25: The Variety Building, Miracle Mile

25: The Variety Building, Miracle Mile
Designed by: Evan Skrederstu
Piano type: Full upright
Playability: Fair
Weather: 65°F, overcast
How I got here: Metro Red Line, Metro Purple Line, Metro Rapid 720, Bicycle

I had initially planned to get to more pianos yesterday, May 1, but various marches/protests around town as well as my personal need to take care of some business put those plans on hold. Besides, all I needed were the five Westside pianos and Chinatown, and the thought of playing the two by the ocean on a gloomy day didn't feel right for some reason. Besides, I had a few days to tackle this anyway.

My car was in the shop again, but it was of no consequence to me. I set out on subway, bus and bike on a mission to cover all five pianos in the Westside - all of which were in close proximity to the Wilshire Blvd corridor. Metro Rapid Line 720 was my main ride, and I got off at Fairfax to play the street piano at the Variety building.

This Miracle Mile area was a familiar one for me: Over a decade ago I worked for E! Entertainment Television (E! Networks) working a thankless Help Desk job in the IT Department. I worked there through a major office move and through Y2K. Coolest moment: I rode in an elevator with the the late rocker Robert Palmer. Scariest moment: I saw Joan Rivers in person. Sweetest perk: Aside from the Thursday morning bagels, I could claim Brooke Burke as my co-worker. More recently, in the fall of last year, I worked a temporary consulting gig with the Liberty Hill Foundation a few blocks up the street, and had the chance to commute to work by bike.

When I arrived at the Variety Building, food trucks lined Wilshire for the lunchtime crowd, and a guy named Louis Durra was playing some really nice jazzy pieces on this rickety old upright that had a few bad keys and a Bb that was tuned to an A. He had a set up where he had video cameras on a mic stand and music stand flanking him on both sides. He said he was doing something for The Wende Museum (located all the way in Culver City), which was the host organization for this piano.

Louis Derra plays some nice jazzy tunes as he captures his performance on video.

Funny thing about this location, it's in a hotbed of entertainment industry-related offices: Aside from Variety and E! Networks, the Screen Actors Guild are all within a stone's throw from there. Just like on Hollywood Blvd, the sight and sound of a street piano barely fazed anyone. The fact that people ate lunch on the steps was probably due to its proximity to the food trucks and not because they necessarily wanted to be entertained. You can sort of tell by people's reactions, the sight of people taking pictures or video or the sound of applause at the end of a piece. Neither I nor Durra (who I can easily admit is a better player  than I) elicited any reaction from any passers-by. Call it generalizing, but it seems obvious that "the industry" doesn't appreciate art.

Despite the "tough crowd" location and raggedy piano condition, the quirky anthropomorphic design of the piano was one of my favorites.

I played one of my original tunes called "Love Fall Down" (plus extended intro). The obvious choice for me, since I wrote it when I worked at E! and I've long fantasized about shooting a music video for it here along the Miracle Mile. Here's to daydreaming: