt Lake called Keys on Main.  As long as the crowd doesn't get too rowdy, it is an awesome venue.  And better yet, they have karaoke on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Some nights it's a lot of drunk people singing and they might have beautiful voices, but it's hard to tell because they're a little out of control.  Sometimes they get great talent on stage!  This night, one of the best songs was definitely Thomas's "Come Together" by the Beatles.  Every girl (and guy!  Might have picked up a few admirers) in the room had eyes on him.

Holli and David (remember them?  We did their wedding a while back, then family photos) also went with us.  Let me know if anyone else wants to go next time, the more the merrier!

And I look like a crazy person in this photo below, but my mouth is making the shape for the beginning of the word "Love."  When I was a little kid, we used to blast my mom's CD (or maybe it was a tape back then, I'm not sure!) to Linda Ronstadt's "It's so Easy to Fall in Love" and sing it at the top of our lungs.  What I didn't remember when I requested this song at karaoke is that the reason we knew that song so well as kids is because it was so darn repetitive.  I think I must've sang the phrase "It's so easy" 100 times in the song!  So they teased me a little bit when I sat back down - "How easy is it to fall in love?" but it's all in fun.  That's what karaoke is about, isn't it?

 

"Thank you very much, we'll be here all week"