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Andy Cahan

Andy Cahan

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5.0 
(14 reviews)
  • Cathedral City, CA
  • Pianist
  • Travels up to 120 miles
  • $500.00 and up
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Promotional video thumbnail 1 for Andy Cahan Watch

A Day In The Life

Promotional video thumbnail 2 for Andy Cahan Watch

Last Date

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Lucy In The Sky

Gallery photo 1 of Andy Cahan

FIVE AWARDS BEST KEYBOARDS

Gallery photo 2 of Andy Cahan

Ringo and Andy

Gallery photo 3 of Andy Cahan

Nilsson, Jimmy Webb and Linda Ronstadt in the studio

Gallery photo 4 of Andy Cahan

The Turtles

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3 videos 4 photos
Media Overview Reviews Booking Info
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Overview

Winner of the Coachella Valley Music Awards 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021.
I am the keyboardist for the Turtles since 1973, music director for the Grammys with Little Richard and Chuck Berry, recorded with Ringo Starr, Jimi Hendrix, Harry Nilsson, Jimmy Webb and Eric Carmen just to name a few. Available for bookings as solo pianist. I also have a duo, trio and 4 piece band available.


14 Reviews

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Verified Review
Jaclyn B. • May 23, 2023

Fantastic entertainer!

Andy was wonderful to deal with and the music was perfect for our event! Definitely recommend.

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so very much Jaclyn,
I'm looking forward to play piano for you in the future. Sincerely, Andy

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Verified Review
Corinne B. • February 23, 2023

Andy is the best!

My partner Matt and I were looking for someone special to play at our anniversary party and Andy was the perfect person! He catered to our playlist requests and was a wonderful performer. He is communicative and not only provided a great show, but was great with our guests. We would 100% recommend - we love Andy!

Hired as:
Keyboard Player
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Verified Review
Stuart R. • March 20, 2022

Great Job Andy. A Big Thank you

*0th Birthday party

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so much Stewart I really appreciate your generosity and kindness.

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Verified Review
Rob C. • August 5, 2021

Andy was great!

We had a wonderful experience with Andy. So talented and perfect music selections for our cocktail bday party for 80 ppl. He arrived early and I don't think he even took a break. A really nice guy with an incredible musical resume!

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so very very much I really appreciate your kindness and generosity.

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Verified Review
Robert L. • January 1, 2020

Great musician and great entertainer.

Andy,came over kept us entertained for 4 hours had a great evening truly a talented musician.

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so very very much I am very grateful and I had a wonderful time performing for you. Best regards, Andy

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Verified Review
Thomas W. • December 16, 2019

Andy is a great entertainer and very friendly

Andy really entertained our guests with a nice blend of holiday and contemporary tunes at the piano. He was professional and very friendly. He fit right in! We would welcome Andy back to our next event!

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so very very much Thomas I am very grateful and I look forward to performing again for you. Warmest regards, Andy

Photos from this event

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Verified Review
Kaitlyn G. • April 6, 2019

Great Entertainment at our Rehearsal!

Andy brought a great energy to our small rehearsal party! It was just what we wanted: a fun lively piano player who doesn’t mind at all when my family bursts out singing along!! I would recommend Andy to anyone looking to have up beat music and a player with personality!

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so very, very much! I am very grateful for the opportunity to perform for your wonderful family. Have a wonderful wedding. Warmest regards, Andy

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Verified Review
Maryellen H. • February 28, 2019

Keyboard excellence

Andy is reliable and very talented . Use him !

Hired as:
Keyboard Player
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Hi Maryellen,
Thank you so much for the five star review!
I am very grateful.
Regards,
Andy

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Verified Review
Raymond E. • December 17, 2018

Best Ever

We often book entertainment for parties and Andy was by far the best ever. He is a true professional musician with great pedigree. Truly gifted on the piano keys and able to play a wide variety of songs the audience will love. Very engaging! Highly recommended!

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so much for the five star review Raymond I do hope to play piano again for you for any event you wish. You have a beautiful family and wonderful friends you are a blessed man. Warmest regards, Andy

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Verified Review
Kasey S. • December 3, 2018

Exactly What We Needed

I am a Sales Manager for a Luxury Resort in the remote desert of Borrego Springs. I asked GigSalad for a Fun, Light, Personable Pianist who can do sing along songs for a "piano bar" feel, I asked only 4 days until the event. Luckily, Mr. Cahan answered my ad and He Was Perfect!
Very funny, early to the event, played new music/ old music/ classic songs that made my retreat amazing. Brought lyrics of his songs to ensure everyone could sing along, awesome!
Fabulous responses from the attendees and I would love to have him back to the Resort. Thank you Andy, you rock!!!

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so very very much kasey, the pleasure was mine and I am so excited about the possibility of coming back out and playing piano at your wonderful Resort. Warmest regards, Andy

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Verified Review
Terry W. • October 28, 2018

My review of Andy Cahan

Andy was spectacular. He was right on time, played an excellent array of music, just as requested.
His keyboard talent is over the top and I would recommend him highly.

