interview....very cool

Alistair Wood of the renowned web-site ukulele hunt was kind enough to do an interview with me.....

i've gleaned a whole bunch of great stuff from Al's site....been turned on to some cool indy artists, tutorials that have helped me with my ukulele playing, and lots of laughs as i've read the comments that others post as well as Al's own commentary...very sharp guy indeed...

tis right here: MONDAY EXPOSURE

here's to making friends and spreading the folk music love!

Steeped.....

I've been a bit busier and a little more harried lately.....part of my therapy has been listening to the blues and gospel blues of the greats like:

the reverend gary davis
sonny terry and brownie mcgee
and charlie patton...

such great music! a salve to the soul! the uke is taking a break lately and i've been messing around with some slide guitar playing, cobbling together crude cigar box instruments and playing the 12 string guitar...nice and full....

some quick thoughts on the ukulele and creativity

when i was in my late teens and early to mid-twenties....man, i made up/wrote all kinds of songs....some good (methinks), some not so good, some quirky, some progressive ya da, ya da, ya da.....prolific is the word i'm looking for....

then after my mid-twenties, my song-writing ratio went way...way down....occassionally writing a gospel tune or a folk tune....

i think the ukulele may be changing that....i don't know how often i'll play some of these tunes live, but i've been posting more original music....more than i thought i would....

another thing....i'm not usually a very 'competitive' person at all, but some of the these 'themed' ukulele contests out there have been a great catalyst for entering the competition with songs that you feel may be a good fit....that has been great fun as well....who doesn't like to win, but participating and bringing something to the table may be close to 'as satisfying' as taking the win???

here are some competition songs and originals for tracking's sake:



for a soul uke contest ha ha



an original for a 'coffee themed song uke contest' ? quite a challenge :)



an original just because....

i'm having fun!!!! i hope you are too!!! uke on!!!

networking with some great folks...and...children!

i had a very enjoyable concert to do at the children's museum of phoenix this last weekend. what can i say? it was a very enjoyable concert for me to do...i hope it was for the participants as well....i only wish i had a box of kazoos to hand out after the show....

special thanks again to kelley from the museum and stefan from www.zooglobble.com for allowing me to come and share!

Franny Deschanel

Franny is a you tube friend of mine....i love what he's doing with his music....i wish him well with it...he truly has a unique sound....

go Franny! :)

some things i might do if i was a Rock (or should that be uke?) star

-not record in big studios, but have somebody teach me how to record how i want to record....

-make an album without the conventional 'rock band' set up (i.e. without guitar, electric bass, and a conventional drum kit)

-buy my friends some practical recording equipment so they could 'do it' themselves as well....

-draw cartoons and give them to my friends/fans

-attach a coffee/drink card to the cds that are for sell

-only sell my cds for 8 dollars or less

-do concerts at thrift stores, swap meets, rummage sales, and hostels

-open for national acts only to tout the wonders of the ukulele

.....would i be a star then?

vascillating favorites

Why is important to have all the different uke sizes?

answer: because if you're like me, your favorite sizes may change....currently, i'm digging polar opposites....soprano ukes and baritone ukes....

i've got a concert size, if i feel the need, but i sold my tenor....grrrrr will have to get one down the road :)