Punk uke tabs Link Discuss (Thanks, Gary Peare!)

Picture of L. Ron Hubbard's beloved ukulele. Link Discuss (Thanks, Gary Peare!)

Nice little uke-related article about a generous and genial George Harrison in Fiji. Link Discuss (Thanks, Gary Peare!)

Silly little uke site with a photo tour of the Kamaka factory. (I wonder how the Kamaka guys get any work done with all the people who come around to take pictures of the factory for their sites!) Link Discuss (Thanks, Gary Peare!)

Here's a question: if there were a beautiful ukulele-enthusiast's magazine full of stories about past and present ukulele players and makers, as well as articles about neat old ukulele sheet music, playing tips, and information about conventions, shows, and dealers, would you subscribe (at four issues per year for $25)? Tell me here.

Neat photo tour of the Kamaka factory. Link Discuss

Kamaka's new uke is a beaut. Check out that pearl logo! Link Discuss (Thanks, Gary Peare!)

Short history of the Martin Uke. Link Discuss (Thanks, Gary Peare!)

I would love to find out who the regular readers of Ukulelia are. This site gets about 40-50 visitors each day. Please write a little about yourself here.

Here's another article about vintage Hawaiian music, from UK Online. Link Discuss

Good SF Weekly article about Vintage Hawaiian music. I'm going to buy the MP3 CD mentioned in the article: "WAIKIKI IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME." 188 Hawaiian 78's on one MP3 CD for $20!
Link Discuss

I want to buy a new computer. To make money, I am drawing cartoon characters and putting them on iron-on transfer paper, and selling them on eBay. Each iron-on will be one of a kind; once it's sold, that's it. Link (For a better look at the image, click here) Discuss

Thingsihate.org editor Annna spends a week writing about the ukulele, and offers some of songs in MP3 format, such as "Psycho Killer" and Devo's "Gates of Steel." Link Discuss (Thanks, Gary Peare!)

Pineapple Princess is (was?) a San Francisco-based uke band. Here's an old Hotwired story about them. Link Discuss (Thanks, Gary Peare!)

Great story about Jack Hall, who made things out of matchsticks (including a ukulele).Link Discuss(Thanks to Tony Hall, son of Jack Hall!)

Say "kia ora" to Tiki King's wicked line of high-quality Tiki-Leles. They're gorgeous. Link Discuss

Wow! Free PDF book of Christmas carols for the uke, compiled by Jerry Dallal. Link Discuss

Ukulele tablature for Christmas songs. Link Discuss

Gary Peare also turned me onto the American Memory Collections old sheet music archive. What a treasure trove! Link Discuss

Gary Peare pointed out this great site about the The Golden Gate Concert Company, which played Hawaiian music in the 1920s. Also, use the search feature on this site to find other wonderful uke ephemera. Link Discuss

Janet Klein is an extraordinary LA-based ukulele player and singer. Her backup band includes such luminaries as Ian Whitcomb and members of The Cheap Suit Serenaders. Her newly designed web site is loaded with good stuff. Check out the links section for good music sites you might otherwise overlook. Link Discuss(Thanks, Gary!)

Groovy picture of Nancy Sinatra playing the Kookalele. Link Discuss(Thanks, Gary!)

Good news update from the maker of the forthcoming "Rock That Uke" documentary Link Discuss

Anyone ever see this flick, The Giant Gila Monster? It stars a guy who plays the banjo-ukulele, so you know it has to be great. Listen to him play an ultra religious song to his sister! Be sure to read the accompanying article about the movie too. Link Discuss

Check out the sounds of Carmaig de Forest, punk uker. Bill of Rock That Uke, describes him as "very edgy, dark and profane." Not what I usually think of when I envision a uke player, but what the hey, I shouldn't be so closed-minded. Link Discuss

Jazz ukuleleist Lyle Ritz will be performing in Sherman Oaks at California Guitar. The show is Friday, October 26 at 8PM. For info call (818)789-8887. Link Discuss

Obit for Hawaiian musician Auntie Irmgard.

Irmgard Farden Aluli, a songwriter and performer whose many tenderly eloquent compositions in a career of more than 70 years made her one of the last links to a golden era of Hawaiian popular music, died on Oct. 4 in Honolulu. She was 89.

