This summer, Dueling Pianos International will be sharing the bill with for pre and post show performance of the following artists at the 2010 OC FAIR in Costa Mesa, California:
For routing, avails and pricing for Headline Dueling Pianos performances, call 248.398.9711 x 122 or send email to jasons@lorioross.com.
Bad Company
Jeff Dunham, Martina McBride, Ziggy Marley
Faith Hill, Blue Oyster Cult, Adam Lambert
Ratt, Dokken, Sammy Hagar
B-52s, Styx, Joan Jett
Wierd Al Yankovic, Gary Hoey, ZZ Top
HISTORY OF THE OC FAIR
The fair first took place in the year 1890 and consisted of some minor exhibits in Santa Ana and a horse race. From 1889 to 1894 the fair was run by the Orange County Community Fair Corporation, but was then taken over by the Orange County Fair Association, Inc. Early fairs mainly consisted of horse races and livestock shows, but around 1900 new attractions were added and the fair become a yearly occurrence. At that time, the fair was located in Santa Ana, except for a brief period after World War I, when it was moved to Huntington Beach.
Starting in 1916, the fair was managed by the Orange County Farm Bureau. An Orange County Fair Board was elected in 1925, and the fair was moved to Anaheim with the addition of a rodeo and carnival. Following World War II the 32nd District Agricultural Association was formed by the state of California, and it took on the task of running the fair. The state purchased land from the Santa Ana Army Air Base and set some of it aside for use as a new fairgrounds. In 1949 the fair became a five day long event and was relocated to the old army base, which quickly became the permanent location. The city of Costa Mesa was incorporated in 1953 with the fair residing in its boundaries; it has been the home of the fair ever since.
For more information on planning a Dueling Pianos Wedding Reception, please visit www.duelingpianoshows.com or call 248.398.9711.
All Brides and Grooms who contact Dueling Pianos International have one thing in common — they want to offer their guests something DIFFERENT. Watching a Dueling Pianos perfomance in a traditional Dueling Piano bar is a unique and excitiing experience. Likewise, Dueling Piano wedding receptions can be a great time. However, if scrupulous attention is not given to the itinerary of events and the physical layout of your facility, your Dueling Pianos Wedding Reception may not yeild the energy and excitement that you witnessed at Crocodile Rocks, Howl at the Moon, Ernie Biggs or RumRunners.
The consultants at Dueling Pianos International have years of experience in Wedding Entertainment and have served as Wedding Planners at Lorio Ross Sterling Entertainment, the largest Wedding Entertaiment agency in the Midwest. For more information on incorporating the Dueling Pianos concept into your wedding reception, please visit www.duelingpianoshows.com or contact Lorio Ross Sterling Entertainment at 248.398.9711. The information provided in this post will serve as a checklist for setting up the proper environment for a Dueling Pianos Wedding Reception.
Setting up a proper environment for a traditional wedding reception is a relatively simple task: Cocktail Hour followed by dinner, toasts, featured dances and then it’s party time! This formula has been used for centuries and is always successful if you have hired professional entertainers to facilitate each event of the evening. However, one must plan for a different series of events when considering featuring the Dueling Pianos concept at a wedding reception.
When considering Dueling Pianos for wedding entertainment, the first question to ask is, “How does dueling pianos differ from a band or DJ?” The answer is simple: a traditional band leader’s main objective at a wedding reception is to get people on the dance floor and KEEP them on the dance floor. Although over the past 20 years the dueling pianos concept has evolved to include dancing, getting people on the dance floor is NOT the main objective of a good Dueling Pianos team. So, how is dancing included in a good Dueling Pianos Wedding performance?
THE DUELING PIANO WEDDING RECEPTION PERFORMANCE
A good Dueling Pianos performance will consist of the following, IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
1) 2 or 3 opening songs where the audience can sing or shout out the “hook” of a song
2) The entertainers should, in a fun and entertaining way, ”outline” the Dueling Pianos Concept for those in the audience who have never witnessed a piano performance of this kind.
