11: L.A. Live, Downtown L.A.

11: L.A. Live, Downtown L.A.
Designed by: Alexander Mihaylovich
Piano type: Full upright
Playability: Fair
Weather: 60°F, cloudy
How I got here: Bicycle

If you ever want to pull a crowd at a street piano, THIS is the place to be. There were thousands of people waiting outside the Nokia Theatre to see a special screening of the latest Tyler Perry "Madea" film, as well as the multitudes who come here to eat, drink, dance, watch a concert, people-watch or take in a movie.

There was someone already at the piano playing an instrumental of Chicago's "Saturday in the Park,"
and after him there were a couple more people who got on the piano. This was my longest wait to play, but I had just as much fun listening to others play as I did playing, really.

One woman passing by recognized me from one of the churches I play at. But the story of the night was when a man in a suit leaned over to me while I was playing, opened his wallet and takes out a crisp $10 bill, and said, "Here, take it," just as I was about to give it back. He talked about how he's moved by music and waxed philosophical about life. About how he grew up poor, about how he's friends with the Mayor. He revealed to me he's Neil Leeds, the owner and CEO of Leeds Mattress Stores, Inc. That's just epic nuts!

I rarely get tips for playing music, not that I expected any during this "Play Me, I'm Yours" quest, much less a $10 tip! But I figured if I didn't accept it, I would have insulted him.

He spoke real fast, with great urgency, and in a motivational tone. He said something to the extent of, "You shouldn't be playing in here, but out there, where everyone can see you! You know you're capable of that, right?"

Later, a tourist asked me what the piano was about, I explained the "Play Me, I'm Yours" concept in a nutshell (this would happen many times), and he said, "Okay, play something!" I did a rendition of Spandau Ballet's "True."

Judging from earlier photos of this piano, it was standing out in the open in the courtyard but eventually moved to this wall. Unfortunately, the piano sits directly under a steam vent, where hot, moist air (that smells like chlorine bleach) gets dumped on the piano all day long. The bottom octaves were horribly out of tune and one of the upper F# keys had broken off.

I played a few more tunes, but for my video performance, to honor LA Live and AEG and its connection to Michael Jackson (I got to attend his huge star-studded memorial service across the street at the Staples Center in July 2009), I played an instrumental rendition of "Human Nature":