Just got back from a Song Circle/ potluck for the Eighth Step in Schenectady, one of the longest running Non-Profit Coffee Houses in existence (45th year!). Margie Rosencrantz has been running The Step for over 25 years, and has a pretty good background - she also used to book the acts for the Hudson River Clearwater Revival festival. She invited a lot of friends.
Anyway, about 15-20 of us showed up, and I was the only person with a ukulele - and the only player who had never played at the Clearwater festival.. Since I started playing Uke a couple of years ago, I have only played with non-ukers on a few occasions - most recently at the Old Songs Festival last year, as part of the Jug Band, and a week ago at a local Farmers' Market when the guy who runs our uke club was playing, and asked me to join him. (He played guitar, and handed me his Blackbird Carbon Fiber uke).
So tonight, I got to play with people playing banjos, autoharp, guitars, flute, tin whistle, fiddle, and mandolin. Most of them are professional musicians. ("There's tens of dollars to be made!") All of them are *very* good.
I learned a little something tonight - I don't have to limit myself to playing in C, G, or F. Without a capo, I was able to play along regardless of what key they used. (And I think they used 6 different natural major keys! I'm the only one who did a song in a minor key.) And not only was I able to play along, I led five or six songs myself, and was complimented on them. One of the songs (John Prine's Paradise) I usually do the final chorus a Capella, and for the first time ever performing it, the entire group stopped playing and sang it that way, with no prompting beyond an exaggerated strum before singing.
What a Rush!
I also played my Kala Cedar Top with the Aquila Red strings, and the volume of this uke stood out among the multiple instruments - the Tenor Banjo played with a plectrum was the only thing that covered me.
I was asked when I'm going to start coming to the monthly Open Mic Sessions, and I'm going to have to try. It is nice to know that the Uke is welcomed by outside the Uke Club.
PS - Just used the Reunion Blues Tenor case I bought from Gerald Ross for the First Time tonight. VERY impresses!
Anyway, about 15-20 of us showed up, and I was the only person with a ukulele - and the only player who had never played at the Clearwater festival.. Since I started playing Uke a couple of years ago, I have only played with non-ukers on a few occasions - most recently at the Old Songs Festival last year, as part of the Jug Band, and a week ago at a local Farmers' Market when the guy who runs our uke club was playing, and asked me to join him. (He played guitar, and handed me his Blackbird Carbon Fiber uke).
So tonight, I got to play with people playing banjos, autoharp, guitars, flute, tin whistle, fiddle, and mandolin. Most of them are professional musicians. ("There's tens of dollars to be made!") All of them are *very* good.
I learned a little something tonight - I don't have to limit myself to playing in C, G, or F. Without a capo, I was able to play along regardless of what key they used. (And I think they used 6 different natural major keys! I'm the only one who did a song in a minor key.) And not only was I able to play along, I led five or six songs myself, and was complimented on them. One of the songs (John Prine's Paradise) I usually do the final chorus a Capella, and for the first time ever performing it, the entire group stopped playing and sang it that way, with no prompting beyond an exaggerated strum before singing.
What a Rush!
I also played my Kala Cedar Top with the Aquila Red strings, and the volume of this uke stood out among the multiple instruments - the Tenor Banjo played with a plectrum was the only thing that covered me.
I was asked when I'm going to start coming to the monthly Open Mic Sessions, and I'm going to have to try. It is nice to know that the Uke is welcomed by outside the Uke Club.
-Kurt
PS - Just used the Reunion Blues Tenor case I bought from Gerald Ross for the First Time tonight. VERY impresses!
