Pix with Jake Shimabukuro at the Iron Horse

My 3rd time seeing Jake was on December 18th at the Iron Horse in Northampton MA.

As always he was excellent, all energy and appreciation for the fans.

What made is super special was a few things:

- I went with my wife, and my Classical Guitar teacher (who was duly impressed) and his girlfriend.

- This time we had a table right in front of Jake, so we had dinner before the show and then watched him perform abour 4 feet away!

- Afterward we met with Jake by his dressing room before he went up to meet the fans. He was very gracious and took his time signing my first uke a Kala Tenor Sprucetop. I picked this one because I knew the signature would come out well and it did. I have put a piece of laminate (ipad screen over protector) over the signature so it will not rub off at all.

All in all a great night, and wanted to share it with you all.

here are two quick pictures to share. He loved the UU t-shirt I was wearing to represent this wonderful community!

If you want to see more pictures, and pictures of my Uke collection, please check my profile and you will see two albums there.

Just wow! That's too cool. Good for you!!!

Great pics.

And all this time I thought that was a relatively current you in your avatar!

Thanks, and yes the avatar is a bit misleading. That pic is when I was 14, about 36 years ago.

I studied several instruments then, including Classical Guitar, before I walked away from music for over 30 years.

After listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela, I realized the mistake and returned to Classical Guitar with a vengeance.

Luckily for me, the childhood background in classical music that (I thought at the time was being forced on me...) I got, came right back, and I have made tremendous progress in the last 4 years.

So because of this, I keep this picture as a memory of what I now realize was one of the best times in my life, and the legacy of music that my dad and family gave me.

And now besides the complexity and discipline of Classical Guitar, I now enjoy the sheer fun of Ukulele playing. Don't get me wrong I'm humbled by what others can do with the little Uke, but just seems to always be FUN! The perfect contrast/balance to Classical Guitar. And much more affordable.

Here is my lovely collection of Ukes including the one signed by Jake. The only one I'm still lusting fore is a Pineapple Sunday, which I hope to find one day...