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“Piano Man” Wade Preston Returns to CRT By Br yan VanC ampe n Expires 3/31/22
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ade Preston, “The Piano Man”, returns to CRT in Cortland on Saturday, October 23 for two performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Preston worked with Billy Joel on the Broadway musical “Movin’ Out” and is back for a fourth time to share Joel’s songs, from the big hits to the deep cuts. Preston spoke to the Ithaca Times about his COVID year, keeping his show fresh, and his new CD. Ithaca Times: Tell me about your COVID time. Is everybody OK? Wade Preston: Yeah, I managed to survive it. I laid low. I was fortunate not to contract the disease. I did a number of virtual concerts; some people requested videos, and I had a bit of savings to get me through the rainy days. I came out with a CD in July of 2020, and sold a bunch of those. That helped as well. It gave me something to focus on, ‘cause I was working with this relatively new ensemble, just a bass player and a drummer – The Wade Preston Band 2.0 (laughs) – and it was going really well. We were rehearsing on a regular basis, and I was getting them to sing, so it was really cool having a three-piece band with three-part harmony, and they were really into it, and then COVID hit. The thing that kind of kept me from losing my mind, ‘cause there was so little to do, was staying focused on this CD. So that helped me get through it, psychologically. I had a personal project to focus on. IT: It must have been nice to say what you wanted to say. WP: Yeah, it’s funny that you say that. The concerts that I do revolve largely around Billy Joel’s music, and there’s some Elton, and there’s
some boogie that I throw in there; the piano pyrotechnics. But I’ve got a lot of original music, and I don’t really get to focus on that a whole hell of a lot. So it’s nice to have something that represents my own sense of individuality. I have my own personality, I have my own music, I have my own, as you say, “things to say.” [laughs] IT: You’ve played at CRT before. WP: I believe this is my fourth time. IT: How do you keep things fresh? WP: There are certain songs that they’re gonna wanna hear every time. There are classics that if I don’t play, they’ll get upset. But Billy’s catalog alone is so vast that I can always find songs to sprinkle in there to keep it fresh. I have an arrangement of “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan that I’ll probably play. It just seems to draw people in. Just a beautiful song and a beautiful sentiment. I don’t always have to play Billy Joel, and also, I’ve got a CD to push. I wanna try to at least get a couple of originals in there. IT: What’s the name of the CD? WP: “Lost in the Noise.” A few years ago, a friend of mine said, “How come you haven’t put a CD of your own out?” And my answer was, “Well, you know, every day I’ve got these long-term goals, but all the short-term goals kind of consume my days, and the long-term goals keep getting put on the back burner.” And she said, “Oh, you’re lost in the noise.” And I said, “And that will be the title of the CD,” [laughs] Lo and behold, about two weeks later, I was in the studio recording the first song.
