Are you an erstwhile pianist who only gave up your musical love because you have no idea where to score a cheap, used baby grand? Enter Piano Pound. The work of a drunk Redditor, the site collates free Bay Area piano listings off Craigslist and drops them on an easily browsable page.
"I got drunk and made a site highlighting all the free pianos in the San Francisco Bay," writes Piano Pound creator Silas Moon. "This was literally just an hour banging out a website real quick. I did it all under the power of whisky."
But more than just an easy way to find free pianos, Piano Pound, much like the SF SPCA, provides names and stories for all the old and forgotten instruments in the hopes that they'll once again find a new home.
"I've gone ahead and written them backstories as well in the hopes someone might find themselves in one of these forgotten friends," Silas continued. "Back stories are now going live with each night I sip upon my glass."
With piano names like Sir, Hamilton, Goldie, and Scruffs, the booze definitely continues to flow. However, it appears there is more than just a few drunken nights at the keyboard behind the project.
"They used to say only coffin makers and piano builders would never be out of a job, but today in the San Francisco Bay area, that’s no longer the case," reads a strangely sober-sounding "about" page. "Faced with high rents, a declining arts scene and steep hundred year old staircases, pianos are a free commodity. This site seeks to find great pianos homes, so that they might once more bring joy and creativity."
Maybe the next musician hoping to put on a Bernal Hill concert will have an easier time at it thanks to Piano Pound. Regardless, the backstories make for good reading.
Related: Photos: SoMa Art Installation Boasts 12 One-Ton Pianos