First Posted: 12/12/2014

A Jameson sales rep, an insurance salesman and an Elvis fanatic who wholeheartedly believes the King of Rock and Roll is still alive walk into a bar.

They laugh; they drink; they decide to start a band. Sounds like the typical banter on a guy’s night out, but for Jimmy DeJoseph of Forty Fort, Ryan Baran of Kingston and Dave Davis of Wilkes-Barre, the notion of starting a band was just as alluring when the buzz wore off.

Two years later, the long-time friends are hard at work practicing for their Christmas show at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20 at Senunas Bar & Grill in Wilkes-Barre.

“We all had that itch to play music. Life got in the way. We are all hardworking professionals who found ourselves focused on work and family. In the past, I played the guitar and a little bit of bass, Dave Davis played the bass and a little bit of guitar and Ryan Baran was a singer,” DeJoseph reminisced.

Over a few drinks with the guys, the friends decided to scratch their itch for performing and assemble an all-inclusive group for anyone who wanted to play music and wasn’t already in a band. The group includes 16 members who play sporadically throughout the show depending on what songs they want to perform and what instrument they play.

“We wanted everyone to feel included and have their moment. If someone has a certain playlist they enjoy, we add it to our show and assemble people around them,” DeJoseph said of the group that includes an interchanging line-up of singers and musicians.

The group features an assembly of local performers, as well musicians from New York and Pittsburgh scheduled to participate in the holiday show. Since the group is open to anyone who just wants a platform to express their love for music, the group’s sound is broad, to say the least.

“We really feature it all. Our sound is a combination of Mozart, Slayer, Kelly Clarkson and Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem from The Muppets,” DeJoseph said.

Once the group decided who would play, what their sound (or sounds) would be, the band needed a name. They chose, The Piano Dicks.

“Every band wants to market themselves with something appealing, something sexy. To be different, we decided to market ourselves with the the most unappealing thing we could think of: Richard Nixon,” DeJoseph snickered.

After stumbling across a picture of the former president playing the piano on the internet, DeJoseph couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a stage full of Richard Nixon’s.

“Nixon has absolutely no charisma. He’s ridiculous. We made him sort of our mascot, our sex symbol,” DeJoseph said.

The group prides themselves on providing a show that is “not so much watch us as it is join us” — while listening to good music and having a laugh at the expense of Nixon.

The funniest part, according to DeJoseph, is that nobody in the band even plays the piano.