First of all, I (Walter) apologize for getting these pictures onto the blog so tardily. But I hope you enjoy them and realize what you missed if you weren’t there–lots of food, lots of song, lots of ukuleles. We gathered on the evening of Thursday, December 13 (our usual meeting date) at Susan and Ted’s house in South Austin (many thanks to them for hosting us, by the way) and sang our previously arranged December songs with Bob leading us–“Blue Christmas,” “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree,” and the Phil Spector version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” a big hit for the Crystals in the Sixties. We managed pretty well with no projector.

There were also a good number of us who sang and played songs, both holiday and non-holiday themed. Let’s have the pictures do the talking.

Remember, our next meeting, back at the Memorial Methodist Church, is scheduled–tentatively–for Thursday, January 10, 2013, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Watch here for more details.

Warm holiday greetings, ukulele friends!

The Austin Ukulele Society is thrilled to host one of the hottest ukulele performers and teachers touring the US today: Lil Rev! He’ll be conducting a workshop and house concert right here in Austin on Thursday, January 17.

The Workshop: Hot Licks for Ukulele
90 action-packed minutes of classic rock, blues, and jazz hot licks for ukulele! You’ll learn intros, endings, turnarounds, licks, fills, riffs and how to use them. Get important soloing tips from Rev, as well some juicy music history. There will be handouts and feel free to bring a recorder with you so you can retain these fantastic licks and stories!

The Instructor and Performer: Lil Rev
A Milwaukee native and resident, Lil Rev is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and music-historian who teaches and tours the continental US. He was inducted into The Traditional Old-Time Country Music Hall of Fame in 2003 and voted Best Folk Singer in Wisconsin in 2004. Check out his blog (http://fountainofuke.blogspot.com/) and website (http://www.lilrev.com/) for videos and sample tutorials.

Where: Dirty Sixth Studios
610 North I-H 35, Austin, TX 78701
www.dirtysixthstudios.com
The photography studio of the Austin Ukulele Society’s own Jeanette Warner! Austin cool and funky, downtown, right off 6th Street.

What Time: The fun kicks off at 7:00pm
The workshop runs from 7:00 until 8:30pm, followed by a short stretch break. Then a full solo set of ukulele music by the incomparable Lil Rev!

How Much:
Workshop only, $25
Concert only, $10
Both, $30 (save 5 bucks!)

This will be a fun-filled evening of instruction and entertainment not to be missed! Please register by responding to this message – space is limited!

Here’s our third song for the Dec 13 party / meeting; it’s the Crystals’ (i.e. Phil Spector’s) version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” to accompany the other two songs, “Blue Christmas” and “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.” We hope to see you there, ready to sing along–remember that there won’t be a projector, so learn it in advance if you plan to join the strumming.

Also don’t forget, if you want to join us, drop a line to austinukes[at]gmail[dot]com, to get the address, and let us know if a) you’re bringing a potluck item and b) whether you plan to sing a solo number. Ho, ho, biddy boom boom.