We had a FUNtastic time last week getting to help so many towns and companies celebrate the holidays with our FUN PIANOS dueling pianos show. This season is a wonderful opportunity to give generously of our time, talents and gifts to people that are less fortunate than ourselves. We have also been a part of some amazing fundraisers for communities as well as private fundraisers for individuals dealing with unimaginable circumstances.  We feel grateful to be able to be a part of making the holidays FUN and memorable for everyone.

Fun Pianos was the entertainment for a fundraiser held in Kankakee, IL last week. We don’t always get to hear about the outcome of the fundraiser, but this time, we were sent the following review:

” The show was great. Not one person had a bad time…all are talking about doing it again…
Thank you for all your help. The guys were so much fun … and (The tips they generated for this fundraiser) went to a young lady here in town who was waiting for a heart. Guess what, she was called that day for a heart and had surgery the next day.
So thanks again, I think you’ll hear from us again.”

We are so proud to have been a part of helping to save that woman’s life. We want to wish that young lady a quick recovery and hope that she lives a long life filled with FUN!

Fun Pianos by 176 Keys Dueling Pianos is a FUN way to make your FUNdraiser a HUGE success. Contact us to find out more information.

Fun Pianos by 176 Keys Dueling Pianos has never been accused of being too quiet! As a matter of fact… we like to have so much FUN, we can hardly contain it. We are taking our show to 15 different events in the next 4 days! We are going to haul out the “jolly” in everyone! Check out some fun facts about “Silent night”…

Silent Night (1818)

Words: Josef Mohr
Music: Franz Xaver Gruber
Arguably the world’s most popular Christmas carol comes in several different translations from the German original. It started out as a poem by the Austrian Catholic priest Father Josef Mohr in 1816. Two years later, Mohr was curate at the parish church of St Nicola in Oberndorf when he asked the organist and local schoolteacher Franz Xaver Gruber to put music to his words.

An unreliable legend has it that the church organ had been damaged by mice, but whatever the reason, Gruber wrote it to be performed by two voices and guitar. It was first performed at midnight mass on Christmas Eve 1818, with Mohr and Gruber themselves taking the solo voice roles.

Its fame eventually spread (allegedly it has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects) and it famously played a key role in the unofficial truce in the trenches in 1914 because it was one of the only carols that both British and German soldiers knew.

– http://www.historyextra.com/feature/christmas-songs-oldest-ones-are-best

We don’t often get requests for our dueling pianos to play Carols anytime other than Christmas.

According to WhyChristmas.com, “Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these were not Christmas Carols. They were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced round stone circles (The word carol originally meant to dance to something). The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, usually taking place around the 22nd December. The word Carol actually means dance or a song of praise and joy! Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has really survived.”

Actually, after that explanation… I stand corrected. We get asked to play ALL kinds of Carols, we just call them anthems or oldies or ballads. There are always those songs that take us back to another time in our lives. We can remember the first time we heard the song. The first time we danced to it, and the first time we laughed / cried during it. They make us want to dance and be happy. I know I have a few. Whatever your favorite Carol is… whether it is Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” or Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” we hope to hear requests from everyone at our shows. We are here to put MORE FUN in your day!

“The year 1709 is the one most sources give for the appearance of aninstrument which can truly be called a “Pianoforte.” The writer Scipione Maffei wrote an article that year about the pianoforte created by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1732), who had probably produced four “gravicembali col piano e forte” or harpsichords with soft and loud. This instrument featured the first real escapement mechanism and is often called a “hammer harpsichord.” The small hammers were leather covered. It had bichords throughout, and all the dampers were wedge-shaped. By 1726 he seems to have fitted a stop for the action to make the hammers strike only one of two strings. He had produced about twenty pianos by this time and then he is presumed to have gone back to making harpsichords, probably from the lack of interest in his pianos. Three of his pianos remain extant today: one with four octaves, dated 1720, is in NewYork; one with four and a half octaves, from 1726, is in Leipzig, Germany; and there is one in Rome from 1722. There are approximately ten plucked instruments surviving today with the name Cristofori on them.” – www.piano-tuners.org

I wonder if that piano can hold a tune? In all seriousness, though, the piano has been used to entertain and educate people for a very long time. At Fun Pianos by 176 Keys Dueling Pianos, we keep that tradition alive by giving our clients the most entertaining show possible. We love that we can share our joy of music and FUN with you!

