Weird Uke Suspicions..

KikonuMedia

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Since most Oregonians in my area don't know what a ukulele is (I'm not racist!), they always make weird suspicions about me :(. One time I was at Multnomah Falls at place where you look at the waterfall, and I started playing the ukulele. Legend is that an indian (I'm not racist!) woman jumped off of the waterfall and gave her soul to the gods or something. Whenever it rains, it is said you could see her face through the water of the waterfall. So as I started to play a beautiful melody, an old man comes at me, grabbing my ukulele and snatching it. I looked at him in wonder.. He said "What are you doing kid, tryin' to get the spirit awoken?!" That guy was really weird.. So, have you met anyone weird that thought you were weird just by having/playing the ukulele?



P.S: I'm not racist!!
 
Just because of my size, yes. I play a soprano, and now even a sopranino, and being quite larger than even Brudda IZ was, I get allot of stares of wonder. When I start playing, and they see it isn't some kinda joke, the wonder turns to lots of smiles...
 
Aloha KikonuMedia,
Welcome to the UU, I'm sure you're not a racist....but he maybe supersticious!!
Must have really caught you off guard, thanks for sharing with us... MM Stan
 
Tudorp.. Don't mind the rude people who look at you because of your size.. And even if you are big and the ukulele is small, I bet your talent is HUGE :). And yes, that guy who just snatched my ukulele should repay me by wiping his fingerprints off my ukulele :mad:

Any more stories? Haha
 
Multinomah falls is beautiful. you would think there would be more spirits there from people trying to see it from the highway and wrecking their cars. i almost moved to vancouver, wa. but not cool stories other than all my friends at work begging me to bring my uke to work to entertain them at lunch.
 
Haha. Its funny how ukulele players are like jokers to kings.. Well some of them..


By the way.. You would think that people in Hawaii know about Ukulele's since Ukulele's come from there.. But when I was at the beach a man passed by me and said "Weird guitar".
 
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one of the new ads on TV in Australia is some dudes walking playing ukulele, so whenever i talka bout playin mah Lukulele everyone looks at me and is like i can't believe you got a ukulele because of that comercial.

It makes me Sadface, not mention my friends all hate on the uke
 
Just because of my size, yes. I play a soprano, and now even a sopranino, and being quite larger than even Brudda IZ was, I get allot of stares of wonder. When I start playing, and they see it isn't some kinda joke, the wonder turns to lots of smiles...


Haha, I just noticed the irony in naming a sopranino Iz. Well played.
 
Ah, no worried brudah. I don't have a problem with the looks. I actually have fun with it.. Never have worried about what people think. If I'm happy, it's all good. Point and case. Several years ago, myself and a friend stopped at a small coffee shack one morning. About 50 yards off there was a tourist type trading post with a huge tour bus parked in front of it. It was a bus load of tourists that looked like they were Japanese. I glanced over, and it was funny, damn near the whole bus load was outside the bus facing our direction. There was one little biddy guy with his camera up to his face. I told my friend "Be right back brother.." then lumbered over to the bus. Got a few feet from the little guy with the camera, and he just stood there and stared, looking like a deer in the headlights. He looked so scared, and just frozen. I reached out and took hold of his camera, and gave it a tug. He held on tight, but I broke his grip. I then took the camera and handed it to a woman standing next to him and motioned for her to take the shot. I stepped next to the little guy put my arm around him and posed. It was then he and the crowd saw what it was I was doing. The little guy came about nipple level to me, and suddenly lit up with smiles. He stood there and looked like a kid with a brand new ice cream cone. The woman took the shot, and the whole bus cheered as I gave the guy a big ol bear hug. Made that guy's day getting the shot of him standing next to the great American Sasquatch, lol... I bet he had some stories when he got home. Ya can't be thin skined when your my size, hahhah..


Tudorp.. Don't mind the rude people who look at you because of your size.. And even if you are big and the ukulele is small, I bet your talent is HUGE :). And yes, that guy who just snatched my ukulele should repay me by wiping his fingerprints off my ukulele :mad:

Any more stories? Haha
 
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Haha. Its funny how ukulele players are like jokers to kings.. Well some of them..


By the way.. You would think that people in Hawaii know about Ukulele's since Ukulele's come from there.. But when I was at the beach a man passed by me and said "Weird guitar".

probably a tourist like you.
 
that's a funny story! interestingly, i used to live in the thunder bay region in northern ontario and the natives there had a similar legend as the one you mentioned, except the thunder bay legend was based on kekabeka falls, just outside of the city.
there are a lot of weirdos out there, that's for sure!
i was feeling good a few months ago, it was an unusually sunny and mild day here, (victoria, bc) and i took my soprano down the street and sat on a publc bench playing. people walked by, shopping, running here and there, and when they passed by me they would avert their eyes and react as if they were frightened of me. after awhile i realised that it was around noon and there was a tavern across the street from where i was sitting. so, it's very likely that these people actually thought i was an afternoon drunk, out to raise hell. i walked the two blocks home playing my uke while i walked and people scattered to get out of my way as if i were a lunatic. i should have put a bowl out for donations, then they may have gotten what i was about...
o well...
people are strange...
 
I can really relate to you! People don't think sometimes. Like "Really.. Do you really think I was playing an instrument just to raise the dead.." Surprisingly people say yes sometimes o.o The world is coming crazy..
 
There could be something else in the thinking. Consider how many people are on Facebook or Twitter these days. Or how many have blogs dedicated to nothing more than ego.

Now think of the personal joy you derive from playing your uke for simple personal enjoyment. In the pop culture world, everything is done to impress someone else. Sitting on a park bench in your neighborhood strumming a uke is not.

How dare you not seek to entertain the masses! How dare you not sell tickets to the bench show! How dare you not record every note played for immediate upload to YouTube!

Think of how often you hear (or maybe even say) that people are not as friendly as they used to be. Or as polite. I think much is lost when people spend too much time concerned with what the rest "the world" thinks of them. If you get out there, actually treat people with respect, and can manage to be totally honest with yourself, you're life will get a lot easier. How easy it is to be brave when hiding behind electrons!

The few times I had public encounters involving my uke playing generally revolve around comments (or simply looks of...) "I wish I had confidence enough to do that in public." And in all honesty, I'm just strumming a few chords while waiting for the bus.
 
Wha - Did you give me a lecture or were you scolding me? I read all of your paragraphs and I think the message is "The world is not crazy"? I didn't really get what you were saying Harold. Make it easier to understand for an 11 year old.
 
No scolding. If you are content sitting and strumming your uke, do it. Doesn't matter what the rest of the world thinks. Whether or not it's crazy.

Folks who wish they could do it, probably could, if they had the slightest bit of fun in them. Really, how hard is it to strum out a tune on a uke? Not very. Yes, it can take awhile to get really good at it, but to pick one up and learn a song takes mere minutes. And a little bit of willingness to try.

[We] too often get caught up trying to entertain the world when all we need do is entertain ourselves.

Play your uke the way you want to play. If it gets to bothering someone, move along. It's just a uke. Most likely, folks will enjoy seeing someone having a good time.
 
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