jackson4socks try meeting him he's a pric went to hs with my father in hicksville long island he lives in oysterbay goes to my friends restaurant won't give u a autograph or nuthin ..hicksville high school even kicked him out when he came up on his Harley ... lol
Ive been playing piano for 21 years. I literally almost stood up and applauded when Billie Joel asked what key it was going to be in and that guy responded "What key do you want it in?" Thats fucking TALENT man! I wish I could buy this kid a beer...
A once-in-a-lifetime moment. Thank you Billy Joel for saying yes, and giving it to him. Wow! I applaud his courage in standing up to ask for the opportunity.
Only if the college pays enough John. Don't kid yourself. For the arena shows you have to pay A LOT more people that just Billy. You have 50 plus people involved in those shows. For these masterclasses, Billy typically only does colleges that have money, many times ivy league schools.
just to really drive the point home...im a stagehand and for a show like billy there might be 100+ gotta remember the crew that builds the stage and all the lighting and video and audio techs plus hte stadium itself then billy and ihs entire crew...evreyone is getting paid from those tickets which is hwy they are so expensive. a show liek this is hceaper because teh students are the stagehands omst likely...although this is vandy so it w might have been crew one guys thta set the stage and whatnot. ive worked vandy stadium a bunch of times over the years...but just to panit a serious picture...CMAfest last year there were close ot maybe 200 stagehands cumulatively over the preshow days...and the post sohw htere was probably 200+ just on the over night gig...its a massive undertaking...i have some awesome pictures still from cmafest...such an experience and so much fun to work and build.
Billy Joel is a class act. Musician at his finest and giving Michael an opportunity to display his talent. What a gift. Memorable moment to appreciate two fine musicians. Michael definitely has soul to play the way he does. Any real singer would appreciate. Billy’s voice just gets better with time. Bravo!
A musician friend of mine said the best compliment he could ever get is to hear someone else play his song. This must have been great for both of them. I enjoyed it too :)
Da Vinci was an artist, not a painter. You can find painters anywhere; and people who can spell but don't know when spelling is not as important as how one can make a person feel just by being silent....
Not many superstars would give a chance like this to someone they have never met. For all Billy Joel knew this guy could have a hard time getting through Chopsticks. But he gave him a chance. Thats all a lot of musicians need is a chance to prove themselves. I have always loved Billy Joel but i like him even more after seeing this.
@Jason - Well if everybody is pointing to him, then they must know he has something going. Billy went with instinct here. He also had nothing to lose. If the kid sucked, then Billy wouldn't look like an idiot, the kid would. Also they probably could have editing out the segment from the program if it was that bad.
Richard you clearly haven't listened to much live Billy. He's been doing it the same for years. The kid was copying off the records & Billy was singing to himself. Don't pretend like it's improv. What kind of doctor are you anyway?
It's wonderful that Billy Joel has finally found the confidence and peace of mind of who he is that allows him to share the spotlight. This is a memory that Michael Pollock will remember all his life.
That was BRILLIANT! HUGE shout out to Billy for allowing this to happen. Total CLASS ACT Mr. Billy Joel! To the pianist, WOW brother, YOU WERE HEARD AROUND THE WORLD! Excellent skills and portrayal of the fine work that Billy has endowed us with throughout his illustrious career! This was AMAZING!
I'd be honored if some Billy Joel fans would check out my acoustic piano & vocal covers of his brilliant compositions ALLENTOWN and VIENNA on my channel in tribute to the master. Live acoustic with no autotune or tech enhancements. Thanks and peace.
Bravo! This talented student didn’t disappoint Billy Joel and for sure Michael didn’t disappoint the audience! Impromptu performance like this surely is truly admirable. Thank you to both of you. Billy Joel you’re magnificent!
