Danny Ferrington Neiman Marcus Ukulele

For only $6,000 you can now get a ukulele made out of a gourd. Okay, it's made by the legendary and mysterious luthier Danny Ferrington, but do gourds "open up" over time? Or just become seedy? I kid.

But mainly this uke is $6,000 because it's in Needless Markup's Christmas Catalog.

The accompanying catalog blub sez that Ferrington "purposefully stays low-tech (no computers or Internet)". Apparently, so does Neiman Marcus's copywriter, who blithely asserts that the ukulele was "created in the Hawaiian islands by Micronesian immigrants in the 1870s".

Maybe "Madeiran" isn't in his/er spellcheck. Or maybe fact-checking is just so...déclassé. Link

Sutherland and Eleuke Split

Divorce, ukulele style. Link

Yes, the Ukulele is Just That Much Fun

What's he playing? Glad you asked, buckaroo. It's a Carnival plastic banjo uke. You'll find on on this page.

Humble Uker Ramblings: San Francisco World Record Attempt...

Jeff posted the SF Weekly video of the Might Uke event from Sunday. Link

(h/t Ron Hale)

Ukulelia T-Shirts

As seen in Mighty Uke. Available here.

Ukulele World Record Quest Comes Up Short

We missed it by about 300, but damn, you should see (and hear!) what an entire theater of ukulele players sounds like. What a marvelous event, and an even better film. I bought a copy of Mighty Uke and can't wait to share it with friends and family. A Ukulelia T-Shirt even makes a cameo appearance!

NPR again picked up the story this morning. Link

SF: Let's Break the Record!

This Sunday, September 26th, 2010, head to The Castro Theatre in San Francisco for The Mighty Uke Roadshow. See Mighty Uke the film, plus enjoy a concert by Uni and Ukulele Dick and an attempt to establish a Guinness record-breaking giant ukulele strum-along. See you there! Tickets Here

UPDATE: Here's a story from KQED's California Report today. Link

Leonard Maltin, Mighty Uke Fan

Film critic Leonard Maltin gives a fine recommendation for The Mighty Uke,

"...a charming new documentary called Mighty Uke, directed by Tony Coleman and produced by Margaret Meagher. It’s a cheerful chronicle of the ukulele’s history and remarkable comeback that spans the globe."

Link

Milwaukee Ukulele Fest Returns

Escape to Wisconsin and swing by the Milwaukee Ukulele Festival next Saturday, September 25th, 2010. Great line-up of players and workshops! Link

Yummy

Now, that's a tasty ukulele! Link

Megamind Ukulele Sighting

Brad Pitt's animated character plays our favorite instrument in the upcoming Megamind. Watch Trailer 3. Link

Lonesome Mama Blues

Here's a little Labor Day Weekend treat. Lonesome Mama Blues, arranged by May Singhi Breen. And a swell banjo solo version by Fred Van Epps.

The Drab Years

Things must have been pretty dull around the University of Kentucky in the late 50s and early 60s. The first photo is from a Lambda Chi Alpha mixer in 1957. Of course, this photo could have been staged for parents and alumni. And as soon as the photographer left they broke out the bourbon and Elvis records.

The second is from 1962, and shows a group of young Kentucky gentlemen ignoring a lone uke player. If my suspicion about these shots being staged is correct, this was snapped just before the strippers from Covington arrived.

Shygals' Serenade Print

It seems to be Art Appreciation Day here at Ukulelia. Here's a new letterpress print from Amy Crehore. Ukuleles make a frequent appearance in Amy's work. You can own your own hand-crafted print of Shygals' Serenade for $60. Link

Ta, Chips!

Much to love about this art news item. First there's the art piece in question: a prize-winning print of a woman playing the ukulele at a party in Darwin in the 1950s. Then there's the fact that the artist, Chips Mackinolty, is giving the prize money away:

"I figured that because it (the print) was about a period of time when people made their own music as a matter of course, I gave it to a number of live music venues in the Northern Territory," he said.

Then, of course, there's Chips's shirt. Link