Hired as:
Keyboard Player, Pianist
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Verified Review
Vyvyan C. • December 5, 2017

The music was a big part of the success of the party.

Andy was a really good sport. His music provided a lovely background to the party. He chatted with the guests and was very open to taking requests. At the end of the evening everyone was dancing and a good time was had by all. I would definitely book Andy again for my next function.

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Vyvyan, Thank you so much for the opportunity to play at your great party with really fun people. I had a wonderful time playing piano for you. I especially enjoyed listening to the two very talented girls who both played piano great durning my breaks! A very creative evening indeed. I look forward to another fun gathering.
Sincerely, Andy

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Verified Review
Anita P. • July 9, 2017

GREAT

Andy's playing and choice of music was wonderful. He is personable and interesting to talk to also. Really enjoyed having him here for the evening.

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

Thank you so very much Anita it was my pleasure meeting you and playing for Harvey's 75th birthday party

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Verified Review
Tommy V. • November 26, 2016

TOO SMOOTH

it wasn't a complicated gig... and it went very well from start to finish.

Hired as:
Pianist
Andy Cahan

Response from Andy Cahan:

What what an absolute pleasure playing piano at The Fabulous Thunderbird. And thank you so much for your kind words Tommy 😊

+ 10 More Reviews

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Booking Info

  • Profile
  • Calendar
  • Set List
  • Influences

Price Range: $500.00 and up

About

References: Jimi Hendrix, Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr, Clint Eastwood, The Turtles and More

by Lisa Morgan

This valley is full of human gems disguised as ordinary people. When I sat at my table at the Hogs Breath restaurant in Old Town, La Quinta, I looked at the man with his back to me as he skillfully played a beautiful old upright piano. There were no music pages in front of him as he played song after song after song. I thought to myself, ‘Wait a minute – I know that one! That’s the Beatles’, “A Day in the Life”. Isn’t that Dusty Springfield’s “Wishing and Hoping” he’s playing now? (Next song) Oh man, I know this one too….it’s on the tip of my tongue….got it! “Last Date!” Floyd Cramer!’ The man tested my inner musical encyclopedia. His repertoire ran deep, reminding me of songs and the memories attached to them that would have otherwise been lost to me. As I refocused my attention on my company and my meal, the music played on: songs from The Kinks, The Turtles, Animals, Dionne Warwick, Elvis, Fats Domino, Righteous Brothers, Traffic… I never saw his face or learned his name, but his music stayed in my head long afterward. I vowed to go back but before I could, the Hogs Breath restaurant had closed its doors in La Quinta forever.

The piano man was Andy Cahan, a musician whose incredible musical past was tucked underneath his humble and endearing nature. Two years later, on assignment from my publisher, he was on the other end of my phone.

CVW: How did you get started playing piano? Did your parents make you take lessons?

Cahan: I was making monster movies with my friends. It was the first time Kodak came out with a sound projector. My sister told me I should watch the Ed Sullivan show because they were going to have this really cool band on. That’s when I saw the Beatles for the first time. I thought, ‘Wow! I’m sure not going to get any screaming girls making monster movies. So I decided to become a musician. The Beatles influenced me so strongly in their songwriting, and their use of chord progressions, their use of flatted fifths and minor thirds. I started writing songs like a maniac. I started on drums at the age of 10, then piano, then guitar and bass.

I moved to LA from New York in 1968. My mom was friends with the son of Pulsar Records, a subsidiary of Mercury Records. I had my Baldwin harpsichord going through a Leslie speaker, and I was doing a lot of jamming. Graham Bond (who had worked with Ginger Baker before Cream) asked me to come down to DTG Studios in Hollywood and said, ‘Bring your harpsichord’. So I did. I walked in and Jack Cassidy from Jefferson Airplane was there. Lowell George from Little Feat was on the flute, and Graham was on the Hammond B3. All of a sudden, Jimi Hendrix walks in with these two girls, one holding his guitar and one holding his hand. He set up right next to me. We jammed for about 3 hours – the blues in the key of A. It was hilarious, it was amazing, and I had such a wonderful time. I was 20 at the time. I remember we were standing in the corner of the room after we finished, Jimi, me and a roadie – I can’t remember his name. We were singing musical instruments with our mouths. I was the drummer, the roadie was the bass, and Jimi was the guitar. We jammed like that as we passed a joint around. It was so cool. Jimi was the nicest guy ever – zero ego and real down to earth. That was my first week in LA.

My second week in California, I was invited to fill in for one of Buddy Miles’ drummers who was sick. I hooked up with Dr. John, The Night Tripper through Pulsar. I ended up doing concerts with Dr. John throughout the country. He took me to a guy named Skoobie at the musicians union, and pinned a note to the lapel of my shirt that read, ‘Help this guy! He’s a good musician!’ That got me working with Seals and Crofts. I worked with them in a top 40 project called the Dawn Breakers. In between sets, they’d do an acoustic guitar, mandolin set. They were strong believers in Baha’i and were trying to come up with names for the duo that reflected that. I finally suggested, ‘Why don’t you just call yourselves, Seals and Crofts?’ They went with it.

