Lake County >> David Neft has been playing the piano pretty much nonstop since the age of seven. Even after losing his home in the Valley Fire, he never took his fingers off the keys. He never even considered it. He had a performance scheduled for just one week after that fateful night of September 12, 2015 — and he made it.
“It was important to me to make it because that probably was the happiest time in that first week,” Neft said. Luckily, he had his main equipment in the back of his car when the fire broke out.
If there was any time to take a step back from music, it would have been then — Neft didn’t only lose his home and community, he lost his brother — but it was just the opposite. If he had stopped playing, then he would have felt truly lost.
“It became and it has become more important than ever to play, because music is my refuge, my piece of mind,” Neft explained.
Although Neft isn’t a full-time musician — he owns Neft and Neft Realtors in Middletown, the longest surviving non-franchise real estate company in the county — his busy schedule could easy fool you into believing otherwise. He performs as a solo pianist once a month at the Blue Wing Saloon in Upper Lake, the Saw Shop in Kelseyville and Chic La Chef in Hidden Valley Lake. He’s become known for his music more than anything else. Whenever he’s out and about, someone inevitably recognizes him, even if they’re not positive where from — he can be hard to recognize without his signature black hat, which he always wears during gigs.
But even if music is only a supplemental source of income, Neft confessed that he does love it more than real estate. He’s consistently been playing in a band for the majority of his life, which is why it may come as a surprise that he actually wanted to quit music only a few short years after first sitting down at the keys. Piano practice was taking up a lot of his time, and he wanted to be out playing baseball with the other kids.
When Neft told his mother he wanted to quit, she gave him the perfect reaction: she burst into tears. This effectively made her son feel both uncomfortable and guilty. Then she told him he could quit, but he had to be the one to break the news to his teacher. This, too, made Neft uneasy. In the end, he never did quit.
Turns out, piano was good for Neft, and not just because it would one day pad his pockets with some extra cash. “Most people would never believe it, but I was very shy growing up, and the piano brought me out,” he said.
As word of his playing began to circulate, Neft was invited to more and more social events. He attended parties, parties with girls, girls he really wanted to talk to. Music gave him the perfect conversation starter.
“It really opened up my world,” Neft added.
When it came time for college, he was accepted to UC Berkeley, but turned down the program when he realized it focused on composing. Neft has never been a writer. His version of songwriting is changing up the rhythm and key of specific tunes, and interpreting them in his own way. Instead, Neft chose to obtain a degree in music performance from California State University, East Bay.
In the 1970s he joined one hit wonder group Syndicate of Sound, and spent four years touring with them across the country. This experience taught him that the life of a full-time professional musician was not the life for him. He wanted to settle down, get married and have children. Living on the road, performing in a different city every night, it’s not conducive to becoming a family man.
So Neft received his broker’s license, and in 1976 he moved to Lake County from Oakland, where he was born and raised. Growing up, he and his family vacationed on Cobb each year, and Neft was attracted to the slow, country vibes. He started his real estate business and promptly met his wife.
“She came to the office to find a rental and found me,” he said, chuckling.
Come this Christmas, the two will have been married for 40 years, a feat not many can claim. She’s been very understanding when it comes to her husband’s music ventures too, knowing that after her, music has always been one of his only constants.
Over the years, Neft has never once regretted the choice to start a family rather than pursue the life of a professional musician, even when he was first performing with Bill Noteman and the Rockets in the ‘80s. With that group, he got to be a rock star for a day, opening for the likes of BB King and Steve Miller. That still wasn’t enough to entice him into hitting the road again.
Though Bill Noteman and the Rockets are still together today, they only play two or three times a year. But they’re something of a Lake County staple, and you can bet that if they’re performing, there’s not much room on the dance floor.
Neft is never wanting for gigs, especially not here in Lake County, with its numerous wineries and tasting rooms. That seems to be a running theme. There’s just something about the piano and wine. The two complement one another, and so Neft has performed at every type of wine event imaginable: wine releases, wine club events, holiday wine parties. If the event involves wine, Neft is probably there.
Often, he’s asked to reveal the secrets of successfully playing on a regular basis. He admitted that talent is an important factor, but there’s more to it than that. Being prepared and knowing the venue for is paramount. He’d tell young musicians to keep their ego in check, arrive on time and dress appropriately. Also, they need to watch their volume.
“That’s a critical element so that you fit the venue you’re playing,” he said. “You’re complementary to what everyone else is doing.” In a restaurant setting, for example, you want to add to the ambiance, not drown out conversation between diners.
This is how to receive requests for return performances. Neft pointed out that anyone can book an initial gig. It’s about not screwing up your first impression.
Out of the numerous venues and shows he regularly takes on, Neft’s favorite is the annual Pianist Benefit Concert that occurs at the Soper Reese Theatre each year. For one, the half dozen pianists who perform all have use of the theater’s grand piano, a top of the line instrument buffed to a gorgeous high shine. It’s also a treat to play for an audience who is there specifically for you. Many gigs, Neft is background music. At the Soper Reese, he’s the star.
In addition to his regular performances around the county, you can catch Neft performing with the blues, soul and funk band Clean Sweep in Library Park next month. They’ll be performing for the Lakeport Summer Concert Series on June 23.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
