‘Backstage’ with Petaluma Pete

“Wait till you see this,” says John Maher. “This is my ‘backstage.’ It’ll blow your mind.”

Cheerfully pushing open a large sliding door, Maher steps through the entrance of an old barn/warehous on the west side of Petaluma. As he does, a low, bright shaft of morning sunlight illuminates a mysterious, semi-shadowy assemblage of upright pianos.

Lots of them. Some black, some purple, some yellow. Some are adorned with photos and/or paintings of smiling cows, free floating fruits and vegetables, plus landscapes, riverscapes and cityscapes of Petaluma. One has the hand-painted veneer of a brick fireplace. Another resembles an old manual typewriter.

“Allow me give you the grand tour,” says Maher, otherwise known as Petaluma Pete, downtown Petaluma’s very own bowler-hatted, white-gloved pianist-in-residence and pedestrian-pleasing tickler of sidewalk-situated ivories. “There’s no electricity in here,” he explains, switching on the flashlight function of his smartphone to lead the way deeper inside. The warehouse is used by the Petaluma Small Craft Center as a storage space, which explains the various boats and water-related accessories parked here and there. “The boat center kindly allows me to keep some pianos and things here,” Maher says. Gesturing back through the front door, he points to where one of his favorite pianos is already loaded onto his pickup truck, soon to be delivered to the Petaluma Yacht Club, where Maher will be performing later this afternoon, as part of a fundraiser for the Small Craft Center’s planned float house and rental facility on the Petaluma Turning Basin. “We help each other out,” Maher says. “For all of us, it’s all about Petaluma.”

In a back room, more pianos stand in rows, along with a salvaged rack on which hang more than a dozen piano benches.

“This one was sponsored by Clover,” he says, affectionately patting the pink-and-purple piano on his right, colorfully emblazoned with Clo the Cow and her 50th anniversary birthday cake. “This one, and another piano that was sponsored by the Argus-Courier, and is currently on display in a store window downtown, those are the two pianos that will be used for the Petaluma Honky-Tonk Piano Competition on September 15. That’s the big effort we’re all working on right now, the second annual honky-tonk contest, this time at Brewster’s Beer Garden. It’s going to be a huge party and a great show, all to raise money for the Petaluma River Promenade.”

The contest, which Maher first launched last year, awards prizes to both Junior Level musicians and Pro Level performers, with special appearances throughout the show. There will be plenty of opportunity for Maher and supporters to tout the promenade project, a long-sought restoration of the downtown train trestle, currently in disrepair and fenced off at the edge of the Turning Basin.

“The event is free, but people can donate online,” says Maher. “And we’ll be auctioning off a lot of these pianos, and some of the other ones on display all over town, starting at $500 each.” He is referring, of course, to the dozens of pianos, decorated enthusiastically by local artists, which can be seen in storefronts all over town, and have become a point-of-pride for many residents and a routine focus of selfies and photo-ops for delighted visitors. “A piano is a piano is a piano,” he says, “but when you turn it into art, it becomes more than a piano and more than art. It’s something unique.” The Clover piano, he points out, will eventually be on display in the lobby of Clover Sonoma.

“The cool thing about the contest,” Maher says, “is how many people want to be a part of it. Some of the folks who won last year are excited to be returning to try and do it again. It’s a total blast, man! And it’s all part of the effort to get the trestle refurbished. That’s gonna happen, one way or another. I can feel it.”

The Junior Level competition, kicking things off at 3 p.m., will include performances by 11-year-old Kiran Lisker (last year’s Second Place winner), 4th grader Kiran Allidina, Elias Levanthal (age 12), Zachary Fuette (age 12, last year’s First Place winner), Audrey Hester (age 10) and Aidan Hester (age 10). Competitors in the Pro Level competition, beginng at 5 p.m., include Michael McQuilkin, Jamie Parker, David Holt, Morgan Olk (last year’s Third Place winner), Rob Catterton and Roger Corman (last year’s Second Place winner). Last year’s Pro Level winner, Neil Fontano, will be making a non-competitive appearance as well.

“Check this out,” says Maher, playing a quick volley of notes on an attractive Baldwin nearby. “This is the piano I played out on the street for over a year. It’s really loud. I love this piano. For a long time, it was the only piano I had that I’d never broken a string on. Then, one day, the people who gave me the piano came up and said, ‘How’s the piano?’ So of course, I was bragging about how it had never once broken a string. And right then, right in front of them, it broke a string.”

Speaking of strings, just before closing up the barn and heading off to deliver the piano to the Yacht Club, Maher shines his light on a vintage instrument in the shadows.

“People ask where I get replacement strings from,’ Maher says. “This is my string farm, right here. I take keys from this one too, sometimes, when I need replacements. They are 50 years old, but they’re still better than a lot of the strings being made today. Bet you didn’t know that? This is all just part of the behind-the-scenes magic that is Petaluma Pete.”