Merry Christmas!

It's December 25th again, the time of year when suddenly traffic to uke websites starts to skyrocket for no apparent reason.

On an unrelated note, if you've just received a uke on Christmas day and found your way here, then you are exactly why this site exists. My goal is to help make good music easy to play for beginners.

When I got a uke for Christmas 3 years ago, it was one of the best gifts I have ever got in my life. It was a motivator to learn music, a skill I had ruled out for myself years before. It has been great fun, difficult at times, but always rewarding.

So thank whoever got it for you (again), and play often. You might be surprised at what you can learn.

Win a free Electric Ukulele from Ukeeku.com and Thoughts on Cooperative Blogging

UPDATE 4/7/10: Woodshed over at Ukehunt, blogger and content-creator extraordinaire, just put up a post about 10 common misconceptions (things that might be "bollocks"-- he is British after all) of ukuleles that included a mention of my point below about the win-win-win scenario.

Added my additional thoughts on it at the bottom of this post.

Just got an email from Tim over at Ukeeku, a new site billing itself as "A place to reflect on ukuleles" that said something like:

I think your readers would love this uke giveaway (Eleuke concert)
http://ukeeku.com/2010/04/01/eleuke-giveaway/

I am just getting started and would love for you to post this on your site. All the people have to do is comment on any post of my blog to be entered.
if you have any questions feel free to contact me

Tim
Ukeeku.com

And I think he is right, readers here will probably appreciate the heads up on a shot at a free uke. All you have to do to enter to win the ukulele is click the link up top and then comment on the post.


The free uke up for grabs, an Eleuke Concert CCK100BL-MP3

Basically, Tim received a free ukulele in exchange for reviewing it. He then decided to pass this along to one of his commenters as a lottery prize for checking out and participating on his blog.

This is a win-win-win, and something I have considered doing with my blog for a while now.

Winner 1: The ukulele company (in this case the makers of the Eleuke Concert CCK100BL-MP3). Even if the review isn't great, it is easily worth the cost of one ukulele for the potential of thousands of hits worth of free advertising from the review post. And honestly, if a blogger received a free ukulele from a company, they will at least be nice in their review.

Winner 2: The Lucky Commenter. Right now (April 6th) there are 127 comments on the page. By the time the contest closes there could be many thousands, but still, you won't find much better odds to get something worth $200 for the price of 1 minute of your commenting time.

Winner 3: Tim of the Ukeeku site. By getting other bloggers (like yours truly) to promote his site, he will increase his traffic and profile. When companies decided whether they want to give someone a free ukulele, the first thing they care about is the site's traffic. It's cyclical, which means there could be more of these freebies to come!

So yeah, this is a win-win-win strategy to increase his traffic, keep his readers happy, and give a uke company some press. I hope he keeps at it.

~
oh what the heck, there's also Winner 4: Bloggers like Ukulala, whose mundane existence is broken up only by an odd interest in successful cooperative survival strategies.

------

Re: Woodshed at Ukulelehunt's post and comment below.

From the post:

Last Minute Addition: There aren’t enough ukulele competitions around.

This one was inspired by Ukulala’s post today about the benefits of ukulele competitions.

As a reader, I’m am very bored of ukulele competitions. There’s no real value to them in the long term. I’m never much interested in entering a competition where there’s a prize I could just buy if I wanted.

From the blogging perspective, competitions might provide a nice boost in traffic for a few days but they aren’t a substitute for putting in the hard work and building a site worth visiting.

I'm going to agree with Woodshed -- to a point. I think free giveaways are boring but serve the purpose of driving traffic temporarily to a newcomer's site (see Ukeeku).

HOWEVER, If Woodshed is including other types of contests, then I patently disagree. Contests that inspire people to 1) write their own songs 2) create tutorials, or 3) use any portion of their creativity are really a beautiful thing. Sometimes it takes a little push for people to get their own creative visions off and running, and a well-designed contest can inspire them to bring out something in themselves that they never knew was there.

Looking at the rest of the list he compiled, I think I am seeing a pattern: Woodshed (Al), doesn't like anything that pushes a storyline of the ukulele being a gimmick or a fad. He sees the ukulele as a serious instrument for a diverse repertoire of styles.

Included (and called bollocks) on the list are a) the myth that it's easy, b) ukuleles in schools, c) ukulele festivals, d) the uke is a primer for the guitar, e) that uke-themed contests are boring, and then some obscure stuff I hadn't actually ever heard (koa is a the best wood? Tenors are supposedly loud? Record labels have been trying or not trying to stop uke covers? Who knew?).

And ukulele competitions, especially ones that are just lotteries, are a gimmick. They are a gimmick for traffic, advertising, and free stuff. I actually agree with Woodshed that they are generally boring blog content, which is probably the main reason I haven't done one, but they can be a good tool for a website to get their name out in the beginning.

Sometimes I do like the chance to win a free uke, but it's the sweat and blood content that keeps me going back.

How to play Sea Of Love by Phil Phillips (or Cat Power)

I finally got around to learning one of my favorite songs, Sea of Love by Phil Phillips. This is a classic song that has been covered recently and famously by Cat Power off the Juno soundtrack, but has survived through covers for over 5 decades now.

Among the most famous covers:
* The Honeydrippers where it was a #3 hit song,
* Tom Waits for the movie Sea of Love
* Most mullet-y version ever by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page
* On the uke by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (ok so that one's not famous)
* By several youtubers on the uke, including this nice one
* Here's the full list of cover versions

So yeah, it's an awesome song and everyone knows it. Here's my video tutorial for it, with more detail below.



Video Breakdown:

00:00 Intro
00:26 Tuning (GCEA standard tuning)
00:31 Chords (Bb, D7, Eb, C7)
02:14 Strumming pattern - 8 beat loop: down, miss, down, up, miss, miss, down (harder), up (soft)
03:34 Slow strumming and chord changes
04:53 Full speed demo with words (slight mistake in lyrics... oops!)

Sea of Love Tuning

The ukulele should be in the key of C, which is standard GCEA tuning. I am playing with a concert ukulele, and the GCEA tuning is standard for most soprano and tenor ukes as well. If you are playing with a baritone uke, it may be tuned in G (DGBE) in which case your chords would look different.

Sea of Love Chords

This song has just 4 chords: B flat (Bb), D7, E flat (Eb), and C7. One thing that adds challenge to this as a ukulele song is that each of these are bar chords, which are difficult for the beginner. This is a great song to play to practice your bar chords.

The four chords are played in a loop in that order, each for the same amount of time.

*If you arent ready for bar chords, you can play the song in a different key using the chords G, B7, C, and A7 which are much easier for the beginner uke player.

Sea of Love Strumming Pattern

Strumming patterns are always a bit difficult to nail down, especially on a song that has had so many covers and versions and wasn't originally played on a ukulele or even a guitar. The real key to this song is the lyrics and the melody, so the strumming takes a bit of a backseat. In the original Phil Phillips version, they use a classic 1950s arpeggio, whereas in the Cat Power version they do a much more simple instrumental version with basic strumming.

