Aloha, Bonanza Ukuleles

Luthier Pete Mai has announced that he'll be shuttering Bonanza Ukuleles. Some stock remains for sale, but no new orders are being taken.

Snip:

As we reach the ten-year milestone with Bonanza Ukuleles, we find ourselves reflecting on a decade filled with creativity, friendship, and unforgettable memories. It is with a mixture of gratitude and wistfulness that we announce the conclusion of our journey.

Over the past ten years, we have had the privilege of building not just instruments, but also a community of passionate ukulele enthusiasts. Your unwavering support and enthusiasm have been the cornerstone of our success, and we are deeply thankful for each and every one of you.

A special note of thanks goes to Pete McCarty, whose early encouragement provided the spark that ignited our journey. Pete was not only our first customer but has remained a stalwart supporter thr"oughout the years. It is fitting that our final build will be for him, closing this chapter as it began—with Pete.

We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to Barry Maz and Got A Ukulele for their honest and insightful reviews. Barry’s work has helped us gain a loyal following and has been instrumental in spreading the word about Bonanza Ukuleles. Thank you for your dedication and support.

During our time, we have crafted over 1150 instruments, each one a labor of love and dedication. Our ukuleles have found homes in China, Australia, Europe, the United States, and Canada, connecting us with a global family of musicians and aficionados. Your love for our instruments has inspired us every step of the way.

As we say goodbye, we do so with a deep sense of fulfillment and gratitude. The friendships we have made and the memories we have forged will remain with us forever. Thank you for being a part of our journey and for allowing us to be a part of yours.

We will be keeping the website open for a couple of weeks to sell off our remaining inventory. 

I have a few orders left to complete, but we won’t be taking any new orders.

With heartfelt thanks and warmest wishes,

The Bonanza Ukuleles Team

Shelley, Pete , and Tony Mai

The Purple Book is Almost Here!

Jumpin' Jim Beloff is offering 100 numbered and signed copies of the next in the Daily Ukulele songbook series: Another Year.

The Daily Ukulele series has quickly become the uke bible for many clubs and strum circles. While the books are not inexpensive, on a per-song basis, they're quite a bargain (about 16 cents a tune). 

This one is certain to be a must-have. For at least two reasons:

It's PURPLE!

We may have contributed a few song suggestions ourself

Preorder your copy here (still available as of Sunday, October 20, 2024)

Song List

Feng E Takes LA

Kid ukulele YouTube prodigy Feng E recently appeared at the Los Angeles International Ukulele Festival. Now 17, here's a brief interview and performance on KCAL.

Gary Zimnicki Builds a Uke

Detroit-area luthier Gary Zimnicki is well known for his guitars, but he builds sweet 'ukuleles, too.

(I'm the proud steward of a Zimnicki Reclaimed Wood soprano!)

Gary recently wrote to say that he's started a project of posting build videos on YouTube. This is the first in the series. We'll update you with new ones as they're posted. Or you can just follow his YouTube channel.

Here's Gary's website: Link

Happy Uke Week!

This Friday, August 23rd, 2024, marks the 145th anniversary of the 'ukulele's "arrival" in Hawai'i in 1879 aboard the Ravenscrag.

To celebrate, our good friend and mentor, James Hill, has several exciting things planned. Surf on over to Uketropolis for complete details, but here are some highlights:

• 20% off, site-wide at Uketropolis. Check out James' many online courses, from The 'Ukulele Way to the JHUI Teacher's program
• 25% off merch at 1879 Apparel
• Song premieres
• Online interviews
• A great big toast to the 'ukulele on Friday, the 23rd.

Complete deets at Uketropolis.

Aloha, Sonja Christopher

We learned of Sonja Christopher's passing several weeks ago, and it's now been announced in the press. For many, she will be remembered as the ukulele-playing contestant on Survivor, Season 1, and with the distinction of being the first Survivor contestant to be voted off the island.

Sonja lived near me and our paths crossed several times. Over the years fans tracked her down and sent her ukuleles. She ended up with a collection of vintage instruments, a few of which are now on consignment at Lamorinda Music where I teach. There's a sweet Martin Style 1 and a 1920s Kumalae. 

She was a lovely spirit, and we'll miss her.

Link

Photo: Entertainment Weekly

Ditson Ukuleles by Martin

The ukuleles made by Martin for the Oliver Ditson Co. Music Store in Boston are among the most collectible ukes out there. Here is a site with a comprehensive history of Ditson ukes. Link

Scott Linker - Four Strings & a Jest

Multi-instrumentalist and, like yours truly, a former Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus clown, Scott Linker has a new ukulele-infused album out. For me, this is kind of like Harpo Marx cutting a record: for all his years in greasepaint, Scott worked silent. It's lovely to hear his voice!

