Diamond Dave Hosley of Walnut Creek knows more pop songs than Britney Spears, Frank Sinatra, and Cher combined. For the past 16 years, this singer-keyboardist has seranaded the cocktail lounge crowd at Petar's in Lafayette. Hosley, 46, covers musical genres from swing to techno, reggae to R&B, and everything in between. Here he entertains our requests to talk about Easy Bay lounge life.

  

Q: How did you get into music, when did you migrate to the East Bay?
A: I left Berklee College of Music in Boston without a degree in 1979 to play drums with my band. By 1983, I began playing piano at bars in Hartford, Connecticut, and followed a woman to San Francisco in 1986. That didn't work out, but three weeks later I got this gig at Petar's. I did meet my wife of nine years here.
  
Q: How do you remember so many pop songs?
A: I have a lot of experience with different types of bands from when I was younger and I played drums. I was into rock 'n' roll and Motown then, but over the years I've tried to add songs that I can perform well and that I know are popular. I have an idea of what people like, and I try to be a little bit diverse.
  
Q: What's the singles scene like for the fifty-something crowd?
A: People come out because they need to be around other people. I think you go out of your mind if you're not around other people. Married divorced, whatever. Live and let live. To me it just seems pretty natural.

  

Q: What are the top five songs you can't go without playing in an evening?
A: "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond, "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll" by Bob Seger, "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers, "Mambo #5" by Lou Bega, "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra. But right now, "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias is the number one slow dance song, and "Let's Get This Party Started" by Pink is the number one fast song.
  
Q: What is the most bizarre scene you've witnessed while playing at Petar's?
A: A guy drove his car through the dining room seven years ago. I was playing piano like I normally do, and people were dancing. I saw the bartender running around, and then these big clouds of smoke began coming through the door. I thought, "Something's wrong here." So I stopped and walked around the corner and saw a car was sitting right in the middle in the dining room, wheels still spinning. That was, by far, the nuttiest thing.