Having said that, I will offer my own strumming pattern but I encourage you to experiment and see what sounds best to you. The song loops on 8 beats, where each beat is an up or a down strum:

1) strum down with emphasis
2) miss up
3) strum down
4) strum up
5) miss down
6) miss up (or strum very lightly)
7) strum down (harder)
8) strum up lightly
Switch chords and repeat.

Sea of Love full chords with lyrics:

Intro: Bb D7 Eb C7

Bb
Come with me
D7
My love
Eb
To the sea
C7
The sea of love

Bb D7
I want to tell you
Eb
how much
C7
I love you

Bb D7 Eb C7

Bb
Do you remember
D7
When we met
Eb
That's the day
C7
I knew you were my pet

Bb D7
I wanna tell you
Eb
how much
C7
I love you

Bb D7 Eb C7

Bb
Come with me
D7
My love
Eb
To the sea
C7
The sea of love

Bb D7
I wanna tell you
Eb
How much
C7
I love you

Bb D7 Eb C7 x2

End on Bb

Ask Ukulala Vol. 4: Gaullimafry and KING DONKEY

what happened your blog? why haven't you been posting? Amandine

my... blog? blog.... blog... hmmm i don't... oh crap, my ukulele blog!!! i totally forgot about my blog this eleven-and-a-half months. i hope nobody else noticed....

Well, back to answering your uke and other questions! (how come nobody ever asks me relationship or stock trading questions on here?)

Hey man, I played your version of Postcards on a Baritone Uke and it sounded pretty good. However, due to the tuning differences from that of a Soprano, it didn't sound completely right. Would this be played differently on a Baritone? Thanks, -Harry

Interesting. I haven't done much with baritone ukes, but my understanding is that they are generally tuned very differently than the standard GCEA concert and soprano ukes. Instead, they are usually tuned in G, which is DGBE.

This means you have two options:

1. find out the proper chords for the baritone and play those instead. You may have some difficulty with the hammerons, and it will likely sound quite a bit different but be in the right key. http://www.ukulele.nl/chordfinder.php (click on baritone on the middle right side)
2. (BEST OPTION) Get a capo and put it on the 5th fret of your baritone. It will now have the exact same tuning as a concert or soprano uke in C, and the chords as shown in the video will work exactly the same.

Please let me know how this goes! Getting a capo if you don't have one is a good idea anyway. Allows for some interesting sounds and easy key changes.

okay, so i got my ukulele today and i got it tuned up right and all, but while playing it goes out of tune, and im only playing for like 5-10 minutes tops. what can i do
KING DONKEY

Editor's note: Artist's rendition



Hi KING DONKEY,

if you look on the tuning pegs, there should be little screws on the top of each one. Tighten those a bit to keep the peg from slipping out of tune. You may need a smaller-than-normal screwdriver.

Also, the more you paly the more the uke will settle in and require less tuning. In the beginning the strings will need to stretch and settle a bit and the screws will need tightening, etc.

Also, even though the uke wood is sweet sweet delicious good, your pegs will stay tighter if you can keep your gums and maw off them.

Good luck!

I have a question...

I'm wondering if you know what chord this is. (if it is a chord)

I put in a picture of it but if for some reason you can't see it, the layout thing for it is this:

1st 3rd A |___|___|_x_| G C E A E |_x_|___|___| |__|__X__| first fret C |___|___|___| |__|__|__ | G |___|___|___| |__|__|__ X third fret

Editor's Note: formatting worked over email, got destroyed in cut-and-paste to this blog.
I hope this is clear! Thank you!!
-Taylor

Hi Taylor!

This is an easy one thanks to a great ukulele tool out there:

http://www.ukulele.nl/chordfinder.php

Step one is to click on the tuning you are using over on the right, so either of the C options (soprano C or tenor C). Then click the picture of the ukulele so the yellow dots are where you put your fingers for the chord. Underneath it will say which chords it is, and it isn't necessarily just one. There are so many different kinds of chords out there, a lot of times with only four notes to work with on a uke there will be a lot of overlap.

So your configuration (and you should enter it to test) shows that your chord is both a Csus4 and an Fsus2.

The sus (stands for suspended) chords are beautiful if you are playing them with the right other chords. They work well in place of the standard chord to add a bit of extra emotion and variety without sounding too out of place or changing the key. It may be worth looking into some of the theory if you are interested to learn more about it. Here are a few places with some more info, although some of it is annoyingly technical:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_(music)#Suspended_chords

http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1381990

Congratulations for discovering it on your own, it's cool when what you think sounds interesting turns out to be backed up by music theory (or at least I think it's cool, which might not mean that much actually).

hey man i know you probably get this a million times especially since some dude apparently played this song on a ukulele on american idol or something but Beirut does a great cover of the song Hallelujah and i love it. ukehunt gave me the chords but the strumming is throwing me for a loop. im new to the ukulele had mine less than a month it was a birthday gift from my lady. im loving the hell out of it. and cant stop playing. ukehunt is a great sight but this site excited the hell out of me.to be honest. but the version as im sure you know is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnmact0wxNs

i mean im sure you busy so im not asking for like a video really (unless you had the time ha!) but just some pointers on ow he plays/strums this bad boy. im sure he uses hammer ons oo but i can figure that out im sure once im strumming it even remotely lose to correct.

let me know. thanks a lot keep up the great work. love this all.

carry the fire,
-Joshua

I HAVE been getting a lot of requests for this song. I really should learn it I suppose.... but I haven't yet. When I do, I will definitely do a video for it and let you know.... it really is a beautiful song. Maybe too beautiful, I dont want to butcher it too bad.

btw, your lady sounds like a real find!

Hiya,

First of all..thanks for making such great tutorials. You are the best I've found in my many searches. I've learned a lot from you! I was wondering if you have or will you have a tutorial for Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (Or Jeff Buckley) either the strumming or picking version.. Great song easy chords just the strumming and picking I have trouble with. Any tips on how to become better at strumming??

Thanks! -Rebecca

I don't know if I will be doing Hallelujah, but I have had it requested a few times (see above!) and if I can figure out how to play it I will put up a video...

My advice for strumming: just play every time you get a chance sitting around the house, and keep your left hand on one or two chords and just try to get as many different kinds of sound as you can with your right hand. Strum with one finger, or all your fingers... try to play it like a drum almost. The idea is to condition your hand to hit the strings without it feeling awkward. To remember what strumming was like when you first started, try switching sides and strumming with your left hand. This should feel extremely awkward, and it will serve to remind you how far you've come....

Also: I forgot to tell Rebecca when I emailed her back, but thank you for the kind words! I'm so glad to hear the tutorials have been useful for people... what it really means is that there are lots of people who share some love for good songs and good uking.

