PORT TOWNSEND — When Chris Flowers moved to Port Townsend from Florida two weeks ago, he was walking down Water Street and heard the sounds of a piano.
“I just got here and didn’t really know anybody, and then I saw a piano on the street,” said Flowers, 25, who has been playing since he was 4.
“I said ‘that really works for me.’”
Since it was rolled out Aug. 15, the piano has been shuffled to and from different downtown locations with Flowers and Ethan Walat, 25, alternating as regulars and anyone else who wants to plunk out a tune welcome to do so.
A the crowds grow, Walat and Flowers are seeking a more permanent arrangement to establish the old upright as the Port Townsend community piano.
The idea is that anyone with the impulse can sit down at the piano, set out a tip jar and play for fun or profit.
Flowers, who has played professionally, arrived in town with drummer Aaron Fowler, who accompanies him on a selection of jazz, blues and whatever strikes his fancy.
Walat, who is trained on the cello, plays a selection of what sounds like classical pieces but are often his own compositions. He has been playing for about four years.
Flowers moved to Port Townsend to become general manager at Ichikawa, 1208 Water St., which is owned and operated by his mother, Dotty Flowers.
Walat plays as a hobby and works in a variety of odd jobs such as landscaping and painting.
As an entertainer, Flowers gauges the audience and plays what he feels is appropriate for the setting — which means nothing too weird.
“There is a line that I don’t think should be crossed in a public space,” Flowers said.
“If you are in a late-night venue where people are coming to see you, that’s one thing, but on the street there is an etiquette that you follow.”
The featured pianist sets out the tip jar when sitting down and takes home whatever people kick in during the set.
That can range from $20 to $200 a day, Flowers said.
The same rules apply for anyone who sits down to jam — although many passersby aren’t in it for the money.
“Whoever is playing has the opportunity to keep what’s in the tip jar for themselves, but a lot of the people who have just sat down have said ‘whatever, you can keep it,’” Flowers said.
For the first several days the piano was at the corner of Water and Quincy streets, but there were some complaints “from people who were tired of hearing the same stuff all the time, day and night,” Flowers said.
It is now most frequently at the corner of Water and Taylor streets but will vary its location, Walat said.
Flowers made moving around possible by attaching wheels to the piano, which makes it easy for it to go from place to place.
Walat now “owns” the piano. It was passed on to him after it was dropped off at Waste Not Want Not “where they were going to take it to the dump,” he said.
He’s not sure of its history, saying that it was once housed in the Water Street Brewery and has been shuffled around between different locations.
“It’s in pretty good shape,” he said,
“It needs some general maintenance — some of the keys stick — but other than that, it’s fine.”
Walat said that the piano isn’t violating any city ordinance as long as it conforms to city statute, which is to stay within a four-foot-by-eight-foot space and not obstruct the sidewalk.
The biggest issue is where it should go at night.
“At first we just pushed it at the edge of a building and threw a tarp over it but we can’t do that anymore,” Walat said.
Most nights it is stored in Ichikawa, an arrangement that will probably continue until the end of the season.
Walat said that it most likely will stay on the street until after the Wooden Boat and Film Festivals in September, although it depends on the weather.
When the weather changes, Walat will take the piano home, repair it and make arrangements to bring it out again in the spring.
The piano has a Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-piano.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.