The Fabulous Half of the Heftones

Here's a post for my dear friend Judith Bradbury, proving that knitting and uke playing are concommitant, harmonious, and romance-inducing avocations.

Lynn Hershberger is 1/2 of The Fabulous Heftones, and 100% of ColorJoy, a blog about (you guessed it), knitting and uke playing (well, acoustic music, anyway). Currently on her blog are plenty of photos from recent Michigan-area acoustic music events, and Lynn's commentary is well worth the read. (Si Quaeris Bloggam Amoenam Circumspice!)

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Tappy in the News

Not much new here, but always a delight to read about the growing interest in uke legend Bill Tapia. Link

Aussie Ukulele Land Blog

Rose Turtle Ertler is writing a book about the Uke Scene in Australia. Here's her blog, with links to Down-Under-Ukedom. Link

NPR : Ukulele Madness -- You Heard It Here First!

Piece on NPR's All Things Considered today about this "new" uke trend. (We all smile knowingly, present a hand in token of friendship and welcome them all to the party...)

"Trend-spotters make big consultant bucks looking for the next big thing. But commentator Louise Rafkin thinks she's spotted a new trend -- and she's going to tell us about it -- for free. A couple of months ago, Rafkin started hearing about the ukulele everywhere, it seems. A friend was taking lessons on the instrument, and there was a festival in Michigan. So Rafkin decided to visit a ukulele club to see what the buzz was all about."

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Kooks With Ukes

Watch out, Jake. David Morris can play the ukulele with his teeth! Shown here with partner James Thurner. Link

Tappy on the Central Coast

Ukulele Legend Bill Tapia will be performing in Cambria and Santa Cruz this week. Here's a link to a recent article in the SLO Tribune. Link

More California tour dates on Bill's site.

Annual Ukulele Festival of Hawaii

The 36th Annual Ukulele Festival is next Sunday, July 30, at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand. Free! (Eh, if you go, send us one XL T-Shirt!) Link

Mareva Galanter: Ukulele Goddess

If there is a Ukulele Goddess, her name is Mareva.

Meet (and worship) Mareva Galanter, whose recent CD "Ukuyeye" is a real jaw-dropper.

Born in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Ms Galanter was crowned Miss Tahiti in 1998, and Miss France in 1999.

Okay, you could fall in love with her just because she's stunningly beautiful. But check out her music and her videos and you'll find her wit, her style, her Jenny Say Kwa--even her Jack Russell terrier, Umi--entirely captivating. I've been listening to "Ukuyeye" constanly on my iPod over the past week. Oui, oui, si bon!

Here is a link to the Ukuyeye site. And don't miss Mareva's official site. (Hello Kitty! lovers be sure to watch the "Hotel Kittyfornia" video on the "passé" page.) Finally, meet Mareva on MySpace.com

The Oregon Ukulele Trail

California gets a lot of notice for being a hotbed of ukedom these days. Maybe it's because both Mark and I live on the left coast, but you can't ignore the sheer numbers of players in the Golden State. Our neighbor to the north, however, has a thriving uke community, too. Might be all the rain. Or maybe because Lyle Ritz calls Portland home.

Depending on where you are in Oregon, there's probably a uke group for you. Here are a few that I've turned up (drop me a note if you know of more!):

Salem (OR) Ukulele Strummers Association
Portland (OR) Ukulele Association
Ukeniks (Bend, OR)
Ukulaneys (Eugene, OR)

UkeTalk

UkeTalk is a terrific ukulele bulletin board featuring ukulele playing tips, uke builder interviews and ukulele news and reviews. They recently interviewed Peter Hurney, builder of Pohaku ukuleles. Link

Lottery Now Open for Jake's Uke

Who would enter a lottery that, if you win, will cost you over $5,000? You would, if you hope to be one of 100 people who will be entitled (or should we say "obligated") to buy the new Kamaka Jake Shimabukuro Tenor ukulele:

"Today is the first day to enter a lottery to purchase a limited-edition Jake Shimabukuro Signature Model Ukulele made exclusively by Kamaka Ukulele. Only 100 of these ukuleles will be made and will only be available for purchase through this lottery. The retail price is $5,500."

Here is a link to the lottery site. An article today in the Star Bulletin is here.

To Build a Ukulele

Follow along on P.J.'s blog as he builds his first uke at the Hana Lima school. Link

Welcome BoingBoing Readers!

If you've just clicked over hear because you read Mark Frauenfelder's post about Roy Smeck on BoingBoing, welcome to the world's friendliest subculture!

Mark founded Ukulelia as an outlet for his jumping flea passion several years ago, just before the uke started taking off in a major way. Poke around and bookmark us. There's way more to this little instrument that meets the eye--or ear! Aloha!

2006 San Diego Ukulele Festival

Kathy wrote to remind us that the 3rd Annual San Diego Ukulele Festival is coming up, August 19th & 20th, 2006, at Shelter Island on beautiful San Diego Bay. This event has the distinction of the first ukulele festival to publish it's own cookbook! It will be released in time for the event. I can't wait to try the Princess Poo Poo-ly Pineapple Mango Salsa! Link (Thanks, Kathy!)

The New Ukulele World!

Gentleman uke purveyor Roy T. Cone wrote to let us know that he's just launched Ukulele World 2, an updated and improved version of his online uke store. I've personally ordered from Roy in the past, and recommend him highly. Check his site frequently: he often runs specials like complete beginner's sets at sale prices, and other thoughtful promotions.

Like Roy sez, "Keep strumming, keep smiling!"Link

Roy Smeck in "His Pastimes"

No comment necessary. We bow to Roy's continued greatness! We are not worthy!

Marc Silber is Cleaning the Attic!

Marc Silber, creator--along with Frets Fayne--of the Frisco Uke, is selling an extensive portion of his 40-odd year collection of vintage ukes. How odd, you ask? Well, just check out this precursor of the Fluke, which looks to me like it's made out of a Bakelite muffler.

Seriously, Marc has some highly collectable stuff for sale. Visit him at the following link:

GO TO : Inventory

GO TO : Second-Hand Instruments

GO TO : UKULELE FAMILY

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UCSC on Parade

I marched in the Orinda, California parade yesterday. Why? Tuba players are always in demand. But July I'm gonna get smart and head to Aptos, for the World's Shortest 4th of July Parade... Link

Happy Birthday, Lady Liberty

A love song, courtesy of The Dominator. Link

A Gathering To Sit, Strum And Spread the Ukulele Love

Nice write up of the Mid-Atlantic Ukulele Invitational from last week... Link