The connections continued and ultimately I ended up playing keys for Little Richard. I became the music director for both Little Richard and Chuck Berry for the Grammy’s in ’73. But it was in a recording studio in Box Canyon called Cherokee Studio (writer’s note: Beatles producer, George Martin dubbed the independent studio as the “best studio in America”) where I met Flo and Eddie from the Turtles. I’ve been with The Turtles since ’73. Through that, I met everybody in the business I could ever want to meet: Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr, and so many others. They’d come to the recording studio I had in the 90’s called the Demo Dr. It was on CNN and a TV show called The Site. I had a thing called ‘Cyber Demos’ where people could send me their tracks and I’d put a broadcast ready demo together for them. I recorded 30 songs with Harry Nilsson, 20 songs with Eric Carmen. I recorded with Jimmy Webb for a dozen years, and others.

My mom passed away about 10 years ago and I moved out here to the desert to her double wide mobile home. I was looking for some sort of job. I was at Hogs Breath for lunch one day, and I saw the piano and asked if they needed a piano player. I auditioned and got the job. I played piano there for 9 years. Now I’m looking for a gig, strangely enough, after such a giant career of wonderment, I’m back to square one again.

CVW: (stunned silence)

There is no bitterness when Cahan speaks of starting over, only longing to get back to the craft he loves – the craft perfected by experiences like Little Richard showing him how to do the signature rock and roll triplets and the skills good enough that he would tradeoff piano parts with Dr. John, The Night Tripper, where he says he really got his chops. After playing and recording with a long list of greats: Bobby Hatfield, Clarence Clemmons, Eddie Money, Eric Burdon, Frank Zappa, Grace Slick, Jackson Browne, Jeff Beck, John Bonham, John Belushi, Lou Reed, Stephen Stills, Taj Mahal and more, he’d graciously, happily and ever so skillfully play for you. His following from the Hogs Breath filled the Tack Room last week with almost 50 loyal fans. I’m no Dr. John, but I hereby pin this note to the lapel of Andy Cahan’s shirt: ‘Hire this guy! He’s AMAZING!’

More about Andy Cahan at these links:

(link hidden)

Videos:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8dUwLtgdog

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y5W31yIzd0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqr5uwOqdrw

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZZqVouf0ZY

For booking call (phone number hidden)

Andy Cahan IS probably one of the most famous musicians you never heard of. As musical director and keyboard player for the

Turtles (not to mention played, produced and/or recorded with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Harry Nilsson

and, many other luminaries), he has seen the up and down sides of the rock-music world since the 1960s. A true road warrior, Cahan

grew up in the age of rock 'n roll and watched as the genre meant something else each decade.

Musician and On-Stage Performer on such television shows and specials as The Wonderland TV Special for Dutch Television, the

Peter Paas Cartoon Special, Casey Kasem's America's Top Ten Television, Strawberry Shortcake Cartoons, the Care Bears Cartoons,

GI Joe Cartoons, The Turtles for Swedish Television, the Dinah Shore Show, the Midnight Special, the Grammy Awards, and

American Bandstand Anniversary Special, etc. Record Producer and Publisher for assorted record labels including Rhino Records,

Panda Records, Pulsar Records, and the Robert Mellon Music Group in London.

Services Offered

Pianist Keyboard Player

Past Booked Events

May 20, 2023 • 12:00pm - 2:30pm Graduation
February 18, 2023 • 4:00pm - 5:00pm Wedding Reception
March 19, 2022 • 6:30pm - 8:30pm Birthday Party
January 08, 2022 • 6:30pm - 9:30pm Birthday Party
August 04, 2021 • 6:00pm - 8:00pm Birthday Party
December 31, 2019 • 7:00pm - 10:00pm Dinner Party
December 14, 2019 • 6:00pm - 9:00pm Christmas Party
April 04, 2019 • 6:00pm - 10:00pm Personal Occasion
March 09, 2019 • 4:00pm - 7:00pm Cocktail Party
February 27, 2019 • 4:00pm - 7:00pm Birthday Party
December 16, 2018 • 6:00pm - 9:00pm Christmas Party
December 01, 2018 • 5:00pm - 8:00pm Dinner Party
October 27, 2018 • 5:00pm - 7:30pm Birthday Party
December 02, 2017 • 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birthday (Adult)
July 08, 2017 • 6:30pm - 9:00pm Birthday (Adult)
November 25, 2016 • 5:30pm - 7:30pm Cocktail Party

View More

Set List

A Day in The Life
Last Date
Here Comes The Sun
After The Gold Rush
Happy Together
Cinnamon Girl
Ripple
Somewhere over the Rainbow
Brown Eyed Girl
Walk Away Rene
Sounds Of Silence
Blueberry Hill
The Sting
The Letter
Sleep Walk
I am the Walrus
Never My Love
Runnaway
Eight Days A Week

Influences & Inspiration

Beatles, British invasion and Motown some 70s act like Neil Young, Crosby Stills and Nash and oldies like little Richard Fats Domino and Chuck Berry

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