Yeah, it's an ukulele. What's it to you?

Today, I took my concert Mainland uke to have it professionally dressed and setup. A local guitar/ukulele dealer referred me to this shop so I drove over without an appointment. When I arrived, I was prompted to buzz and speak into the intercom to be allowed in. Now I know this place does repair and setup for a lot of well-known musicians, a lot of metal and hard rock guys/gals, so when I speak into the intercom and tell them I'd like them to look at my ukulele, I felt a little bit out of place. This is the type of place that you walk into a waiting room and the walls are full of band photos and headshots signed by the artists thanking the guy for being a good friend and doing a great job. When I walk into the shop, there are a couple of rocker types hanging around the desk, and hanging on the walls are guitars and pieces of guitars (one smashed-up looking guitar has "Lemmy" written on it). The owner greets me and I explain what I'd like done and that I'm a little concerned that the uke is going flat above the 7 fret. He takes it out of the case and starts checking it out and I guess I felt a little self-conscious about my little uke there, so I started to speak a little more directly and puff out my chest a little.

In any case, I should get it back in a few days and I can't wait to see how it turns out. The owner was real nice and I'm sure he'll give it a great tune up. I guess it just struck me as sort of funny and wondered if anybody else ever had an experience like this. I was thinking I should have some headshots done of me with a uke, sign it and send it over after I get it back.

Well.. kinda, lol.. I know allot of musician types from death metal to blues guitarists, and fortunatly, all of them think me dropping the axes for a Uke is pretty cool. There is a growing respect for the serious Uker, so you should be fine. Most the grins I get are from people shocked to see an old retired biker sort 6'5", 600 lb man lumbering around holding a itty bitty Uke. But, they are ussally respectful grins, hehheh..

didgeridoo2 said:

I was thinking I should have some headshots done of me with a uke, sign it and send it over after I get it back.

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Sounds like a great idea.

Oh sure, it didn't bother me. Just found the situation to be funny. I enjoyed it fully. It's weird, I didn't see any smashed up ukes on the wall, though.

mds725 said:

Sounds like a great idea.

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Maybe he'll put it up next to Tool's band photo.

Well, there ya go then. Get ya a cheapie Uke, soak it in beer, smash it on the floor, sign it and hang it in their waiting room with a signed headshot of yourself. Your IN.. lol

Usually when I mention I play uke, I either get a deadpan "Okay..." or the musician laughs and says, "Do you play one of those dinky toy plastic ones, or do you actually play?" When they hear that I really play, then it's all good.

NatalieS said:

Usually when I mention I play uke, I either get a deadpan "Okay..." or the musician laughs and says, "Do you play one of those dinky toy plastic ones, or do you actually play?" When they hear that I really play, then it's all good.

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Exactly, that right there signifies that there is finally becoming a distinction between the toy and the real musician. Took allot of years, but the separation IS being noticed and taken more seriously than it has in the past. It has been a long row to hoe overcoming what Tiny Tim did to the reputaion 40 years ago.

Did I mention I hate that guy? lol..

Last November we were doing a gig at the ‘Dam Fest’ and the festival broke the drought and down came the rain. As we were on a stage with live power they canceled our second set (and all other music) so we decided to try finding somewhere dry and just have a jam. Well we found Pub in the next town and asked if we could play out the back and it was all OK.

At the Dam Fest there was to be a bikers show and shine and they had a similar thought of finding somewhere dry and warm and they arrived not long after we started.

We were not sure what was going to happen when they approached us but they asked if we do requests and we spent the next hour entertaining this group with our ukes with a number of encores for rawhide.

It just goes to show that you just never know where this amazing instrument will take you.

robbocx said:

Last November we were doing a gig at the ‘Dam Fest’ and the festival broke the drought and down came the rain. As we were on a stage with live power they canceled our second set (and all other music) so we decided to try finding somewhere dry and just have a jam. Well we found Pub in the next town and asked if we could play out the back and it was all OK.

At the Dam Fest there was to be a bikers show and shine and they had a similar thought of finding somewhere dry and warm and they arrived not long after we started.

We were not sure what was going to happen when they approached us but they asked if we do requests and we spent the next hour entertaining this group with our ukes with a number of encores for rawhide.

It just goes to show that you just never know where this amazing instrument will take you.

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It is a Journey... a long, good journey..

NatalieS said:

or the musician laughs and says, "Do you play one of those dinky toy plastic ones, or do you actually play?"

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Who says it can't be both?

JJ

In my limited experience, having started the accordion a few years ago and now the ukulele, is that musicians are accepting, respectful and enthusisitic about any musicial instrument. It is my non-musical friends that give me a lot of grief and teasing about my choice of musical instruments.

Rox

The perception of the ukulele has changed and now it is more widely accepted by all age groups.
I think it is one of the fastest gaining popular instruments now, since it's fun for the player
and listeners alike. Have Fun and enjoy!!! Now being perceived as cool...is real nice....MM Stan...

I hope your Uke is all in good nick now...
But LEMMY'S guitar on the wall? That is rad! I would have grabbed and run (such a fanboy).
Not sure by your story if you know who Lemmy is- Mr. L. Kilmister is the front man for Motorhead.

I think our ukes are awesome instruments, and we should be proud of them!! Carry them with us, play them anywhere and everywhere we get a chance, and they will catch on even more and faster than they have been. They are so easy to take with you, and just any small group loves to see you play it and most will sing along with you and enjoy the experience. My mother passed away a few weeks ago, and when I would go to visit her in the nursing home the past couple of years, I would take my uke and I would strum and sing to her (mostly gospel, as she loved old timey gospel < Brumley, Lister, etc.) and many of the residents would gather around and try to sing along. We are having our annual subdivision picnic in a few weeks and I will be taking my uke and I'll bet all the food there that everyone will love to have an impromptu sing along!! Lozark

The truth is that a good musician (musician being the key word here) can get something as hockey as a hand saw to make music. I agree with Rox's comment about it isn't usually musicians that make the jokes; it is usually non-musicians. But let's consider the source there: they like anything as long as it is a four chord song.

I've found that the real thing you do to win over someone to taking it seriously is play it well. That is the important thing. I pick'ed with a bunch of guys a couple months ago who gave me the oddest looks when I switch my guitar for the uke. But, after leading a song and pouncing on a few solos, they were cool with it. If I had played horribly (and I wasn't playing great that day to begin with), then it would have been a different story.

All that said, I focus most of my "work" in music on my guitar. I'm trying to become a jazz guitar player (rather than a cowboy chorder like most players are). So, that takes up the majority of my musical time. But, that musical knowledge and a lot of the technique passes onto the uke easily so I can hold my own in jam circles. Now, the looks I get when I pull it out of its case quell quickly because I can actually play the thing. Which, again, is the important part.

I'm betting your setup there at the store will be magnificent. If they have to work through an intercom, then they are trying to weed out the "shoppers" because they don't need them. Take a moment to think of that business model. That basically means they kick some a$$ doing what they do. This ain't Guitar Sinter.

~DB