Hello there! I'm a Spanish boy, from Madrid, and I've just got to know Beirut's music thanks to a friend like 2 months ago. I like it so so much. As i was lookin for videos on outube i found yours and then thought bout buyin' an ukelele. My doubt, if you could please answer it, is this: which kind of ukelele does he play? is it a sopran, bariton... Thank you so much for it!
Jonas

Hi Jonas,

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, I was hoping to hear directly from the source about what Beirut used for his recordings but I haven't heard back from them (him?) yet.

I did however find this discussion on Ukulele Hunt about the ukes he uses in his videos and on the road:
http://ukulelehunt.com/2008/06/18/zach-condon-of-beiruts-ukuleles/

Apparently they are (relatively) cheap, including one that he plays on stage (the Lanikai Tenor uke) that goes for just $99!

According to the Uke Hunt discussion, he uses all different sizes except the soprano. Tenor, baritone, and concert are all on that list. If I were you, I would stick to Tenor or Concert, because traditionally the tuning for the baritone uke (DGBE) is different than the tuning for standard ukes (GCEA), and Beirut tends to use standard uke tuning (or a close variation of it) in his songs.

I play a Concert uke, and feel like I get a very similar sound. I hope this has helped and is not too late to help with your purchase!

I hope this email finds you well. Thought you might get a kick out of a the brand new “Swine Flu” music video featuring my trusty ukulele :)
Swine Flu can be viewed through the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exC6uKiHI9I

Amelia www.myspace.com/ameliams
Www.facebook.com/electricukulele
Www.ameliarobinson.co.uk

Not technically a question, but I'm going to allow this. Very cute song and video with high quality sound and production.

I checked out the site and she makes a lot of good songs and even has a service where she writes and records special songs for a special occasions. Very neat entrepreneurial idea. I wonder how much it costs... probably something you find out through the consultation.

Hello, I was wondering what kind of Ukulele you play in your videos. It has a beautiful sound.
-Noah

This is probably the question I get asked the most over email and on my youtube channel. I should probably just post it on the main page, but I probably won't. Anyway, I have a Hamano Concert H-100C ukulele.

I will say I have been extremely happy with the purchase. I think it is a great investment to spend a bit more than usual on a solid instrument with a pretty tone. Buy something you can't wait to play!

I just started playing ukulele on my cheap, $13 instrument from a souvenir shop in Hawaii. Day 3 and your YouTube videos have taught me more than the cruddy book I bought to go with it ever did, including Beirut songs! (I've been playing trumpet for 9 years and have wanted to play Postcards from Italy since I first heard it)

Now, for the question at hand, I was wondering if you might ever do a tutorial video for "Sea of Love" by Cat Power?

Thanks a bunch!
-Nicholas

whoa, cool. it took me so long to learn those songs i forget some people can actually do it in three days.....

I would LOVE to play Sea of Love and do a video for it. I haven't learned it yet though, but I think it would be a pretty great one to know. It's one of my favorite songs ever. Although I should say, the song I fell in love with the original by Phil Phillips.

When I wrote back to you, I was mixing this song up with another similar song I tried to learn. Basically when i told you it was very difficult I was way wrong: Sea of Love is not hard to play a basic version of. It is just four looping chords (G, B, C, A) played at a steady rhythm.

In terms of a strumming pattern, if I do a video for this one it will likely try to follow the Phil Phillips version's rhythm. I think Cat Power did a very pretty minimalist cover, but man, I love the original.

thanks for writing, reading, uking, loving good music

Hello there!:) Thank you for your blog. I have learned so much from you, you are a wonderful teacher. Up here in the cold north, it is really delightful to play on my most beautifull ukulele from Hawaii. It is indeed a wonderful uke. Anyways. I was clicking around on your site and saw a song you really, really wanted to learn: New Slang by The Shins. This is what I found out:

Tune: G-C-E-A Chords: Am/C, F/C, C, G, Am, F Am/C F/C C G Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth. C Am G
Only, i don't know how they got out, dear. Am/C F/C C G
Turn me back into the pet that i was when we met. C Am G
I was happier then with no mind-set.
C
And if you'd 'a took to me like F G
A gull takes to the wind. C
Well, i'd 'a jumped from my tree F
And i'd a danced like the king of the eyesores
G And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well.

That's all, thank you for blogging and keep smiling.
Hugs from uke-chic, Norway
Eir

wow, this is really great, thank you for putting this together! I have been doing less on the site recently (partly so i can focus on making my own music), but i have always wanted to know how to play this song. it's such a beautiful one. big :)

Also: So I told Eir that I would try this out as soon as possible---- and now that I have had a chance..... WTF? This song is fucking impossible for me to learn for some reason. See, this is why there needs to be more tutorial videos out there. I try to play this right now and everything seems wrong, and I can't get the timing, and I don't know how to strum it right, and... and.... why doesn't someone put a video up for this one so I can learn it!?

Well, clearly there is more work to be done.

~
Peace! til next time.....

How to play Lua by Bright Eyes

I hope you've heard this song, Lua by Bright Eyes. Thanks to Jessibee for the heads up on it.

Anyway, it is a nice case study on simplicity with acoustics and excellent song-writing. What can I say but the guy writes a good song. I suspect this one is about being, and being with, a druggie. The mellow mood makes it pretty perfect for the ukulele, although I think a uke and a bass would really do this song right.

The tricky part of this song is just a little bit of fingering on the G chord. It's not too bad, you just have to practice when to press and release one of the strings in the chord. The good news is, once you get that part, the rest will be easy.

So here's my video on it:

Video Timing:
0:00 - Intro and Tuning (GCEA), capo (2nd fret)
1:15 - Chords (D, G, Em, A, A7, Bm)
2:05 - Strumming pattern (loops in 8 beats, see above)
3:19 - Strumming example
3:30 - Intro (Dx2, Gx2 with some detailed fingering) THIS PART IS IMPORTANT!
5:07 - Intro Example
5:35 - Verse 1
Dx2, Gx2, Dx2, Gx2, Emx2, Ax2, (Em,G), (Em,A), Dx2
(Other verses have the same chord pattern)
8:01 - Verse 1 Example
8:43 - Chorus
Gx2, Dx2, Gx2, D, (A, A7), G, Bm, (D, A), (Em,G), (Em,A), Dx2
9:05 - Chorus Example

Tuning
The uke itself is tuned to standard GCEA, but there is a capo on the 2nd fret, which shifts all the chords up one full note.

Chords
Once the capo is on, putting your fingers in the standard C chord position now makes a D chord. I will refer to the chords with the actual chord followed by the non-capo equivalent chord position in parentheses, i.e. D(C). The chords are:
D(C), G(F), Em(Dm), Bm(Am), A(G), A7(G7)

Strumming Pattern
The strumming pattern loops in 8 beats, where each beat could be considered one up or down strum at a regular rhythm. Strumming pattern:
1- down (emphasis on top string)
2- miss up
3- down (hit all strings, emphasize this beat)
4- miss up
5- miss down
6- up (emphasis on bottom strings)
7- down (emphasis on bottom strings)
8- up (emphasis on bottom strings)
(repeat, switching chords if necessary)

Chorder
I don't have my handy-dandy table-maker right now, so I can't make the full table with lyrics yet. In the meantime, I'll break it down by loops of the strumming pattern. The chords in parentheses means each is played for 1/2 of one loop, so everything in the parentheses makes for one loop.

