Archive for the ‘Uketopia’ Category
Friday, August 17th, 2007
If you don’t have evening plans, well, the Flip Flops - that’s me and a buncha guys - are the opening entertainment at Gay Bingo tonight at the West Seattle Senior Center - it’s a fund raiser for the center. We’re a real combo, we have a drummer and a bass player and everything.
I’m not staying after our set - last time it was SOLD OUT and they wouldn’t let us keep our chairs, plus, we have to get on the bus and drive all night to our next stop, 1/2 a block away at the Elliot Bay brewpub - but you should. Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag queen bingo caller, and a ukulele beach tunes cover band… Don’t tell me you want more than that! Bingo night is beach themed, dress accordingly.
Are we any good? Insert hilarious laughter here. Come on down. Make a night of it. Oh, and take 99 or bypass I-5 by going over Beacon Hill.
[tags]West Seattle, ukulele[/tags]
Posted in Seattle, Uketopia | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
I Will Survive [3:53m]:
Play Now |
Play in Popup |
Download
I try to avoid the me me me sort of stuff that fills a lot of blogs. If I’m writing about something, I exert a little effort to transcend the mundaneness of daily existence. That’s why when I write Fish Wednesday, I frame it in the context of environmentalism or cooking. Or if I go do something, I don’t write about it unless I want to warn you to avoid it or think it’s something you’d also enjoy. Occasionally, I’ll step up on the old soap box and rant about the political, but even that I keep to a minimum. Rambling editorializing about crap that’s only interesting to me is boring to you. So I beg your forgiveness while I wander off on a brief diversion that goes as follows: F*ck this, I am falling apart. God dammit.
Last week I had a little medical issue. I’ll spare you the details and thankfully, it turned out to be almost nothing. Woot. But here’s what pissed me off about it. The doc, upon diagnosis of my common non-issue said this: “You know, when you get to be about your age [fill in the blank].” And I am aggravated about that.
Then, today, I went to have an eye exam. About a month ago, I noticed that my glasses were just not working so good any more. Nothing tragic, but what the hell? And what does my doc say to me? He says, “You’re - oh, look. Usually this happens a year or so earlier. I’m not surprised at all…you are going to need bifocals.” He sent me off, pupils dilated like a junkie that just found a twenty on the bus, with a script for new lenses. “You’re probably going to need bigger frames than the ones you’ve got,” he said, condemning me to the rest of my life in frames that make me look like Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie rather than the Euro-Japanese hipster look I favor. Damn you, eye doctor! Damn you Father Time! [Insert fist shaking to the heavens here.]
Next week, I’m off for a physical. And I just know my doctor, well meaning as she is, is going to mention some kind of offensive crap about my slowing metabolism and bone density and a bunch of other things I do not want to hear one tiny word about. Not one. We are going to have to talk about the fact that my gene pool is ridden with all kinds of hereditary evils. Good brains and teeth we got, but the rest of it? A Chernobyl cocktail of central European slush. Bleh. I am going to scowl at her, refuse medication (and resuscitation), and stomp out of the office in a teenage snit.
I whined about my declining youth to two friends, both very close to me in age. One told me that had we been born several generations earlier, we’d be dead by now. My other friend told me that it’s all downhill from here. Both responses are completely accurate but neither implies a course of action, and I’m an action figure kinda person. I am not quite ready to buy a skirted tank swim suit and start taking water aerobics. I am also not interested in getting a convertible and a trophy boyfriend, well, not in any more than an academic way, though I look okay and am very funny and any young man would be lucky to… no, let’s put a stop to that line of thinking. Plus, oh, yeah, married. No, those are all bad plans.
Not to worry, I’m on it. Last week I borrowed an electric uke on the loan-to-own plan. And yesterday, I picked up an amp. Dude, it’s really loud, and yes, I said “Dude.” I’ve been messing with it, seeing how much distortion I can get out of it without having an effects rack and yes, I said effects rack. I realize that my mid-life crisis is kind of a weird one, but it would be so boring to go mainstream. Tennis pro? No thanks. Convertible? Fun, but I’m not in to cars. I could quit my job and go see the world, but that’s something I do regularly anyway.
