https://lorieline.com/shop

https://lorieline.com/shop

Dear Fans,

I'm so excited to be back in the recording studio! Yes, I am working on a new album called THE KINGS (complimentary to my latest THE QUEENS album). It celebrates legendary men in music over the years and will feature 14 songs on a CD and in a Music Book. All licenses approved! COMING THIS SUMMER! 

I can't wait to share this timeless and fabulous music with all of you! NOW TAKING PRE-ORDERS! CD $15 MUSIC BOOK $35

FEATURES THESE SONGS

What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)

The Sound of Silence (Paul Simon)

Raindrops Keep Fallilng On My Head (Burt Bacharach)

Piano Man (Billy Joel)

She's Out Of My Life  (Michael Jackson)

Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley)

My Way (Frank Sinatra)

Friends In Low Places (Garth Brooks)

Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)

Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)

Galveston (Glenn Campbell)

Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone (Bill Withers)

Your Song (Elton John)

Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver)

Tim and I recently went on a cruise on the new Ritz Carlton Yacht, in and out of Tokyo. It was a huge splurge for us (we had planned it for a few years to celebrate our 40th anniversary). Because it is such a long flight, we decided to go a few days early to (recover from jet lag and) explore Tokyo. We stayed in the Ginza district, overlooking the bay where we would board the yacht, in a beautiful hotel on the 19th floor. The room was sooo tiny. My side of the bed butted up against the window and this was my view. 

We'd never been to Japan before. It was a perfect time to go as the cherry blossom trees and the spring flowers were all in the very early stages of blooming and it was beautiful.

I'm an endorsed Yamaha artist, and before we left Minneapolis, Tim called Yamaha New York and made plans for us to take a day trip out to Kakegawa to visit the Yamaha plant where my piano was made 35 years ago. It would be a sentimental day for me, as my piano is the most special thing I own. It's truly one-of-a-kind.

We felt quite brave as we do not speak Japanese and we had to navigate taking the bullet train out to the country. We began our day bright and early at the central train station where everyone was getting on and off the trains. Let me just say that I've never seen so many people . . . all marching in time to go to work. (It felt like a scary dream, with me standing off to the side.) Literally millions of people were all walking, almost in exact time, rushing to go from one high-rise building . . . to another high-rise building to work all day. Everyone was dressed similarly (and very nice), the men in suits, and the women in modest, simple dresses wearing flats, all carrying a larger handbag (with probably a dressier shoe in them for the day). 

If the crowded space didn't scare me enough, the speed of the bullet train did. 177 miles per hour is "crazy fast", especially when there is another train coming at you in the opposite direction with only about two feet of separation. 

We arrived in Kakegawa before lunch and made our way in an Uber out to the factory. It was a cool, rainy day, but we were prepared as I had packed light rain jackets (from TJ Maxx, of course). Unlike Tokyo, we were in a very small country-side town, where there was very little to do. It was obvious that the main attraction in the town was Yamaha. It seemed to employ everyone.

We walked into the lobby and our private tour guide was waiting for us. At the time, we were the only ones there and she was excited to greet us. There were pianos everywhere, all in different rooms. It was like candy in a candy shop.

Pianists (from around the world) come here every day to select a brand new piano. Our tour guide informed us that shoppers typically select from three pianos. They set them aside, and have their tuners and technicians work on them just before the buyer comes to the plant. I wasn't shopping, but she allowed me to play any and all of the pianos on the showroom floor. There was one that was really unique and special, so different than any piano I'd ever played or seen, so that one I tried.

Eventually, I ended up in the back room that was reserved with limited access. It was there that I played two world-class CFX concert grand pianos (like mine), both special and very different from each other . . . one older, one fairly new. Although they were the same piano in size, they sounded completely different.

Every piano is unique. They have their own personality because they are made from a one-of-a-kind, God-created individual spruce tree. The tree is cut down and preserved outside for a year, then brought inside and cut again and created by craftsmen who bend together multiple layers of veneer, compressing them under high pressure, gluing together curved pieces. There are over 20 steps to the making of a piano, and Tim and I walked the factory to see the process of putting a piano all together. Cameras were not allowed as they value all their secrets to manufacturing such a fine instrument.

