The Piano Guys

{Program note:  Come to the book signing tonight! See yesterday’s post.}

Rich Mullins once said, "The thing that's cool about music is how unnecessary it is. Of all things, music is the most frivolous and the most useless. You can't eat it, you can't drive it, you can't live in it, you can't wear it. But your life wouldn't be worth much without it."

I play the stereo, and that’s about it. But I love music, and I love sharing about musicians and any artist who I feel excels at their craft—mostly judged by if it impresses or moves me, even if I don’t necessarily like it.

So it is with real excitement that I can share The Piano Guys with you. They are basically a duo who came up with a name before the second guy came along. (I know this sounds backwards, but it is part of their charm.) Jon Schmidt is a classically trained pianist, and Steven Sharp Nelson is a classically trained cellist (as in, not a pianist, yet he is a Piano Guy.)

Not only are they absolutely, simply, superb musicians in a traditional sense, they are able to get an amazing variety of sounds out of their instruments, particularly Nelson, who can get a guitar virtuoso’s range of sound and instrumentation out of a cello, whether acoustic or electric.

But wait, there’s more. They do exceptionally creative blendings of songs and genres (called mashups), and wonderfully creative videography. They are a true joy to listen to and to watch. They lift your spirit and carry away on flows soaring, cresting, yet invigorating and fun. They touch eternity.

They themselves express it best in their video, Beethoven’s 5 Secrets, a mashup between Beethoven’s 5^th, and OneRepublic’s “Secrets,” where they quote Beethoven:  “Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the Divine.” Amen.

So, as an introduction to them, I offer their Michael Meets Mozart mashup:  1 Piano, 2 Guys, 100 Cello tracks. Consider becoming a Piano Guys founder and supporting these bringers of joy to reach the next level of their career, even mission to inspire others.

Lagniappe:  For you Star Wars fans, be sure to catch Nelson’s Jedi dueling cellists performing music from the movie.

SDG