wow this thread actually struck a chord with me. brought back a lot of memories that led to me finally picking up a uke. i envy that music was such a popular thing while you were growing up where you did.
in my area of san diego during the time that i was growing up, all anyone listened to was either hiphop/rap and latin freestyle pop. it was also a time when being hard up was a necessity. so if you were musically inclined, you were either a band geek or a stoner rockerboy. i still listened to a lot of rock at the time but i didnt advertise it. and only admitted to listening to what was the popular choice.
it wasnt until i moved to the philippines when i was 16 that it was more accepted. at the time, i was just a beginner pianist/keyboardist. somewhere along that line i picked up a guitar and so did my little brother. the rest is history.
it was a nice welcome when we finally came back to san diego, as being able to play an instrument or two was much more accepted at that time. but to this day, the popular consensus seems to be that the uke is more of a novelty than a true instrument. i sang and played the IZ version of somewhere over the rainbow at a good friend's wedding reception two months ago. later that night while i was still toting my uke, a girl came up to me and condescendingly said "come on now, a uke? that doesnt make you manly at all!"... of course she looked like a douche, since everyone around her loved island style music, except her. but had the majority been the other way around, i could have easily been the laughing stock of the party.
i would love to see the ukulele gain more acceptance here in socal. but moreso, music in general.