9th Annual Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Exhibition & Conference

I recently visited Hawaii and had the opportunity to attend the 9th Annual Ukulele Guild of Hawaii Exhibition & Conference which was held this year at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel in Waikiki. Many thanks to Bryan Tolentino (photo left to right: Bryan, Joe Souza of Kanile'a Ukulele, and me) for letting me know about this event and introducing me to Kimo Hussey, Kamuela Kimokeo and the Guild folks - it was a good hang! Got there during Dickie Boy Cantohos' set and thoroughly enjoyed his playing - a nice combination of seamless strumming and melodic plucking that felt very Hawaiian-style to me. Bryan calls it "non-confrontational" because it's not flashy (doesn't have to be) but impressive all the same.

I really enjoy listening to Bryan's style of playing - in fact he's one of my favorites. Very tasteful and mindful of those he is accompanying, a real team player. You can catch him Tuesday nights with Weldon Kekauoha at the new Kani Ka Pila Grille at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach at the beginning of Waikiki, near Fort Derussy. Be sure to check him out live when you have the chance! You can also pick up a copy of his solo CD here.

So anyway, there were lots of great looking ukulele there, although since you weren't supposed to touch 'em, I couldn't tell you how they sound. Bryan tells me he used to be a board member of the guild and always strived to strike the right balance between instruments that looked great and instruments that looked AND sounded great, which is not always the case. Here's a couple of photos of the ukes they had on display, you can see more here.

It was a nice event, one they are still working to expand on. I only saw the exhibition part but they offered ukulele building and playing seminars as well. I wish them continued success and hope to have the opportunity to help promote the annual event.

An Ukulele Wedding In SoCal

Summer is definitely getting into high gear - I can tell from all the fun party and wedding events I've been playing for!

This past weekend I was hired for another summer wedding event - this time, ukulele-only music was requested for the ceremony. The bride was actually someone I met through the new ukulele class I started on Mondays at the South Bay Adult School and she had some special requests like my What A Wonderful World for the bridesmaids, Pua Lililehua for the Processional, and since the groom's parents are from England, my arrangement of Here Comes The Sun for the Recessional. You know, given his love for the instrument, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that George Harrison wrote the song on an ukulele. Here's a fun video of George with his uke, hanging with Ringo and Sir Paul.

Got a few more ukulele weddings happening this summer so I'll have a chance to whip out some new arrangements of I'm Yours, Summertime, Sway, Top Of The World and some other fun stuff I've been working on.

Ukulele Night at Coffee Gallery

Uke Night at Coffee Gallery
May 30, 7pm

Featuring Abe Lagrimas
with Jason Arimoto
and Mitch Chang

Two-time Na Hoku Hanohano nominee and Hawaii Music Award recipient Abe Lagrimas is kicking off the very first Uke Night at the Coffee Gallery in Altadena. Abe tours throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe and has performed with such notable artists as Eric Marienthal, Michael Paulo, Gabe Baltazar, Benny Rietveld, Jake Shimabukuro, James Ingram, Valery Ponomarev, and many others. His latest CD "Duo" is a contender in this year's Hawaii Na Hoku Hanohano Music Awards. Click here for directions to the Coffee Gallery website and see you there!

Author Alan Brennert at South Pasadena Library

The other night I had the privilege to meet Alan Brennert, author of Moloka'i and Honolulu, at the South Pasadena library. I love going to Pasadena! The library had heard about me from the El Segundo library (who had heard about me from the Carson library who heard from Manhattan Beach) and invited me to come play some Hawaiian slack key guitar and ukulele to start off the evening featuring a book signing and reading by the author. Since we were in a library, I tried to throw out a little history I thought some people less familiar with Hawaiian music might find interesting, like how the vaqueros (Mexican cowboys) first brought the guitar to Hawaii and how contemporary rockers like George Harrison fell in love with the ukulele (which came from Portugal, originally) so I played songs like "Aloha Oe" and "Here Comes The Sun" on the ukulele as well as "Amazing Grace" and one of my all time fave songs "What A Wonderful World" on slack key guitar.
Alan did a little reading from the newer book Honolulu then entertained some questions from the audience. Best part was learning he lived right here in Southern California and I look forward to getting together for lunch or a cup of coffee with him soon.
Check out his books - Moloka'i and Honolulu on Amazon here. Alan Brennert is the author of the best-selling historical novels MOLOKA'I and HONOLULU, as well as the contemporary novels TIME AND CHANCE and KINDRED SPIRITS. He has also written short stories, teleplays, screenplays, and the libretto of a stage musical, WEIRD ROMANCE, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Spencer. His work on the television series L.A. LAW earned him an Emmy Award in 1991, and his short story "Ma Qui" was honored with a Nebula Award in 1992.

Ukulele Workshop, performance

Please join me tomorrow, Saturday, May 15th 2:00 - 4:00pm for an Ukulele Workshop in Redondo Beach
All levels welcome!

It'll be a different kind of workshop - fun and real hands-on! Whether you've been playing for a few months or a few years, there will be something for you! Give it a try and bring a song that you like and think might be fun for a group to play. Send a message to happymeyoga@gmail.com to reserve your spot today (Only $25, space is limited to 20 spaces).

Happy Me Yoga
1908 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach

Also, tomorrow night, I'll be at the Coffee Gallery playing some background gellin' slack key and ukulele music for Kamaka Brown's original Hawaiian pidgin English stories in "Wot? Boddah You?"

Check out the Coffee Gallery website here. Save the dates and hope to see you there!

The Beatles Uke CD now out

My buddies over at Solid Air Records have a cool new CD out - Greg Hawkes (keyboardist for the Cars) recorded a CD called "The Beatles Uke" which "blends multiple ukuleles and studio wizardry to create magical interpretations of Beatles classics". Everyone i've played it for loves it and it's got a lot of songs you don't normally hear like "Piggies", "Blue Jay Way" and "Honey Pie" - i have to admit that i am totally unfamiliar with these tunes.

THE BEATLES UKE
Perhaps the freshest take ever on the fab four...Greg Hawkes, the keyboard wizard from The CARS, creates wonderfully amazing and magical interpretations of Beatles classics...on ukulele! from the artist... "What's that, you say? A collection of Beatles songs played entirely on ukuleles? Are you crazy? Well, that may be, but here it is, an album of Beatle songs played in Ukesymphonic style, using multitracked ukeleles to create a ukulele orchestra. Perhaps it's not such a far-fetched idea after all, George Harrison as a well known ukulele enthusiast, and could be considered teh spiritual leader of the current wave of interest in the instrument. I saw Paul McCartney play a very touching tribute to George on his most recent tour (using a ukulele that had been given to him by George). I've seen pictures of all four Beatles holding ukes. I was part of an entire generation that grew up with The Beatles. My first concert was seeing the Beatles in 1964. They changed my life. Indeed, they changed the world." ...Greg Hawkes All you need is Ukes!