Season 150 - New Year, New Jersey!

Forum's Back!

Forum's been down a good chunk of the day ... of course it went down just as I was finally caught up and about to post this latest batch of comments ... and seconds after Kurt posted "our song".

Better get these up NOW and then I'll get to the most recent few:

95) Jazzbanjorex (Rex), "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" – The Four Seasons:
Oh, I love this song! Love you bringing all the Four Seasons and Frankie V. This is great stuff, Rex. You are amazing - not many people can do those Frankie Valli falsetto vocals! Some "Sherry, Baby" next, maybe? Since you appear to be taking requests 

96) Harry122 (Randy), "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" – Dorothy Fields & Jimmy McHugh / Sinatra:
Perfect happy Randy song! Always love your fun delivery. I'm enjoying all the other instruments you're adding these days - nice piano break.

97) BigDaddyUker (Dave), "Slip Slidin’ Away" – Paul Simon:
Aw, so sweet! Welcome and Happy New Year to Ashley - I hope this is the first of many for this first-time Seasonista. Of course BearBear on the piano is a scene stealer. You also had another co-star behind you - over on the right at the beginning, and behind BearBear a few moments later. Plus some additional audio backup. It's a happening place over there at the BigDaddy ranch! Love how you sang this, BDU, and your happy strum ... you made this melancholy song into a cheerful holiday celebration.

98) Jazzbanjorex (Rex), "Who Loves You" – The Four Seasons:
"Eight Seasons" - lol! So happy Lynda requested this, because it's terrific, Rex! That is one cool uke.

99) Jazzbanjorex (Rex), "My Eyes Adored You" – Frankie Valli:
"Over Barnegat Bridge and Bay" - I never knew what that line was! I had no idea this was a New Jersey song. Love the song, you sing it so well. Love this. You bring such emotion to this, it makes me wonder who you are singing it to.

100) TCK / The Cloverdale Kid (Dave), "Astro Zombies" – The Misfits:
Well, this just proves you can take anything and turn it into a laid-back happy song. Simply awesome. And now, you are the first to bring the Misfits.

TCK / Mel / UkuleleDaddy (Dave, Melissa, Sean), "Some Kinda Hate" – The Misfits:
Y'all are adorable. A bit envious of your visit.

101) UkuleleDaddy (Sean), "Teenage Kicks + Some Kinda Hate" – The Undertones + The Misfits:
Super birthday New Year New Jersey fun! Love the Elton John get-up and the dancing girls.

102) TheSillyDave (Dave), "Jersey Bounce" – Benny Goodman:
You got me bouncing along here in Jersey! What a terrific tune, great stuff, Dave. Nice shirt.

103) Tootler (Geoff), "Bridge Over Troubled Water" – Paul Simon / Simon & Garfunkel:
Very nice, Geoff! You are really channeling S&G this week. You did a great job with this challenging song. Nice strong vocal.

104) DickAdcock (Dick), "My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year)" – Regina Spektor:
Great New Year song choice, Dick - nicely played and sung. I've never heard this before! Your video may be blurry, but your heart rings out loud and clear. Happy New Year.

105) IamNoMan (Tommy), "Albert and the Lion" – Stanley Holloway:
Oh, my! I can't say I blame the mom. Fun recitation delivered by one of our favorite new New Jersey Seasonista artists.

106) Joo (Joo), "Tougher Than The Rest" – Bruce Springsteen:
Joo, this is simply gorgeous. I adore your soft gentle vocals - spot-on perfect for this song. Your arpeggiated picking is also glorious, and I can't hear any difference among the strings. Classical guitar strings are commonly used on bari and low-G ukes - I replaced a G string I broke on a borrowed concert with a classical D string, and the owner was quite happy with it. I think this is the first serious, pretty song I've heard you do. I hope to hear many more.

107) Marco D (Mark), "My Tomato" – Karen Kamenetsky:
What a fun, charming song, Mark! Love this. So happy you made it to our New Jersey party - it just wouldn't be the same without you. I just love your style. I gotta make it back to Morristown Uke Jam one of these days. When's the next Sunday party? Those are a lot easier than Wednesdays.

108) Uke4ia (Jim), "Behind the Wall of Sleep" – The Smithereens:
Love this song, love how you rocked it, Jim. Terrific vocal, fabulous solo. Really, really great. Sesquicentennial - true! I did like the number 150, but couldn't quite figure out what to do with it. Three years soon!