Link Discuss

Obit for "Sis Silly" a WWII USO entertainer who played the uke. Link Discuss

A list of ukulele clubs. Link Discuss

Plenty of ukulele playing in this realaudio broadcast of a 1985 episode of Prarie Home Companion. Link Discuss

Robert Armstrong is a cartoonist and ukulele player (one of the members of Rober Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders). His site has lots of great paintings, like the "Keyhole-Lele" seen here. Link Discuss
(Thanks, Gary Peare!)

Hey, DC area ukers! I received the following from Adrienne Mazzone, the Media Relations Director, ActingWorld.com. You can contact her by emailing her at Age18Forevr@aol.com: "Hello, I'm looking for w Ukulele player to perform a little tune at an Expo in DC on 10/11 & 10/12 & 10/13 or any of those dates...any suggestions or can you post something." Discuss

"Trying to be a first-rate reporter on the average American newspaper is like trying to play Bach's St. Matthew's Passion on a ukulele: The instrument is too crude for the work, for the audience and for the performer." -- Ben Bagdikian, Esquire, March 1967. I guess this guy (kind of) proves him wrong! Link Discuss

Proof that ukulele players are geniuses:

"Dr. Curtis Marshall, a retired Baltimore neurologist whose interests ranged from underwater diving and building kites to plunking 1920s and 1930s tunes on his favorite ukulele, died Tuesday from Parkinson's disease at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. He was 82."

Link Discuss

Check out this cool blue fiberglass resonator uke from Beltona. Chuck "Frets" Fayne says it has a "'20s sound." About $550. I want one. Link Discuss

This article about Native Hawaiian products quotes the founder of Mele Ukulele.

"We were inspired to pursue the ukulele business once we realized there was a solid demand for the instrument, which was mainly because of the renewed interest in Hawaiian culture," says Cheryl Rock, co-owner of Mele Ukulele. "We also cater to a lot of tourists through our retail shop as well as our dealers outside of Hawaii and the Internet."

Link Discuss

Petty Booka is a band consisting of two Japanese girls who play ukulele. I've never heard any of their music, but the little pictures of their CD covers look incredible! Has anyone heard their music? Link Discuss

Here's a CD of Bach's "Partita No. 3" performed on the uke. The site inlcudes one MP3. Link Discuss

Check out Tiki King's semi-hollowbody Ukenbacker! Link Discuss

Some flight attendents are singing the pre-flight safety instructions while they strum ukuleles. Link

Here's a picture of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder playing a uke at a Ralph Nader rally. I can't tell what kind of uke it is. Can you? Link Discuss (thanx, Tim!)

Songs from The Rhonda Ukulele Experience. I especially like "The DNA Song."Link

EZfolk.com has a site with uke tabs for several songs, including a clawhammer version of "My Dog Has Fleas!" along with some MP3s. Link

Article about uke collector Robert Wheeler. Link Discuss

Streaming Hawaiian music channel on Spinner. Link (Thanks, ebert!)

I'm not quite sure what's going on here, but there seems to be a band called The Haoles and you can listen to the music here. It's good! Link(Thanks, Roots!)

Here's an article about ukulele love in Los Angeles magazine. Link

Billionare Warren Buffet is a ukulele player! Link Discuss

White Knuckle Sandwich is a uke-friendly band out of NYC. I don't know what they sound like because there aren't any samples on their home page. Anybody heard them before? Link Discuss

Check out this excellent MP3 by Creamed Corn called "Hoping To Find A Ukelele Underneath The Christmas Tree." Link Discuss

Here's an excellent photo gallery of the people featured in the upcoming documentary, Rock That Uke. Link Discuss

ezFolk is a very nice directory for all manner of stringed instruments. Here's their ukulele links page. Link Discuss

An article about the history of "Tiptoe Thru the Tulips," by Doran Wittelsbach. Link Discuss

Everyone knows that ukulele players are beautful on the inside, but Nelly Furtado has got the inside and outside covered. Link Discuss

Here's a picture of a kitchen counter with a ukulele image made out of tiles. Link Discuss

Home page for "Songs From a Random House," an avant-folk group featuring ukulele and other stringed instruments. Link Discuss

Good review of a CD by the Hula Hawaiians. Link Discuss

Interesting New York Times article about Hawaiian song lyrics. Link Discuss

Sad news: master ukulele maker Jose Hipolito, born in Honolulu in 1934, died June 10. He had been working at the Kamaka factory since 1954.Link Discuss

Here's a story I wrote about ukuleles for Business 2.0 magazine. I had a lot of fun writing this one. Link Discuss

I love this cute japanese "ukulele lesson" site.

