A "piano on wheels" traveled through the Quad Cities today as part of a trip from the headwaters of the Mississippi River to New Orleans. The Joybox Express is a custom bike frame, with three people pedaling, and carrying a 400 pound piano.
It's the brainchild of Mark Braun, from Ann Arbor, who says it's a way for him to indulge in two of his f
avorite things - athletics and the arts.
Braun occasionally stops to play boogie-woogie and blues for people along the road, but his sponsor Artrain, also based in Ann Arbor, has arranged some performances along the way.
He and his crew left Lake Itasca in Minnesota on September lst, and plan to reach New Orleans in mid-November.
Braun enjoys the scenery and the people he meets along the way, but admits the hills and bad weather can make pedaling his piano difficult.
They spent Tuesday night in Cordova, and planned to travel through the Quad Cities today, and either spend the night here, or continue south along the Mississippi. Their next formal concert is scheduled for Tuesday in Nauvoo, Illinois.
