Peacocked Pianos

Pianos come in variety of colours. You've got your black satin finish, shiny black polyester (most new pianos), natural wood finish, white (not so popular these days, but was cool at least when Garth Brooks played one, paint splashing on the keys and seeping from his pant legs).

A well-made piano is already a work of art, but some manufacturers go further, releasing one-of-a-kind "art case" editions. What do you think of these?

Clocks instead of legs? Finally! Only problem is you'll want to play every piece at 60 beats per minute... But never mind that. This one-of-a-kind Steinway can be yours for just 2.5 million dollars (USD. That was your next question, wasn't it?)

The harder something is to move, the better is sounds. This must have been the thinking behind this Bosendorfer, which supported by an aviary of bronze peacocks (with top bird perched on the music desk). How many peacocks can you spot?

Here's a more dressed-down nineteenth-century Steinway. Naked children hold up the piano. Why not? These days you can hardly tear them from their iPhones.

This Steinway D was hand painted by Haida artist Jay Simeon using acrylic made from ground argillite, a stone found exclusively on Haida Gwaii. It's not Sunshine Coast, but the North Coast is close enough for me to show a little West Coast bias and declare this my favourite art case piano. I saw it in person at Tom Lee music. I didn't get a chance to play it before being politely ushered out by the salesperson, who accurately sensed my eight-year-old nephew and I weren't really in the market for a new Steinway D.

You may not have a one-of-a-kind art case luxury-brand piano, but whatever your piano, it can sound better with regular maintenance, such as tuning once or twice per year. I am happy to tune your Craiglist freebie or 2.5 million dollar art case Steinway--all pianos go out of tune! Whether you live in Gibsons, Sechelt, Garden Bay or Powell River, contact me by phone or email to book a tuning today.

Oh, and in case you're now trying to think of the name of that Garth Brooks song ... "The Red Strokes." For a trip down mid-nineties memory lane, you can watch the video here. I gotta say, twenty-three years after the video's release, the whole thing strikes me as a little gory. What do you think?

Garth Brooks - The Red Strokes (1994)