"The rhythm is very important thing,but I haven't say about rhythm .You may say 'Why have you tell me about the rythm' and cry. But I decide to say below.
'Because I am poor musician' So I've never play good like a score book."

Ukulele lesson Discuss

Homepage for a Los Angeles based Uke band called Waste of Aces. By day, they're animators at Disney and DreamWorks. I saw them at the Uketopia concert at McCabe's a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed them. I love the big acoustic bass they use. Link Discuss

I asked William Preston Robertson to tell me about a documentary he is working on called Rock That Uke. He was kind enough to write the following. Link [discuss]

Here's a funny old New Yorker cartoon by George Price about a uke player.Link
Discuss

Some information about a forthcoming ukulele documentary called Rock That Uke. I'll try to get more details and post them here. Link
[discuss]

From the Billings Gazette: "Dozens of computer monitors and printers, dozens of office chairs and desks, cell phones, watches, surplus police cars -- and one new ukulele, still in the box -- will be auctioned off by the city of Billings on Saturday." Maybe it's a Kamaka, maybe it's a Hilo. If you live in Billings, check it out! Link

There's a great new installment of musicologist Ian Whitcomb's semi-monthly "Letter from Lotusland." This time, he talks about working with director Peter Bogdanovich on the forthcoming movie, The Cat's Meow starring Kirsten Dunst. Last time I saw Ian perform, he played a tape recording of an amazing song ("After You've Gone") that Dunst sang to the accompaniment of Ian on the ukulele. The song will play as the credits roll at the end of the movie. Link

1998 NPR interview with Jim Beloff, proprietor of Flea Market Music. (Real Audio) Link

Make a uke out of Tupperware for $12. (It doesn't look pretty.) Link

A bunch of adorable ukulele icons for your desktop. Link

I like Ukulele Man's songs. They combine old-style arrangements with contemporary subjects. Sample titles: "Pee-Wee, Where Have You Gone?" and "Facist Girl." Link

Article about Tom Harker, aka Ukulele Man.

"I told someone once that a lot of the songs are a Carl Jung/Gestalt kinda thing," explained Harker. "Things bother me, get my interest, toil around inside me, then gush out." That speaks partly to Harker's more topical tunes, like I've Never Been to Stuckey's, Jesus Chrysler and Fascist Girl.

Link

Comedienne Victoria Jackson has made a couple of kids' CDs that feature some ukulele playing. Link

Steve Arbuss sent me these Israel Kamakawiwo'ole links:

Good .ram of Rainbow/Wonderful World

"Farewell" articles

For the Iz otaku

Nice MP3 of "Georgia on my Mind" live performance by King Ukulele. Link

If you live in Southern California, then mark your calendars for two ukelele extravaganzas on Sunday, May 27, at McCabe's music store in Santa Monica. There's the Uke workshop from 2-4 pm, where you'll learn new strumming and picking techniques. I went to the last one and had a blast. Then, at 7 pm, it's the UKEtopia concert featuring Ian Whitcomb, Janet Klein, and Jumpin' Jim Beloff. Call for reservations. (310-828-4497)

If you can play ukulele this well, I officially hate you. Link

Tiki King has a nice MP3 of his rendition of "Princess Pa-Poo-Ly." Link

Ukulogist Ian Whitcomb wrote this great story about the "Father of Surfing" for American Heritage magazine. Lots of good stuff about Jack London and his wife in old Hawaii. Link

March 2001 article about Tiny Tim's chances of making it into the Ukulele Hall of Fame. Link

Does anybody have an idea if or when the movie Stanley's Gig, about "an emotionally dysfunctional ukulele minstrel," is coming out? It stars Faye Dunaway, and British-Invasion-pop-star-cum-ukologist Ian Whitcomb as "Smiling Jack."Link

Ukelele player commits murder/suicide. Link

Here are two cool freeware programs called UKE and UKEPIX for IBM-compatible PCs. "UKE adds ukulele chord fingerings to ASCII files of chords and lyrics while UKEPIX adds chord fingering diagrams, too." Link

Sunday night marked the debut appearance of The Studio City Islanders with Mark and Carla on uke, and Grant on Bongos. We played two songs ("On the Beach at Waikiki" and "The Hawaiian War Chant") at the Poe Zone in North Hollywood. Here's a picture of us. Link