Sing Court Street a song, you're our piano man
By Maria Fisher, Staff Writer
February 26, 2006 | 6:04 p.m.
'Rick Okeefe, Athens' very own “piano man,” greets Court Street walkers and stumblers on most weekend nights with a piano, a friendly smile and a knack for improvisational jazz.
Athens is a typical college town in almost every way. The streets, buildings and parks are constantly filled with students and professors. Specialists in every conceivable area of study have at some point walked OU's greens; from meteorologists to violinists; from those perfecting racquetball to speaking Swahili. But sometimes, it is not in the classroom that we find some of the wisest and most interesting personalities. Sometimes, it is simply in the man bringing piano keys to life on Court Street.
Okeefe wears a straw hat and has been the piano man next to Taco Bell on Court Street most weekend nights for three years. He specializes in improvisational jazz, peppered with a touch of blues -- like music heard in a saloon. But perhaps even more colorful than the music that he brings to Court Street is Okeefe's personality.
"I'm from Illinois, but I'm ashamed of it," Okeefe said. "I wish I were from Ohio. I have been to every state except Alaska and Hawaii, but Ohio is my state. Some people belong in certain places, like in California. But I belong here."
His passion for Ohio -- a place that he acknowledged is judged out west as being "square" and "boring" -- is intriguing to say the least. It seems hard to believe that someone could love this state so much, especially after traveling the country; seeing places like the Rockies in Colorado or the sunset on the Gulf Coast. But looking into his eyes as he gazed out at Athens -- fingers moving a mile-a-minute on his honky-tonk piano -- I really did believe in his love for this place.
"Ohio has nothing to brag about so people are themselves," he said.
But why Athens, instead of a bigger city? "I am happy here and I have friends here. It's the happiest place I know of," he said.
To Okeefe, Athens is something of Ohio's own “melting pot.”
"I get to study the whole map of Ohio just by meeting people here," Okeefe said. "Athens is what L.A. pretends to be: laid back, fun-loving." When asked to explain this further, the piano man said, "You're talking to me, right? Out in California you'd have a can of mace."
Perhaps he was right. Athens is through and through, a party-town... but in a good-natured way. There are enough ways to have fun and to experience something of a "city life" while maintaining a certain innocence and humility that is lost to places like Los Angeles. Okeefe especially noted the friendliness of the majority of OU students.
But along with the personality of the town, Okeefe also admired the physical beauty of Athens. "I've never seen a more beautiful city plan," he remarked.
With a sweep of his arms he spoke of how the College Gate opens up to this beautiful brick town; buildings with gorgeous stone pillars juxtaposing wide, lush, open greens.
But Okeefe is not known as the Court Street piano man because of his colorful adjectives and unabashed love for Athens. He is, first and foremost, a "small-muscle athlete," as he called it, showing me his well-muscled fingers. He is a skilled player of the banjo, fiddle, and accordion in addition to the piano. "I'm 100% self-taught on the banjo," he said, "but only 99% on the piano, even though I won't admit to ever being taught by anyone."
He revealed that he plays in a style that he calls his "New Orleans style."
But why outdoors? "This is my chosen venue," he said. "I wouldn't meet [people like] you inside. I'd be messing with smoke and alcohol and noisy bartenders."
He's probably right. But his music is just the kind you'd expect to hear in a small-town bar. "Keep in mind I've only got 64 keys, and several of them are broken," he said as he prepared to play me a sample. His eyes remained closed the entire time as his fingers danced along and painted a bouncy, jazzy melody. He improvised on the spot. He said that at times he will “repeat” certain songs, but that when he does, they are "like snowflakes. They're a lot alike but no two have ever been exactly alike." But he can play the "fancy stuff," too, he said, referring to classical piano. He played an original song then, telling me that he has heard it compared to classical greats such as Schumann. Schumann would have loved to hear it.
He told me that when one loves to do something, it is not work. "I could play for seven hours straight and be ready for seven more," he said.
He noted the friendliness of Athens’ inhabitants; the way it inspires him to play music, and the wonderful people he has met. His dancing fingers didn't seem to notice that he was wearing socks on his hands for warmth. He sat there with a smaller-than-your-average-size piano -- a piano just as humble as its player -- and single-handedly changed the entire mood on Court Street for all who could hear, giving it character as well as a certain cheeriness that can get lost on a busy street filled with the sounds of beeping cars.
"I think he's really talented," OU freshman Jen England said. "Rain or shine, he's out there playing away. That's dedication."
As he played and talked with me, always making a special point to remember my name, I wondered if he understood how much he has done for this place he loves so well. I wondered if he knew that yes, he had loved it before many of us, but does he understand how much more loveable he has made it for everyone else?
"He's always playing music and it really adds energy and livens it up," said OU senior and Perk's employee Kathryn Perfelice. Okeefe is a regular at Perk's. "He's a very nice guy," Kathryn said.