The turnout was smaller–unlike the 40 to 50 folks we had at some recent meetings, about 30 attended on September 13–but, as always, we had a great time. We sang the classic “The Letter,” and asked aloud with our tongues in our cheeks, “Hey–what’s a letter?” (What would the title of the song be in 2012? ‘The Email’? ‘The Tweet’? ‘The Text’?” None has that same ring, don’t you think?) We also brought back a favorite we hadn’t done for a while, “Secret Agent Man,” and that was a lot of fun to sing again.

Plenty of folks also had material to share during the “open non-mike” period of the program. It was a real mix. Woody sang the Dan Daly song “Still in Saigon.” Sandra and Ray sang the classic uke number “Tonight You Belong to Me”  (made famous by the first Steve Martin movie “The Jerk”). If you’ve seen Martin perform the song in the movie, you should know that the uke on the soundtrack was played by the famous studio musician Lyle Ritz, and that immediately after the last take, Ritz stepped on and crushed the vintage Martin uke he’d been playing.

Other performers included Bill and Kathy, who performed the old and awesomely cool surf instrumental  “Mr. Moto” (the Challengers, 1963). Mardi sang the John Prine song “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian,” Bob sang the Nick Lowe/Elvis Costello number “(What’s so funny about) Peace, Love and Understanding,” and Walter (yours truly) attempted an original song called “Take a Shower with the Blues.”

We all had a great time, and we all (I hope) look forward to the October 11 meeting. We’re not yet certain what the song for October will be, but watch this space and you’ll find out soon. Suggestions are always welcome–send us a comment or write us at austinukes [at] gmail.