NYE with Pianopalooza

All that you are about to read is completely true. Names have not been changed to protect anyones identity or self esteem. To say Tony Bohnenkamp and Jerry Lorenson are star-crossed dueling piano partners would be the understatement ofour generation. Don’t believe me? Well then sit tight reader, warm up your Keurig, and get ready to have your mindblown as you read—“The Ballad of Pianopalooza.” At just 4 years of age, a classmate jerked Tony’s swim trunks down to his ankles at the Auralia City Pool in front ofEVERYONE. In an eerily similar event, when Jerry was 4 years old, his mother accidentally HIT HIM WITH THE CAR in agrocery store parking lot. Determined to overcome early adversity, these lone wolves began to awaken their innerpiano-beast with lessons from kind, elderly piano teachers that wore very strong perfume. Fast forward to adolescence—at 15, while front row for The Smashing Pumpkins, lead singer Billy Corgan spit on Jerryduring the show. For Jerry, this was transformative. He emerged from the concert anointed and reborn—like one half ofa full Phoenix. Meanwhile—at The Outfield/Starship concert the summer before his freshman year, Tony recalls “thelights went up, and The Outfield started playing. I felt like I was floating above the crowd, and The Outfield was playinga private-but-not-in-a-weird-way show just for me.” These early encounters with rock & roll royalty put Tony and Jerry on a collision course trajectory—destined to crash intoeach other like a cosmic Dave Matthews song 20 years in the making. Fate would finally unite them when Jerry movedto Des Moines and needed a place to stay. A thundering voice in his head told Tony to offer him a spare room— and theyhaven’t looked back since. They have forged an unbreakable friendship built on fundamental elements like MarioKart and cigarettes. Althougheach has had success as solo artists and with other bands, Jerry sums it up nicely saying “I just pray each day that Tonyand I die at the exact same…