"Oddballs and Misfits" Ukulele players? Come on now! Ukulele players are people that enjoy music and getting together with friends to strum and sing. The ukulele is mainstream -- we've all seen it grow -- and know it is a serious instrument.
Last night, at the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz, we had a feature performance from Australia, A.J. Leonard and Jenny Rowlands. A.J. is perhaps one of the most skilled ukulele players I have ever seen. But before A.J. and Jenny stepped on stage we were treated to a performance of the Island Strummers from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The stage was full of about 30 students ranging from about 8 to 18 performing orchestral-style arrangements and singing chorus. They are from a similar style to the Langley Ukulele Orchestra.
At the end of the night Andy Andrews noticed the opportunity to bring nations together in a glorious bit of ukulele and song and requested all Australians, Canadians, and Americans to gather and join in closely to play the UCSC theme song: Under the Boardwalk... these are the types of moments that Nina Koocher captures in her film: the caring, generous side of the ukulele people of Santa Cruz. For a recent article, see...
Hey, don't get all warm and fuzzy, 'It's the ukulele that brings us together' on us, Jeff. You and I know otherwise.
ReplyDeleteWatch Rock That Uke again and tell me we're not oddballs and misfits. We play a silly little instrument that people giggle at even before we start playing. I strum a uke that looks like a fruit sliced open, and that's serious? Ain't nobody nowhere as geeky as ukers.
And as far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing. Embrace it, HU, don't fight it and pretend the novelty side of the ukulele doesn't exist. The day the ukulele stops being chuckled at is the day it dies. That day it becomes just another instrument and not something special...
Pontificating in Pottsylvania