24: Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club

24: Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club
Designed by: Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club
Piano type: Spinet
Playability: Fair
Weather: 64°F, overcast
How I got here: Metro Red Line, Metro Blue Line, Metro Local bus line 55, walking

My car issues are still unresolved, but fortunately the seven pianos remaining in my quest are all easily accessible by transit. So I took the Metro Blue Line to the Imperial/Wilmington station and a short bus ride past the MLK Medical Center along 120th street to the Willowbrook area.

When I told friends via Facebook that I was heading to Watts, a few of them were either shocked or worried for my safety. But I've been around this neighborhood before, having done outreach a year ago for The Robert Group which was contracted by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas' office to inform the community on public hearings regarding the nearby Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center. It's actually pretty mellow in the area near the hospital, resembling a typical suburban residential neighborhood to the uninitiated.

After I got off the bus, I walked a couple blocks to reach the street piano at the Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club, which was full of kids at 5:30 p.m.

When I arrived there were about half a dozen kids, banging noisily on the piano. I've heard from other piano players that this one is in a pretty bad playable condition, and that may be why.

As I unfolded my tripod, one of the kids asked me if I was a "scientist that was going to look at the stars." I explained that it's for my camera and I'm here to play the piano. When the kids caught wind of that, they instantly left it alone for me to play.

Inside was an arts & crafts class being run by Ms. Wakia Gipson, who is the Cultural Arts Program Manager at the center. When I told her I was trying to play all 30 pianos, she was impressed and asked if I wanted a picture with all the kids. I told her I was filming a video of me playing each piano which will be going up on YouTube. She arranged a time for the kids to join me a few minutes later as they finished up their activity.

Then she brought the kids out, most of them wearing the center's lime green t-shirts, and we sang Bill Withers' "Lean On Me." Despite the fact that a lot of the keys were stuck, I was able to play the song okay. At first I wondered if they knew such an old song (It's about as old as I am) but most of the kids knew the words and clapped along! They were adorable and really cool!