Being from New York City I’ve learned to appreciate places of total silence and isolation. My route was meant to drive past Co Road 55 (See Map) and continue North but when I passed the sign that said: “No Food, Gas, or Lodging”, I saw it as an opportunity to take a risk and go into the unknown.

I entered the road and immediately stopped my car in awe when I saw the incredible landscape. It was mesmerizing and seemed like something I would only see in books or movies.

I continued driving on the road, stopping every so often to take in the scenery, breathe the air, listen to the wind, look for animals, and get some sun.

Since then, I dream of this place almost every other day and it had such a profound effect on me. I walk around NYC knowing that there is so much more to life than all this hustle and bustle because I’ve seen it and experienced it with my own eyes.

Halfway through the journey I reached a very small town named Claunch. I thought, wouldnt it be amazing to meet someone who lives in this faraway town? I wondered what people were like, so I stopped my truck in the middle of the street.

I honked. I screamed out, “Hello!?” and waited but no one responded.

The town was dead. With its small church and “Elevator museum” (Which seems a bit ridiculous) the town of Claunch was like a ghost town only to be gawked at and viewed from afar. I’m sure people live there, but I didn’t meet them.

I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone but I’m almost positive most people haven’t experienced the world like this. Its a very unique and specific feeling of Isolation and Pure Emptiness that is incredibly beautiful.

There are even plenty of wildlife to catch. I saw 2 deer, a few hares, and plenty of large eagles. Better yet, If you like motorcycles, this road would be the perfect drive.

If you ever get the chance to see New Mexico and drive down one of these empty roads, take a risk, go beyond your limit, and explore areas that you would never think of exploring. You will thank me.

The Day was September 9, 2010…

This was when I first started playing piano on the streets. It was a pleasant end of summer day and I was playing piano in front of the fountain in City Hall Park. After about an hour, these 2 Cops came over and told me that because of complains coming from City Hall, I needed to leave. How ridiculous is that! I was playing beautiful classical music and someone from City Hall had the nerve to complain. I didnt argue and decided to look for another spot.

I wheeled the piano over to another spot about 4 blocks away near a Whole Foods. They were having a food drive and I figured it would be a great way to accompany their fund raiser.

I played for about an hour and a half and even met some of the workers at Whole Foods who hooked me up with some Free food. I packed up the piano, finished my sandwich, and started to push my piano back home when suddenly I hit a pothole. The piano started to tip backwards and I tried to catch it but the weight was too much, sending the piano crashing on my middle and index fingers of my left hand.

I stood there with my broken hand, in the middle of the street in New York City, staring at my crushed fingers with blood gushing out. I was in disbelief, I looked around at the people and didnt know what to do.

A woman rushed over to me and sat me down near the fundraising tent. She spoke in a very soothing tone to calm me down, telling me that I will be able to play again. And thats when I began to cry, thinking, “Is this it? Is this the end of my piano playing career? What will I do with my life?” I sat there holding ice on my hand, not looking at it.

The ambulance never came and I was forced to walk 5 blocks to the downtown hospital, leaving a trail of blood drops on the sidewalk. The doctors told me that they couldnt give any definite statements but that I had multiple fractures in my middle finger and one fracture on my index. This is when the pain started.

The worst pain in my entire life was when they were injecting my hand with numbing solution using an 18 guage needle. They stuck the needle into the tips of my fingers, the palm of my hand, the side– about 15 times. I screamed my head off even with the Morphine and pain killers they gave me. I never experienced that much pain in my entire life.

All in all it was an experience I will never forget that changed my life forever. Its what solidified my endeavors to become a musician. I was a total wreck during the healing process. Days of agony and pain, I did alot of thinking and stayed home for hours in depression. Eventually I got over it and started playing about a month later with the remaining 3 fingers in my left hand.

I started seeing the positive side of the incident and about a 2 months into healing I started planning for my trip across America.

