Part of the craft being a solo pianist at a restaurant is taking and fielding requests. I take a certain amount of pride in knowing a lot of tunes – hundreds, if not over a thousand – and as long as I know the song reasonably well I will play it, regardless of how corny it is or how much I don’t like it. I’m grateful for requests; one of the hardest parts of doing a three hour solo gig is thinking of songs to play. When I don’t know a song I’m always a little embarrassed, even though I realize that it’s impossible to know every song ever written.
A few weeks ago, however, I received a request that was as original as it was inane. Someone asked me to play video game music. I must have looked puzzled because the person quickly added, “You know, like Super Mario Brothers.”
This time, instead of stammering out an apology, I decided to try a new approach. I reached into my backpack, pulled out my new Smith & Wesson M & P9 Shield, fired a few rounds into the kitchen (taking care to avoid hitting the chef) and calmly set the gun down on the piano.
“Now,” I replied, “what was it you wanted to hear, some Bud Powell? That’s what I thought you said.”
The World According to Keitho 