VENICE, CA — Saturday, November 22, 2025 — Three days after city crews destroyed one upright piano and impounded another during a multi-agency cleanup along the Venice Beach Boardwalk, longtime street performer Nathan Pino — “The Venice Piano Man” — was back at his usual spot on Ocean Front Walk, talking with passersby and trying to chart a path forward.
Pino, seated in his wheelchair near the performance zone where he has played for more than two decades, spoke with Santa Monica Closeup on Saturday afternoon about the loss of his instruments, his decades-long history on the boardwalk, and his effort to secure a replacement piano. During the interview, several people stepped forward to press cash into his hand after hearing what had happened.
“People have always been great to me here,” Pino said, noting that word about the piano seizure has quickly spread through the neighborhood and among longtime visitors. “All kinds of people stop and give me goodwill and good faith. It’s really heartwarming.”
The conversation followed a series of recent enforcement actions involving Pino’s pianos:
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On October 31, cleanup crews found two unattended upright pianos during a scheduled boardwalk sweep, initially considering removing them before confirming ownership and leaving them in place with a written warning.
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On November 5, Los Angeles Police officers cited Pino under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 42.15 for having one of the pianos partially outside the marked performance box.
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On November 19, during a coordinated homeless sweep and sanitation pass, city crews again found both pianos unattended. One, heavily damaged by the elements, was discarded directly into a garbage truck; the second was loaded onto a municipal vehicle and taken into city custody. A property-retrieval notice was posted nearby, directing the owner to “The Bin” in downtown Los Angeles, where seized items are held for up to 90 days.
Pino expressed deep skepticism that impounded instruments are truly preserved.
“They say they put it in storage, but they don’t really put it in storage,” he said. “You go to get it and there’s nothing there. You go all the way downtown with a truck and then they tell you to come back another day, knowing what a hardship that is.”
The logistics and cost of reclaiming the boardwalk piano are, he said, out of reach. He estimated that renting a truck and hiring labor to move a full-size upright would cost around $150 to $200 “on a shoestring,” money he does not have.
“It’s not worth it,” he added, saying recent rain and lack of tarp protection had already left the instrument in rough shape.
Instead, Pino is focused on a different path: a donated piano from a supporter in Pasadena.
“Some lady from Pasadena is giving me a piano,” he said. “I just have to go pick it up. That’s why I’m out here trying to collect some money — I’m totally broke.”
He said he intends to store any new piano behind the fenced area at Big Daddy’s, with the owner’s permission, rolling it out to the boardwalk early each day to avoid future impoundments.
“Casey from Big Daddy’s told me I can go behind the fence there and leave it as long as I get it out early,” Pino said. “That’s what I’m going to do.”
Pino also described the $400 citation he recently received for having one of his pianos slightly outside the painted performance box lines before he had fully set up for the day, saying the lines were difficult to see and that he believes he was singled out. He said he plans to contest the ticket.
Beyond the immediate enforcement issues, the Venice musician offered a snapshot of a life spent at the piano. Pino said he has played on the boardwalk for 23 years, often tuning his instrument by ear daily to keep it playable despite constant exposure to salt air and shifting weather.
“You’re not really a musician unless you can tune by ear,” he said, explaining that some days a tune-up takes 15–20 minutes and other days it can stretch to an hour.
Before settling into his role as a Venice Beach fixture, Pino said he worked as a professional musician across the United States and Canada, including touring with the rock band Iron Butterfly and doing session work for multiple record labels. He recalled being brought to Los Angeles in 1970 after a Columbia Records producer sent him $500 — enough at the time, he said, to buy a car, move his Hammond organ, and start a new chapter in Southern California.
Over the years, he has played hotel lounges, restaurants, and clubs, including a long stretch at the Ambassador Hotel before it closed and a two-week stint covering for another pianist at a restaurant on Rodeo Drive. He said he reads music but often relies on memory and feel when performing outside, mixing standards, originals, and improvisation depending on the crowd.
“I love playing here,” Pino said of the boardwalk. “The people are great. I have many, many friends here. A lot of people come to see me — even people from my grammar school.”
He added that he prefers a real acoustic grand piano to digital instruments, saying an expensive digital grand he bought years ago has sat largely unused, because “it’s just not like a real piano.”
Pino also briefly recounted a past dispute involving a Steinway grand he once owned and stored in a private facility, which he believes was mishandled and ultimately lost. That experience, he said, left him wary of storage companies and more inclined to keep his instruments close — even if it means fighting the elements on the boardwalk.
Now, facing mobility challenges and relying on a wheelchair, Pino said playing remains central to his identity and survival.
“If I don’t play, I die,” he said. “The only thing keeping me going in my life is that.”
Despite frustration with enforcement and the loss of his recent instrument, he insisted he intends to be back behind a keyboard or a full-size piano in the coming days, once he can raise enough money to retrieve the donated instrument and arrange transport.
“I’m definitely going to have a piano,” he said. “I’m not going to let this stop me.”
Santa Monica Closeup continues documenting public events of local significance across the Westside, including homelessness outreach, law-enforcement activity, infrastructure operations, and cultural stories like Venice Beach’s long-running relationship with street performance and live music.