I met this man by the name of Ehron in Albuquerque. He was very outgoing, intelligent, and great to talk to. Turns out he plays drums and a few other instruments. I immediately told him that we should jam.

I set up the piano and the bucket drums from the night before (See: Dance Party on the Streets of Albuquerque) on Central Ave and 3rd St. By 9:00 PM, Ehron came over and we started to jam. We were actually live streaming on the internet at the same time (Check it out below) and it sounded really good. I was throwing curve balls his way and he was hitting them. People were coming by and dancing, throwing money in our bucket, and really enjoying the music.

Video streaming by Ustream

By 11 PM we started to slow down and take a break. I didn’t notice that because Ehron was closer to the bucket, he was taking a little bit of money and putting it in his pocket so that by the time it came down to splitting what we made, he had counted it and said we only made $15. I’m more than positive we made more than $75 all together because a few people gave us 20’s and 10’s.

Ehron said he was going to grab a bite and come back. He never showed up. But I knew exactly where he was sleeping that night. He got kicked out of his grandmothers house and was sleeping on the roof of this vacant building.

I went over there and called him out. I was really pissed off and told him that he robbed me and thats when he admitted it to me, “I’m an addict! This is my life. What? Are you going to punch me?” I told him I wouldn’t stoop down to his level and told him that I wanted to help him get off the street and change his life, but its impossible to help an addict who has been brainwashed by drugs.

Turns out he took the money and bought Oxycontin with it. He has been living this sort of lifestyle for a few months, his family pushed him away, and he was living on the streets. If I met Ehron again, I wouldn’t be angry. I wouldn’t get revenge. I would ask him to travel and play drums with me.

It was a Saturday night and I wanted to play some piano on the streets of Albuquerque. Unfortunately, the bars across the street were happily blasting obnoxious Hip-hop music which would have completely drowned out my elegant piano. So I decided to try something different and bring out some buckets, pots, and pans. I’m not much of a drummer but I got rhythm and I can keep a beat. Why not…

i played for about an hour into the wee hours of the morning and by 2 AM all the bars closed. There was a gay bar on the corner and these girls dressed up in skimpy dresses were coming out and digging my music. Then it got interesting… DANCE PARTY ON THE STREETS!

Watch what happens at 1:35

IF EVERY MUSICIAN PLAYED WITH THIS MUCH PASSION, THE WORLD WOULD BE A DIFFERENT PLACE.

What do you think?

Mexican Chihuahua Dancing

One night in Union SquarePlaying piano with gloves is not easy.The Meat packing District. This was a fun day.

Brando is the man!

In Union Square during the Farmers Market

One chilly day in January 2012

A Jewish Piano Celebration in Union Square

Definitely one of the highlights of playing at Union Square. I met one of those guys in San Francisco 3 months before and he came up to me and said hello. I decided to play Hava Nagila and we all came together in celebration of the holiday Sukkot.

The next day I unloaded my piano (and my dog) onto the streets of Seattle at Pike Place Market and played for 5 hours. Luckily, it was a sunny filled day and the tourists were flowing. I made a whopping $190! This was enough to take me all the way to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho which was 320 miles away.

I spent that night sleeping in my truck (which I built to be very comfortable and safe) The trick to sleeping in your car is finding the right place to park— Especially in a busy city. One of the tricks I developed throughout my travels was to park my truck in a crowded Hotel parking lot, that way you fit in with the rest of the group without any problems. In fact, during the 1 1/2 months of traveling back home, I spent most of my nights sleeping in the truck. The one downside was finding a place to shower, but I’ll get into the strategies I created later.

Once I got to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho I spent most of my money and had to jump back on the streets to get me to the next location (Glacier National Park). But I never felt pressure, I just went with the flow of life and understood that with plenty of confidence, I can do this. I figured out a routine to get myself from city to city, doing what i loved, meeting plenty of people, and traveling across America.

