The 32nd Community Music Hangout took place on Sunday September 25th, 2023 at Carly i.e. the West Piano on the Golden Mile, JFK, Golden Gate Park. We gathered under a lovely mix of sun and clouds with a pleasant breeze throughout the day. We were once again gifted a great day to spend making music with friends in the park! When Rikki and I walked up, Brett was already set up and tapping away at his typewriter. Nice! Soon, Joe biked up with his cajon and Kyle strolled up with his standup bass. And so we were off and rolling once again at the Community Music Hangout. Then, Mark and Laura cycled up and Laura asked to hear “What’s up?” by 4 Non Blondes, and none of us could name another song by that band. And I refuse to look it up. Later, Adam cycled up and Jaime came over to take a seat and request some Steely Dan. Always nice to satisfy a request. It’s not always easy, either. Even with nearly 200 songs in the book, we’re barely scratching the surface of the wide world of songs. Carrying on with the Hangout, we soon met Maria and Gilman. They’re both into Karaoke so they joined right in. We sang some Paul Simon, some Green Day and more. Then we had a couple of youngsters hop on the piano. We heard tunes from Parker and Silas. Great job, guys! Way to step up to the piano. It’s always nice to see kids on the piano, from the really young ones who have never played a piano before to the hotshots who blow the doors off of us adults. It’s great! Keep it up, kids.
As the day rolled along, Zach wheeled up with his drums! And so we had a full on rhythm section at the Hangout between Kyle and Zach. That’s a rhythm section that we assembled here at the Hangout! Awesome. But the day did not quit. Next, we saw Lief and Emma and they brought their cat Nat along for a walk! It was great to see all 3 of use. And great rhythm uke playing! Finally, Sage rolled up and Marvin followed shortly thereafter. What a cast of characters. You’re invited to join in!
It was pushing 4 o’clock by the time we finally rolled away from the piano. We had four and a half fine hours together. We saw old friends and met new ones. We played a ton of songs, made a ton of smiles and shared some ourselves. That is to say: it was a typical CMH! Next weekend is Hardly Strictly Weekend. We’ll be going to the fest on Sunday and therefore CMH #33 will be Saturday September 30th from 11:30 until at least 2:30 on JFK at Stow Lake Drive!