109) Lumpy Wafflesquirt (Robin), "My Way" – Frank Sinatra:
Robin, thanks for doing "My Way" - I hoped we'd get a few of this one. (UkuleleDaveey did it too, early in the week.) You sang this beautifully, really strong vocals in both octaves. Nice confident strumming too - I especially like when you emphasized the climactic line. I like it your way!

110) Harry122 (Randy), "Tiny Potato" – some crazy New Jersey person:
Awwwww, Randy!!!! How sweet of you to do my song! What a wonderful happy energy you bring to it. Love the ending. Is that second voice who I think it is? And you did it on your Flea! This is so nice. (Now you know who else I want to hear do it ... oh, no ... that would be too much to ask, wouldn't it? Can you imagine him saying "I believe in you"? Lol.)

111) Peewee (Peter), "New Slang" – The Shins (from “Garden State”):
"Garden State" soundtrack totally counts - I'm putting it on the "songs about New Jersey" playlist. This is really beautifully done, Petet - I love the vocal especially. Sweet shoutout to UkeyDave. Lovely solo.

112) Jazzbanjorex (Rex), "Blinded by the Light" – Bruce Springsteen:
You are on fire, Rex! Thanks for bringing so many terrific contributions to our New Jersey New Year party. Love this song, love how you did it. Amazing job with those super-fast nonsense syllables.

113) Jazzbanjorex (Rex), "Hanky Panky" – Tommy James & the Shondells:
Another fun song from Rex. Love that riff and the little slide down the neck. Too cool. JERsey!

114) Jazzbanjorex (Rex), "Because the Night" – Patti Smith & Bruce Springsteen:
Because the night belongs to us ... and our roast beef and poppers. Lol! This is the reality of nights and lovers in the day-to-day world. Fabulous vocal and and strumming on this, Rex. I hope the night got more interesting after the poppers.

115) Librainian (Andrew), "One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor" – Paul Simon:
Wow, Andrew - amazing intro ... and three key changes! This is fabulous. I hope one day to sing and play half as well as you. Absolutely terrific. And yes, of course you are welcome at the party however fashionably late you choose to show up. All the heads turn at whatever time you walk int the room. So glad you made it here, my friend!

116) Librainian (Andrew), "Drop Dead Gorgeous" – April Smith & The Great Picture Show:
Thanks for introducing April Smith - she's new to me. Terrific song, great lyrics. Wonderful singing and playing ... again. Well done figuring out those complicated progressions by ear! Those Fremont Black Line strings sound great. Love mine - best strings I've tried yet.

117) KoaDependent (Brian), "Born to Run" – Bruce Springsteen:
Fabulous, Brian! Great instrumental on the riff - I just whistled it when I did it. Terrific solo. Sorry I talked you out of this at OUC ... tough choice! Wish you could have done both. But you promised the other one. I'd love to see the chords you used on this - there's one I still haven't got quite right. Thanks so much for this, Brian .. tramps like us, baby, we were born to uke.

118) KSiegel (Kurt), "The Jughandle Song" – Kurt Siegel & Wendy Keilin (who?!):
Kurt, I love this! Your version sounds like a completely different song than mine - yours is so charming. The picking is fabulous, I love what you've done with the melody. The spoken aside made me laugh out loud. What terrific material you created! Thanks so much for the opportunity to collaborate with you. I hope to get to play it with you in person before too long.

119) Linear (Neil), "NJ Paul Simon medley" – Paul Simon / Simon & Garfunkel:
Neil! This is even more beautiful than I heard you do it the other day. So happy you have made it here to the Seasons, looking forward to do some more jamming with you soon. Welcome to the uke world, welcome to the Seasons, welcome to the party - you are inspiring me! I'm just going to play this video all day.

[Neil lives near me, and we had a lovely time jamming together on New Year's Day ... looking forward to more of that!]

Okay , this is a post of an older video (March, 2013) - but it is as much about New Jersey as it is anywhere else!

Markwo said:

Interesting factoid: while I was looking up songs recorded by Frank Sinatra, it turns out he recorded a version of Bein Green in 1970. So even though Kermit is not from New Jersey, the song still has a Jersey connection.

Click to expand...

Ohmigosh! That's amazing. This is amazing. It even sounds familiar to me ... I must have heard it some time.

Moving your "Bein' Green" to the "NJ artists" playlist, Mark! Pabrizzer's and the other Kermit songs stay on the "Sinatra Rule" list though - his pre-dates this Season, and the other Kermit songs, so far as we know, don't have New Jersey cred. But this does!