Keep in mind, this is just a guide for now, full description with lyrics coming soon.

Intro: Dx2, Gx2
Verse 1: Dx2, Gx2, Dx2, Gx2, Emx2, Ax2, (Em,G), (Em,A), Dx2
Verse 2: same as verse 1
Chorus 1: Gx2, Dx2, Gx2, D, (A, A7), G, Bm, (D, A), (Em,G), (Em,A), Dx2
Verse 3: same as verse 1
Verse 4: same as verse 1
Chorus 2: Gx2, Dx2, Gx2, D, (A, A7), G, Bm, (D, A), Gx2
Ending: (Em,G), (Em,A), Dx2, (Em,G), (Em,A), Bmx2, (Em,G), (Em,A), (Em,G), (Em,A), D

Single uke band seeks drummer or percussionist for long-distance recording relationship (contest!)

CONTEST DEADLINE: March 12, 2009 @ Midnight

Me: Two beginning ukulele players (one male, one female) working on songwriting, with basic recording and mixing capability. We are realizing that drums are an essential part of our music and something we currently have neither the equipment nor the basic skills to include in our tracks.

You: Like the music I've mentioned on this blog, and you play the drums or some version of them. You have a way to record drums or percussion along with music from an mp3 track and then send files (of the two together AND eventually of just the drums) over the internets. And you like contests and long walks on the beach.

*****

More detail: Right now Ukulala is a long-distance band. My sister Flora and I live on opposite ends of the country and email music we work on back and forth and mix it around and occasionally have random other people record with us. We basically are looking for somebody out there who wants to have their drums be a part of our music without doing any live shows or actually recording together in the same place. Any percussionist is welcome, although we would prefer that electronic drummers try to sound as natural as possible.

Contest: Since everything on television nowadays is weird reality dating show contests, that's how I'm going to run this. I have put three mp3 files (with links to download) at the bottom of this post. If you think you could add quality drums to ANY ONE (or more) of these, then DO IT and send your completed recording (the original mp3 mixed with the drums) in mp3 format along to me at askukulala@yahoo.com. Please include just a few sentences about your drumming setup and history.

Only the third song (Taken Over) was recorded on a steady beat with a metronome. The others are just freestyle, so if you are using a computer-based system that would be the one to go with.

Feel free to send along more than one option, or drums for both tracks if you would like. Each track will be judged blindly and individually, but versatility is always a virtue and multiple entries in the pool can't hurt your chances.

Judging: The way we judge depends on how many people enter the contest. If there is one person, judging will be easy. If there are more than that, we will probably choose our favorite. If it is close, we MAY put it up online as an internet poll and let THE PEOPLE (that's you!) decide by voting. I am somewhat wary of that because in such a small sample size, someone could skew the vote in their favor just by having lots of loser friends with nothing better to do.

Obviously judging will be very subjective to our tastes and what we want our music to sound like, but I think we will be looking for quality, simplicity, variety, and appropriateness to the musical style. We aren't looking to be a drum-heavy band that drowns the ukulele out with the incessant smashing of loud rock drums. But hey, maybe that would sound awesome..... we won't judge 'til we hear it.

Deadline: I think one month should be more than enough time to get the word out, listen to and download the sample, record something, and send it back in. So the deadline is Thursday, March 12th at midnight.

Prize: Your prize will be to work with us in creating at least our first song to be posted online and possibly in a youtube video. Now, we are just beginners and we do NOT have an audience of "fans", so there is NO notoriety (ZERO, NADA, NONE) involved, but you will be mentioned and linked to at every opportunity for whatever small audience will listen. Make no mistake: this is not a huge prize. You will have to be independently excited for the prospect of making music.

All entries will be posted for everyone to hear once the contest ends, along with your name unless you would like to stay anonymous. If there are lots of entries, I will come up with another more traditional gift or prize for the top 3.

*****

And if you do not play the drums but know someone who does, please send this along! We will judge every entry on merit alone because we want to make awesome music. Children, old people and grotesquely unattractive drummers are all welcome.

Thank you in advance to anyone out there who participates or even thinks real hard about it. Have fun!

1: Save the Day
(Right-click here and 'save as' to download):


2: F6
(Right-click here and 'save as' to download):


3: Taken Over
This is the only song of the three recorded on a steady metronome beat, in case anyone is planning on using an electronic setup.
(Right-click here and 'save as' to download):

Bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie

Uh oh, looks like Sarah Palin is calling us out.

CNN Headline: Palin slams 'bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie'

I know what you're thinking: OMG, how did she know?!

Well anyway, I got nothing to do but head home for another infomercial maratho--I, I mean, I mean to go out drinking with my four hot roommates (hi girls!) and party with my rockstar friends. Ladies, I probably won't be back at the mansion until tomorrow so don't worry about locking the gate.

note:
This is NOT a political blog, and it never will be. I just want to remind the world of bloggers and blogger-readers that we are now all officially on notice.

YouTube? More like... SCREW..y...Tube. Yeah.

So after a few heads-up emails and comments, I realized my first video ever (as seen in the post How to play Elephant Gun by Beirut on the ukulele) was "no longer available" on YouTube. Everything about it seemed fine, it was "Live!" but I couldn't make it work and YouTube has no customer service. What the hell am I paying them for!?? Fucking Slackers.

Anyway, I reposted the video after deleting the old one. I didn't like doing it, I guess because of some weird nostalgia about posting my first video and all the positive feedback I got from it. It was somewhat inspiring.

Unfortunately, those user comments are erased forever from YouTube. After I deleted the video I went back to see if I could retrieve them but they are all gone except for one page (9 of 31 comments) that I just happened to still have open. I think I'll honor their memory by pasting them here, for a few reasons:

1) It's comments like these that make people like me want to make more videos. I know most people on YouTube just use the comment section as an anonymous outlet to call people fags, but some of you out there actually say nice things and it is appreciated.

2) People took the time to write them. I wish I had saved them all, but it's a real shame YouTube screwed up the video and wouldn't let me upload it to the same place and preserve the comments and video responses.

3) It's been too long since I posted. This is a good reminder of why I started......


tjbwhitehea1
Good vid.
Beirut throw in loads of triplits as well to mix it up.

Selgmegenfugl
First song i learn on capo! First time i learn to play beirut! First time i see a monkey! And first time i am so happyyyy today!!

regigas2
dude u rock, this song is ammence but one question. how do you no if its like g sharp or c sharp or soemthin like that???

hopeforrain
THANK YOU SO MUCH!

gutler3993
Great Lesson.
and great taste in music.

