Dueling Pianos at Indian Island Winery

What do you get when you combine one pianist from Minnesota and another from Wisconsin? A talented duo who shows their musical prowess interspersed with comedic relief.

That’s what the duo Crazy Keys Dueling Pianos brought to the Indian Island Winery in rural Janesville on Saturday afternoon. Because the weather was nice, the winery decided to have the two pianists on their patio as opposed to performing inside. And it was a sellout event. There were so many people attending that cars had to park in the grass next to the gravel lot.

The “duelists” of Crazy Keys Dueling Pianos are Johnny Griggs and Rob Vacanti. Griggs has been a live performer since the 1970s, although it was 1993 when he decided he wanted to start a dueling pianos ensemble. After taking years to learn the craft and performing as part of a few dueling piano pairs, he formed “The Ivory Kings” in 2000, giving him the opportunity to play all around the United States.

Vacanti’s start on the ivories came at age 13 when he began playing theater organ. Since then, he’s been going between the Crazy Keys Dueling Pianos group and fishing at his home in northwest Minnesota.

Griggs and Vacanti formed the duo over 13 years ago and have traveled around the midwest ever since. Their performance at the winery this past weekend seesawed between showing off their musical prowess and taking digs at each other for comedic effect.

The funniest bit included an argument between the two about which NFL football team–Minnesota or Green Bay–is better. Vacanti, a Vikings fan through and through, called Griggs a “cheesehead” and led the crowd in the Vikings’ fight song, “Skol, Vikings, Skol.”

When not providing comedy, the two complimented each other nicely between songs. Although they had a set list on hand that included the Doors’ tune “Love Her Madly,” the duo honored any request sent their way. A couple of requests included singing “Happy Birthday.”

The two claim to specialize in corporate events, fundraisers, and weddings. With their performance at the Indian Island Winery this past weekend, they can add “performing on the back patio of a vineyard” to their list of specialties. It was a great day for some musical and comedic entertainment which also featured pizza, sunshine, and a nice glass of locally made wine.