Piano Trucker

So after the end of a very long day here at Cunningham Piano, just as we were closing out, we had a piano being delivered and I had chance to meet up with Brian Hart, a trucker who works with Walter Piano Transport, a company that specializes in cross country piano deliveries. Brian has been with them for 2 years, and has made a career as a trucker for a total of 40+ years. We were just sitting and chatting - I'm ready to get ready to go home- but Brian’s stories were so interesting, I knew I had to pull out the camera even though I didn’t have my microphones with me.

First question: What’s it like to move pianos full time?

“To me,” said Brian, “after this long of time, it's still amazing that there are that many pianos that are moved every year cross country. Walter Piano Transport has six trucks, and generally when we leave out, we leave out with anywhere from, I would say 35 to 45, 50 pianos.”

With that many pianos, Brian was sure to come across some pretty famous ones by important artists. “Well, I did haul the original piano for B.B. King up to a museum. And it was one of those pianos that you look at it, and we have to do an inspection on them, and I called my boss up and I asked Russell, "What do you want me to put down on this piano?" I said, "It just looks like a piece of junk." But that's when I found out it was B.B. King's original bar piano and it was going to the museum. And I've heard through the grapevine that there was pianos that I've hauled up for Jill Walsh and Ray Charles, although I didn't know that they were for them at the time. And the most expensive piano I’ve ever that I know of was about it was over a quarter of a million dollars.”

One of the things I find really interesting is getting the inside scoop. From my perspective in the piano industry, we see things on a retail level, but truckers kind of see things as they really are. So how are things in terms of piano sales overall?

“Overall as a general, right now, I would say that they're pretty steady. I’d even say slightly more over last year.”

Truckers, in many ways, serve as the lifeblood of the economy, and can provide an important litmus test to economic health.

“The trucking industry is usually your first sight of what the economy is going to do,” says Brian. “And I'm not tooting nobody's horn, don't get me there. But before this president, you could go into a truck stop anytime of day and find a parking spot. But now if you're not there by 4:30, five o'clock in the afternoon, you're searching for a parking space because there's that many trucks up there with the volume of merchandise moving across the country. And a lot of people don't realize that the trucking industry is the lifeline of the economic situation.”

Of course, one of the coolest things about being a trucker is the truck itself!

Brian’s truck comes equipped with a bunk bed, refrigerator, a full pantry, and even an auxiliary power supply. “I usually prepare my food ahead of time at home and whether I cook something out on the grill or if my wife cooks something ahead of time. And just for example, for right now I have meatloaf and grilled chicken and I got chili in the truck. It's in my refrigerator. All I have to do is take it out, put it in a bowl, heat it up.” All Brian needs to spend the night is an available parking spot!

As for Brian’s favorite part about being a piano trucker? ”Now that I'm driving for Walter's and I enjoy my job, I meet a lot of very interesting people. I don't know how many CDs I have from concert pianists that happened to be in a place where I'm delivering to. And it's very interesting the different areas that people play. It's not just classical or jazz or country. There are so many people who play pianos!”