Marooth
I was thinking the same thing (about your nails)! This is a brilliant song. I want to learn how to play the uke now (:

ukulaladotcom
hells yeah, i say get one. they are cheap and fun.... kinda like a.... water gun.

Marooth
Heh heh heh.
Nice rhyme.

buncho888
Great vid. subscribed!
I used standard tuning with an electric guitar capo.

nyappynoodle
why is no longer available?


One exchange I wish I had saved had something to do with my fingernails (alluded to above). Someone said I had 'exquisitely manicured nails'. I'm just glad someone finally noticed.

Also, my favorite comments go something like "OMG I have never played music before and now I can play yadda yadda yadda!" because I think that moment of discovery and seeing how easy it can be leads to a real breakthrough in people's confidence about their musical ability. At least, I know it did for me.

UPDATED: Also, just wanted to throw in a shout-out and thanks to the two members of the SNZ who commented on the SNZ post to let me know what the most important part of the night was and to suggest a few corrections. That is all.

Another Tough Election Choice (and Poll #13)

Like many of you out there, I've spent several hours every day over the past few months poring over polls and analyzing charts and watching numbers and reading analysis and watching 24-hour news coverage of the elections. I'd guess it's an addiction, but I won't be sure until I read about it on a reputable political analysis site. I'll just obsessively refresh fivethirtyeight.com to see if baseball stat genius Nate Silver has done any number-crunching analysis on election poll-watching addiction for people in the Northeast ages 25-32.

He hasn't.

Still hasn't.

So that's where most of my time drifts away these days. What may be the most exciting election I'll ever watch is just five days away from being OVER. Just FIVE days away from having a new government after 8 awful years of the worst fear-mongering, ignorant, impotent, belligerent, incompetent Executive branch of my lifetime.

FAILURE.

Of course when I looked at the two candidates this time around, one thing really stood out:

Notice anything four-stringed about this candidate?

So we have Hawaiian Barack Obama, who probably loves the uke, vs. this angry fellow:


My friends, YEEEAARRRRRRGH!!

I suspect my decision will match most of the readers at Ukulala, at least based on the "scientific" data from this Ukulala poll a few months ago:


John "McStupid" (who said I was juvenile? I'll bite you!) comes in at a whopping 4%.

More people prefer 1992's premiere chartman (Perot) AND/OR electing an inanimate order of McDonald's French Fries president than that agitated uke-smashing Bushonomics-loving old man.

Whatever your choice, vote Tuesday, November 4th as early as you can!

Join the Resurgence

I just talked to Danno Sullivan, fellow uker in the Greater Boston Area, and he's going to be offering a beginner's class on the ukulele this fall in Cambridge, MA at the Cambridge Center for Adult Ed.

Here's Danno's fun description of the course:

Ukulele for the Almost Musical

Easier to get started on than other string instruments, but full of music and fun— it's the ukulele. The uke was big in the 20s, bigger in the 60s, and now it's the instrument of choice again for great-sounding, portable music. This class is for anyone who'd like to learn the basics and for players who'd like the chance to play songs with others. At each class you'll learn new songs in a variety of strumming techniques and styles, from Polynesian pop to rock to Tin Pan Alley; the new chords required; and how to figure out chords you don't know. Join the resurgence— small is big! No ukulele? Some loaners are available; e-mail the instructor for recommendations prior to class. Limited to 16.

Sec. 01: 8 Tuesdays, 5:45-7:15 pm. Begins Sep. 30, 56 Brattle St. | $159

In fact, first class starts this Tuesday, September 30th! So if you got a hankerin' for some ukerin', sign up and have some fun and, as Danno says,

...join the resurgence...

New look, same Ukulala

I've been working on personalizing Ukulala a bit, so it feels more like it's own (and my own) place, and less like the generic blogspot site it actually is.

So don't run away just cause the site looks different!

I did a black-and-white background sketch, which hopefully you can see right now. It's a work-in-progress so who knows what may be added next. Link graphics? New post icons?!! New colors??! Maybe something to do with ukuleles? Anything is possible.

It may take me some time to get all the formatting right (and believe me, that's fun work... oh yeah), but hopefully soon it will be the "new-look" Ukulala. All the content should be exactly the same, it's purely a cosmetic change at this point.

Phase Two: Makin' some music

So it's been a while since I last posted a new tutorial, but not because I haven't been busy on the uke.

My plan from the beginning is to make a video of "How to Play" every song I learn. That way I learn on my own, and then double-learn by making the tutorial video, which forces me to be more clear and accurate. That was Phase One. But there was also a Phase Two: I wanted to eventually make some of my own music.

The reason for fewer tutorial videos in the last few months is that I haven't been learning as many songs. Instead, I've been taking a break to make my own! My sister Flora and I (and Gorch from overseas) have been working on original music, with the goal of having a few songs done by the end of the year.

It's surprisingly difficult to coordinate, especially since the closest person to me in our makeshift "band" is, according to Google Maps, 3058 miles away.

So eventually (hopefully this year!) I'll have some original music posted here or on YouTube, along with several tutorials on songs I'm trying to learn.

I always have a few songs in mind I'm trying to figure out. I keep them categorized in my head like so:

Songs I can kinda play

• Across the Universe by the Beatles (strumming not quite right)
• Age of Consent by New Order (chords are easy, timing difficult to work out--good cover I'm learning from here)
  
• Tightly by Neko Case (sounds better on guitar, but I think I have it close)
• Hell by Squirrel Nut Zippers (timing is a bit dificult, but strumming and chords I have)
• Ballad of John and Yoko by the Beatles (chords are hard unless you change the tuning)
• Lua by Bright Eyes (this one has good instructions online for guitar, but I haven't been able to make it work quite right on the uke)
  

Songs I really, really want to learn

• I'll Believe in Anything by Wolf Parade
• Cold December by Matt Costa
• New Slang by the Shins
• Mike Moran by the Love Letter Band
• Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) by Arcade Fire

If you have any suggestions about any of these songs, or if you can play them, PLEASE let me know! I especially want to see a good uke cover of I'll Believe in Anything.......... then I kan STEALZ IT!!!

Poll #12: Hello Musicians!

Remember a long time ago when I first released the results of poll #1 and found out most Ukulala visitors were a bunch of drunks? Well, the results of poll #12 are now in!

...so what happened to polls #2 through #11...? See, I was going to do them in order, but then I had a bunch of problems with poll #2. Poll #2, as described here, was supposed to be a song that was based on the poll results. Unfortunately, it isn't entirely trivial to post mp3s on blogger. I would have to sign up for third-party web hosting and include a link, and find a compatible [player, and it just became a hassle that I decided to deal with later.

But I didn't want to release the poll results out of order, so I just didn't do write-ups on any of them. Now I think I'll just try to bang them out in whatever order I feel like, but I will get to them all! In that spirit, the most recent poll was:

Have you ever recorded your own music?

