Lawrence Saltis was thirteen years old when he started learning how to play piano, but has had an interest in music ever since he was eight. He originally started out playing guitar, but his parents noticed that he took a liking to piano instead. They put him into lessons and he has been playing ever since. 

Saltis is now a senior at Revere High School and is still playing piano. He is a jazz pianist but also makes indie-pop music with a band he is in. 

Saltis is planning on making an album this summer with his band. He talked about the process and how it is going right now. 

“It’s a very complicated process, takes a lot of time, but I have a passion for it so it’s super fun. We’ll make our own music, going for the sort of alternative indie pop vibe and then we’ll see how that goes,” Saltis said. 

Damon Furukawa, a friend of Saltis, will sometimes help him out when he is writing music. Although Furukawa does not play an instrument himself, he helps out with how the music sounds. He talked about the process Saltis goes through when writing. 

“Usually he’ll start off with a guitar maybe and just start playing a few chords. Then he’ll add piano to make some different noises,” Furukawa said. 

Furukawa also talked about how interesting it is just to watch Saltis make music and how good he is at coming up with new ideas. 

“One minute he’ll have this idea that he’s stuck on and then he’ll completely switch it up into something different. He has a really good vibe of music that he likes to make,” Furukawa said. 

Saltis’s band is also planning on playing live this summer. He explained how they are planning on selling tickets. 

“We were planning on selling some high school tickets at Bath Community Center, and then performing at their pavilion there, and then I have a couple connections with Fairlawn School of the Music, so they would be able to get us gigs at Julie’s Music Center in downtown Akron, Blue Music Place, Musica, places like that,” Saltis said. 

Ella Saltis, Saltis’s sister, says that music has been a part of their lives ever since they were little kids. 

“Lawrence and I come from a musical family; our dad is a musician so the both of us make it a focused part of our life. Both of us take music as a crucial and important thing to have with us right now and in the future,” Ella Saltis said. 

Ella Saltis said that if Saltis noticed a piano somewhere in public, he would go up to it and just start playing. 

“All my life I’ve always known Lawrence to go straight to the piano. For example in a hotel, when I was younger, Lawrence ran straight to one when he realized that no one was playing it ” Ella Saltis said.  

Ella Saltis said that she likes Saltis’s music because of how it stands out from other things she’s heard. She says that he is able to do his own thing with it. 

“He always finds different ways to make it more creative by using background sounds that add an effect or even using his own friends to add a little spice to the way it sounds,” Ella Saltis said. 

Ella Saltis also spoke about how much music means to Saltis and how important it can be to him. 

“Music is an escape to him. Whenever he is feeling stressed out or frustrated, he uses the piano as a way to calm himself down,” Ella Saltis said. 

Along with creating an album this summer, Saltis also has plans to use his piano skills to make money when he goes off to college. 

“I have a set of music that I would play at hotels and bars, and I’d just play music there. I’d get paid in tips by the people there and obviously by the place I play, so I plan on using it as my job to make money and have fun with that,” Saltis said. 

Saltis has plans to go to Ohio State and he explained why that is a great place to further his pianist career. 

“In Columbus, the good thing is there’s so many places because it’s a city, so I’d have multiple opportunities to do that,” Saltis said. 

Saltis said that it can be difficult to book jobs like this, but he has faith in himself. 

“It is pretty complicated. You have to go in yourself and you have to be like, ‘Hey if you ever need a piano player. . .’ but I think I’d have the ability to do that,” Saltis said. 

Saltis also has plans to try and form a band at Ohio State. He has heard some of the bands that have come from Ohio State and wants to try and follow in their footsteps. 

“Hopefully I’ll be able to make a band down there because with Ohio State there’s so many kids you know and I’m sure there’s a lot with musical talent. One being, there’s a band called Club House and they figured out that these guys had musical talent and now they’re huge in indie pop,” Saltis said. 

Saltis said that his favorite part about making music is that anyone and everyone can listen to it. 

“My favorite part is definitely the fact that music is a universal language, it doesn’t need to be translated for somebody to understand it one no matter what if you can connect with somebody over it,” Saltis said. 

Saltis also said that he really enjoys when he gets to play his music for other people. 

“If you make a good sound, you’re super hyped about it and you get to see what other people are going to think about it . . . If people like your music it just makes you so happy overall,” Saltis said. 

Saltis continues to work on putting out with his band and will start performing live this summer. When he goes off to college in the fall, he will start up his solo career by playing piano for live audiences.