3) Entertainers will then perform several requests from the audience
4) Entertainers will then “call out” members of the audience to the stage for light-hearted roasts.
5) Enterainers continue to take requests and incorporate songs which showcase their talent
6) The last 20 or 30 minutes of a good Dueling Pianos Wedding performance should be performed in a way that welcomes the entire audience to the dance floor allowing the entertainers to end their featured performance and make a natural transition from Dueling Pianos to DJ entertainment.
Although the video below is of a smaller casual Dueling Pianos Corporate performance, the above 6 steps are followed.
THE DUELING PIANOS WEDDING RECEPTION (PHYSICAL LAYOUT OF FACILITY)
When planning a Dueling Pianos wedding reception, realize that some of your guests will want to start dancing immediately. Let’s face it, you can’t make your guests remain seated at your reception; some people will actually feel cheated out of their evening if they can’t dance whenever they wish. So, how do we allow guests to dance without disrupting the featured sing along / comedy performance for everyone else? Here’s how:
It is common practice for guests to stay off of the dance floor until the Bride and Groom have had their first dance. At a Dueling Pianos Wedding Reception, it’s best to feature the Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, Bridal Party and Bride and Groom dances BEFORE the Dueling Pianos performance begins. This will allow any guests who may wish to dance during the Dueling Pianos performance to do so without breaking traditional protocal. Dueling Pianos International likes to recommend the East Coast Style Wedding for this very reason. For more information on the East Coast Style Wedding, please CLICK HERE.
Placement of the dance floor must also be given careful consideration. Whenever possible, the dance floor should be place to the side of the stage (seen below) so guests who wish to dance can do so without blocking the view of those who wish to participate in the Dueling Pianos show.
A perfect set up for a Dueling Pianos Wedding
Not the best set up for a Dueling Pianos Wedding Reception
Dueling Pianos / Wedding Receptions and “Tipping”
One of the concerns all Brides and Grooms have when planning a Dueling Pianos wedding reception involves the notion of “tipping”. In traditional Dueling Piano venues, it is no secret that the entertainers incorporate tipping into their performances. Some entertainers will take the notion of “tipping” to the point of upsetting people watching the show. Dueling Pianos International NEVER allows their entertainers to place tip jars on pianos at Corporate/Private or Wedding Dueling Piano performances. Simply put, asking your guests to tip the entertainers at your wedding reception is in poor taste.
At the same time, the concept of Dueling Pianos focuses on “letting the audience be in control of the show” – to a degree. If “tips” are removed from the performnce, a certain element of fun and excitement is removed from the performance. For this reason, we like to offer a recommendation of allowing the entertianers to incorporate ”tips” in the performance while making it abundantly clear that ALL tips will be donated to the Bride and Groom’s favorite charity. We have found that 50% of our Brides and Grooms find this idea appealinng. In any event, the chice is completely up to the Bride and Groom.
In summary, Dueling Pianos provided by Dueling Pianos International (www.duelingpianoshows.com) is excited to be a part of your wedding reception. Our wedding entertainment consultants will work with you to develop an itinerary of events and a suitable physical layout of your banuet facility that will create a unique atmosphere of class and excitement. Call us today at 248.398.9711 to start planning your dream wedding today!
Although there are only a few venues in the state of NEW YORK that are attempting the Dueling Pianos concept, Corporate and Private Dueling Pianos performances and Wedding Dueling Piano performances are in great demand. For information on how to bring the best Dueling Piano talent to your event, please visit www.duelingpianoshows.com for booking information or email jasons@lorioross.com for a direct quote.
