Seasonistas general thread: yakking, joshing, news and pictures

Apropos of nothing - just back from Ukulele Hooley in Dun Laoghaire in Dublin. Made a compilation video of most of the acts in case anyone was interested in getting a feel of this particular uke festival. There was a really lovely, fun, friendly vibe and I enjoyed every minute - and had a nice jamming session with our very own seasonista RedPaul on Saturday.

(Sorry for the shoddy camera work - it was also grey and dark, as rain was threatening and I was too lazy to get up and physically walk closer to the stage!). Although all the acts were amazing, my faves were The Mourning Glories - they have that Brother Where Art Thou vibe about them and beautiful voices.

Just a reminder to anyone in the NY/NJ/PA/CT (USA) area that the NJ Uke Fest 2016 is this weekend starting Friday Aug 26 and tickets are still available...

see here for more info:

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?120758-New-Jersey-Uke-Fest-Aug-26-28-2016

bonesigh said:

Apparently a certain person thinks that the Seasons are all about the participants and NOT the host who does all the work. Don't we as participants do what the host wants to win the prize or kudos? This person also thinks that hosts do not listen to the entries in their entirety. I DO!!!!! Plus, get this, hosts should not have to comment on the videos....WHAT?

IDK, what have the Seasons come to? I feel like crying ):

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When you're hosting a Season, there's no worse feeling than having some jackass drop into the thread and criticize, second-guess and carp about the theme or the rules. Believe me, I understand that.

Here's a word of advice to any future would-be Season troll. Don't. Just don't. If you don't like the theme, wait a week. If you dislike the artist you are asked to cover, wait a week. If you don't like the entry limit, suck it up or wait a week. If you don't like any other request that the host has asked you to voluntarily, no-pressure, just for fun perform... just shut your insensitive yap and wait a week. Or better yet, step forward and volunteer, and show us how it's done.

Janet, your Seasons are terrific examples of the Seasons at its best - asking players to stretch, to move out of our comfort zones, to learn and to have fun. There will always be trolls and jackasses, but we don't have to give them any respect. At all. Hats off to you for what you're doing. Thanks.

PS - If anyone in particular is offended by the words "jackass" and "troll," I can always substitute different words if you want me to.

UU and Seasons is what it is. Fun and lets people grow as players. I figured out that that is what the Island is for, to let people do what they want w/o having the pressure of others expectations. I'm no regular Seasonista, but I watch most of them and comment when I have something to contribute,(maybe?)

I was wondering why the Baritone thread gets so little play? There seems to be quite a few Seasonistas with baritones? I play my tenors in dGBE and thought I might put something on the Baritone thread using my tenors as they sound much like a Baritone. Would anyone mind if I did that?

Has anyone ever done a Season of Instrumentals? I like instrumentals as my singing is pretty poor, but I love the sound of my Tenor-tones.

edit:

Maybe we should have a season of Grumpy Old Men, a GOM thread?

Jack, we have had 236 consecutive weeks of community fun with the Seasons.

Amazingly, for the first two years we did not have a duplicated theme. They varied a lot: genres, groups, styles (e.g., British invasion), instrumentals, duets, abstract ideas (e.g., family, money), numbers or names in the title, holidays, foreign inspiration, and many others. Somewhere there is a complete list of the themes by week and host—ask volunteer coordinators theonlyukethatmatters or Pabrizzer where to find that.

The point of the Seasons is to encourage one another, and many valuable online friendships have followed.
A high point of unity of the Seasonistas was making the Anthem together. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?97728-The-Seasonista-Anthem-!


If you have posted one song, you are a Seasonista, and you can get this cool image on your profile page. Go to the top of this page and click on Community, then go to groups. Find Seasonistas and click Join.

Harry122 said:

............. just shut your insensitive yap and wait a week. ...........

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Reading that someone does't really like Tiny Tim that much will not cause people to leave the seasons. But when they see people resorting to this type of language to support their argument that's when we start to lose people.