The important thing was to manage my spending carefully. My main expenses were gas and food. I lived very Simple and didnt need to spend money on unnecessary things. This is HUGE! Living on the road made me understand how many unnecessary objects we have in our lives and that living a simple life without so many possessions kept me more organized and free. In fact, in the beginning of my roadtrip I brought way too many things with me and ended up giving away half of what I brought.

On top of all that, living the life of a frugal traveler, I still got to do all the fun and adventurous activities. In fact, I had so much freedom with my time, every day was filled with excitement. The challenge of traveling without any money and the fact that I was funding my trip by doing what I loved (Playing piano on the streets of America) made the journey that much more adventurous.

But dont get me wrong: Playing piano on the streets is NOT easy and still takes hard work, especially when you’re playing for more than 4 hours at a time. Even so, it was my dream life: Traveling, Making enough money, and doing what I love. Here is a list of all things I got to do starting with $2.82 in my bank account.

• I visited and played piano in 4 National Parks
• I Experienced the nightlife in each major city
• I went sightseeing and even rented a bicycle to go mountain biking in Moab, UT.
• I was able to make enough money by playing piano in every city to get me to the next location.
• I never felt any pressure to keep moving and took my time.
• In the end, I never turned a profit, but managed to do everything I love while still breaking even!

I truly believe that the people, places, and experiences from the last 10 years of my life have led me to discover Piano Across America. More specifically, it is the events that took place after I graduated college that led me to creating this idea and what I am meant to do with my life.

Graduated college in May 2008 and went home to Long Island, New York to start auditioning for jobs and build my acting career. Over the course of the year I researched the acting world in NYC, did a few non-union gigs, auditioned almost every day, Interned for casting directors and agents, while working different jobs and selling stuff on eBay. I tried so many different things that seemed to get me no where. I didn’t feel like my career was progressing.

In June 2009 I was so frustrated with auditioning that I decided to stop. I didnt like the fact I was wasting an entire day waiting on line for a 30 second interview. I didnt think auditioning was the best way of getting a job and sought a way to create my own opportunities. What scared me the most was I met people at the Equity building in their 40’s that were still doing the same thing when they were in their 20’s and never adapted or changed. I didnt want to be like that. I began practicing piano routinely and took lessons in hopes of using my music to create a one man show.

Finally, in October 2009 I came up with the idea for Piano Across America by combining everything that I love to do in life: Travel, Make music, and meet People. Like anyone in their early 20’s I was brimming with all these ideas, but couldn’t find a single one that I wanted to focus on. I was spreading my attention and time too thin which forced me to throw away ideas. I was conflicted between my desire to make money and wanting to pursue my love of being a performer and artist.

…And thats when things began to change…

In December 2009, I got an offer from my fathers friend (a photographer) to drive his box truck to Miami for a delivery. He paid for all the expenses including a check for my time. I saw it as a great experiment to travel alone in a truck, filming my experiences. It was as if it were meant to be because I originally turned down the offer until I realized how incredible the opportunity was. The trip was a great success and a fun time.

February 2010, I wasn’t auditioning anymore and my acting career took a stand still to work for this photographer as an assistant and truck driver. This was the time Brando entered into my life. It wasnt planned, it just sort of happened. Click here to read the story of my dog, Brando.

March 2010, I was walking on the platform in the West 4th A, C, E subway in NYC and oddly enough I heard a piano. I went over and saw Colin Huggins playing piano. Below is a video of the exact location where I first encountered Colin Huggins. He literally brought an upright piano onto the subway platform. I was so enthralled with the fact that he was doing the dream I thought of in my journal. I was excited, shocked, but most of all, I was envious. It was an envy that motivated me to want pursue my dream. I kept running into him every few weeks or so. He was playing at the 14th street subway with a tap dancer, at Washington Square park… I watched his playing, and I even decided to talk to him when he was in Washington Square Park. He was very down to earth and he explained to me his set up, routine, and how he wheels the piano around.

May 2010 rolled in and I was still working for the photographer, but I was unhappy again. I was frustrated that I was living someone else’s dream rather than working towards my own dream. I started a blog on tumblr called, ThePiano.tumblr.com where I wanted to create a place for pianists and piano lovers to come together.

