Dave Boelke Piano Player Jazz Pianist from Burbank, CA

Chicago, 1966. Don't ask me why I volunteered to sit in for a piano man who didn't show up for a dixieland gig on a hot, muggy afternoon in the park. The band was a half hour late getting started, the audience was growing restless and the band leader was so desperate that, when I offered to sit in, he actually said, "Okay, kid. Get up here and show us what you got." The band members looked at this nervous 15-year old and shook their heads. Inside, I was even more skeptical than they were, but I tried not to show it. They hunted up a phone book for me to put under my rear end so I would at least be at keyboard level. When the leader counted off the downbeat to "Fidgety Feet," I swallowed hard and went at it. After the first volley of applause from the crowd, the band members relaxed. I was ecstatic when they let me sit in through the whole gig. After the show, the band leader found my mom and asked if she would let me play with them at the roadhouses and bars on their local circuit. When my mom showed reluctance, he said, "I swear, we'll have him back by midnight, we'll make sure he never leaves the piano bench, we'll get him a cushion to sit on and we'll pay him $40." I think the "40 bucks" part sealed the deal for Mom. From then on, I saw the inside of a lot of Chicagoland gin mills from my perch at the piano. I learned when to play and when to lay out. I'd fill in with appropriate licks on occasion. I even got a solo now and then. Out of college and on my own, I became a musical vagabond, going wherever the opportunities were. I was learning something new wherever I went. I played for singing waiters in Kansas City. I traveled to Manhattan, NYC, where I learned to play classic standards from the Great American Songbook, playing swanky clubs on the upper east side, private parties, barrooms in Brooklyn and tap classes on 59th St.. San Diego was where I learned to compose and collaborate with other musicians on show tunes, musical parodies and to play music that took me out of my comfort zone. My repertoire has been constantly evolving until it now spans a lot of music history. My musical heroes are the same, but my list of influencers has gotten longer as I've gained inspiration from a wide array of iconic performers and composers: Gershwin, Cole Porter, Scott Joplin, Elton John, The Beatles, Marlene Dietrich, Billy Joel, Elton John, Billie Holliday, Elvis Presley, Fats Waller, Lana Del Rey, and Leonard Cohen. Today, I'm based here in Ventura and play gigs in Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, and other towns along the coast. It has been my privilege to work with event planners and individuals needing background music for special occasions. Life is good.