“dueling pianos,” the first image that may come to mind is a couple of people actually fighting each other with pianos. Then in hindsight, that image is overly absurd. Friday night, Sept. 28, the lower hanger was abuzz with anticipation as the venue was transformed into a dueling piano “bar.”

“A dueling piano bar is typically a small nightclub that centers around two grand pianos positioned back-to-back with two pianists facing each other. The pianists play songs based on requests from the audience. Patrons write their requests on request forms or any piece of paper they can find and put them on top of the pianos; the piano players then get to work on playing as many requests as they can…”

All of those elements were in place for the evening, except for a couple: the pianos were actually keyboards, and the bar area was sectioned off from the rest of the room. As 100 students and faculty filed into the “nightclub,” the atmosphere was full of anticipation for the night’s entertainment.
Beginning at 7 p.m., students played a Jeopardy!-style trivia game, a very common practice at many bars. This allowed the patrons in groups of two to four to find out who was “the best” at general knowledge; however, the categories were anything but typical for Embry-Riddle. A couple of the categories were focused on facts about alcohol and drugs, while another was about pianos. This game went on for about an hour and until a winner was determined. The top score of the evening was 3900 while second place only received 1700; this demonstrated who had been doing their homework.
At 8 p.m., the main event began as the pianists Ryan and Jake made their entrance from the back of the room and took their places at the pianos. The main opener for the evening was the song “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis. Once the notes started flowing, the voices of the audience started to chime in as they began singing along. This merely opened the flood gates for request after request for songs from the audience as nearly ten song requests at a time were made. The sheer number caused Jake to comment, “I need a secretary for these requests.”
As the night continued, many classic songs passed through the nimble fingers of the pianist from “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot and “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks to “Linus and Lucy” by Vince Guaraldi and the “Friends” theme song. Then the festivities became even more exciting as the “duelists” started a competition between the two sides of the room. In a proverbial nutshell, a song from either a TV series or movie would be played and either side needed to be the first to shout out the title. The side with the correct response was given a point. However, events became more exciting when Ryan and Jake called forth the “smartest” man and woman from the audience to play a listening game. The song played was “My Bonny” and the players were to alternate who was sitting in a chair and who was standing whenever a “B” word in the song was sung. This became more entertaining when the whole audience joined in; Ryan commented that the whole audience “looked like the Whack-A-Mole game.”
With only fifteen minutes remaining in the evening, excitement picked up as the pianists took most of the remaining requests on their table and combined them into a vast medley “mash-up” between old and new songs from “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Sieger to “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. Upon the final note of the medley, the audience erupted with applause and gave Jake and Ryan a standing ovation. The patrons left the “club” with more spring in their steps.

Dueling Pianos International nationwide booking information: 1-800-700-S-I-N-G (7464)

Dueling Pianos International at the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra

You can check out some photos from the last event here

How did the Symphony find out about dueling pianos? A co-worker saw dueling pianos on vacation in Florida and convinced SMSO to book dueling pianos for an event. They found us, Dueling Pianos International, and the rest is history! This coming year we are going to put on an even better show. So, if you are in the St. Joseph area in February 2013 you should come see us and support the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra!

Here is a blog about the event last February.

Dueling pianos has taken the nation by storm and dates fill up fast! For your opportunity to fundraise or book entertainment for your wedding or private event call us today for a no obligation quote! 1-800-700-SING

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Dueling Pianos International will be performing for a wedding ceremony and reception on August 3rd, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Here is an example of a timeline from this wedding:

Ceremony Timeline:
Play No music while the groomsmen enter
Then play God Bless the Broken Road Instrumentally for the bridal party.
Then sing the chorus of this song as bride comes down the aisle
TRY to end on the words “that leads me straight to you”
Play fun and upbeat song on the piano when bride and groom are pronounced man and wife

Reception Timeline:
Have first dance immediately after Grand Entrance
Then cut cake
Toasts before blessing
Introduce toasters
Introduce the person giving the blessing
Featured Dances: Mother/Son dance
Father/Daughter dance
Bride and Groom 2nd dance (fast song)
Then open up the dance floor to all guests right away!

Dueling Pianos International provides the pianos, lighting, sound reinforcement, and emcee requirements for all weddings. If you would like to learn more visit our website at www.duelingpianoshows.com or call us at 1-800-700-SING

Here are a few vendors in the area:

Reception: J. Verno Studios

Pittsburg Grand Hall at the Priory

Photography: J. Verno Studios

Eventures Wedding Photgraphy and Videography

Flowers: Bolsinger’s Flowers

Dragonfly Florist

Cake: Bethel Bakery

Cakes by Tammy

Transportation: Amore Limousines

Tortorice Limousine

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“Just wanted to say thank you for helping us with a great event Friday night. The guys did a great job, were very patient with us and even played extra songs. Please pass on to the guys for me… I don’t think the crowd wanted them to leave!” – Kristy

We offer professional and experienced entertainers. If you would like more information visit our website www.duelingpianoshows.com or call us at 1-800-700-SING. We will be glad to help you!