A: Yes, plenty of times. (54%)
B: Yes, once or twice. (31%)
C: No... not yet. (8%)
D: No, I just love to listen. (8%)

Wow! 85% of Ukulala visitors have recorded their own music, and half of those who haven't are planning on it someday.

That's awesome.

I'd love to hear what you have recorded........ PLEASE post links to your music in the comments, or email me at askukulala@yahoo.com.

If you'd like me to, I'll let you know what I think--in a very honest and possibly cruel and brutal fashion!

Ukulala at Ukulele Noir

Mmmm beer and ukuleles....


Front row at the Ukulele Noir (click for bigger pic of Ian Schwartz and the Sour Candy Orchestra).

So it's been a very busy, busy month for Paz down at the Tepuloid shoe redistrubution center. We got two solid weeks of shipments from the new Tredz line without ANY of the inventory documentation or tags. Of course, I'm the guy who has to go in for overtime and tag them. Long story short-- if you ever wondered how many model 7A shoeboxes fit in a single compartment of a 3-story warehouse shelf, the answer is... a lot.

In my off hours, I did get out to check out an interesting show last week (or was it two weeks ago now?!), July 25th at the Castlebar in Brighton, MA. After some initial searching online for a local ukulele scene, I was enticed by the ukulele noir website and decided to give it a whirl.

I did a bit of internet research beforehand to figure out who was going to be there, and wrote down this list of who to look out for:

Craig Robertson - Ukulele Noir founder
Tim Mann - thin, longer black hair
Ian Schwartz - scruffy
Amber Nash - ukebucket (!!)
Robert Wheeler - Uke consciousness
Tripping Lily - Monica, Demetrius, Alex, Laird

I was surprised that one of the performers was going to be Amber Nash of ukebucket, (whose April 30th original song I already had downloaded onto my computer). I can't find a link to it now, but it's good. I didn't really know what to expect, but I brought a camera and a little notebook. After my failed socks from a few weeks ago, I put my lucky make-out glasses on and hit the road.

The following is from my memory, my notes, and also I had a bunch of beers:

After leaving the bar and Sox game (they lost 1-0), I headed to the back room of the Ukulele Noir show. There was something different about this crowd... many of them were holding ukuleles, or long funny-shaped metallic doohickeys (would later find it was called a "floot"). It was a nice looking space with chairs and tables set up around the stage, which seemed appropriate... but unfortunately anyone coming or going had to walk in front of the stage.

It was a friendly crowd and I was right on time. One of the nice girls sitting next to me was Rachel Kiel, who, it turned out, was herself a musician playing with the first act:

Ian Schwartz and the Sour Candy Orchestra

It's funny, I actually recognized Ian from an online ukulele contest we both made videos for. Mine was Postcards From Italy and he did a few but I particularly liked his tutorial on four-note chords. So he looked familiar as soon as I got there.


Ian Schwartz and Rachel Kiel during the Sour Candy Orchestra performance.

I remember they were the Sour Candy Orchestra. How, I imagine you asked? Because they threw out bags of sour candy in between each song--to make sure we all had a taste of their sweet sweet band. I'll never forget the sweet gum middle... and I'll never forget the Sweet Gum Middle Band.....

They had a cello (Behvin McDonnel), a soprano sax (Beth Goodman), a flute (Rachel Kiel), and of course Ian Schwartz on the ukulele. It was a good mix of instruments, and Ian and Rachel both did vocals. I wish I had a recording of the sound they had, because it's a bit different from what I am hearing now on their myspace. Apparently it was their first time playing all together, but it sounded pretty tight.

The songs sounded light but had a bit darker--or at least, more adult-- lyrical content than you'd expect if you heard an instrumental. I think they touched on cheating (You'll Drive Into the Night: "...she's holding me, kissing me--and I don't think that he would like it"), alcohol dependence (The Sun is Getting Colder: "...and for now, whiskey's all I need..."), and maybe the shame of being a blue-faced ever-lovin' ten-foot-tall disgrace (The Disgrace: "I hide my face in the clouds").

I talked to Ian after his set for a bit and he recommended I check out the Ukulele Underground forums. He also said he prefers to do shows with the bigger band because when it's just him with a uke up there on stage he can't help but think "Why am I up here?" I'm sure he's fine on his own with the uke, but it definitely doesn't hurt having an orchestra back you up (double bonus for shows if it's an all-attractive-girl orchestra).

Oh, and I found out later Ian is a friend of a friend. It's a small city.

Robert Wheeler

Robert opened with some light playing and historical ukulele anecdotes. His set took a couple surprise turns, paraphrased from my notes:

"The uke... brings up all sorts of questions about life... like, 'why doggystyle?'"

"[something something something] Clinton... [something something] ...great contributions to the... Oral History of America."

Dirty man. Well ok, maybe just the jokes. He is an entertainer, after all. And founder of "Ukulele Consciousness", which I think has been around for a long while but I can't seem to find the definitive writings of. Maybe the whole thing isn't online?

I guess the jokes worked to get the crowd involved. By the time he got to his awesome rendition of "My Girl", the whole crowd was singing along.


Robert Wheeler after spitting some uke wisdom in his customized "uke consciousness" jacket.

Craig Robertson

Craig's the man with the plan, the founder (founding member?) of Ukulele Noir. He is also a performer with a style that fit the dark cabaret atmosphere of noir:

Craig Robertson, founder of Ukulele Noir, noirs it up.

His set was a bit dark with a mix of humor and, again, adult themes. I think I'm starting to get a feel for what the Uke Noir is all about.... the song he described beforehand as "the closest thing I have to a love song" had some french in it and then the lyrics "take that dress off".

I think the idea of an ukulele troupe is interesting. It's a community for the local uke players and perhaps a place for people to get comfortable doing shows with some friendly faces. Craig and Ukulele Noir have been around my neighborhood a while, so I'll be in touch with him about what's going on in the uke-munity where I live, and for advice while I'm learning.

Ed Arnold

"I have CDs for sale in the back," Ed said after the first song. "...Mostly Flock of Seagulls, but take a look, you might find something you like."

Heh heh, bootleg CDs for sale.... I think that's a pretty good gag actually. And despite (I suspect) being barely sober enough to stand, Ed may have been my favorite music of the evening.

Now, he wasn't the most talented uke player, and he didn't have the most polished sound (see Tripping Lily below), but his set was the closest to the kind of music I usually listen to. The way he used the ukulele, his choice of songs (mostly covers of excellent songs), and his energy--to beat-box, to make jokes and to stomp his feet to entertain us--won me over. He stopped to show for second (as he did every time he forgot the lyrics or chords) and said "I'm a drummer, dammit!"--and it showed. He played with a harsh rhythm, loud and energetic, while he stomped hard and in time to get a bass drum out of the floor.

He brought something to the table I hadn't seen before in a one-man uke act, and it was great.


Ed Arnold: drummer, ukulelist, entertainer, drunk.

