August 10, 2017: Material Girl!

Possibly the largest group of ukulele players to ever attend an Austin Ukulele Society monthly meeting got together to conjure our 1980’s spirit on a sultry August evening. August 2017 marks the AUS’ 80th monthly meeting, and with the love for 1980s music alive and well across many generations, it seemed a great opportunity to learn an iconic ’80s song: Madonna’s “Material Girl.” After sharing some local ukulele news, Bob led the group through exercises to build our comfort level with the various parts of the song. There were opportunities to pick, strum, harmonize and more. With each run-through, the group got stronger at the chord transitions and more confident with the vocals. We were sounding great by the time we took a break to hear some amazing open mic performances. After the open mic portion, the group joined together again to play “Material Girl” a few more times and record it for our YouTube friends around the globe. Check out our skills by the end of the meeting:

To play along with us, you can download the lyrics and chords for “Material Girl” or download a copy of the presentation and instruction guide (what we project on the screen for all to follow along, including exercises and drills).

From a seductive performance of “Summer Wine,” to a bluesy rendition of “Suzie Q,” to a cheeky cover of “The Vegetable Song” (Don’t Touch My Plums), our first ever hula dancer accompanying a Hawaiian song performance, and a thoughtful instrumental of “Wichita Lineman,” the members were treated to a delightful variety of talent. Many thanks to the South Austin Ukulele Jam, Darryl, members of the Tuesday Ukulele Group, Vincent, and Kevin!