Only one person worked in each station, and they had a specific job, performing the task sometimes on a timer. Once their job was completed, the piano was released and went down the assembly line to the next station, technician or engineer, until in the end, the dampers were attached, and a machine would strike every key to break in the action and allow the strings to vibrate. The piano is then seasoned in a controlled enviroment and once it is ready for the next stage, the top board, legs and pedals are attached. A final regulation is done to hone in the pitch and season the sound, the dampers are adjusted, and a very talented artisan voices each hammer (pierces the felt to adjust the tone of the piano) to give it a rich tone. 

One thing I learned, or maybe I just never thought about it, is that the hammers are made from sheep's wool. I always saw them as "felt" (and I've spent thousands of hours looking at them) but never put that all together . . .  that even a single (again, God-created) sheep has something to do with each and every piano. Personally, I voice my piano once or twice a year, as it definitely changes the sound. (I'm always hesitant to do that when I'm out on a tour because I'm so used to the sound and it definitely changes it.) But when you pierce and pluck the hammer, or the wool of the sheep, it gives it more elasticity. The overall goal is to create a rich and clear sound that is pleasing to the ear.

It takes one whole year to make a piano, and this factory puts out 25 pianos a day. We couldn't believe it! However, a concert grand piano like mine . . . it is completely hand-made with no robots or machines. It takes three years to make my piano. I inquired about the pricing. Brand new concert grand pianos now cost $180,000.00! I'm so grateful that Yamaha endorsed me and provided me with a very affordable purchase price 35 years ago. 

Of all the pianos I played that day, I came away loving one, by far, the most. The clarity, the richness, the sweet tone, the balanced sound, the perfect blend of bright versus warmth, the excellent reverberation from pianissimo to fortissimo, the color and finish, and its history . . .  I've never played another piano like it in all my years. 

The piano?

Mine.

* * * THE BACK STORY * * * 

When I first started touring (37 years ago now), we'd book a concert where we knew the venue had a piano available for me to play. After a couple of years, we decided we had to do something because, well . . . the stories are unbelievable. The person in charge would excitedly meet us and take us to the piano and tell us how beautiful it was . . .  and that "all the keys work, but there are a couple of broken strings." We would book a show at a high school, or a community theatre, and there the piano would sit on the stage with all the coke cans on top of it from the play the night before. Ugh!!! Most venue pianos are tuned once a year, if you're lucky. They're old and "tubby." Now, let me say that some venues do take very good care of their pianos (and thank you to all the theatres who lovingly care for their pianos), but in most cases, a backstage piano is basically just a big piece of furniture that gets in the way. 

Since I was touring so much, we started inquiring about endorsements. Yamaha was interested, so we asked if we could borrow a piano for a tour. They just so happened to have a new concert grand CFIIIX over at the Orpheum in St. Paul. It was one of three very fine pianos sitting back stage (and very well cared for), waiting to be played by world-renowned artists. This piano sat (covered in a special temperature-controlled room) next to a Baldwin and a Steinway.

So . . .  they allowed me to "borrow" it and take it out on a tour.

I never gave it back.

After that tour, the piano went home to live with me forever.

I "adopted" him and gave him a name.

So . . . here I am 35 years later . . . and I just traveled half-way around the world . . .  and, you know what? There wasn't one piano that even came close to the one that I love the most.

Black Beauty. 

It sits in my own living room.

The finest in all the world.

Below is a picture of my "office" where I work every day. 

Black Beauty sits comfortably at 65-68 degrees in our home with two of the finest microphones placed perfectly to capture his sound, He still loves touring and will load out and onto the truck again this winter, visiting over 30 cities.

He likes the view.

CLICK HERE FOR CHRISTMAS DATES NOW IN PLACE

Dear Fans,

We are almost done booking this year's Christmas tour. We have a few cities we are still working on, but it's coming along!

Check back often, as we are still confirming new cities . . .  but hope to be done soon!

So anxious to see all of you again this year!

Lorie Line

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ANNUAL MUSIC LICENSE FOR YOUR CHURCH