Tampa Bay Ukulele Club Does it Again

PhilUSAFRet

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Just got back from the Tampa Bay Ukukule Clubs annual Fall getaway. Wow, this club is a class act. The event was in a great venue, in a location convenient to nearby expressways, and was organized and run by a large crew of dedicated club members. This year's session leaders included Jim D'Ville, Craig Chee, Julia Nunes, Sarah Maisel, Uncle Elvis, Julie Austin, Steve and Amanda Boisen, Julie Austin, and a super, new TBUC performing artist, Jay Nunes and his new band, the Jukes. The food was great, the people fantastic, and the performers loved it as much as we did. I wouldn't consider missing one. To those who were there, can I get an AMEN?
 
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Yeah, it was awesome! And I met Freeda, a regular contributor here. Mim was there, too, and Mike from Uke REpublic. The talent was 1st rate! Jay Nunes band names is the Jukes, though...and they are good!
 
It was a great festival! I loved it being all (classes, concerts, food and lodging) in one place. The entertainers were great. The workshops were good. Craig Chee had a great class. One part of it -- 8 beats that sound insanely complicated -- was a real highlight. I am a HUGE Craig Chee fan. I know this will sound weird, but that technique was worth the whole price for me. Well, and his performance. And everybody else's. And I met a bunch of new friends. And saw some dear friends I already had. gee, it was a terrific weekend.
 
Yeah, it was awesome! And I met Freeda, a regular contributor here. Mim was there, too, and Mike from Uke REpublic. The talent was 1st rate! Jay Nunes band names is the Jukes, though...and they are good!
- :eek:ld: - Thanks, my hearing is as bad as I thought it was. I guess that's the reason that half the time, I couldn't tell which chord they were calling out....was that a G7, C7, or a D7????? LOL
 
It was a great festival! I loved it being all (classes, concerts, food and lodging) in one place. The entertainers were great. The workshops were good. Craig Chee had a great class. One part of it -- 8 beats that sound insanely complicated -- was a real highlight. I am a HUGE Craig Chee fan. I know this will sound weird, but that technique was worth the whole price for me. Well, and his performance. And everybody else's. And I met a bunch of new friends. And saw some dear friends I already had. gee, it was a terrific weekend.

Wow, I hope you got an award for "Furthest Traveled"!
 
I am looking forward to attending one of the festivals, they sound like a lot of fun!
 
Great festival! I did not think it was possible, but I had more fun than I did last year! I learned so much and got in a lot of jamming. The concerts were fantastic! I hope I can make back next year! :D
 
Great event, great workshops (wish I could have caught all the optional ones). For me the highlight was Sarah Maisel's workshop, Moving Up the Fretboard. She inspired me with her story on how in the beginning, each week she tried to replace one of her common first position chords with a new higher one and little by little she was able to work her way up..seems a doable approach. Jim D'Ville's workshop on ear training really was an ah-ha moment for me. I'd been working on theory and understanding chord progressions but his technique helped me to go beyond just knowing what are the common progressions. You begin to understanding the feeling each position projects, so between the two bits of info, you can often anticipate the next chord (very helpful). A wonderful time, wish I could have stayed up for the late jams, but I was a lightweight, maybe next year.
 
that all sounds really great! How do you find out about thing like this in enough advance to make plans? When do they normally post dates? Would love to cruise down in the RV and have a great time in Tampa!
 
Thank you!!! Jiim
 
that all sounds really great! How do you find out about thing like this in enough advance to make plans? When do they normally post dates? Would love to cruise down in the RV and have a great time in Tampa!

Keep an eye on the forums. Especially the regional get together section. A lot of ukulele festivals are yearly events and are held usually at the same time of year. Threads are always posted.
 
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I. Had. So. Much. Fun!

Fun to see old friends!
Fun to meet new friends!
Fun to Jam!
Fun to work on some ukuleles!
(Figuring out buzz issues is my fun, and I had some fun ukes to tinker with)
Fun to sell some ukuleles!
Fun to see the concerts!
Fun to feel the warm breeze hit me every time the door was opened!
Fun for my booth to feel like a hang out spot between work shops!
Fun to bring Mr. Mim along!
Great organization!
Great venue!
Great performers!
Great charity raffle!
Great workshops!
Great performances!
Highlights:
All the performances I was able to catch!
Jamming until 4am pre-daylight savings time Saturday night!
First seeing Craig Chee coming around the corner and yelling "CRAIG CHEE IS HERE!"
Fixing Julia Nunes uke! Because though the pickup coming out was not funny, the process of putting it back together was somewhat hilarious! Amazing what a cell phone light, an couple extra pair of hands, and a fret file being used for something other than filing frets can do!


The verdict: FUN!

I am just starting to get my voice back. Somewhat. It still might take a few days!
 
I don't have words for how amazing this weekend was.
I'm still coming down off the high created by the love, acceptance and joy offered to my wife and me from pretty much everyone there.
An amazing group of people, across the board: The organizers are fantastic folks, working hard hard hard to make magic happen; the vendors, always smiling, always friendly, always ready to talk about their stuff... or just whatever... great folks; the entertainers, every one of which seemed to go out of their way to make a newcomer to the scene feel not only welcome but equal. The validation was incredible and has filled me with drive and determination to do better; and, finally, the participants. Wow. What a phenomenal group of people. Everyone playing, singing, learning, smiling, laughing, making music and happiness.

I loved it. I love y'all.
I have a whole load of new best friends in the world.
 
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