Here is my entry...errors and all! I finally got all the way through the song, after 2 days worth of takes. This was going to be my last attempt, whether I got through it or not because, at this point, my voice was strained. So anyways, I screwed up a lot, but I am learning from it. This is my first time participating. It's a cover of Look Around by Blues Traveler (another band formed in New Jersey).

Downtown New York has been visibly "cool" for a long time. Folk, hippy, punk, new wave, post punk, no wave, electro, etc.---it seems like every "cool" music scene has, at some point, been centered in downtown NYC.

But many great downtown scenesters (Patti Smith, Debby Harry, Tom Verlaine, etc.) moved to NYC from New Jersey. So why don't many people (at least people outside of Jersey) think Jersey is cool, too? Got me.

One of the 21st century's coolest NYC bands, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, is fronted by Karen O. She was born in Englewood and raised in Hoboken; she moved to NYC in the 90s, became a rock star, then moved back to Jersey. Rock on, Jersey.

First things first: There are still 7 hours to go for our Season 150 New Jersey New Year party.

However, if for some reason the forum being down has prevented you from getting in an entry you would otherwise have made, please do feel free to get it in any time tomorrow, as soon as you're able. I would hate for our technological glitch on the final day to cost anybody an entry ... so no worries, just get it in when you can.

"The Jughandle Song", take 2 (really take 1)

For two days, I've been watching for Kurt to post his version of "The Jughandle Song" we wrote together New Year's morning,so I could post my version immediately after his, and you could see them both together.

And then this morning he did ... and minutes later the forum went down! And stayed there most of the day. Somehow between us we appear to have broken the internet.

(Clearly, as our co-write hopefully demonstrates, together we are a force far more powerful than either of us alone!)

This was my first real co-write ... and, I believe, Kurt's too. This was really fun, and I like what we ended up with. I hope to do more of this sort of thing.

I was not planning to write another song while hosting this week ... certainly not to help with an actual entry! ... and then I opened my PM box the first morning of the year, and this happened.

Here's the first version of the melody as I posted it to Kurt New Year's morning:



(Fear not, I am not planning to do any actual judging for prizes this week - anything valuable will be by random draw ... so no bias here! )

Almost didn't get this second one in. Didn't want to let this season slip by without another entry. I mean, greatest state, and all. XP

So here's "The Beast of Pirate's Bay" by Voltaire, who was born in Cuba, but spent most of his developing years in Jersey. Twas fun to do, even though it took a few takes to get it right.

Wendy, when you had epic in mind for the end of your Season, I didn't think pulling the plug on your party and the whole website would be involved. Clearly is has though.

Frank Sinatra -Being Green

WE HYAVE A WINNA HYA!
1. first time seasonista
2. Covers New Jersey Artist - Kermit
3. Like Kermit He is a jersey boy of no fixed abode
4. Definitely from Hoboken
5. Manages to "do it his way" with a bolt from the blue (eyes) posting from the land beyond the blue and bringing UU down to do so.
6. Breaks the Sinatra Rule because sinatra had no rules.

I think everybody else has to tie for second.

Caught Up!

Amazingly, it would appear I am completely caught up. All videos submitted should be on appropriate playlists, with comments on YouTube and in the thread.

If I have missed anything, please let me know.

Season continues for 5.5 more hours.

Late entries accepted and encouraged, if today's long forum outage prevented you from posting something you intended to bring to the party. Please don't let that stop you ... bring it!

This sure has been a fun party ... and continues to be.

Going to bed while I'm still (hopefully) caught up.

I'll wrap up tomorrow whatever else gets posted tonight and tomorrow. Prizes may take a bit longer, but will be forthcoming soon.

Keep the party going all night, friends! Happy Happy New Year in New Jersey!


120) TheOnlyUkeThatMatters (Ralf), "Jersey Girl" – Bruce Springsteen:
This is so lovely, Ralf. Your love for your Jersey girl wife shines through every moment of this. Love your smile, the sweet simple arrangement, and your delicate singing. Terrific high notes at the end.

121) Jazzbanjorex (Rex), "Sherry" – The Four Seasons
Thank you!
Haha, Rex - that was fun! I've lost count of how many "Seasons" you've brought to this Season now. 

KSiegel (Kurt), "Your State’s Name Here" – Lou & Peter Berryman:
I swooned when I saw this on the thread – I was hoping we’d see this one ... big-time Berrymans fan! And somehow I have not yet covered a single song of theirs. Maybe we could do "Double Yodel". If I'd had time for it this week, I wanted to do "Older Than Everybody" for Lynda's birthday. Except - 1) she might be offended, and 2) I am older than she is.

