Ukulele!!
This is my most excellent birthday present!! Isn't it cute? It's so tiny and tuneful!
Why a ukulele, you may ask? Well, I've been joking about getting a uke for ages now, but I was never serious. I mean, who plays a ukulele these days? Tiny Tim's been dead for years.
But then I ran across the Stringbusters, the alter-egos of Pete and Maura Kennedy (aka the Kennedys), who are among my favorite folk acts. Maura came out of the same Syracuse music scene that spawned the Poptarts, and she once played in a band with my little brother (although I don't think they got along well at all--heh!). Anyway, once while googling the Kennedys to see if they had a new CD coming out, I ran across the info on the Stringbusters. I was quick to buy their CD. And I was hooked. What I love is that it's fairly easy to play (although ukulele virtuosity, I think, is a bit harder to achieve), and it lends itself so well to the old tin pan alley standards I so love.
So now, after Jeff and I run through our nightly practice, I sit and do my own little uke practice--I'm getting pretty good at "When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along"!
And super-extra wonderful?? Jeff bought a teensy AQUA case for the ukulele!! It was a happy birthday!
Labels: birthday prizes, the Kennedys, the Stringbusters, tin pan alley, ukulele
posted by Cathy VanPatten at 7:55 PM
9 Comments:
Awwwwww...it is cute!
I can see and hear you doing a medley of songs from the 'Twenties!
Keep your sunnyside up, up...
That's one of the tunes in my Ukulele Gems book!
Now, if I can only drop a few pounds so that my old vintage dresses fit... although they are more the 30s and 40s vintage... no flapper dresses for me, alas. Even back when I was collecting them in earnest, those were too expensive and fragile.
Hi Cathy!
I am among the living. It looks like you got some great birthday loot. Have fun!
Erin
P.S. I am still interested in the bookcases if they are still available.
Hi Erin!
The bookcases are still available, although I've been completely lax in clearing out the room where they currently reside. I'm going to try to get to that in the next week or two.
I'll be giving you a call and/or shooting you an email soon!
Hang in!
It is cute! You know, I don't think I'd ever noticed before that ukeleles don't have holes like guitars. I'm sure there's a proper name for that hole, but I don't know what it is...
Oh, and Happy Birthday!
Thanks!
Actually, THIS uke doesn't have a traditional sound hole--it has smaller sound holes up near the top of the box on both sides--but most ukuleles do have them. They look very much like tiny guitars.
The last time we saw Paulie in concert (two years ago, I think) he played the ukelele in tribute to George -- I guess George was a huge uke fan. Who knew? Isn't there ukelele on "Ram On"? There's something -- great ukelele solos in pop music.
Dave and Mark and I opened for Pete and Maura about eight years ago at Happy Endings (now defunct, like most of the cool venues in the Cuse). They put on a great show.
Gael
So, of course, the Tiny Tim reference sent me running to Wikipedia where I found this interesting piece of trivia:
One admirer, Norman Kay, recalled that Tiny Tim's outrageous public persona was a false front belying a quiet, studious personality: "Herb Khaury was the greatest put-on artist in the world. Here he was with the long hair and the cheap suit and the high voice, but when you spoke to him he talked like a college professor. He knew everything about the old songs."
Here's a non-falsetto Tiny Tim singing "Snake Gully Swagger."
Hey Gael! Good to see you!
Maybe if I get a moment (between the cat and the new job and some side work I've taken on, moments are scarce these days!) I'll do a bit of research on ukes in rock.
And if you check out the Stringbusters link, there is a clip of Maura singing, playing the uke, and HULA-HOOPING, all at the same time. Multi-talented, that girl!
And GW, I vaguely recall hearing something similar about Tiny Tim--that he was not a nut, but a very soft-spoken, modest sort. It reminds me of the time I met Weird Al backstage at one of the ex's gigs long ago, and he was very shy and sweet. It's kind of amazing how many performers are actually quite introverted in real life...
By the way, my newfound interest in ukes has led me to Iz--the late Hawai'ian performer Israel Kamakawiw'ole--who was a virtuoso ukulele player and who had one of the most pure and beautiful voices I've ever heard. Highly recommended, especially for his Hawai'ian repertoire.
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