When I was in my 20′s, all of my friends and I would regularly visit Howl at the Moon on Church Street in Orlando.  It was something we did religiously (appropriate for Church Street, no?)…start our night of partying at Howl at the Moon.  I was hooked…I loved the show, I loved the whole idea of dueling pianos….that the players took requests and did funny bits and got the whole room singing at the same time.  It is true interactive entertainment. Modern-day vaudeville.

But I also remember thinking to myself, no matter how hard I practiced, I could never do what those guys did on stage.

Now, (ironically) many years later, I do.  Mind you….I’m certainly not the best dueling piano player…I’m still learning.  I trained at Howl at the Moon (which subsequently moved away from Downtown Orlando to International Drive).  For almost 3 years I’ve been doing the gig part-time and had the opportunity to sit across the pianos from some AMAZING duelers:  Ken Jamison, Joe Genuardi, Brian Wilk, Scott McGilvery.

When I heard that there were plans to open a new dueling piano bar on Church Street…right across the street from where Howl used to be, it was like an opportunity for me to come full circle.  And for reasons that certainly expand beyond purely my skills as an entertainer, the folks at Baby Grands Dueling Pianos have embraced Johnny Diggz as part of their family.  It’s a great team of players led by Orin Sands (formerly of Howl at the Moon and Crazy Pianos), Rob Volpe, PJ Gartrell and Libby Brcka…all of whom I’ve played with before.

The club is in the old Olive Garden Space (above Amura Sushi…across from 55 West) in the Church Street Marketplace.  Find the elevator on the south side of Church Street (under the walkway) and go up to the second floor and walk straight into the bar.

During the first couple weeks we’ve been open, I’ve been quietly taking some pictures and video.  I pasted a few together really quickly so here you go…I hope you enjoy….

The dueling piano community in Central Florida is all abuzz with the announcement of a new dueling piano bar opening on Church Street in Orlando.   Slated to open later this summer, Baby Grands Dueling Piano Bar is taking over the 6,700-square-feet space that was formerly the Olive Garden…mere steps away from where Howl at the Moon used to be.

Howl at the Moon on Church Street was wildly successful, drawing a steady flow of downtown regulars in the waning years of Church Street Station’s glory days.   I know, because I was one of those regulars, and it was my first exposure to dueling pianos as a concept (my mom suggested that I audition, something I actually did many years later).

Baby Grands is opening in a city not without its share of competitors.  Howl at the Moon operates over 10 locations around the country, and its International Drive venue has been one of the company’s flagship stores for at least six years.  Pat O’Briens in CityWalk and Jellyrolls at Disney Boardwalk also do nightly dueling piano shows.  I’ve also heard there are a few bars in the Lake Mary area that have been experimenting with the format on weekends.

To its advantage, the entire 55 West area of Church Street has slowly been making a comeback in recent months.  The area already boasts 377 of the most centrally located apartments downtown, Amura Sushi, Panchero’s Mexican Grill and Gino’s Pizza & Brew.  Now, in addition to Baby Grands, they’ve announced plans for a new bar called Blend in the old Sharper Image space and Mad Cow Theater is moving into the old Hooter’s space.  And apparently Baby Grands will be be serving food…something that most other dueling piano bars (including Howl at the Moon) do not do.

The question on everyone’s mind is:  who is behind this new venture? The Orlando Business Journal reports that the principals own restaurants, bars and other franchises in Florida, New York and Virginia.

More importantly:  Who’s going to be playing there?   There are a limited number of experienced “A” duelers in town (I’ve met or played with most of them) and without exception, all of them have steady gigs at one of the already-established venues.  Will the new bar be able to attract talent from the other clubs?  We shall see.

One thing is for certain…lips are sealed tight.  If anyone is jumping ship, they’re keeping mum about it.  But I peeked in the space, and build-out has commenced.  Banners are flying in the windows and this week’s “Best of Orlando” issue of the Orlando Weekly featured a 1/4 page color ad for the new club.  Baby is on her way.

Baby Grands Dueling Pianos
54 West Church Street Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 849-1911

Update:  10/31/2010 Dueling Pianos Return to Orlando Church Street Station

Piano bar on tap at 55 West – Orlando Business Journal

Baby Grands Dueling Pianos in Downtown Orlando « Pulse of Central Florida.

I gotta give the full back story to this one:

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to play at Howl at the Moon in Orlando with 3 of the most amazingly talented guys in the dueling piano business.   These guys are true modern day musical vaudevillians.   The two guys in this video combined represent over 25 years of on-stage experience.

It was early in the night…shortly after 8pm..  The 4 of us had already been there since 5:30 for a quick rehearsal, afterwords we ate some Thai food and then came back to an open club with a completely empty room…save for 2 women who said they had tickets to go see the Blue Man Group.

Ken and I sat back as Joe and Brian took the stage and asked the women if they had any requests.

They didn’t.

Then, after some coaxing, one of the women said, timidly, “Do you know Brown Eyed Girl by Bobby McFerrin?”

This what they got: (oh, and they never made it to the Blue Man Group show)

Oh, and in case you can’t make it out, the back of  Joe’s shirt says : (withheldoforpayment)

YouTube – Howl at the Moon Orlando – Joe and Brian Brown Eyed Girl Acapella.

Watch Liberace’s mad skillz when he cranks the 12th Street Rag into double-time (around :58 seconds in).   It was literally the biggest pop tune of its day and is one of the most famous and best selling rag of the ragtime era.

The piano recording by Pee Wee Hunt was the Billboard number one single for 1948, selling over three million copies.    And it also serves as the the theme to the Joe Franklin Show.

YouTube – YOUNG LIBERACE in the 40′s Performing 12th Street Rag.