Shake, rattle and roll…
The Rotary Club of Cochrane is bringing a little glitz and glam, Vegas-style, to Ducks on the Roof sports pub Feb. 14-15 with a two-night ‘Dueling Pianos’ event.
Doors will swing open at 7 p.m., with an 8:30 p.m. start that will see dueling pianists, Todd Dunnigan and Van Walraven, belting out classic favourites tried, tested and true to bring audience members to their feet.
All proceeds from ticket sales and performers’ tip jars go back into the Cochrane community, through various projects supported by the service club, with five dollars from each ticket sale going toward the local Big Hill West 4H Club.
“Based on feedback from last year, we anticipate many return attendees, while taking the event to the next level with two nights instead of one and an improved, larger venue at Ducks on the Roof with great food and beverage service available all evening…” explained event chair and 20-year Rotarian, Carter Nagel.
While last year’s event raised some $5,000, Nagel said the club anticipates to surpass this amount with the newer, larger venue and a two-night structure; last year’s event was held at the Frank Wills Memorial Hall.
Todd Dunnigan has 17 years in as a dueling pianist, joining the ranks of an estimated 400-500 dueling pianists worldwide.
When he’s not busy tickling the ivories, the father of two is furthering his craft as a singer/songwriter/guitar teacher/session musician.
“Most musicians have to do a lot of different things,” said Dunnigan.
“With dueling pianos, our goal first and foremost is to make sure the audience is having fun. While I may not always feel like playing “Sweet Caroline” or “Piano Man” what I never ever get tired of is the smile on peoples’ faces when I play those songs.”
As far as entertainment is concerned, dueling pianos is nothing short of high energy. Born out of New Orleans in the late 1800s, dueling pianos is based on the performance of 2-4 players ‘dueling’ to see who could play better and faster.
The concept has involved to include a great deal of audience participation, from sing-a-longs to fill-in-the-blank and competition games.
Popular requests include tunes written by artists such as Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Elton John, Van Morrison and Queen; renditions on classical pieces, popular TV jingles and the likes of “Dueling Banjos” are also hammered out.
“Van and I bring a couple of different things to the table — it’s best to play across from someone who has different strengths than you,” said Dunnigan, adding that while he and Walraven have collaborated countless times over the years, it’s also common to perform with fellow duelers he’s never met before the show.
While dueling pianos is a regular entertainment feature at any given night on the Las Vegas strip, Dunnigan said it’s a thrill to perform for Canadian audiences full with many who have never before since the entertainment genre.
“The Canadian audiences are so fun and so generous,” said Dunnigan, warning his future audience that when it comes to requests, “it takes a lot to stump me.”
The performers play Slam Grand Pianos, where electric pianos instead of stringed ones fill the shell; learn more at duelingpianos2go.com.
Tickets to ‘Dueling Pianos: live from Las Vegas’ are $40 in advance and $50 at the door.
Tickets are available through any Cochrane Rotarian; at the Raymond James and Nagel Law Building or by contacting Carter Nagel at [email protected] or 888-308-9698; tickets are also available at Mountain View Optometry or by contacting at [email protected] or 403-850-9470.
