ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Those looking for a night of good entertainment while also supporting local children will soon have exactly that chance.
The Killer Dueling Pianos will be performing from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at Sapphire Night Club at 401 N. Kansas Ave. as a fundraiser for the Liberal High School After Prom Committee. Individual tickets are $60, and table sponsorships (which includes eight seats and two buckets of beer) are $700, and attendees must be 21 or older to get in the door. That night will feature Jami McNeill and Ashley Owen on the pianos.
“If you're looking for a fun and exciting show, the Killer Dueling Pianos is a good one, because it's truly like a big party,” Killer Dueling Pianos owner Ryan Bueter said. “We do these shows for the community, and since we're doing this with the LHS After Prom Committee, we want to do what we can to help give those students a good and fun prom. It's a good way for us to give back to the community, and it's just a really fun time for everyone. Killer Dueling Pianos is an all-request, interactive music/comedy show. The dueling pianists will be set up at the front of the room, and there will be request slips and pencils on all the tables so people can share what songs they want to hear. Expect some great piano playing and to hear and see singing and clapping and crowd interaction the entire night.”
The company has been around for several years, and Bueter said it has been a fun journey.
“Killer Dueling Pianos is based out of Visalia, Calif., and I started doing dueling piano shows in 1997 and then started my own company in 2009. Around 2015, I partnered with Jami, who is from Denver, and we started sharing shows throughout the Rocky Mountains area and other surrounding communities – in fact, the first time I performed in Liberal, Jami was the other pianist,” Bueter said. “We actually have another Liberal show scheduled for January, and I'll be out there for that. How I got started in piano shows is there was a piano bar I walked into in Columbus, Ohio in 1997 and my friends I was with gave the guys onstage some money to let me get up and sing a song, and they asked me to work there. The most fun part of everything is we're giving a show the people want. The people in the audience are the ones writing down what songs they want to hear on the request slips, so the audience is getting literally the show it wants. Dueling piano shows are also great for fundraising because they're shows that can generate some good money. When we do shows like what we'll be doing for the LHS After Prom Committee, all the money we get in the tip jars will go toward giving the LHS students a good prom.”
When the LHS After Prom Committee got in touch about doing a fundraiser, Bueter said there was little hesitation in saying yes.
“The first time we'd gotten contacted by them was back in 2017. I'd played at Pub On The Bricks in Guymon, Okla. in 2015. Somehow, the powers that be had either been at that show or had heard about us playing and got in touch with us about doing a show, and it was a great time. We've performed in Liberal a few times since then, and they’ve all been great,” Bueter said. “For this upcoming show, Olivia [Rhine] had gotten in touch with us in September, and we were more than happy to get the call because we love performing in Liberal and being part of fundraising efforts like this. We've done fundraisers for the Wounded Warrior Project, the American Heart Association and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, among many others, and we're more than happy to be part of those types of efforts.”
While Bueter will not be one of the pianists at the upcoming show, he said the group of future shows have a special meaning for him.
“We're zooming right into the holidays, and we'll definitely be keeping busy with company Christmas parties and similar events, and those should be really great,” Bueter said. “I'll be starting back on the road in November in Texas and California and Wyoming, which I'm really excited about because I've been off the road for a while battling throat cancer and working to build my strength back up so I don't wear myself out. My body is still pretty weak from having dealt with that, so I'm working on building myself back up. Since it was throat cancer, I couldn't eat normally for about six weeks and was eating through a feeding tube, and that messed with me quite a bit. As any musician will tell you, touring is brutal, so I'm working bit by bit to make sure I don't wear myself out when I do get back out there. The blessing of everything is, I didn't lose my voice, which I'm very grateful for, and I'm looking forward to getting to play again.”
Among those future shows will be another stop in Liberal in January, Bueter said.
“We will be back in Liberal in January, and it'll be Part 2 of the high school's prom fundraiser. I'll definitely be excited to get back to Liberal then since I have a bunch of friends in that area, and it'll be a great show with Jami and I playing,” Bueter said. “She's fantastic and talented, and I'll be bringing one of my guitars along with me as part of that show, so it'll be a good time. Jami and Ashley are fantastic and they should do a great show for everyone when they're there in a couple weeks.”
Overall, Bueter said, November’s show should be a great time for everyone.
“Come on out and support the show, it's for a good cause in the community to help the LHS students have a good prom. Young people are the future, and we should be doing what we can to support them when it comes to events like this,” Bueter said. “Anyone who's interested can visit our Web site, DuelingPianosForHire.com, and they can also follow us on social media. Overall, it should be a great night, and everyone should have a great time.”
