Great Article in LA Times Mentions UU!

Very cool! Thanks for the link!
 
ukulele revival? does this mean that for the first time in my life I'm actually hip, trendy and up with the times? Dear time travel car, take me back to high school please, I have to go and make fun of the head cheerleader.
 
A couple of things bugged me:

Uke makers are riding the wave of popularity that began around the time of former Beatle George Harrison's death in 2001. Harrison was well-known in uke circles, but it was former bandmate Paul McCartney who reignited the public's fascination by playing the instrument in the 2002 tribute Concert for George and in other performances.

As I recall (I own the DVD, but didn't watch it to confirm), Paul played the uke for the first half of 'Something' then switched to guitar, and even then it was a relatively basic strum, nothing outstanding like the version of Something that we get out of Jake/Aldrine/Dom/etc. He didn't touch the uke again (again: as I recall)

What stole the show for me and most people, and more than just uke specific too, was Joe Brown's "I'll see you in my dreams". Sure, the journo is probably just name dropping for the masses, but still...

(Also, I learnt that Anoushka Shankar is awesome, check out her work with Karsh Kale)

The novelty aspect still exists, as anyone who listens to the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain can attest. Picture eight men in tuxedos, strumming and picking the tune of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Ahh, LATimes... failing to understand British humour yet again, look up 'irony' in the dictionary. And no mention of the ladies in the orchestra? Not cool...

Apart from that, it was a great article. I hope it attracts more people into the fold :)
 
Dan contacted me and asked if I knew how many ukuleles were being sold yearly in the last few years. I told him how to reach Mike Upton at Kala Ukes and also told him about Louis Wu at Ohana. Louis may have been in China at the time Dan was writing the article. I am disappointed that he didn't mention Ukulele Player Magazine, though. Still, I enjoyed the article... but he should have written Bella Fleck and the Flecktones, instead, he called them "Fleck and the Flecktones".

Dan did a pretty nice job on the article. I am glad that he included Mike DaSilva in it.
 
As I recall (I own the DVD, but didn't watch it to confirm), Paul played the uke for the first half of 'Something' then switched to guitar, and even then it was a relatively basic strum, nothing outstanding like the version of Something that we get out of Jake/Aldrine/Dom/etc. He didn't touch the uke again (again: as I recall)

I went to Paul McCartney concert a couple of years ago. He played the ukulele for a couple of songs during his solo set. You are right, it was just basic strumming but he played well and it was just him and the uke... no band back up. The audience loved it. What impressed me was the story he told about George's love for the uke and how it was an after dinner ritual to take the ukes out an jam.
 
Great article...and:

Is there indeed a ukulele renaissance? When I first started playing 12 years ago...I knew of no one else who had/seen/heard of them, except for Tiny Tim...and I still get the Tiny Tim jabs now and again.

So...is there any way to objectively determine the number of uke enthusiasts in the world? Is it growing? Is it a fad which will disappear in another 6 months?

I'm planning on attending a live Jake Shimabukuro performance with my 19 year old daughter (who had one of my ukes for a time). She was only going because the concert is held in where she goes to school...however, I played Jake's "Live" album for her and her eyes lit up. Immediately getting on the phone to call her friends and tell them about the "really, cool" guy she was going to go hear.
 
The "fad" is going to last a lot longer this time around. There are many musicians using the uke in new and innovative ways and that will give it much greater staying power. There is also the point that a lot of newer music does not have the creativity of the past. A lot of people believe it is too formulaic. I am one of those. It all sounds pretty much the same.

I think it is also great the way a lot of young kids are discovering old songs like "Tonight You Belong to Me". When Eddy Vedder played the song on stage I was amazed.

This is an exciting time for me musically because the growing interest in old tunes, not necessarily ukulele, but, it is due to the uke that these older songs are making a comeback.
 
I went to Paul McCartney concert a couple of years ago. He played the ukulele for a couple of songs during his solo set. You are right, it was just basic strumming but he played well and it was just him and the uke... no band back up. The audience loved it. What impressed me was the story he told about George's love for the uke and how it was an after dinner ritual to take the ukes out an jam.

More credit goes to the ending track... Joe Brown played "I'll See You In My Dreams" and that ignited a fire around the world. Jake's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has now been viewed 3 million times. Jake deserves a HUGE amount of credit for the popularity of ukulele. Also, thank the forums... big three in particular: Ukulele Underground, Cosmos, FMM.

Alan from the now defunct 4th Peg deserves a lot of credit, too. Alan gave a lot of people their start in ukulele.
 
ukulele revival? does this mean that for the first time in my life I'm actually hip, trendy and up with the times? Dear time travel car, take me back to high school please, I have to go and make fun of the head cheerleader.
You and me both! That was a great article.
 
You and me both! That was a great article.

meh. I've always seemed to be on the cutting edge at the point where you still get a lot of crap for something just before it becomes hip. You probably got a couple of years.
On the other hand, we've all got a huge headstart so when it becomes an official craze, we're going to be rock stars...
 
I think that longevity of the revival will, in no small way, be associated with the work that Rayan and Aldrine do here as well as Jake. They are making this instrument relevant and accessible to the next generation of ukulele players by integrating it into the music and communication stream they are connected to. The real time access to high quality lessons on up to date music is what is needed right now to reach those who will carry the revival forward.

I just love the seamlessness of how the conversation flows from Weezer to Led Zeppelin and then to the oldest Hawaiian ukulele builder without skipping a beat. How it connects with folks in Hawaii, the mainland US, Japan, the UK, Norway and on and on. We all speak the same language when we speak uke! :music:
 
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On the other hand, we've all got a huge headstart so when it becomes an official craze, we're going to be rock stars...

YES! my lifelong dream!! :rock: lol
 
They made one mistake tho, the link to UU goes to Flea Market Music.
 
Great article!
Thanks for linking it!"
 
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