Comments on: Coffee Emporium

By: Carol Hackman

Carol Hackman — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 17:18:30 +0000

I was the last person to play this one before the took it away to deliver it to one of the schools…………they were unhooking the bench from the piano before I even got off the bench! A few people from work had come down to hear me play that day and within the time my boss went into the Coffee Emporium and returned, the piano was already put in the moving truck and gone! Sorry to see the pianos go away.

By: Sharon Down

Sharon Down — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:48:22 +0000

Sadness. The pianos downtown are all gone. I still played a piano every day until yesterday, which is quite an accomplishment. Will check Sawyer Point this afternoon after work, but I doubt it will still be there.

By: Dale Johnson

Dale Johnson — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:02:34 +0000

Played this one the other day. Right out up front location, and a pretty nice piano.

I’ll be sorry to see it go. I had some appreciative comments.

By: Carol Hackman

Carol Hackman — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 02:16:50 +0000

Having the painted pianos around town was an awesome idea. It has done just what Luke Jerram intended it to do………get people talking to each other. Since I’ve been going around town playing some of them, I’ve conversed with a number of people and even found some new places to eat, etc. Everyone has been so friendly and appreciative of the music I’m playing. Most of the time I play in my apartment where only my neighbors can hear me, so getting out to entertain others has been a real pleasure. There have been a couple times in the past where I would see someone playing an instrument on a street corner, and I would think wouldn’t it be nice if I could play my piano out in public like that? When I heard about the painted pianos coming to Cincinnati, I thought well now I get my chance to play on a street corner!! Thanks to Luke Jerram for coming up with the idea and thanks to Cincinnati Public Radio for bringing this to our city. We need to do this again!

By: Betty Payne and Peggy Schmidt

Betty Payne and Peggy Schmidt — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:21:24 +0000

“Stay off my Middle C,” the only sounds of discord as Peggy S. and Betty P. share the keys for duets with attitude and accessories at Coffee Emporium

By: Betty Payne and Peggy Schmidt

Betty Payne and Peggy Schmidt — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:06:03 +0000

Duets with Accessories at Coffee Emporium . Peggy and Betty (“GUC alumni) added cream (and costume pieces) to their musical coffees, taking turns being “Primo, ” or “Secondo.” Old friends, new friends and 2 Italian greyhounds enjoyed the open sounds of Beethoven, Chopin, and others.

By: Sharon Down

Sharon Down — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:21:42 +0000

The coolest thing about this one, other than being #41 on the list, is finding a new lunch venue that is not all that far from my work. Great frosty drinks, too. This piano was the one at the Freedom Center, but it was in much better shape when I played it there the first week. As Jeremy noted, the G string was not damping properly (or at all.) I tried to play things that would make that not quite so annoying.

My husband and I will definitely be back for lunch sometime after all this is over. If nothing else, this project is great for getting people to get out and explore their city.

Now I have to decide if I really want to hit the last piano tonight. Something about the symmetry of hitting all the pianos within the month of August is appealing to me, but part of me wants to drag it out a little longer. I’ve had so much fun with this; I really don’t want it to be over.

By: Jeremy Stevenson

Jeremy Stevenson — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:04:48 +0000

Fortieth spot on the tour (two to go!)…the Coffee Emporium coffeehouse on Central Parkway. This piano used to be at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The piano wasn’t bad, though the G below Middle C wouldn’t dampen properly. I had never been to this coffeehouse until now; it’s very nice! Piano or not, I’ll have to come back. Had a few onlookers, but I learned (after I went in to order a drink) that the piano is somewhat audible within the building, so everyone hanging out inside could hear it.

Below is some footage of me just sort of fooling around on the piano here…this is what I normally do when I sit down at a piano these days. Nothing planned, nothing practiced, just random stuff. The first piece is an old ballad called “Gone With the Wind,” and I sort of move into “Little Coquette,” which I posted earlier in a more complete form. Forgive me, I space out a couple of times during “Gone With the Wind.” I wasn’t concentrating well because my two-year old son was about to have a meltdown, and I was going on three-hours’ worth of sleep. No biggie, this is just for fun!

By: Dale Johnson

Dale Johnson — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:38:08 +0000

I played very quickly this morning; another really nice piano to play, which is good, because the coffe house patrons are Right there.

Really in good shape overall,

By: Installation Team

Installation Team — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 01:51:44 +0000

A patron of the Coffee Emporium sat down as soon as the piano was installed.