We are taking our dueling pianos show to the Wild Rose Casino in Emmetsburg, IA on Saturday November 29th. Come and see what makes us the BEST dueling piano show in the country. We let the audience run the show… seriously… our show is totally request driven. We love to get people up on their feet and dancing and singing right along with us.

Don’t miss this show…. for anyone that has been to our shows in the past, we would LOVE to have you back. Since we do not have a set list prepared… no two shows are the same. Details on how to purchase tickets are on our FaceBook events page. You can click HERE to get information on the event. Share the event with your friends and make it a group night out!

What is Thanksgiving like at your house? Does the aroma of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie hang in the air all day leading up to the dinner feast? Do you make multiple trips to the airport to pickup friends and family that have come to celebrate with you? Are you one of the brave souls that inhales dinner and runs out the door to be one of the first people through the doors of the Black Friday sales?…. (which are now starting on Thursday….. which means it isn’t technically a Black Friday sale….. but, you get the idea.)

Timeanddate.com has this to say about Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday in the United States since 1863.  There are claims that the first Thanksgiving Day was held in the city of El Paso, Texas in 1598. Another early event was held in 1619 in the Virginia Colony. Many people trace the origins of the modern Thanksgiving Day to the harvest celebration that the Pilgrims held in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. However, their first true thanksgiving was in 1623, when they gave thanks for rain that ended a drought. These early thanksgivings took the form of a special church service, rather than a feast. In the second half of the 1600s, thanksgivings after the harvest became more common and started to become annual events. However, it was celebrated on different days in different communities and in some places there were more than one thanksgiving each year. George Washington, the first president of the United States, proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day in 1789.

We have so much to be thankful for here at Fun Pianos. We sincerely appreciate all of the referrals to your family and friends. We know that without great clients, we would not be able to continue doing what we love to do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Come on out to Nielsen Center on Wednesday night and have a blast dancing and singing with us before heading into a turkey-coma the next day. We would love for you to come see the BEST dueling piano show in the country… while at the same time, supporting a great cause. Take a break from the holiday craziness and enjoy a night out. We hope to see you there!

Even when the forecast is calling for “icky” weather, our team will be there shining bright. Our goal is to entertain and engage the audience in our dueling pianos show. No matter what Mother Nature tries to throw our way, we can always turn gloomy faces into giant grins.

Planning an event in the near future? We would love to help make it the best event you’ve hosted. People talk about our show for years… and even better…. the come back year after year. Check out the testimonials page on our site to hear how people feel about our show.

If you are in the area of Kankakee, IL tomorrow night the 22nd of November…. grab a ticket… experience the show for yourself. You will LOVE it!

We have performed our dueling pianos show in Phoenix AZ where they have giant dust storms called haboobs. We have also performed our dueling pianos show in Buffalo NY… where they have “lake effect” snow storms. Thankfully, we have not been caught in either one of these weather phenomenons.  We continue to keep Erie County NY and the surrounding areas in our thoughts, as they brace for more snow over the next few days.

 South Buffalo, NY                  Phoenix, AZ

The rafters were shaking in the Minden Opera House in Minden NE on November 15th, 2014. We hit a high note or two ourselves… but not the kind you think of when you hear Opera in the show title. Our dueling pianos team had the entire place on their feet and dancing. We had a great time!

We aren’t afraid to perform “outside the box.” Actually, we aren’t really afraid to perform INSIDE the box… If that’s what you are looking for. We love to bring joy and laughter to everyone at our shows. Check out our testimonials page and see how we brought the best dueling pianos show to so many others! Click on the “Contact us” tab to see how we can bring the same show to you!