People like SillyDave who was practically a seasons institution.

Ah, what'cha gonna do? Life goes on. Thanks Ginny (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

GinnyT11 said:

My goodness, Janet, you've been participating in the Seasons for years, and you've hosted what, 5-6 times? Why would anyone feel the right to tell you how to host?

I think a person who doesn't want to comment on the video entries should not host. If that's too much work, please don't sign up. The whole point, going back 4.5 years, is to create a community feeling, which requires the host to interact with participants.

I'm sorry you're now sad, Janet. You're a major, positive contributor to the Seasons.

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GinnyT11 said:

Jack, we have had 236 consecutive weeks of community fun with the Seasons.

Amazingly, for the first two years we did not have a duplicated theme. They varied a lot: genres, groups, styles (e.g., British invasion), instrumentals, duets, abstract ideas (e.g., family, money), numbers or names in the title, holidays, foreign inspiration, and many others. Somewhere there is a complete list of the themes by week and host—ask volunteer coordinators theonlyukethatmatters or Pabrizzer where to find that.

The point of the Seasons is to encourage one another, and many valuable online friendships have followed.
A high point of unity of the Seasonistas was making the Anthem together. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?97728-The-Seasonista-Anthem-!


If you have posted one song, you are a Seasonista, and you can get this cool image on your profile page. Go to the top of this page and click on Community, then go to groups. Find Seasonistas and click Join.
View attachment 93614

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Thanks Ginny. I joined and put up an Avatar so I guess I'm and "Old Hand" now.

I miss the Sillydave too! Harry/Randy I think your post and language is actually very appropriate. Should have seen the p.m.'s I got from this person. Nothing super bad but the arrogance to tell me how to run my Season and to, I'll tell, argh, I want to...I'll just say in the p.m. sent to me this person insulted us ALL.

A point to note. This person, to my knowledge has not posted a single seasons entry. Not one.

I don't manage to listen to all the entries every week but I do check in every day and I don't remember one from him.

That's all I'm going to say, but I think that his posting record says all we need to know about him (I'm assuming it's a him)

I opted out of the Monkees week. It's not that I particularly dislike the Monkees. Their popular songs were quite pleasant but I never really watched the TV series and I didn't really relate to them.

It gave me the time to work on my harmonica playing which was needing some work and I've posted some harmonica tunes and songs on the misfit island and other instruments threads, so if you want to see what I was up to in Monkees week, take a look there.

I'm hoping to get something done this week. I've just noticed something that might work out quite well but it will have to wait until later in the week.

Everyone. Take a deep breath. In. Whoosh. Out. Ahhhhh.

Geoff is right re: lack of postings from the instigator of all the hurt and now anger. And we don't want a divide and conquer situation going on here, with troll-y type folk jumping out from under their bridges, writing something nasty in order to cause chaos, only to slink away into their watery dark hole and then, enjoy watching the unfolding implosion of a formerly friendly group; wholly uncaring, nay delighting in the trail of destruction they have left in their wake.

In any case, let's not turn on one another, otherwise Mr/Ms Troll has won. And we don't want that do we? In fairytales they always lose, so let's make this into a fairytale and not reality, otherwise we really will lose people because we're in-fighting with one another instead of together as one against someone being negative just for the sake of it.

It's particularly not appropriate on the silly puppet + tiny tim song week! (Of course, the Tiny Tim haters - and I'm really not a fan either - may end up blaming too much listening to his high-pitched screechy tones as a contributory factor to people's current high emotions!) Anyway, let's store up the aggression/hurt/etc. for a future Death Metal/Emo themed week instead and let it all out then, on the uke, rather than on each other

(And, for what it's worth, I think only the most shrinking violet would be offended by being called an 'insensitive yap' - least of all the person who left the original comment that started all this - from the sounds of them the word 'insensitive' is more: calling a spade a spade IMO. I really don't think we need worry about seasonistas or anyone else fleeing for the hills in horror due to that, so all is well).

