I started teaching myself how to play piano in my late teens when I met someone that could play without requiring notated music or formal training. The freedom of being able to sit down at a keyboard and just *create* was a turning point for me musically. I never really intended to be a piano player, but I enjoyed it so much that I progressed my skills to a point where I perform and tour professionally in a variety of ensembles and genres.
Being a piano player is invaluable in the studio, where I inevitably play session for all of my clients, whether it be straight piano, rhodes & wurlis, organ, or a variety of synths.
And as a music director, I find it easiest to rehearse and direct a band from the keys.
I play Yamaha keyboards.