As the snow continues to fall in these areas, we are thinking of all of our fans (current and future) who are suffering through this major snow storm. We are hoping that you all travel safe (if you absolutely have to) and stay warm.

If you are snowed in, feel free to watch our YouTube channel for video reviews and some snippets of our show.

If you really want to stay warm….. put on some music, turn it up loud and dance! Have a dance party with your family, or all by yourself. Either way…. it keeps the blood moving and helps keep you warm while the snow falls outside.  All of us here at Fun Pianos by 176 Keys Dueling Pianos send sunshine and happiness your way!

That’s right…. we are booking well into next year. (Not to say we don’t have room for you…. Check with us and see!) Our client in Norfolk, NE loves our show so much that they have asked us back next year… which will make it our 3rd time entertaining for the Bright Horizons fundraiser! We really appreciate our return clients…. we must be doing something right. Find out for yourself!

If you have an event, fundraiser or wedding that is coming up in the next year, give us a call and we would be more than happy to give your guests the best dueling pianos show they will ever PARTICIPATE in.

We love being able to help organizations raise money for great causes. Over the next 2 days, we will be in Waterloo IA, Vero Beach FL, Genoa IL, Nokomis IL, Audubon IA, performing at fundraisers.

For anyone wanting to check out our show, and support a great cause, check out the upcoming Public Shows column to right, on this page.

If you are part of an organization and are looking for something engaging and exceptional to entertain your guests during a fundraiser, give us a call! We would love for you to see how we can help you hit your fundraising goals.

This Veteran’s Day, Fun Pianos dueling piano show would like to say “Thank You” to all of the men and women who have served or are serving this great country. We admire the sacrifices you have made. You have been willing to give everything, (and many have) for your country and all the people that call this place home, even though most of us are complete strangers to you. With respect and sincerity, for all you do, and all you have done….. Thank you.

How do you keep almost 200 guests entertained and engaged? YOU don’t have to worry about that…. Just leave it to us. Our team made it seem effortless, (which is what makes them so amazing at their craft,) and had the entire crowd participating. That’s what we do…. we help put on memorable events that people will talk about for days, months and even years to come.

Thank you Seneca, KS for the opportunity to share the “Best Dueling Piano Show” with you!

Have an upcoming event? Contact us today for information on how you have the “Best Dueling Piano Show EVER!”

www.FunPianos.com
FunPianos@GMail.com
888-539-7176

While the weather is cooling off, we are heating up Atkinson NE, Seneca KS and Marshalltown IA.

Our shows in Seneca KS and Marshalltown IA are public. Hope to see you there!

The show in Atkinson NE is a private affair this time, but watch for announcements of public shows in the future.

11/4/14 Omaha, NE review

Fun Pianos! by 176 Keys beats regular dueling pianos in a vote of fans!

Click on the link to see our happy clients cast their appreciation for the interactive energy that is Fun Pianos!…even on a Tuesday…ELECTION Tuesday!

Who says a crowd can’t get excited on a weeknight? Not our clients. Here is our client from last night in Topeka KS.

141016 KS TOP JT SR

For years we have taken great pride in being able to fill just about any date on just about any notice, and always with a high-quality show without using players from the “freelance pool”.

So it is with both pride and sorrow I announce that for the big first two weekends (Friday and Saturday) of December, we are simply fully booked. We can’t book any more. If we could recommend anyone, they’d be on our staff. By that logic, there is no longer a dueling pianos show of any quality available December 5, 6, 12 or 13 anywhere in the country.

Well…EXCEPT TEXAS! (And maybe some of Oklahoma).

TEXAS, we have an opening on Saturday December 6 AND Friday December 12. If you’re near Dallas, we’ll give you a GREAT deal!

Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio…you’re the only ones in the country that can still get a great dueling pianos show during the coveted first two weekends of December.

So contact Fun Pianos at www.funpianos.com or funpianos@gmail.com and get one of these two dates…before the next person that reads this gets it!