Here's the full album: Scott Linker - Four Strings & a Jest

Ukulele-Playing 'Survivor' Contestant Sonja Christopher dies at 87

We had the privilege of meeting Sonja a few times. Friends and strangers sent her ukuleles after she appeared on Survivor and she ended up with a nice collection of vintage Martins. Last we spoke with her she was putting them up on consignment. She was lovely person and we'll miss her. Link

Running a Marathon, Playing a Ukulele

Kathryn Walls plans to run the London Marathon this month while playing the ukulele. It's a loving gesture in memory of her sister, Eithne, one of three Irish doctors who died in the fated Air France crash in Brazil, 15 years ago.

Story and video at the link.

Photo: itv News

Kyle Gray Young's Historic Banjo Method Transcriptions

A few years ago, musician Kyle Gray Young received a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board to transcribe Finnish folk tunes for guitar, and he thought, well, why not piano, banjo, and ukulele, too? He published Ancestral Melodies - Finnish Folk Tunes, a 25-song collection arranged for both standard and baritone tunings. These books are available at no cost, thanks to the CMAB grant.

Since then, he's adapted a number of vintage (as in 19thC!) banjo method books for ukulele. Today he released the music of Banjo Champion, Horace Weston. This and many of Kyle's other transcriptions are free or pay what you want. To get it for free, just enter a zero in the price box. You can also leave a donation of your choice there as well. All editions come with mp3s.

Horace Weston was considered to be the finest banjo player the world had ever seen. Weston performed extensively throughout North America and Europe from the 1860s until his death in 1890. He was one of a few African Americans in the 19th century who performed in minstrel shows, largely to White audiences.

Horace Weston was also the first African American to get credited for his banjo compositions. In the 1880s, S.S. Stewart published a couple dozen of Weston's banjo tunes. All 24 of his banjo solos and duets are presented here in crystal clear tablature for re-entrant ukulele. These are very challenging and not suitable for beginners. You will most likely need a tenor ukulele for some of the arrangements that use the higher frets. Certain tunes like Home Sweet Home are almost unplayable, but that's pretty much how the banjo version is too. There are many reasons why Horace Weston was The Champion Banjoist of the Entire World.

Here is a link to all of Kyle's ukulele arrangements. Link

Fluke Baritone Ukulele!

Just announced by our friends at Magic Fluke, a new baritone scale Fluke ukulele.

All the cool kids seem to be playing baris now. Now Fluke fans have a baritone option! 

25 years in the making.

Link

Chase and Jake Shimabukuro Play Anthems

If this doesn't give you chicken skin, you are not human. Here is Chase Shimabukuro, the 11-year old son of Jake Shimabukuro, playing The Star Spangled Banner, followed by his dad performing Hawai'i Pono'ī. Link

Smeck Harmony Bag Find

Friend o' the Blog Rachel Manke recently scored a sweet, nearly mint condition Smeck Harmony uke. But the most remarkable part of her find was this printed paper back that uke originally came in.

In my quarter-century of sleuthing out arcane ukulele artifacts, I've never seen one of these until today. I've found one other one, but Rachel's seems to be in much better condition.

Have you? If so, drop us a note in the comments!

Will Rogers Ukulele Quote: A Surprising Find

Over the years I've seen several versions of a quote attributed to Will Rogers to the effect that no one could tell if you were playing the ukulele or just monkeying around with with it. Lil Rev has a version of the quote in his Ukulele Method Book 1 (my go-to intro book for adult learners).

I always wondered why old Will had it in for our favorite instrument (even though it's been the butt of jokes almost since it hit American shores...)

Curiosity got the better of me the other day and so I did some searching to see if I could find the original quote. 

Turns out it's from a Chicago Examiner newspaper article, ca. March 3, 1918.

What's even more interesting is the context in which the quote is found, particularly in light of the current war between Ukraine and Russia.

The article begins,

"Now they've asked me to write about Russia. 

"That's fine! There's some sense to that. I can write about Russia for I know that my readers don't know any more about Russia than I do..."

"There is always this to look forward to with Russia. Pick up the morning paper and look for Russian news and have a fear of reading the worst; you won't be disappointed."

Rogers is writing about the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which would have been in the news. The treaty gave independence to Ukraine. Rogers continues,

"You see, Germany was willing to treat for peace as long as Russia did all the treating.

"Now they have given German freedom to some province called Ukrainia (sic); sounds like ukulele, and I doubt it it will flourish even as long as that short-lived instrument."

(Ukulele – Ukraine...it's word-play! And note that Rogers seemed to have considered the ukulele passé by 1918!) 

"The ukulele had this advantage: Not even a trained musician could tell if you were playing on it or just monkeying with it, but the Ukrainian liberty can't fool anybody; those poor independents have "Made in Germany" stamped all over it."

(Emphasis mine) 

The rest of the article is primarily about Russia being taken for fools by Germany. Perhaps a reader/historian more conversant with the treaty and the geopolitics of the time can chime in in the comments. I'll leave it there.

You'll find Rogers' full article in The Papers of Will Rogers: From the Broadway stage to the national stage, September 1915-July 1928, University of Oklahoma Press, 2005, p 121- 122.