Wow! This had to be a surreal experience for that young guy. Kudos to Billy Joel for being gracious and having a win/win attitude. Some musicians who are the master of their instruments (at least in their genre) might be a little jealous. Billy subscribes to the abundance theory...sharing the spotlight and celebrating this young man's talent. Very cool.
phill0329 Cool! Good to hear he is doing well. Neat to see that he writes as well. I'm not going to respond to the angry know-it-all troll, but what I said about his piano playing talent still stands. I wasn't (of course) referring to writing, I complimented him on his playing, which is top notch (one could make an argument that he outplayed Billy Joel). I won't say that, because they are both excellent. As for the troll, his talent seems to be hateful misplaced criticism and arguing with strangers on the internet. Fun! I advise that we ignore this person...pray for them...move on with our lives. : )
+toscodav Michael Pollack is the kid's name, and when this video was shot 2 years ago at Vanderbilt, he had already been playing numerous NY clubs and recorded with Billy Joel's saxophonist Richie Cannata. As for a hit, well, this video is one. lol
Absolutely incredible!!! I've seen Billy Joel in an Arena Setting and he's great! Here in a small intimate setting where he is interacting more closely with the audience I don't think even he, judging from his initial invitation to Michael, had any clue what magic was about to unfold. He was initially like "Sure, Why Not?". Watched the timeline. It took Billy less than 10 seconds to realize Michael was for real. Afterwards, he was stunned and truly impressed as he praises "I Love it when that Happens!". I love it when someone captures these rare moments of absolute unexpected magic and is able to share it with the rest of us. I cannot express enough praise to both Billy Joel and Michael Pollack!!!
To all the people trashing this guy....the dude has probably studied videos of Billy Joel. And his style of playing is similar because that's how Billy Joel imagined it, wrote it, and played it. If he played it any other way, Billy Joel would have told him to get off the stage. But if you want to trash him, put up a video of you playing "New York State of Mind".
bravo Michael and kudos to Billy Joel for being gracious enough to let the young man share the spotlight/share the love. perhaps Billy Joel remembered that everyone starts out as a rookie
David, how good was the pregnant pause while Billy weighed-up the scenario, and the buzz of anticipation from the audience. That's live music, and theatre, all rolled into one delicious moment.
The kid is really good also because he knows not to upstage the singer, so important with accompaniment. If the singer gives you the opportunity to show off you take it, but you don't get TOO fancy that you show up the singer because a great performance is collaborative. A few people who get pulled up on stage don't always get that, and it's always really uncomfortable when that happens.
THAT V O I C E !!!! I agree- where MOST fade over time, Billy's voice had developed greater timber in the lower register and his high notes are effortless. Best to you, Billy!!
How many guys get to play on stage in front of their music idol? Very cool stuff! Also, goes to show that Billy is really down to earth & doesn't have a huge ego unlike some other celebs.
That's the benefit of sticking around for decades and becoming a living legend. Thirty year old Billy Joel would not do anything like this. He's cleaned up from the booze, mellowed out and matured into a much more gracious man. That's wonderful to see since he's one of the greatest artists of the 20th century and he's able to spend the latter part of his life mentoring others and enjoying an extended victory lap.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained! You never know when you will get an opportunity to do something like this, provided you have prepared for it. Bet that kid is glad he gathered the guts to take the chance. Mr Joel is a great man for giving that kid a chance like that. As a professional, he could have harmed his own reputation, had the whole thing gone terribly wrong. So he put himself on the line to a degree to give a rookie a chance. Thanks Billy
Every single part of that was amazing! Billy's graciousness, Michael's balls and ability, Billy's impressed comments after. A true moment to remember. I glad it was caught on video.
I give props to billy joel to let the power go...sure you pay to see billy joel,,, but with out contrast and novelty, 40 years of the same ole shit gets old... I love a good change of scenery
I watched Billy Joel do this at Columbia University in 1994 or 1995. Pulled up a guy named Tom Kitt. same thing happened. Tom Kitt is now famous by the way as a Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Kitt_(musician))
