Mad Tea Party on Public Radio

Jason and Ami on public radio! Link

Rock 'n' Roll Ghoul

Happy Halloween, y'all.

Ashville, NC's resident ukulele goddess Ami Worthen was kind enough to send us a copy of Mad Tea Party's latest 7" vinyl and second Halloween-y tune, Rock 'n' Roll Ghoul. (It's a follow-up to last year's fab Zombie Boogie.) You can buy your copy here. The $10 price includes a digital download (so you can have it today for your party this weekend!).

"The EP offers up 4 spooky selections for your rockin’ Halloween party. “Possessed,” a 60s-tinged psychedelic number, features Worthen’s wicked vocals and a demonic guitar solo from Mr. Cartwright. The furious screamer “Rock ‘n’ Roll Ghoul” expounds upon the theme of flesh-eating music critics while drivin’ rocker “Dr. Phibes” is an ode to the popular Vincent Price villain. The duo close with the Hollywood Flames’ song “Frankenstein’s Den” with Cartwright on drum kit and Caroline Pond (Snake Oil Medicine Show) joining Worthen on doo-wop vocals."

Here's an interview with Amy and Jason: Link

And here's the video of the title track.

Poke around the Mad Tea Party site. Lots of ghoul, er, cool stuff to check out.

Double Ukulele Hard Case

Anyone ever see another double uke case? Link

The 'Strange Powers' of the Magnetic Fields

There's a new documentary out about Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields.

"I just like the ukulele for its lack of rock associations. And I love the fact that you can bring it on a plane.

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Here's an interview with John Hockenberry. Link

A Slightly Different Jake Interview

Just about every day that Jake Shimabukuro is out on tour there is an article and interview in the local press. They're pretty much all carbon copies, but this article is of particular interest, especially to you budding professional recording artists out there. In it, Jake talks quite a bit about the business side of things. Link

Jake Shimabukuro - Star Spangled Banner

Won't MLB please ask Jake to play this for the World Series? Link

Cyndi Lauper, Uker?

Call me a pessamist, but this doesn't seem like it's going to turn out well:

"'I found a really sick ukulele in a novelty shop with a metal top,' she says, in her almost comically caustic Bronx-Sicilian drawl. 'I tuned it to a chord and played it with a knife like the old guys did. I'm not fantastic – but I'm not fantastic at anything, except singing. And I don't really give a damn. I just love doing it. It's like the trombone. I make the dog jump when I play that.'"

Played it with a knife? Link

Ukulele Stress Relief

Forget yoga and aromatherapy. Link

Dig That Crazy Flamingo

I'm a sucker for pink flamingos. Here's a great illo by illustrator Jared Chapman. Link

Over the Rainbow on Bari

Want to be the hero to millions of baritone uke players? Tab this one out for us. As Lightnin' Wells sez, "Have a nice day, everyone."

Kala Clip On Tuner

Picked up one of these little gems this weekend. I'd been using an audio-based tuner for years, but when I recently started teaching workshops, I quickly learned how hard it is to tune in a roomful of ukers.

There is something wonderfully satisfying about seeing the tuner screen turn green when you're in tune. I regret not having gotten one sooner. Monkey simple to use, and works for both C- and D-tuning. Highly recommended! Link

Mistletoe Mazel Tov!

"Light the candles, spike the eggnog and trim the tree... spin the dreidel and send out for Chinese."

It's Mistletoe Mazel Tov, a new CD of ukulele holiday favorites from Ukulelia pal, Gerald Ross.

Gerald calls this a "collection of holiday instrumental classics arranged for ukulele and steel guitar." He was kind enough to send us a reviewer's copy and we've been rockin' around the Christmas tree here for several days. My favorite so far is his arrangement of the achingly bittersweet Christmas Time is Here from "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

You can order the CD from Gerald's site for only $18.95 and he'll also send you any disk in the Gerald Ross Catalog as a bonus - free of charge. (If you don't have Ukulele Stomp -- and you should -- now's your chance.) Plus free shipping anywhere in the USA. Such a deal!

But wait, there's more. At our humble, but brilliant suggestion, Gerald has posted the chords for his arrangement of Go Tell it on the Mountain online here.

Here's the link to Gerald's online store. Get your copy today and give it a sov.

Uke'chaim!

Popcast: Nellie McKay

Nellie McKay was interviewed on the NYTimes Popcast last week. Link

Bad Company Feels Like Makin' Uke

Add Bad Company to you list of rock n' rollers picking up ukes. Former Heart guitarist Howard Leese has been rocking out on Feel Like Makin' Love in recent concerts. Link

UPDATE: Woodshed located a video. Looks like it was an Ovation mandolin. Woodshed = Killjoy. (Kidding. Thanks, Al.)

The Daily Ukulele

Jim and Liz Beloff's latest book, a 365 tune tome The Daily Ukulele is out. The first 200 copies are signed. Order yours on the Fleamarket Music site.

Here's a nice profile on the First Family of Ukuleledom and the new book. Link