Uke blues artist Del Rey brings a workshop and a house concert to Austin on Tues, Oct 18!

How much:
Blue Uke Workshop only: $15
Concert only: $15
Both (save $5): $25

The Blue Uke Workshop will cover:

• How to fingerpick melodies and accompaniment on blues repertoire suitable for the ukulele.

• An introduction to right-hand fingerpicking, including what makes a melody “blue.”

• Songs that suit the ukulele from 1920s guitar greats like Charlie Jordan and Barbecue Bob.

We’ll listen to some recordings, and learn a song in class. Bring your ukulele (standard C tuning), a notebook and a pencil. Audio recorders are OK, if unobtrusive.

To fully participate in the workshop, you’ll need to be familiar with basic chords, and be able to change chords easily while keeping time with the music.

The Concert: “Rey refers to herself as “trailer trash with a library card” and her catalog reflected that schism with a mix of classic ragtime, hillbilly and blues covers as well as her own original tunes, most marked by a winking sense of humor.” — Michael Eck, The Times Union

Del Rey’s Website: http://www.hobemianrecords.com/delrey.html

When: Tuesday, October 18

Blue Uke Workshop starts at 7:00pm
House Concert starts at 8:15pm
Where: Private residence in Bouldin Creek neighborhood, in the 78704 area. RSVP required; space limited to 20 folks. Contact Sandy@satellitebookkeeping.com for location and payment information.

All proceeds go to the artist! Payments made to Del Rey via PayPal: Go to paypal.com, click the link that says “send money” then do so, to stuff@hobemianrecords.com. All you need is an email address and a credit card.

For questions, plus more information: email sandy@satellitebookkeeping.com

We just found a message on one of the ukulele bulletin boards telling us that there’s an incredibly great PDF songbook online with lyrics and chords for over 300 rock, pop, country, etc. songs. They range from easy 3-chorders to a few quite complex numbers (check out the Bohemian Rhapsody arrangement, which will keep you busy for a while).

It was compiled by organizers of the London Uke Festival, and it’s [here; take a look.] (Well folks, it looks as if it was taken down, so we’ve eliminated the link. Sad.) Remember that if you are looking for uke-friendly arrangements of songs, there are plenty of them available–at least temporarily–on the uke websites.

The notorious uke blues artist Del Rey brings a workshop and a house concert to Austin on Tues, Oct 18! First, about the Blue Uke Workshop:

The one-hour workshop will cover

• How to fingerpick melodies and accompaniment on blues repertoire suitable for the ukulele.

• An introduction to right-hand fingerpicking, including what makes a melody “blue.”

• Songs that suit the ukulele from 1920s guitar greats like Charlie Jordan and
Barbecue Bob. Also little known ukesters Lemon Nash of Louisiana and Rabbit
Muse of Virginia who were African American ukulele players and showmen with
distinctive styles on traditional and standard jazz material.

We’ll listen to some recordings, and learn a song in class. Bring your ukulele (standard C
tuning), a notebook and a pencil. Audio recorders are OK if unobtrusive.

To fully participate in the workshop, you’ll need to be familiar with basic chords, and be
able to change chords easily while keeping time with the music.

The Concert: “Rey refers to herself as “trailer trash with a library card” and her catalog reflected that schism with a mix of classic ragtime, hillbilly and blues covers as well as her own original tunes, most marked by a winking sense of humor.” — Michael Eck, The Times
Union

Del Rey’s Website

When: Tuesday, October 18
Blue Uke Workshop starts at 7:00pm
House Concert starts at 8:15pm

Where: Private residence in Bouldin Creek neighborhood, in the 78704 area. RSVP required, space limited to 20. Contact sandy@satellitebookkeeping.com for location and payment information.

How much:
Workshop only: $15
Concert only: $15
Both: $25

All proceeds go to the artist! Payments made to Del Rey via PayPal: Go to paypal.com, click the link that says “send money” then do so, to stuff@hobemianrecords.com. All you need is an email address and a credit card.

For questions, plus more information: email sandy@satellitebookkeeping.com.

If you like the idea of a teeny-weeny but playable ukulele, take a gander at this YouTube video. Will Grove-White, of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, plays a wonderful piece of old-fashioned jazz on a tiny uke called a tangi. It makes a soprano look huge.

Steven Sproat, a uke player who’s well-known in the UK, says that, um, maybe the uke’s become too popular for its own good. Nobody likes to be part of a fad, right? Let’s quote him from this June 3 BBC story:

“On about one in every seven TV adverts there will be a ukulele part. It’s on documentary programmes. It’s been taken up in education – it’s a rival now to the recorder [as a first instrument to be taught in schools] – it’s being used by celebrities. There are ukulele clubs springing up in every town.”

Hey, things could be way worse. We remember the ’90s, when almost no one played the uke at all, and if you said you played the ukulele, folks would look aside and roll their eyes.

Here’s a quick story on the Boston Herald site about the most recent phase of the uke resurgence, prompted (it appears) by the new Eddie Vedder ukulele album. It includes a video interview with MA ukulele player Michael J. Epstein, who plays in a couple of Boston-area uke groups, including Neutral Uke Hotel.

Take a look. Plus we’re not sure how long it’ll be up, but here’s a chance to listen to Vedder’s “Ukulele Songs” in its entirety at the NPR Music site.

Oops, oops… one more. Here’s a guy who built a working ukulele out of Lego bricks. For some reason, he tuned it a deeper and slightly flabbier C-F-A-D instead of G-C-E-A (listen to the bit of Puff the Magic Dragon he shares), but hey, it’s still pretty impressive.

There are two great shows involving ukuleles coming up this weekend in Austin:

Frank Meyer is an extremely talented Austin songwriter and guitar player. He also plays a mean ukulele! Frank and his band, “Little e & the Catfish,” will be performing on May 20
at The Elephant Room
315 Congress Ave.
Friday, May 20
6:00pm – 8:00pm, no cover.

Uke legend Pops Bayless and his Dark City Orkestra will be performing this Sunday,
at the Eastside Showroom
1100 East 6th Street
Sunday, May 22
10:00pm – 1:00am

Check them out — you’ll be glad you did!

Sweetpea sent us this announcement:

“Hey all! Do NOT forget to tease your hair and bring your uke to the Skinny’s Ballroom Ukulele Night, Wednesday May 18th (this Wednesday) 7pm. We will be strumming from the likes of Lionel Richie, Duran Duran and more! Your first drink is on Skinny just for bringing your uke in… the open mic portion does not have to be 80’s but dare to take on something new or new wave.)”

Place: Skinny’s Ballroom, 115 San Jacinto Blvd. Parking available directly across the street in the Austin Convention Center ramp. skinnysballroom.com

When: Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 to 9:00pm

Del Rey is one of the most impressive blues ukulele players out there, but she rarely comes through TX. Now her “BLUE UKE” workshop is coming to Guitar Tex in San Antonio (http://www.guitartex.com/) on Saturday, June 4th from 4-6 p.m. Attendance will be very limited, so make your reservation early. It will cost $30.00, and that will also get you a gift card for $30.00 to use on anything in the store at Guitar Tex.

Del will teach you how to play serious blues on the ukulele. She is extremely talented, to say the least, and has a wealth of knowledge about American “roots” music of all kinds. Recommended for moderate to advanced players.