New York Dueling Piano performances are not only a hit with New York fortune 500 companies, ticketed banquet events, and weddings, they are also very popular at Universities for students activities and events. For a video preview of Dueling Pianos international’s latest performance at Notre Dame University, please see the video below or call 248.398.9711 to ask for a DVD to be mailed directy to your address:
Recent New York Dueling Pianos International Performances include:
Mickey Spillanes – East Chester NEW YORK
Union College – Schenectady NEW YORK
Mirror Lake Inn — Lake Placid {Dueling Pianos New York}
Danfords Hotel and Marina — Port Jefferson, New York
New York Chiropractic College — Seneca Falls (New York Dueling Pianos)
First Arena — Elmira, New York
Canisius College — Buffalo, New York
SUNY Oswego — Oswego (New York College Dueling Pianos)
With the Dueling Pianos concept finally making it’s presence known in the great state of Iowa, Cedar Rapids has quickly become a hot spot for Dueling Pianos. Dueling Piano Cedar Rapids performances are highly sought after, especially near the Holidays. Dueling Pianos International will be performing for several Corporate Holiday events in December, 2009 as well as January and February of 2010 in or near Cedar Rapids, IA:
Dec 12 — Cedar Rapids Marriot
January 8 — Collins Plaza Hotel and Convention Center
January 16 — A Touch of Class Banquet and Convention Center
February 24 — Coralville Mariott
February 26 — Elmcrest Country Club
Dueling Pianos near Cedar Rapids
Both Dueling Pianos International and The Funkeys are slated for several other events near Cedar Rapids, IA in 2010. Please check back for updates. For Booking Information please contact Jason Scarcelli at Lorio Ross Sterling Entertainment at 248.398.9711 x 122.
The Dueling Pianos concept (www.duelingpianoshows.com), as we know it today, began in Texas in the mid 80s and it’s popularity rapidly spread to popular coastline resort Destinations. By the late 90s, The OHIO DUELING PIANOS circuit yeilded several traditional Dueling Piano Venues in Cinncinatti, Colubmus, Cleveland with a few non-traditianal Dueling Piano venues in and around Toledo. Although the Dueling Piano Concept has not been as popular in OHIO as in other Midwestern states, the demand for Sing Along Comedy entertainment is steadily rising for the PRIVATE and CORPORATE markets.
Dueling Pianos International, founded in 1999 by Lorio Ross Sterling Entertainment, specializes in nationwide Dueling Piano shows for private and corporate settings, providing full production including Grand Pianos, Sound Reinforcement and Lighting. Dueling Pianos International has performed for corporate functions and wedding at the following ohio venues.
For more information on how you can bring DUELING PIANOS INTERNATIONAL to your next Corporate Function, Wedding or Featured Nightclub Event, please visit www.duelingpianoshows.com .
For more information about booking a Dueling Pianos performance in {MICHIGAN} for a corporate event, wedding or nightclub, please visit www.duelingpianoshows.com or call 248.398.9711 x 122.
Although Dueling Pianos International consists of the largest nation wide network of professional Dueling Piano players who are available for travel anywhere in the United States, Canada and abroad, a large number of our entertainers live in MICHIGAN. Performing in Pub 13 (Ypsilanti, MI), Coco Joe’s (Mt. Pleasant, MI) and Rumrunners every W through Su, we also perform at many Country Clubs and Banquet facilities for featured/ticketed performances, private/corporate events and weddings. We’ve compiled a list of all the venues in which we have performed DUELING PIANOS in MICHIGAN in 2009 (seen below).
Oakland Hills Country Club — Bloomfield Hills, MICHIGAN
SVSU — Saginaw, MICHIGAN
Ken Ratliff Park — Oscoda, MICHIGAN
St. Rita / St. Joseph Hall — Maple City, MICHIGAN
The Rivieara Theatre — Three Rivers, MICHIGAN
Siena Heights University — Adrian, MICHIGAN
Soaring Eagle Casino — Mt. Pleasant, MICHIGAN
Westland Bailey Center — Westland, MICHIGAN
Perch Point Conservation Club — Casco, MICHIGAN
Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center — East Lansing, MICHIGAN
Fore Lakes Golf Club — Kimball, MICHIGAN
Monaghan’s Knights of Columbus — Livonia, MICHIGAN
ST. John Evangelistic Parish — Fenton, MICHIGAN
Double Tree Hotel — Bay City, MICHIGAN
Walnut Creek Country Club — South Lyon, MICHIGAN
* If you plan to travel great distances to a Michigan Dueling Pianos show, I’d recommend using the following sites and video for Hotel reservations, Maps and destination information:
Happy Monday! Just wanted to thank you for the AWESOME duo you sent me for our show Saturday. The players were dynamic together and kept the audience engaged for the entire time. We had people in their 20’s to people in their 70’s and they were having a blast right up to the end. Don’t have a total count yet, but the tip jar on the pianos had $600 in it ALONE! We would love to have that pair come back again. I’ll be in touch. Thanks again for a great experience. Have a great week!