I think he was a friend or possibly a guest of Ian's. I tried to look his music up on myspace or something, but all I found was him being quoted in the Boston Globe about Google's math problem billboards:

Ed Arnold, 31, of Watertown, a drummer with the band Amun Ka, had no idea what the banner meant until a reporter explained it. But then Arnold said: ''Advertising is all about targeting who you want to get. If they're trying to get very intelligent mathematicians, that's the way to go."
Boston Globe, 2004

Damn right. And the Globe finished the article with his quote, which means it basically captured the point of the entire piece. Kudos.

Tim Mann

Another founding member of Ukulele Noir, Tim's music felt a lot more like folk than most of the other acts. He had a set of mostly original songs with his own unique style. It is soft music and I think the writing, especially the lyrics in 'Mystery' and the music in 'Distant Strangers', is very strong.


Tim Mann: keep on strummin'....... ...FOREVER.

I think his recordings on the myspace page really benefit from the richer sound he adds in. I'd like to see him play his songs with a larger band.

...He was also nice enough to give a belligerent drunken hobo like me a ride home...

Amber Nash

Never showed, which means my damn glasses failed even worse than the socks. She was definitely one of the artists I was hoping to talk to, so I might get in touch with her in the future.

Tripping Lily

Tripping Lily was probably the biggest, tightest, most polished act of the evening. The main event, if you will.

The band is:
Demetrius singing and on the uke and guitar.
Alex on the mandolin, violin (fiddle?), singing, and washboard.
Monica on the fiddle and soprano uke.
Laird on the stringed bass.

They moved off the stage and set up in the middle of the room in a tight circle. In between songs they would mix and match instruments and come up with a new combination that somehow worked. The gentleman next to me, who I had been talking with a bit over the night, told me he had come to see them. I could tell he was enjoying them on a deeper level than me when he started talking about the complexity of their rhythm changes. I liked how the washboard made me want to dance.


Tripping Lily, imported goods from Nashville.

Now, I am in no way a music reviewer. I know less about music than most people. In fact I know less about music than most people know about... differential equations. Music is still mostly a mystery to me, and part of Ukulala is figuring some of it out to play it myself. But I still am amazed when I see it done well, and I still only listen to about 10 bands regularly. I am not knowledgeable about music, is what I'm getting at, so I'll leave the job of describing Tripping Lily with complex music-talk to the pros:

Equal parts sassy bluegrassers and moody urban songwriters, jazzy jammers and sighing torch singers, Tripping Lily is nearly a genre unto itself. The folk-pop quartet formed in Nashville, but calls Boston home now, and its sound appeals to neotrad and alt fans alike. Guitars, mandolins, and fiddles prance behind airy, quirky melodies that feel both rootsy and modern. The harmonies lull like lullabies, then jolt as if shot through jumper cables.
BOSTON GLOBE - Scott Alarik - Feb 1, 2007, as quoted on Tripping Lily's Press page

Phew. I never would have come up with all that. I thought it was awesome, and they had some of the best all-around musicians I've seen in a while (Alex on several instruments, including the mandolin, washboard, and violin). The upright bass really added depth to the music and made it... smoother.

Overall, this is a young group with good looks and a lot of musical talent between them. AND best of all, they have a name that sounds like an action sentence, so I can pull the ol' Simpsons gag next time I meet them:

(Alex extends hand) "Alex, Tripping Lily."
(shakes hands) "Paz, smiling politely."

Ukulala meets the Squirrel Nut Zippers

1/7/09 UPDATE: Check out the comments for some additional notes and corrections from Will Dawson and Darrell, both part of SNZ. Thanks y'all!

7/23/08 UPDATE: Thanks to some corrections and details from the good folks over at HUMANWINE, I have made a few changes in the sections that talked about them.

First off: this is going to be a long post with lots of pictures, animated gifs, and video. So be forewarned!

Last week, on Friday, one of my favorite bands ever, the Squirrel Nut Zippers, played at the Paradise in Boston. Now... I don't want to give away too much about my secure undisclosed location, but Boston is close enough that I decided to make the rare trip out in the sun (and disgusting, filthy germ-filled air) to check out the show:


Now since I've done a tutorial on one of their songs (Plenty More) and since I am a fan of their stuff in general, I got in touch with the band a few days before the show to see if they'd be interested in talking a little bit about their music, their band, and --since they do use the ukulele sometimes-- about ukuleles. They graciously agreed to chat for a bit and maybe pose for some photos after their soundcheck.

Now I am by no means a professional interviewer, but I knew I wanted three things:

1: An answer to the question "How does the ukulele fit into the big picture of your music?" and
2: A photo of someone in the band playing the Ukulala ukulele, and
3: To make out with Katharine Whalen.

With those goals in mind (and my lucky make-out socks on), I met up with my friend and photographer Aaron at the front door and started taking some occasional notes. Over the next hour or so, I met Chris Phillips (the drummer), Drew (the stage manager), Jimbo Mathus (lead vocalist and writer), Katharine Whalen (female vocalist and four-string virtuoso), and several people part of or helping out HUMANWINE, the opening act.

The following snippets about each are based loosely off my notes and my rapidly-faltering booze-scarred memory:

Chris Phillips

This is the first person I talked to, the drummer for SNZ. He approached me when he saw the ukulele case and introduced himself. I had him to thank for inviting us to stop by, and he brought us back to the stage to introduce us to the crew and band.

My memory of what we talked about is a bit fuzzy, but I think he has a couple kids, and he said they were growing up into music and would probably be learning on the uke at least while they're young and it fits them. He messes around a bit on it too. The gateway instrument....

I think he kind of expected that I was waiting to interview the lead singers or the ukulele player. Makes sense, but he seemed like a humble, down-to earth guy and I wish I had talked to him a bit longer and gotten more photos.

Here he is at the end, with Katharine:


Katharine Whalen and Chris Phillips cradle her ukulele like a baby.

At the end of the interview/chat, when he came out to talk to Katharine, he stepped in and asked if we had tickets to the show. I told I had mine already, but the show was sold out and Aaron didn't have a ticket. Chris said it was no problem if he wanted to go, and he got Aaron's full name and added it to the guest list.

Drew (Andy)

The Squirrel Nut Zippers' stage manager's name is Drew (and Andy), and he's a hard-working, genial motherfucker with a keen sense of humor. The show went off without a hitch. Also--if your band is doing a sound check and you need to find a wireless mic guard and half of some jerk's broken glass pipe, he's the only dude you can trust to get it done.


SNZ Stage Manager Drew tunes the bejeezus out of Katharine's custom-made gift, a tenor guitar.

He helped us coordinate with the band so they could get their soundcheck in, have time to do a "limousine interview" (Katharine later said someone brought her around in a limousine with champagne and a photographer for an interview right before mine. Oh man, I can't compete with that), and still meet with us for a bit.

The mustachioed glue that keeps SNZ together and functioning behind the scenes.