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We have been rebooked for three dates next year at Fort Knox!

Here is a video of Noel and Frank performing at Fort Knox in March 2011:

Dueling Pianos International has done many events for the military including Fort Belvoir and Fort Rucker. Here are some videos of us performing at military events.

Noel and Frank at Fort Belvoir:

Nate and Rob at Fort Rucker:

Other military events include:
Fort Sill
Fort Riley
Fore Deitrick
Fort Benning
Fort Bragg
Fort Presido
Fort Polk

If you would like more information about Dueling Pianos International visit our website at www.duelingpianoshows.com. Or call us at 1-800-700-SING

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Dueling Pianos International does many events at colleges around the country. On March 23, 2011 Noel and Dan visited Cincinnati State Technical and Community College . We have done many other events in Ohio too. Read about our event at the Fostoria Area Chamber of Commerce. On April 16, 2011 Billy and George visited Farleigh Dickenson University in New Jersey where there were over 200 people in attendance!

We are going to be performing at Creighton University on September 14, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska.
This will be our 3rd time performing at the university! The school puts on other great events as well. They hosted the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on June 15-26/27.

We even have a great college tour September 24-27 in New York booked with Onondaga Community College, Jefferson Community College, Genesee Community College, Niagara County Community College, and Morrisville State College. Should be a fun week!

Other Colleges that we have visited include:

Ashford University
Florida International University
Cumberland University
Drake University
Villanova University
Butler University
University of Wisconsin
Rowan University
Saginaw Valley State University
Central Michigan University

If you are interested in booking us for your next college event, give us a call at 1-800-700-SING
If you would like more information visit our website at www.duelingpianoshows.com

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Dueling Pianos is a comedy music show where you tell the pianists what music YOU want to hear. If you’re unsure of what songs to suggest here are a few popular choices:

YMCA – Village People
Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
Piano Man – Billy Joel
Living on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
Old Time Rock and Roll – Bob Seger
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard
Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Remember, you can always choose whatever song you recently heard on the radio! Give our guys a tough song to play! They can play anything!

Some Billboard Top 100 Songs:
Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Lights – Ellie Goulding
Starships - Nicki Minaj
Scream – Usher
Wild Ones – Flo Rida
Glad You Came – The Wanted
Drunk On You - Luke Bryan
Drive By – Train

If you’re interested in booking dueling pianos for your next event, Dueling Pianos International provides for dueling pianos bars, regular bars, fundraisers, weddings, and corporate events. Call us today for a no obligation quote! 1-800-700-SING

www.duelingpianoshows.com

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We had a very successful event at the Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel
for Nationwide on March 16, 2011.

Dueling pianos International has provided entertainment for many other corporations as well. Other clients include: McDonalds, Nestle, Dominoes, Aegon Insurance Group, and the Boys and Girls Club of America.
Not only do we do corporate functions but we also do weddings, fundraisers, private parties, and college events. We have also entertained the United States Army and Navy. For a list of more clients visit here
For a list of testimonials click here

If you’re interested in learning more about the Dueling Pianos concept or Dueling Pianos International visit our website or call us at 1-800-700-SING

You can like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter too!

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The Funkeys helped the Holy Name of Jesus Church in Wayzata, MN raise funds to support 2 schools – Church of the Ascension in North Minneapolis and the Holy Name of Jesus school. The fundraiser brought in double the donations from the previous year! Read more about it here. Some of the donations raised went to the Church of the Ascension school in providing for children’s tuition. Most of the families that send their kids to this school live below poverty level, but Ascension does not turn these kids away. They rely on donations to pay for the students. What a great success this event was!
Marshall and Dan had a great time entertaining for a great cause!

Here is an example of a fundraiser from this event:
7:15pm doors open and the Funkeys play
- Someone will welcome the people and give a small speech
The Funkeys keep playing until 8:30pm
Raffles
After the raffles are over the Funkeys continue playing until 11:30pm

Do you have a fundraiser that you would like entertainment for? We have great entertainers who are veterans of the Dueling Pianos concept. We can help make your fundraiser a great success!
Visit our website or call us at
1-800-700-SING for a no obligation quote!

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The Fostoria Area Chamber of Commerce invited Dueling Pianos international to play for a fundraiser at Stacy’s Place on April 29,2011. Michael and Daniel had a great time and were honored to be a part of the fundraising event. Dueling Pianos International performs over 70 events yearly in the state of Ohio; Fostoria made for easy and convenient routing with stops in Dayton and Akron prior to this event, and Cincinnati afterwards at the Great American Ballpark.