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LOCALWednesday 30 December
Through New Year’s Eve:
Chicago Piano Man Steve Kouba Performing at The Sopranos!
--Chicago piano bar enter- New Year’s Eve at The So- Irausquin 368. type of wild-eyed creative
tainer Steve Kouba is per- pranos Piano Bar, located PALM BEACH - Steve is the archetype that this country
forming in Aruba through in Arawak Gardens at J.E. used to breed in bunches.
In today’s world of plastic
heroes and paper tigers, In 2014, Kouba became
Kouba looms large over a part owner of the new Ze-
creative body of work that bra Lounge in Memphis,
reaches around the globe, TN, and the bar quickly be-
blending tight modern rock came popular with lovers
style and sensibility with of brilliant live music and
the piano bar tradition. He local service industry per-
owns the title ‘Jack Of All sonnel. He’s performed du-
Trades (Master of None)’ eling pianos regularly over
and keeps it on full lock- the last decade at Sluggers
down, using the power of World Class Sports Bar and
The Song, in all of its forms, Dueling Pianos, across from
to propel him forward in Wrigley Field.
life. He tours. He records. Too big for the Lower 48 to
He lives. He loves. He is The contain, Kouba has taken
Most Interesting Man at the his act to many piano bars
Piano. in the Caribbean. He has
Kouba has logged more played in St. Maarten, Bar-
than 15 years as a piano bados and is now playing
man in Chicago’s Gold return engagements on the
Coast. His first downtown island of Aruba
gig was at the old Jay’s, on With a 20 year history per-
the corner of Walton and forming behind a piano
State, where he was set up and keyboard, Steve Kou-
on a piano “so dilapidated ba has become one of Chi-
it barely passed for furni- cago’s most recognizable
ture,’ Steve recalls. ‘You entertainers. From piano
had to work the sustain bars and intimate venues to
pedal via its plywood lever rock stages, festival crowds,
in the guts of the piano with cruise ships and Caribbean
your entire leg, accessed piano bars, he navigates
through a hole kicked in an ever-changing world
the frame by some desper- of creative entertainment
ate player before I came on a journey that is taking
along.” He was an ongo- him around the planet and
ing attraction at the origi- back again. He is a solid
nal Underground Wonder performer with the abil-
Bar, where he held down ity to make a crowd listen
the legendary Sunday and and laugh in any venue,
Monday graveyard shifts public or private. He’s a
(1-4 AM) for years, perform- self-described ‘piano-man-
ing radio rock on a grand bar-star-vagabond-duck-
piano for Gold Coast noc- up-with-a -recording-habit’
turnals. The Wonder Bar was who is continuing to speed
where Kouba truly found his up and spread his word
magic and mode as a play- with each unforgettable
er in the piano game. From show. He performs nightly,
there, he began playing except Saturdays, from
all manner of clubs, piano 8pm to 1am.q
bars, and high-end steak-
houses. He can still be seen
at the Zebra Lounge - The
Zebra, an iconic club that
holds the 3rd oldest liquor
license in the city, has been
voted Best Piano Bar in Chi-
cago. Steve even repre-
sented The Zebra on reality
television on the truTV se-
ries Barmageddon in 2015.
