My Ukulele Autobiography

Well, with Christmas past, and a new uke in the arsenal and another one on the way....i feel it is important to tell my 'ukulele story.'

it was back in about 2004 when i stumbled across http://www.ezfolk.com/ a website started by Richard Hefner to be a 'gathering place' for folkies of all sorts to share their original music and to share their renditions of traditional folk songs  from many different streams.

at the time, i was even more of a Luddite than i am now and i only had a few gospel tracks in mp3 form with which i could create a page, but i did it anyways. as i began to meet some different folks on ezfolk and as i began to peruse the different pages it had to offer, i stumbled across a section dedicated to ukulele enthusiasts.

i don't know why i had never thought of the ukulele before?....i had guitars, i had owned mandolins, i had borrowed banjos...i was a folkie and a stringed instrument lover....moreover, i was growing in my love of keeping things simple and i liked rhythm and chords much more than doing a lot of single stringed licks...(i've never been a strong lead player...though i'm getting a little better).

as i checked out the artists on the ezfolk site, i couldn't believe the diversity of sound i was hearing from the ukulele. it was cool to hear such an unassuming little instrument being used in different musical genres. one artist that really stuck out though was http://www.howlinhobbit.com/ his lyrics, his harp playing, and the ring of his soprano uke made me want one. After listening to hobbit's hokum style music and Richard Hefner's traditional folk songs done on uke, not only did i want one, but i 'had' to have one.

i've been an instrument seller-trader for many years...some times without too much wisdom (though i've become much better at it)...so, in the winter of 2004 i got myself down to a local music store and traded an electric bass guitar i wasn't using for a Lanikai LU-T Tenor Ukulele with a case. i picked up right off the bat that the uke's chord formations were like that of the 1st 4 strings of a guitar (but capo-ed at the 5th fret) so i was off and running.

i found out quickly that the uke is a fine instrument to strum, fingerpick, play with harmonica, and to use the frailing/clawhammer style of playing that is often done on banjos...i was having a blast...i started using the uke in live gigs, at my church for the church music programs, and i even started using it to record (sample first track).

it would be another couple of years before i'd get a You Tube Page up and running but after that, and with the purchase of a simple 'flip' camera, i became a ukulele video posting monster. Since around 2009, i've had the privilege of selling and swapping my cds all over the world. I've been touched by many e-mails that come in from ukulele players as well as folk music lovers thanking me for my musical sharing and my unique bag of songs...it's been an interesting ride for sure.

I'm gonna share some videos below, but i want to close with this: i've played the guitar since i was 15 or 16 years old.  i love the guitar and still use it...in fact, i've recently been in a season of using the ol' six string a whole bunch, but something happened when i got myself a ukulele...my musical horizons expanded, i began taking my four stringed friend with me wherever i went, and i began writing more tunes. Even when my ukulele arsenal thins out, there is always the compulsion to enlarge the herd once again...this last 6 months i got down to 2 player ukes and one vintage uke that i don't like to break out too much. Anyways, I'll be back up to four ukes right quick because something keeps pulling me back...i guess you could say this is one special instrument
(side note: i've had around 24 ukes since 2008 ha ha ha!)

here are some songs dedicated to the uke and/or ukulele addiction:

here are some jingles i've written on the uke:

and here are some tutorials i've done:

here are some reviews i've done:

photos of live engagements with les uke:

and lastly...Uke cds i've done!!!