Nope, I’m going to work through this phase by playing bluegrass versions of disco tunes on my electric uke. I’m going to memorize the chords so I don’t have to wear glasses to read the music. I’m going to dress in black like Johnny Cash because it goes with the uke. I’m going to fight it all the way. If I’m going downhill, I’m going downhill swinging, without dignity or shame. Time, you might be after me, but you bastard, you’re gonna have to catch me first.
Join in on the chorus, okay? Dm>Gm7>C>F>Bb>Eb>A>A7
Event Note: Our “band”, the Flip Flops, is the opening entertainment for Rainbow Bingo on Friday night. “You don’t have to be gay to play!” Drag queens, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and Fabulous Prizes. We’re on early, at 5:30, playing mostly 60’s beach tunes. Afterwards, we’re going to trash a hotel room.
[tags]ukulele, aging, bifocals, disco[/tags]
Posted in Nerdio, Op/Ed, Uketopia | 15 Comments »
Thursday, July 19th, 2007
Note: This is a Windows Media file. It’s not huge, but some have told me it takes a while to load.
When I started to play the uke, about three years ago, I had terrible stage fright. I’ve done open mic three times since then. I still have stage fright.
[tags]ukulele, aloha oe[/tags]
Posted in Uketopia | 4 Comments »
Sunday, July 1st, 2007
Why is this guy so happy?
It should be pretty obvious. Take a look at what he’s holding. He’s just won the G-String Ukulele raffled off at Dusty Strings’ Uke Fest Concert. It’s nice to see someone win who really appreciates the prize and this novice uke slinger seemed a little overcome by the gift.
The G-String is the uke of choice for James Hill, the ukulele wonder boy who shared the stage with the ever remarkable Del Ray and the bluegrass inspired Boulder Acoustic Society. Wow, that was a lotta ukulele flying around and in so many different flavors! Click through all that linky goodness if you want to visit the audio wonderland of the uke. You got your Latin stylings meets your bluegrass roots meets your wink wink nudge nudge 20s tunes meets your classically inspired meets your, well, tie it up with four strings and call it good!
But hey, I’ve said it before, what you should really do is get a uke. Whaddaya mean you can’t play? Who said you had to know how? (Back me up here, you know who you are.) Seriously, look at that happy, happy man with a uke in his hand. Look at James Hill (lower photo) in ukulele bliss. Are you telling me you don’t want to be that happy? G’wan, git. And listen, don’t be a cheapskate. Sure, you could pick up a 30 dollar axe, but scrape up a couple of extra bucks. Because seriously, you are not going to want to put it down once you pick it up.
Aside to Seattle people: Wow, Fremont is a DISASTER! It’s been a while since I’ve been there and last time it was winter, I think, so I just didn’t notice as much. Wow! It’s like REDMOND over there! WOW! What a heartbreaker!
[tags]ukulele, James Hill, Del Ray, Boulder Acoustic Society[/tags]
Posted in Seattle, Uketopia | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, May 29th, 2007
Wish You Were Here [3:06m]:
Play Now |
Play in Popup |
Download
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I have no pretense of being any GOOD at this. It’s just to show you that any @#$%*& can play the uke. Even me. I ain’t fishing for compliments, neither.
[tags]Pink Floyd, ukulele[/tags]
Posted in Uketopia | 5 Comments »
Thursday, May 24th, 2007
This weekend is Folklife Weekend in Seattle. If you find yourself craving that certain musical combination of nerdiness, mixed ethnicity, and crunch, Folklife is for you! Folklife is also a big event for the good people of the Seattle Ukulele Player’s Association - a large contingent shows up to play and it’s a Good Time. We’re at the Intiman on Sunday at 11:30, part of the Ukulele Extravaganza. There might be better players on the planet, but I don’t think anyone else enjoys it quite as much as we do.
The Ukulele Extravaganza goes from 11 am until 1pm - you could get your annual does of uke music out of the way all at once. The Kimball Kids open, followed by SUPA, then there’s a slack key band, and finally, Brook Adams - who’s mighty entertaining, we saw him in Eugene, once. Word has it he can play all of the Beatles Abby Road on his uke. That’s a crazy rumor if ever there was one. Doncha wanna know if it’s true?
Come on down. It makes me happy to see you in the audience when the house lights go up.
[tags]Seattle Ukulele Players Association, Folklife, ukulele[/tags]
Posted in Seattle, Uketopia | 2 Comments »
