the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz
Hey Folks!!
This is the Uke Club where I'll be playing October 12. You can tell from the article why I'm so pleased to have the oportunity.
- Uke Man
To see the original story go to http://www.avpress.com/n/31/0831_s8.hts
Valley Needs Ukulele Club For Relaxing Fun
By JOHN BIRSNER Special to the Valley Press
If there already is an Antelope Valley ukulele club and I just haven't found it, contact me and tell me where to sign up. But keep on reading. I want to tell why every community might benefit from a slew of strumming play-alongs.
About a month ago I was listening to a radio news program with a story on the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz with an interview with Andy Andrews, who co-founded the club in 2001.
Lots of laughing and chatter, enthusiastic club members describing their appreciation of the club and monthly get-togethers, and finally a rousing version of "When Will I Be Loved," originally done by the Everly Brothers. I got the message even without the visuals: my kind of folks.
Next day, another radio station had its once-a-month program on the ukulele. Lyle Ritz was being interviewed, and his self-produced CD was being played.
I had played the "uke" as a kid and remember it didn't take much to get a recognizable tune out of it. Originally brought to Hawaii by Portuguese sailors in 1879, the natives gave the ukulele its present name, translated as "jumping flea" - how the fingers looked moving around the neck.
I don't remember where my ukulele came from, but nearly 10 million were sold in the United States in the mid-1950s for as little as $5 apiece. Rock 'n' roll and the guitar came along, forcing the diminutive instrument below the radar.
Wondering what the present status of the ukulele was, I went to the computer. A few clicks, and I found free sheet music, festivals, stores and auction sites to buy instruments and the Web site for the Santa Cruz club.
A trip to a local music store, the selection of a new entry-level ukulele, a how-to book, a tuner and instrument case, and I was off and strumming.
UCSC meets at Bocci's Restaurant in Santa Cruz. I knew I'd come to the right place. Ukuleles, Hawaiian shirts and smiles everywhere. The room really was a shed: a barely enclosed barn-like structure with decomposed granite "lanes" running down the length of it. These were the bocci courts.
Bocci ball: one part shuffleboard or lawn bowling, one part hand grenades, several parts enthusiastic Italian heritage. Something else I might like to see in the Antelope Valley.
Even after a nearly six-hour drive, I was still early for the six o'clock meeting. I found a place at a table out of the line of fire and settled in.
I introduced myself to Andy Andrews, bustling about like a jumping flea himself, and talked about the radio interview that had got me started on this odyssey in the first place.
I visited with a woman selling very affordable ukuleles, chatted with any number of people around our table, ordered up the pasta special and hunkered down. I was a happy guy.
For about 40 minutes, a more or less quartet of regulars alternately performed for the continually growing crowd. One fellow with the smallest of the four sizes of ukes did soaring solos without the least bravado or grandstanding. As good and inspiring as he was, anyone can learn a couple of chords and be able to play any number of songs in a shorter time than might seem possible.
The most expert and the rankest beginner all sound the same in a hundred-person play-along. Same goes for the entry level ukes from China compared with the custom or antique models that also were much in evidence. There's safety in numbers, I thought, as I energetically flubbed my way along.
And that's the brilliance of these clubs and gatherings. You can improve forever but can play within a matter of minutes. You're there to have a good time, and most egos seem to be left pleasantly at the door on the way in. People could not have been more open or genuinely friendly.
The theme for the night's play-along was "City Songs," and sheet music was passed out before every round. "New York, New York," "Chicago," "Viva Las Vegas" (with a sultry photo of Ann-Margaret), with chord diagrams provided as useful reminders.
We did a few tunes from the songbook, finished finger food, passed the hat for the wait-staff and settled in for the featured group of the evening. A father, two sons and a daughter played soulful Hawaiian music, and it was impossible for me not to think they were homesick.
I could only stay for a few songs but left contented and satisfied.
If you don't wish you were there, I haven't described this get-together well enough. Cheap fun, a sense of musical accomplishment, the warm feeling of being around a lot of relaxed people sounds like a great combination to me.
So what would it take to start a group like this anywhere including here? You would need a nominal leader, a restaurant that will supply food, drinks and, most important, room for enough people to guarantee some anonymity for the self-conscious rookie in a play-along.
A few experienced players and someone to make and hand out sheet music would help. The UCSC songbook explicitly states that its songs are free to be copied if no profit is expected. Good attitude. It seems very unlikely to me that anyone could figure out how to make any money off this endeavor anyhow.
A local club might just be a pipe dream perhaps, but I'll be going back up to Bocci's Restaurant on Thursday, Sept. 14, for the next gathering of the faithful. Meanwhile, I'm going to learn some more chords, check out the Salvation Army for cool Hawaiian shirts and hope enough people read this article to consider starting a group of our own.
Anyone who would like to contact me about anything in this article can do so by sending e-mail to me at http://us.f379.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=JacquesUse@aol.com. I'd love to hear from you.
This is the Uke Club where I'll be playing October 12. You can tell from the article why I'm so pleased to have the oportunity.