June 2010 came and “Play Me, I’m Yours” set their 60 piano’s throughout the 5 boroughs. This was a test for me to play a piano in front of people on the streets. I played about 14 of the pianos in Manhattan, filmed my experiences, and I noticed that it was incredibly easy to meet people and other musicians. There was a huge social aspect of playing the piano on the streets. It was as if it instantly opens you up to conversation and breaks down all the boundaries. THIS WAS THE TIPPING POINT. This was the moment where I said to myself, Enough is Enough! I MUST make my dream come true.

But was I ready?

I had only been playing for 4 years. I never played in front of an audience before, nor had I the confidence to do so. There was plenty of self doubt and obstacles but in July 2010 I worked past it and with my fathers help, I strapped my piano to two dollies, wheeled it onto Broadway in downtown New York, and played in front of a deli. I felt the energy of people’s faces looking at me, pointing fingers, and the feeling of having the spot light on me. I mean, I was pushing a piano across the street! At first it was embarassing, but after a few hours I began to really enjoy the feeling. I wasnt sure if I could meet the demands of the people with my skills and really blow them away. I did this a few more times and started noticing patterns, learning from my mistakes, and making changes.

In August 2010, I continued my new found dream and played on the streets 10 more times. I met a man from England who showed me a few things on the piano. We jammed on Broadway and had an amazing time when this other man came up to us and started rapping. In City Hall Park, I met this French documentary director who was enamored by my attempt at playing on the streets. I was able to connect with people instantly when I had the piano and I even scheduled my first gig playing at a gallery event. I was enthralled with meeting new people from all over the world and hearing other people’s stories and comments.

Unfortunately, a terrible incident occurred on September 10, 2010 when I hit a pothole that made the piano fall backwards. I went to stop it but the piano was too heavy and landed on my hand. I broke two fingers and it really put a stop on my goals and dreams. I was torn up with the thought of never being able to play piano again. I couldnt play for 3 months and spent that time dreaming again of playing on the streets. Luckily, I didn’t damage any ligaments or joints which led to very positive outcome in the healing process. This was the point where I started planning for my tour across America. The shock of almost losing the ability to play piano forever pushed me forward to make the dream of traveling across America with my piano happen.

Looking back at all these events, I find it interesting that they all occurred consecutively. Its as if someone knew about my dream beforehand and put those obstacles and events in my path: As if it were meant to be. Life works in mysterious ways and I cannot explain it. But I do believe if you think out your dream enough, eventually it will happen. Anything is possible!

It was August 19th and I was in Boulder, Colorado. I fell in love with Boulder and didnt want to leave. At the same time I was a bit homesick and my birthday was coming up in 3 days. The next major town was Madison, Wisconsin which is a 1000 mile trek through the midwest!

The problem was, I didnt know a single person in Madison and I definitely didnt want to spend my birthday by myself. So i put a few messages up on Tumblr, Facebook, Couchsurfing and began my drive through Nebraska and Iowa.

I arrived in Madison on my birthday (August 22) and received an email from someone who read my message on Couchsurfing. He told me that him and a few of his friends wanted to meet up and take me out for my birthday.

These are people I never met in my entire life! They thought my journey was cool and wanted to meet me. At 7:00 PM, After playing on State street, I packed up my piano and went over to this restaurant to meet my new friends.

We had such an amazing time! They had all these questions for me and they were very open and interesting people. I told them some stories from my 5 months journey. We had a few drinks, ate dinner…

I went to the bathroom and when I got back they surprised me with a cake and candle! I was flabbergasted! Here I was spending my birthday with 6 random people I had just met off the internet and it was one of the greatest birthday’s I’ve ever experienced!

The Moral: The world is filled with people from all backgrounds who are open to new experiences and who want to meet other people. Never judge a book before you’ve read it.

Watch Brando at 8 Weeks old… Cutest Dog EVER!