Jim Mathus

He's the front-man for the Zippers now, and he looks it. The man has style, even when, or maybe especially when, he's going straight-up casual:

Jimbo Mathus

I wasn't sure whether to call him Jim or Jimbo, but I don't think it really mattered. I still don't know which to go with, 'cause I forgot to ask, but Aaron thinks Jimbo is best. We talked outside while he had a cigarette, and I just basically let him know who I was and asked him a few questions about how the band writes their songs and chooses their instruments.

While we were talking, a few members of the band HUMANWINE were walking by to set up their stuff, and he introduced himself and me. One girl, whose name I unfortunately did NOT write down but HUMANWINE tells me was Kaethe Hostetter, stayed to hang out. She plays the viola/violin.

It sounded like she was on the road pretty often and had a lot in common with Jim, so they swapped a few travel stories. She picked up the Ukulala ukulele, and--without being a regular ukulele player--played something cute and catchy. Then she played something a bit harder while Jimbo eyeball-danced:

Jimbo Mathus of SNZ and Kaethe Hostetter violin player for HUMANWINE rock out on the Ukulala ukulele.

Then I witnessed something fantastic. Jim was chatting with Kaethe about New Orleans when someone mentioned something about collaborations. The conversation went something like this (and I am viciously paraphrasing, but what they actually said was probably even shorter):

Jimbo: so, you guys want to collaborate at the end?
Kaethe: Yeah, sure, that sounds cool. How should it go?
Jimbo: We'll play C and G at the end of the encore, you guys can just jump in and play along.
Kaethe: Yeah, just C and G?
Jimbo: C for 2, G for 2, maybe a little bit of mixing it up, it'll be easy.

...and that was it.

Just like that, they were ready to play on a stage together. Man, to be a real musician............ I don't think they even know how much like a magic trick their conversation sounded. It was like... a recursive function: so reduced it couldn't be right. Anyone who knows what that means is a nerd and I will come to their house and beat them up.

At the climax of the show, both bands rocked out together on stage and then marched through a (thunderous) crowd in a congo drum line, so I guess the collaboration was approved at the higher levels.

Jimbo in action, from Aaron's Photo-Go-Round post:


Katharine Whalen

The female vocalist and four-stringed virtuoso of the band also had a flare for putting together her thoughts into perfect groups of words. We chatted for a little while, and I decided to ask her, being the ukulele player in the band, my main question: "How does the ukulele fit into the big picture of your music?"

Well, without even pausing to do some internal editing she said --and this is the ONE quote I wrote down in full, because it was so good and I asked her to repeat it-- she said:

"The ukulele is sparkly, like bubbles in a glass of champagne."
Katharine Whalen, Squirrel Nut Zippers

Now it may have just been because she had champagne on the mind after that "Limousine Interview" (as mentioned above in the Drew section) she finished just before she talked to me, but that quote is a gorgeous piece of imagery. It is the perfect way to describe the light, exciting, energetic spark of this instrument on a track.

We went back and forth for a while, with me just trying to get an idea of how these people put together their music, and what their influences were. In no particular order, I think I learned:

• Katharine learned first on the banjo (Jimbo mentioned it may have been from teaching herself out of a Mel Bay book, but I didn't confirm that), then was introduced to the ukulele and encouraged to sing by her husband at the time.
• Her husband at the time was (!?!? why didn't I know this?!) Jim Mathus (see above). They divorced several years ago but are now touring together. That revelation, of course, led to several other questions--none of which I asked.
  
• Wash Jones is her favorite song to perform, as seen on this video from 2007.
• Eddie Condon, legendary jazz musician and bandleader, was her biggest influence in terms of the style she plays. He played a rhythmic style on the ukulele, the four-string (tenor) guitar, and the banjo.
• Her favorite instrument right now was a gift-- a custom tenor guitar.
  
• She might start up a four-string band--banjo, tenor guitar, ukulele, bass--the sky's the limit! (Hi Katharine, looking for a third-rate ukulele player?!!? wink wink)
• The song "Hell", off their biggest album (and my personal favorite of theirs!) was actually recorded with her baritone ukulele....

...which she THEN brought out and let me play:

Paz plays the Marathon baritone ukulele used for the original recording of the SNZ song Hell.

It was tuned in "open G" I think she said, which is the same as a banjo. Makes it easier for her to switch between the instruments, but I had no idea where most of the chords were. Nonetheless, she had the Ukulala ukulele and I had her Marathon, so we had a quick little jam session where I definitely didn't keep interrupting her:

Katharine Whalen from SNZ enjoys a totally relaxed jam session with Paz from Ukulala.

By the way, I'm still looking for a link to the Limousine interview. I'm curious to see how it went and what she talked about with them just minutes before I spoke with her.

And because she volunteered that I should include pictures of myself, here's the first picture of me ever on this ukulele blog, with Katharine:

Paz poses with Katharine, who holds the Ukulala ukulele.

I debated this in my head for a while, because I do like a certain degree of anonymity. But, what the heck, if we've got one picture of me we may as well include the one of me with Jimbo:

Jim Mathus and Paz both enjoy a good chill outside the Paradise in Boston.

Oh, and later that night, Katharine with a decidedly less casual outfit on:

L... Legs.

HUMANWINE

They are a Boston-based band with a cool setup, and they opened for SNZ. Yes, HUMANWINE capitalizes their whole name (I'm not just yelling, it was part of their "ALLCAPSNOGAPS Policy of 2000 Group"). They drive around in a big school bus painted matte black, because NH law says to register a ex-school bus it must be painted any other color than "school bus yellow," and they chose black. The front window had a big sign that read "FREEDUMB". I don't know what it means, but I think it costs $19.95:

The HUMANWINE bus shares a parking spot.

And they are in the process of converting it to be an entirely environmentally-friendly vehicle that runs on Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), so they can tour the country without the brutal carbon footprint and high fuel costs you usually get from a big-ass bus. Their plan sounds fucking awesome.

Apparently Waste Vegetable Oil is trash that the restaurants actually have to pay to dispose of, so of course they're more than happy to have it hauled away for free. I even heard rumor (verified fact) that HUMANWINE's Ma and lead singer herself, Holly Brewer, carried some 19 gallons of unfiltered WVO herself on the first "Official WVO Run" from a restaurant in JP.

As HUMANWINE tells it, "We ask. They open their door for us."

True for so many things.

~#~

So that was Ukulala meeting the Squirrel Nut Zippers (and running into HUMANWINE). I also recorded a video of SNZ playing the song Hell at the show that night, which is definitely worth a watch to get an idea of the energy at their shows:



And here's one more shot of a few of the other guys in the band, who I didn't meet before the show but held it down live:

Gabrieli Pelli and Will Dawson sax up the audience a bit.

I hope this blog entry got across how relaxed, friendly, eclectic, fun, and interesting group they seemed to be. It's funny when a group's music matches their persona. I had a great time and I hope they did too, and if you read this whole thing then I have one more thing to tell you: I only accomplished 2 of my 3 goals.

For now.