With over 21 years of combined experience in Dueling Pianos/Sing Along, The Funkeys are guaranteed to have your audience singing, clapping and laughing from start to finish. Both Dan Satterberg and Marshall Charloff have served as Entertainment Directors at some of the world’s most notable Dueling Piano venues and have personally trained many of the newer entertainers currently performing in college town and resort area Dueling Piano clubs. Based in Minneapolis and available for nation wide travel, the Funkeys spend most weekends on the road performing at Corporate Functions, Weddings and Casinos. The Funkeys have only one goal in mind at each of their performances – that of making the audience just as much a part of the show as themselves.
www.thefunkeys.net <- Click here for information on dueling pianos for corporate functions and weddings – NATION WIDE.
The Funkeys have performed at the following venues and the following events in 2008 and 2009:
BA Days – Ghent, MN {Minnesota Dueling Pianos}
Axles Bonfire
Lucille’s Rockin’ Pianos
The Shadow, Wichita, KS {Kansas Dueling Pianos} [dueling pianos kansas]
Profile Event Center – Minneapolis, MN
North Star Mohican Casino – Bowler, MN [WISCONSIN DUELING PIANOS]
Milwaukee Art Museum
Grand Piano Bistro – Des Moines, IA (IOWA DUELING PIANOS) Buster’s – Mankato, MN
Stone Ridge Golf Club – Stillwater, MN
Children’s’ Hospital of Michigan
Citizens Banking Corporation
Coca Cola Corporation
Embassy Suites Hotel – Bloomington, MN
St. Ambrose University – Davenport, IA (DUELING PIANOS IOWA) Greysolon Plaze – Duluth, MN
KI Convention Center – Green Bay, WI
Gale Woods Farms – Minnetrista, MN {Minneapolis Dueling Pianos}
Fontenelle Forest – Bellevue, NE
Warwick Hills Golf Club – Grand Blanc, MI
Northern Illinois University
Notre Dame University {Indiana DUELING PIANOS}
Volvo Trucks North America, Inc.
Dueling Pianos bars have become a staple in nearly every major College and Tourist town in the Unites States. New Dueling Piano clubs are opening every quarter and this explosion of the Dueling Pianos Concept has created a shortage of qualified Dueling Piano Players, forcing Dueling Piano clubs to place unqualified pianists without training in front of their customers.
When an audience sees two giant tip jars stuffed with singles, fives, tens and even twenty dollar bills, it is no secret that Dueling Piano Players have lucrative careers. Why, one may ask, is there a shortage of qualified Dueling Piano Players? The answer is simple: the dueling piano concept is extremely demanding, requiring each player to have an immense repertoire and the ability to adapt and entertain in an impromptu capacity. If a traditional dueling piano venue were to audition 25 professionally trained pianists, the venue would be lucky to find 2 pianist capable of developing into a Dueling Piano Entertainer, even after 6 to 12 months of training.
Dueling Pianos International constantly strives to recruit, train and develop fresh and exciting piano players to perform the Dueling Piano Concept. The entertainers featured in the video below are responsible for training many of the new dueling piano entertainers in the Midwest.
While the entertainers above generally travel across the country for weekend corporate and wedding performances, they spend the weekdays training new talent for local/traditional dueling piano nightclubs.
Please visit again for more information on Dueling Piano Player training and more information on booking Dueling Pianos for corporate functions, colleges and weddings.
