I played piano on the streets at night at the Paseo del Carmen and I met so many friendly and welcoming people. Last night I ran into a sax player and a flute player and we jammed for an hour and a half on some Latin tunes.
It was really very exciting.
I also got a gig for this Thursday at a restaurant!
I’ve never had that many people surrounding me at once. I was a bit nervous at first because my Spanish isnt great, but as I continued playing everything fell into place.
The people would all clap after every song and I even had 3 people ask me for my autograph, which has never happened to me before.
A few people asked me to play Frank Sinatra- New York, New York and another man asked me to play the Entertainer. I thought they were going to want to hear some latin piano, however, they seem to have the same tastes in music as the people back in New York.
My standard of living had increased dramatically since I’ve been in Guatemala.
I accidentally ran into a guy named Arturo on the street who needed a ride to Antigua (normally I dont give rides to strangers). I told him I was looking for a place to live and practice piano without disturbing the neighbors. It turns out that Arturo just built a house and he was looking to rent it.
I took the tour, bargained for the price and ended up getting this sweet 3 bedroom house to myself for $12 a day!
It’s fully equipped with garage, kitchen, garden, and piano room!
Its been a month since we left cold New York City.
Week 1 + Week 2:
Most of this time was spent filming in New Orleans.
We met with vocalist Meschiya Lake and pianist Tom McDermott
We also spoke with Wolf Anderson, a legendary trombone player
We met a ton of other street performers all over New Orleans
Got to enjoy the wild and crazies of Mardi Gras 2013.
Week 3 + Week 4:
We spent a lot of time driving through Texas and Mexico to get to Guatemala. With limited time, we decided to focus our time on filming the musicians of Guatemala.
The first 3 days of Guatemala were disastrous.
I got a Bacterial infection the first day,
The camera broke our first day of filming and we had to get it repaired.
My Camera man got sick and was in bed all day.
We did meet with an Indigenous Guatemalan who showed us some of Mayan culture and Marimba playing.
What’s next?
All this filming and traveling has taken a toll on me. I have a vision to find a small apartment by the beach in El Salvador for 2 weeks to unwind, meditate, and play piano all day. What do you think?
I’m about to embark on my 4th piano road trip from New York City to Panama.
I want you all to know that even if I dont reach the goal on Kickstarter, I will still be going,
BUT I wont be able to film it.
Help me out by convincing 1 person in your life to grab a copy of this documentary web series. It will certainly open up your mind to a whole new side of EARTH you’ve probably never seen before:
