'A classic don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover story': Video of Edmonton painter playing piano blows up on social media

Employees from a specialized Edmonton painting company were on a job outside the new Stanley A. Milner Library this week when one of them spotted a piano through the window.

"After telling my co-workers for years that I played piano, but never actually having the opportunity to show them I played piano," said Archie Gould, a painter with Venger Electrostatic Coating.

"I believed him, he said he could play, but you don't get the opportunity at work a whole lot," said his field supervisor Kerrie Yates.

During a lunch break that first day on the job, Gould treated his co-workers to a performance on the public piano.

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"It was so heart melting," said Yates. "Because I love classical music to begin with and to get to see him play, and to see at the level that he actually can play, I just, it blew me away," she added.

"I was really happy to show them that I wasn't just making it up," laughed Gould.

Yates recorded that first performance and uploaded it to TikTok. As of Wednesday afternoon the video had more than half a million views.

"I think half the reason that the video blew up is because I looked like a construction worker. No one expects a construction worker to just whip out some classical music like it's nothing," said Gould.

"This is a classic don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover story," he added.

Gould's love of the piano came at a young age.

"My father, he would sit down at the piano, he'd pick me up and sit me in his lap and he'd play and I'd absorb what he was playing. I'd just watch what he's playing and I would mirror it," said Gould.

"And my father was there to correct mistakes," he added.

But there came a time when Gould wanted to play songs other than what his dad did, so he started watching YouTube.

"Where you see the notes that rain down on the piano and literally just go off that," Gould said.

Over the course of the week-long job outside the library, Gould got to play for his co-workers a few times. Even strangers walking past the space stopped to enjoy.

"I'm glad that people enjoy the music I'm playing because I play whatever I think sounds good," said Gould.

Two Edmonton Public Library locations have pianos available for the public to use.

"Customers can walk in at any point, we ask that they perform and not practice," said Mary Jane Bilsland, the branch manager at Stanley Milner Library.

"It's not a space to play scales but it's a great space to share music with others," she added.

Gould, who doesn't have an actual piano at home, said there are many benefits to having one in a public space.

"I'm sure there's a fair amount of people out there who are struggling in life, maybe even homeless, who at one point in time did take piano lessons," he said.

"And being able to access something that brings them joy is, it's really beautiful that we can do that as a society."