We Are the Chimp-ions!
Keithville, La – Every Saturday night at Superior’s Steakhouse I play the piano for a bunch of drunk apes. Last Thursday I had the rare and wonderful opportunity to entertain a bunch of sober apes. I found on craigslist a posting from the Chimp Haven, an animal sanctuary just outside of Shreveport that is home to 131 chimapanzees that were saved from medical testing labs or the rigors of being a performing showbiz animal.
The posting sought musicians as part of the chimp’s enrichment program. Many of the chimps were raised in captivity and so now, as they adjust to a much better life in their natural enclosures, their handlers seek new and exciting ways to stimulate the chimp’s brain and bring a litte excitement into their daily routine.
Enter Winston and his guitar.
Donna and I spent the whole afternoon Thursday walking from enclosure to enclosure at the Chimp Haven performing for these hilarious, curious, and wonderful creatures. If you’ve never been around chimpanzees, the first thing you notice is their eyes, searching and examining you, trying to figure you out. They are amazingly human in nature – smiling, scratching their bellies with their hands and yes, passing gas. And yet they are animals. One teenage chimp did not like me being near his territory and began stomping and screaming and banging on things, and in a final act of defiance, threw poo at the maintenance man.
I’ve played a lot of music for a lot of people in a lot of places. At piano bars, I’ve seen the slight recognition of a song from someone’s glory days followed by a smile and maybe a five in the tip jar. But the most profound moments have been when I played at nursing homes. I once had an old woman with very distant eyes sing along to “The Old Rugged Cross.” The nurse told me the woman hadn’t spoken a word in almost three years. But something – something about the familiar melody spoke to a very deep place in her soul. And she sang along. I know chimps don’t know melodies, but they too reacted like they never had before. One very timid chimp came out of hiding with a blanket over her head and began swaying back and forth much to the delight of everyone that worked at the Haven.
The whole day was full of moments like that. One chimp named Scott sat completely mesmerized and stared at me for twenty minutes while I played. He was arguably the most attentive audience member I’ve ever had. I also got to sing for baby Tracy, an accidental baby who showed up at the Chimp Haven. The Haven is exactly like Jurassic Park in that the breeding is completely controlled. However, in the famous words of Ian Malcolm, “Life…finds a way.” And little baby Tracy was born two years ago. It just so happened the day I was there was her birthday. So of course we sang “Happy Birthday.”
As best I could tell, the chimps’ favorite songs were “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “In the Jungle.” I actually did get applause once, but I think it may have just been a coinidence, and that one of the chimps just happened to be clapping at the exact moment I finished a song.
All in all, it was an awesome afternoon. The purpose of the Chimp Haven is noble, and their challenges, like all institutions of their kind, are profound. I encourage you to visit their website http://www.chimphaven.org/. They are currently still seeking any kind of enrichment ideas you can come up with, and creativity is encouraged. Also, on the chimp haven facebook page is a video of me singing “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” If you’re a facebooker, you should definitely check it out. Chimp Haven is non-profit so donations of time, money, and services are what make their world go round.
So for now, I will continue to play for the drunk apes at the Steakhouse, but I will be returning to the Haven soon for some far more enriching entertainment.
That’s the story of my life…
The posting sought musicians as part of the chimp’s enrichment program. Many of the chimps were raised in captivity and so now, as they adjust to a much better life in their natural enclosures, their handlers seek new and exciting ways to stimulate the chimp’s brain and bring a litte excitement into their daily routine.
Enter Winston and his guitar.
Donna and I spent the whole afternoon Thursday walking from enclosure to enclosure at the Chimp Haven performing for these hilarious, curious, and wonderful creatures. If you’ve never been around chimpanzees, the first thing you notice is their eyes, searching and examining you, trying to figure you out. They are amazingly human in nature – smiling, scratching their bellies with their hands and yes, passing gas. And yet they are animals. One teenage chimp did not like me being near his territory and began stomping and screaming and banging on things, and in a final act of defiance, threw poo at the maintenance man.
I’ve played a lot of music for a lot of people in a lot of places. At piano bars, I’ve seen the slight recognition of a song from someone’s glory days followed by a smile and maybe a five in the tip jar. But the most profound moments have been when I played at nursing homes. I once had an old woman with very distant eyes sing along to “The Old Rugged Cross.” The nurse told me the woman hadn’t spoken a word in almost three years. But something – something about the familiar melody spoke to a very deep place in her soul. And she sang along. I know chimps don’t know melodies, but they too reacted like they never had before. One very timid chimp came out of hiding with a blanket over her head and began swaying back and forth much to the delight of everyone that worked at the Haven.
The whole day was full of moments like that. One chimp named Scott sat completely mesmerized and stared at me for twenty minutes while I played. He was arguably the most attentive audience member I’ve ever had. I also got to sing for baby Tracy, an accidental baby who showed up at the Chimp Haven. The Haven is exactly like Jurassic Park in that the breeding is completely controlled. However, in the famous words of Ian Malcolm, “Life…finds a way.” And little baby Tracy was born two years ago. It just so happened the day I was there was her birthday. So of course we sang “Happy Birthday.”
As best I could tell, the chimps’ favorite songs were “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “In the Jungle.” I actually did get applause once, but I think it may have just been a coinidence, and that one of the chimps just happened to be clapping at the exact moment I finished a song.
All in all, it was an awesome afternoon. The purpose of the Chimp Haven is noble, and their challenges, like all institutions of their kind, are profound. I encourage you to visit their website http://www.chimphaven.org/. They are currently still seeking any kind of enrichment ideas you can come up with, and creativity is encouraged. Also, on the chimp haven facebook page is a video of me singing “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” If you’re a facebooker, you should definitely check it out. Chimp Haven is non-profit so donations of time, money, and services are what make their world go round.
So for now, I will continue to play for the drunk apes at the Steakhouse, but I will be returning to the Haven soon for some far more enriching entertainment.
That’s the story of my life…
posted by Winston A. Hall at 9:44 AM
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