Community Music Hangout #29 took place on Saturday September 9th, 2023. We gathered initially under the marine layer, but throughout the day we were more or less directly beneath the fog meridian. We were treated to a mix of sunshine and clouds with a steady comfortable breeze. Fine conditions to play a bunch of tunes with musical friends old and new! This time around, Brian was the first to arrive, and I wheeled up shortly thereafter. Rikki was parking the car as there seemed to be a big track meet from all the local high schools taking place in the park and parking was crazy! Thank you, Rikki for your big time help this time and every time! Shortly after we set up, Betty strolled up to rejoin the hangout. This young lady is 89 years of age and she’s an inspiration to me. I hope to be out and about playing music in the park like her if I’m lucky enough to reach her age! Great singing with you, Betty. Soon, Zach wheeled up with his drum set and Sage biked up with September’s Cozy Cubs Puzzle and we were truly off and rolling. Then, we met a few Hangout newcomers in Andy and Adam. Welcome! Come back again soon! And Koy came back to the piano again, nice to see ya! We reeled off a bunch of tunes together and everyone was feeling good. And then we met Iwami and, wow, holy smokes. I never know what we’re going to get when I entice someone to play a song at the piano. It will always be good, simply because I always appreciate hearing what it sounds like in someone else’s brain. But sometimes, what you get is something pretty exceptional. This was one of those times. Check out Iwami’s spellbinding rendition of Rocket Man. Awesome stuff. We hope to see him back at the hangout soon!
Now that was a tough act to follow, nevertheless we pressed on. We met Steven and Anya, who we saw learning to skateboard for a while near the piano before they came to hangout. Learning something new is always a great idea, way to go, Anya! And we met some of the runners from the track meet: Rintaro and Logan! Then Felix brought the house down when he played “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton! Check out the smiles on the faces in the pic below as he hit it. In true community style, everyone around the piano lent a hand in singing the words they knew.
After that, we met Hannah Lee, James, and Mark. Suddenly, we had a powerful number of singers arrayed. It’s a great feeling when I’m mashing the keys but the collective gathered voices are louder! It was after 3:30 by the time we managed to wind down. CMH #29 was once again a fabulous timeless chunk of musical bliss. The time just slips away, and all that matters is the song you’re playing / listening to, or what to play next! Fantastic. Thank you to everyone who took part. We’ll see you next for a very special edition of the Hangout: We’ll be at the Inaugural Sunset Night Market at 20th and Irving from 5 – 7PM on Friday, Sept 15th. We’ll also be double dipping next weekend! CMH #31 will be Sunday September 17th from 11:30 – 2:30 on JFK at the intersection of Stow Lake Drive!