Let's all have a cup of camomile tea (or a stiff brandy!), pet a kitten, play a soothing song on a uke, or sew a new sock puppet and think Scarlett O'Hara: Tomorrow is another day and things don't seem so bad after the anger/hurt/irritation dies down.

I don't intend to offend anyone with this post! Just trying to halt a snowball falling on a snowy mountain turning into an avalanche.

I'm petting a wee kitten as I write this. Actually she is ANNOYINGLY digging in my shirt for milk (don't ask!) and stepping on the keyboard so I have to keep correcting!! Please GOD let this post be the end of it all.......OH NO.....DON'T TAKE THAT LITERALLY!!!!!!!!! I meant the trouble, but, you knew that, right?

Hey Janet -

Can you clean up your inbox so we can send you PMs of support? Thanks.

- Rick G.

bonesigh said:

Plus, get this, hosts should not have to comment on the videos....WHAT?

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We've had Seasons like that. Yeti & Kira hosted a couple, and I'm sure there were others. I didn't find those Seasons very satisfying.

There is no musician I'm personally less interested in celebrating than Tiny Tim. But I'd certainly never tell Janet not to hold the Season if that's her chosen theme. I'll just sit this one out and see what next week brings. In four and a half years, I've yet to play a song for the Seasons against my will.

uke4ia said:

We've had Seasons like that. Yeti & Kira hosted a couple, and I'm sure there were others. I didn't find those Seasons very satisfying.

There is no musician I'm personally less interested in celebrating than Tiny Tim. But I'd certainly never tell Janet not to hold the Season if that's her chosen theme. I'll just sit this one out and see what next week brings. In four and a half years, I've yet to play a song for the Seasons against my will.

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I think Hosts commit to a big job and often times it goes unappreciated. Personally I like to show my appreciation by submitting at least one song if I can.

I am so confused by the thought that we are celebrating Tiny Tim. We are celebrating the music he covered. To me that means we are celebrating those he celebrated.

Have you looked through the song list Jim? Is there really no one he celebrated that you would consider covering?

No pressure. I just know from my own experience when a theme pops up that I am less than excited about. I find as the week goes on that I grow to enjoy the theme.

My opinion on opinions is:

You don't criticize the host in their own thread.
If there is something you don't like about a theme, suck it up, the host is doing the work.
If there is a trend in the themes that are posted that you don't like, you can post a general question on what kind of themes other people like, because you have a preference for something special. But you still can't post that in a seasons thread, as it can only be seen as targeting the host of that season. If you want to discuss what makes a good theme, do it in the Yakking thread.

Will you loose som participants with specific-artist-themes?
Sure. When I look back at the weeks I have missed, it has been weeks where I didn't know the artist. Glen Campbell, Buffy Saint Marie, any Hawaiian or Portuguese artist... I had no idea where to start. But I sure listened to a lot of music trying to find something, just didn't manage to get a connection to any of them. Sorry folks. But I still enjoyed the seasons, and I realize that there has to be something for everyone, and it is OK to me not to do a song every week.

When the theme is an artist that has done a ton of covers of evergreens, so you for sure can find one you know, I don't see how it can be a problem to some.

Edit: Just make it clear, it is not that I dislike Glen Campbell or Buffy Sainte-Marie, I just never heard of them before they were theme. I had heard covers of one song from each before, never their own versions .

In case you haven't noticed - you have the full support of regular Seasonistas.

I intend bringing something along this week, after looking through the list that you provided, though maybe not with a puppet, but as that is only a requirement to possibly win the prize, I'm not worried.

Long live the Seasons. :music:

If I ever host another season I would be tempted to just have one song.
Something along the lines of Dogs Love Fanta.

Janet, as I wrote in the seasons' thread, just ignore the negative comment. You're doing a great job with this season and you are a wonderful contributor to the seasons !