- Uke Man
To see the original story go to http://www.avpress.com/n/31/0831_s8.hts
Valley Needs Ukulele Club For Relaxing Fun
By JOHN BIRSNER Special to the Valley Press
If there already is an Antelope Valley ukulele club and I just haven't found it, contact me and tell me where to sign up. But keep on reading. I want to tell why every community might benefit from a slew of strumming play-alongs.
About a month ago I was listening to a radio news program with a story on the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz with an interview with Andy Andrews, who co-founded the club in 2001.
Lots of laughing and chatter, enthusiastic club members describing their appreciation of the club and monthly get-togethers, and finally a rousing version of "When Will I Be Loved," originally done by the Everly Brothers. I got the message even without the visuals: my kind of folks.
Next day, another radio station had its once-a-month program on the ukulele. Lyle Ritz was being interviewed, and his self-produced CD was being played.
I had played the "uke" as a kid and remember it didn't take much to get a recognizable tune out of it. Originally brought to Hawaii by Portuguese sailors in 1879, the natives gave the ukulele its present name, translated as "jumping flea" - how the fingers looked moving around the neck.
I don't remember where my ukulele came from, but nearly 10 million were sold in the United States in the mid-1950s for as little as $5 apiece. Rock 'n' roll and the guitar came along, forcing the diminutive instrument below the radar.
Wondering what the present status of the ukulele was, I went to the computer. A few clicks, and I found free sheet music, festivals, stores and auction sites to buy instruments and the Web site for the Santa Cruz club.
A trip to a local music store, the selection of a new entry-level ukulele, a how-to book, a tuner and instrument case, and I was off and strumming.
UCSC meets at Bocci's Restaurant in Santa Cruz. I knew I'd come to the right place. Ukuleles, Hawaiian shirts and smiles everywhere. The room really was a shed: a barely enclosed barn-like structure with decomposed granite "lanes" running down the length of it. These were the bocci courts.
Bocci ball: one part shuffleboard or lawn bowling, one part hand grenades, several parts enthusiastic Italian heritage. Something else I might like to see in the Antelope Valley.
Even after a nearly six-hour drive, I was still early for the six o'clock meeting. I found a place at a table out of the line of fire and settled in.
I introduced myself to Andy Andrews, bustling about like a jumping flea himself, and talked about the radio interview that had got me started on this odyssey in the first place.
I visited with a woman selling very affordable ukuleles, chatted with any number of people around our table, ordered up the pasta special and hunkered down. I was a happy guy.
For about 40 minutes, a more or less quartet of regulars alternately performed for the continually growing crowd. One fellow with the smallest of the four sizes of ukes did soaring solos without the least bravado or grandstanding. As good and inspiring as he was, anyone can learn a couple of chords and be able to play any number of songs in a shorter time than might seem possible.
The most expert and the rankest beginner all sound the same in a hundred-person play-along. Same goes for the entry level ukes from China compared with the custom or antique models that also were much in evidence. There's safety in numbers, I thought, as I energetically flubbed my way along.
And that's the brilliance of these clubs and gatherings. You can improve forever but can play within a matter of minutes. You're there to have a good time, and most egos seem to be left pleasantly at the door on the way in. People could not have been more open or genuinely friendly.
The theme for the night's play-along was "City Songs," and sheet music was passed out before every round. "New York, New York," "Chicago," "Viva Las Vegas" (with a sultry photo of Ann-Margaret), with chord diagrams provided as useful reminders.
We did a few tunes from the songbook, finished finger food, passed the hat for the wait-staff and settled in for the featured group of the evening. A father, two sons and a daughter played soulful Hawaiian music, and it was impossible for me not to think they were homesick.
I could only stay for a few songs but left contented and satisfied.
If you don't wish you were there, I haven't described this get-together well enough. Cheap fun, a sense of musical accomplishment, the warm feeling of being around a lot of relaxed people sounds like a great combination to me.
So what would it take to start a group like this anywhere including here? You would need a nominal leader, a restaurant that will supply food, drinks and, most important, room for enough people to guarantee some anonymity for the self-conscious rookie in a play-along.
A few experienced players and someone to make and hand out sheet music would help. The UCSC songbook explicitly states that its songs are free to be copied if no profit is expected. Good attitude. It seems very unlikely to me that anyone could figure out how to make any money off this endeavor anyhow.
A local club might just be a pipe dream perhaps, but I'll be going back up to Bocci's Restaurant on Thursday, Sept. 14, for the next gathering of the faithful. Meanwhile, I'm going to learn some more chords, check out the Salvation Army for cool Hawaiian shirts and hope enough people read this article to consider starting a group of our own.
Anyone who would like to contact me about anything in this article can do so by sending e-mail to me at http://us.f379.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=JacquesUse@aol.com. I'd love to hear from you.
1 Comments:
Hi Tom,
What a neat article. I read every word and thought about you and how excited it probably made you feel knowing you'll be out there next month participating with the Santa Cruz people. AND you'll be the featured part of the program. I know you'll have a fantastic time!! Sondra
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