Hawaiian Steel Guitar CD

Dave Stewart, who earlier released the MP3 compilation "Waikiki is Good Enough for Me" has now released a compilation of 234 Hawaiian Steel Guitar 78s on one MP3 CD. "Rhythm of the Waves" is playable on any computer/CD/DVD player that can play MP3s. That's right, folks, over 10 hours of vintage steel guitar recordings by the likes of Sol Hoopii, King Bennie Nawahi, and Roy Smeck for about 3 cents a minute. Information on ordering the CD is on his site, along with a complete discography. Link Discuss

Cool Story, Dude

Fun article by surfing champ Corky Carroll about the dude who wasn't his sixth grade teacher, but would have been if he hadn't been such a screw-up in fifth grade. The teacher gets a great deal on an ukulele that was used by some haole at a funeral. (Corky's also the voice of Grungy Grouper on Spongebob Squarepants.) Righteous. Link Discuss

Jake's Two-hand Strum

One more Jake blog for you. Check out his two-handed strum. He demonstrated this for the ukulele players in the audience last week at Chai's. You cradle the neck of your ukulele with your left arm, then alternate up and down strums with both hands. Oh, right, and then you just have to play like Jake. Link Discuss

Congratulations, Jake!

At the 2003 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in Honolulu last week, ukulele wizard Jake Shimabukuro won 2 Hokus for Instrumental Album of the Year (for "Sunday Morning") and Favorite Entertainer of the Year. The Hokus are the local equivalent of the Grammys.

I happened to be on vacation in Hawaii at the time and caught Jake at Chai's Island Bistro the following night. It was a huge fete, with Jake presenting leis to his ohana (everyong from his recording company's executives to his ukulele teacher, Dr. Trey, were in attendance). Champagne flowed and we all toasted Jake with a traditional "banzai!" What an incredible night: he played everything from Okinawan folk music to Beethoven and Lennon/McCartney. My wife and kids--who are generally lukewarm about all things ukulele--were spellbound. We left after two continuous hours of playing and he was still going strong. Wonder how long his wrist held out. Don't miss him if you have the chance! Link Discuss

Kate Bush vs. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

Kate Bush has allegedly banned The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain from releasing its arrangement of "Wuthering Heights" on their new CD. Cheeky! Link Discuss

UPDATE: New Uke New York
The New Uke New York festival begins tomorrow night at Joe's Pub. Here is a link to the Public Theater's site. Click on "Now Playing at Joe's Pub" for more information.

Also, (at left) courtesy of White Knuckle Sandwich is the New Yorker cartoon that recently ran with the festival blurb.

Finally, here's the (slightly snide) announcement that ran in the NYTimes today:

NEW UKE, NEW YORK, Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 539-8777. Hard as it is to believe, there are people who take the ukulele seriously, or at least seriously enough to play it for other people. A two-night festival includes current pop songwriters along with people reviving the four-stringed instrument's Hawaiian heritage. Tomorrow's lineup includes the Moonlighters, who write anachronistic ballads and swing-style tunes that Bliss Blood (formerly of the Pain Teens) sings without a hint of campiness; J. Walter Hawkes, who plays trombone along with ukulele; and the country-flavored King's County Queens. Sunday's bill includes the Conservationists (with Brian Dewan); the Haoles, a New York band devoted to Hawaiian pop; and the Honey Brothers. Tomorrow and Sunday night at 6:30; tickets are $15 each night or $25 for both.

Link Discuss

SoCal Trad Music Festival
The California Traditional Music Society will hold its 21st Annual Summer Solstice Folk Music, Dance and Storytelling Festival on June 20-22, 2003 in Calabasas, CA. This year the theme is Hawaii, with a focus on ukulele performances and workshops. And check out the cool festival logo designed by Mindy Lee. Sort of Franz Marc-meets-Piet Mondrian-meets-Tiki King! Link Discuss

Ukulele Patent Museum
Ukulele virtuoso and historian John King's site has an entire page of ukulele patents. Everything from the ridiculous (uke destroying capos) to the sublime (Sam Kamaka's Pineapple). Link Discuss

Stars and Stripes Uke
Michigan luthier David Talsma crafted this lovely flag-draped soprano. A little eye candy for you, just in time for Memorial Day. Link Discuss

Enthusiast Alan Johnson has created this little site that seems to be growing nicely. I learned about it several weeks ago, but waited to blog it until there was enough information to make a visit worthwhile. Check out the Music Room where you'll find a couple dozen downloadable pdfs of ukulele arrangements. The Parlor Room contains a discussion board. Link Discuss

Meet Marzipan!
I'm probably the last person on the planet, but I've just discovered Homestarrunner.com, a hilarious cartoon site. One of the characters is Marzipan, a ukulele-playing lass. Here's a link to a video called "The Luau" Great fun! Discuss

Professor Joel Eckhaus shared the bill with Yoko Ono at Maine College of Art's recent commencement ceremony. That woulda been something to see. Well, that, and the chairman of the board of trustees singing an a capella rendition of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up." Sounds like a cool school! Anyone's mom and dad take a video?
Link Discuss

A New Ian Whitcomb Songbook!
Ian announcez: "The Cat's Meow", my long-awaited third ukulele songbook/CD which contains songs from the movies, 'The Cat's Meow' [directed by Peter Bogdonavich and starring Edward Herrmann and Kirsten Dunst] and 'Last Call' plus lots of other Roaring Twenties favorites (and obscurities). To launch this book we're having a concert at The Coffee Gallery's Backstage venue right here in Altadena." Ian's books are great, so I'm looking forward to this one! The event is Saturday, May 24 at 8pm. Cost: $15 (cheap). Address and reservation information here. (I've listed the table of contents in the Discussion link.) Discuss

Ukuleles in Wonderland?
Recently, one of the fine folks over at the Flea Market Music Bulletin Board happened across this photograph taken in 1860 by C.L.Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll. It shows Ina Liddell (sister of Alice, who inspired Alice in Wonderland) playing a decidely uke-like instrument. Taken in Victorian England years before the ukulele's "birth" in Hawaii, the photo sparked a lively debate about the identity of the instrument (a machete, mayhaps?) that quickly evolved into a discourse on semantics (semantics?). To read the discussion at Flea Market, use the Bulletin Board search function to look up "Lewis Carroll". The photo in question can be found here. Another of lesser quality of all three Liddell Sisters can be found here. Discuss

Check out this hawaiian glossary and you'll know your way around the 'ukulele from ka puka to ke kaula o luna loa. Link Discuss