122) D3B7 (Debby), "Look Around" – Blues Traveler:
Woohoo! Debby's here! Great to see you and hear you, Debby. Welcome to the Seasons ... I can't believe we made it to the last day before seeing any Blues Traveler. You sound great. Excellent delivery of a challenging song ... and good for you for rolling with everything that came at you while you were recording! Very nice.

123) TheOnlyUkeThatMatters (Ralf), "Maps" – Yeah Yeah Yeahs:
Wow, fun song, Ralf! Amazing riffs up the neck. I've never heard of these guys before ... might have to go check them out.

118a) UkeCan1 (Wendy), "The Jughandle Song (You Can't Take a Left in New Jersey)" – Kurt Siegel & me:
Here’s the draft version of the melody I presented to Kurt, mid-collab. A bit different from his final version, wouldn’t you say?!

124) MikeOnTheUke (Mike), "The Beast of Pirate's Bay" – Voltaire:
Fun song, Mike! Love your pirate outfit. Your singing is terrific on this, fun delivery, love the dramatic uke strums. Really fun!

Uh-uh..... I came up to do this vid for the Season last night and the forum was down - I tried to chase up on the videos already up, and found that Brian has done the song I was going to do! Beautifully.... of course.... was a little down-hearted.... but we do do multiples, don't we - and I love this song. I play it for my cousin nearly every week because she loves Simon and Garfunkle, and it's such a bright, cheery song. Which perhaps we can use. So here you are, sorry it's late.... and a fab fun week, thanks Wendy!

Thanks, Lesley! No worries - late postings are fine for Season 150, given all the forum-downage of yesterday.

Season 150 is now officially closed, but if anyone else out there has an entry you intended to make that got delayed by the forum outage, please do submit it today!

I'll come back and comment on Lesley's and any other late postings later today.

Thanks, all for a super fun Season and fun party!

Just wanted to give a shout out to a fabulous week of music Wendy. You have out done most of us and have really put your all into hosting this season. I haven't had time to work my way through all of the music here and couldn't comment as I usually do and I couldn't participate but I have tried to peek in now and then. Welcome to all the newcomers that you've invited in

Now the hard part begins. Good luck choosing a winner out of this great bunch!

I second Linda's comments. Fabulous energy, enthusiasm and thoughtful comments on each and every submission plus you brought so many new faces to the party. Outstanding. If I could put your lightning in a bottle.....

Thanks, Linda, Andrew - I'm taking a brief rest and putting on a work week right now, but I'll be back by this weekend to wrap up.

I did pick up some fun prizes yesterday, but there are some I haven't found yet. It's surprisingly challenging to find New-Jersey-themed stuff in my neighborhood. Might have to go to Newark Airport or something!

I'd also love to create some kind of fun printable graphic thing I can send to everyone who participated, and maybe a separate "welcome" one for our newcomers. If one of you artists out there would like to help with this, I'd love that ... and the result will be so much better than if I do it myself.

In the meantime, there are still at least two newcomers who made videos for this week and have not yet posted them on this thread.

If you (newcomer or not), made a video inspired by this week and have not yet posted it, whether because of the forum outage or newcomer challenges, or any other reason ... if it belongs here, please post it. I know of at least two out there, and there may well be more.

I hope everyone's 2015 is getting off to a rocking start!

Quick Update

Just a quick update to let you all know I am not neglecting Season 150, and will be back soon to wrap it all up.

I'd hoped to do so this weekend, but I've been under the weather and mostly out of action for half this week, and that, understandably, has set everything back. As of this moment, I'm just about back to 100%.

So hopefully next weekend I can go pick up a couple more fun prizes, decide how to disperse them, and do a drawing for them and a wrap-up video.

By the end of today, or tomorrow, I hope to get the last couple videos and comments up, and on the playlists.

There are two more newcomers who posted videos for this Season on YouTube, but did not post them here. Gina has asked me to post hers here - I'm so sorry no one has seen it yet - it's terrific!

Matt (Soupking), is it okay to post yours too? Let me know if not, otherwise I'll assume it's okay.

Both of you, feel free to post them here yourselves - that's always best anyway. And welcome to the Seasons, and thanks for accepting the invitation to the party!

To everyone else ... be back soon.....

No Worries Wendy. I hope you get to feeling better soon