Ukulele Blog

Ukulele: Official Musical Instrument of Planet Earth

Barnacle Bob — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:22:02 +0000

Please sign the petition politely asking that the ukulele be declared the official musical instrument of the planet Earth.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ukulele-official-musical-instrument-earth/

Our petition represents a very simple request to the United Nations to advance the status of the humble ukulele to The Official Musical Instrument of the Planet Earth.

Ever since the Voyager missions in 1977, when golden phonograph records containing music from all over the world were sent into space, humankind has been aware that we have a collective musical legacy that we imagine will be part of what beings from other worlds will find interesting about us.

Join in our effort to continue to develop the relationship between music and space exploration, for cultural, educational, artistic, and humanitarian reasons, by urging The United Nations to declare the ukulele The Official Musical Instrument of the Planet Earth.

The ukulele has a history that spans much of the Globe, and can trace its development all the way from the deserts of ancient Persia to the Hawaiian islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, by way of Spain and the continental United States.

The ukulele would be much easier to take into space than a guitar or a piano.

The ukulele would be much easier to play for a being from another world with an unknown number of fingers.

Our request, like the ukulele itself, is simple, easy, harmless, polite, and fun.

A lofty goal for a humble instrument – symbolic of the spirit of the first humans in space.

Please sign our petition, and thank you for your time and consideration.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ukulele-official-musical-instrument-earth/

5 Year Old Ukulele Genius

Barnacle Bob — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:56:47 +0000

Wow. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this. It’s not just about the way he plays the ukulele – the way he emotes, the way he lives the music, and of course the way he loves the camera that just makes it so much fun.

This is a link to his member page on YouTube – there are a whole bunch of his videos here. They are a scream! Keep on watching them. What a hoot!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/uke3453

Enjoy!

Flea and Fluke Museums

Barnacle Bob — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:35:33 +0000

You may or may not be familiar with the “Flea” ukulele and the “Fluke” ukulele – And I’m not going to try to sell you on any brand of ukulele, anyway. But they DO have these cool websites that are museums of custom-modified instruments. A tricky marketing scheme, perhaps? Perhaps. But some cool looking ukuleles, I must say.

The Flea Museum

The Fluke Museum

You may have read my post about Jumpin’ Jim – He sells these, and I WILL go so far as to highly recommend Jumpin’ Jim’s books!

This is atrocious.

Barnacle Bob — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:06:59 +0000

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/20959/40/

More about that Voodoo thing

Barnacle Bob — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:15:47 +0000

In my last posting, I provided a link to Manitoba Hal doing an awesome uke version of Voodoo Thing on Midnight Ukulele Disco. Turns out, folks are interested in Voodoo and the Ukulele. I even got a spam in the Comment Section.

Listening to Hal got the song stuck in my head, something fierce. But it occurs to me that lots of people may not have heard the song that Hal is covering. So I wanted to leave behind a link so that folks could hear the original. It’s big, it’s loud, it’s brassy, it’s brazen, it’s downright maximalist. Which is certainly my favourite type of song to see covered on the Ukulele.

So, without any futher ado, here is Colin James doing that Voodoo Thing.

And, if you think that’s fun, here’s another Colin James Classic for your listening enjoyment – I Just Came Back To Say Goodbye!

Heck, here’s another. Much sappier than those other two, but I think still worth a mention…

Voodoo Thing on MUD

Barnacle Bob — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:54:03 +0000

If you’ve read my blog, you’ll know that I’m a fan of Midnight Ukulele Disco (MUD). I just found a really freaky version of Voodoo Thing, the Colin James classic, performed by Manitoba Hal. Perhaps not quite as “blueshammer” as the original, but my my my my, he does go ‘ho’ lookin for the groove.

http://ukuleledisco.com/voodoo

Watch some of Hal’s live stuff too – he could be a stand-up comedian too, if he felt that way inclined…

Jumpin’ Jim’s Ukulele Songbooks

Barnacle Bob — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:43:54 +0000

If you’ve ever looked for ukulele song books, you probably know that there are a lot of dubious books out there. Crummy songs, lame arrangements, it can be quite disappointing to buy one and after much work find that you have nothing but crappy versions of songs you don’t want to play.

That’s why you need Jumpin’ Jim’s books. Great collections of great songs, and his arrangements are always right on. Here’s Jim’s website: http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/

Two of my faves are Jumpin’ Jim’s Gone Hollywood (FMM-B-118) and Jumpin’ Jim’s Ukulele Christmas (FMM-B-100)

There’s a version of the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairie in the Christmas book that is quite difficult, but EXTREMELY rewarding to play…

Ukes gain foothold in Ireland

Barnacle Bob — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:25:32 +0000

Dublin has a ukulele festival? First one, this year! Cool!

“Smaller than a violin but more fun than an orchestra – all hail the ukulele“

Wow, that’s pretty high praise. I think Ireland is about as far as you can get from Hawai’i…

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2009/0817/1224252667118.html

The people in the picture look like they’re playing those brightly-coloured Mahalo ukes that everyone seems to have these days.

Midnight Ukulele Disco

Barnacle Bob — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:12:03 +0000

You have got to check out Midnight Ukulele Disco.

Midnight Ukulele Disco is broadcast live every Tuesday evening at 9pm from Manhattan Neighborhood Network studios on West 59 Street. The show is hosted by uke-fanatic Jason Tagg.

Time Warner: Channel 56 RCN: Channel 108 Free to air: Channel 17

Check out these clips!!!

http://ukuleledisco.com/clips

Ukulele Sales up 500%!

Barnacle Bob — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:31:30 +0000

I knew it! I knew ukuleles were having a revival. And why shouldn’t they? They are so fun, so easy, so portable, and so affordable. Check out this articl from The Herald:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2526603.0.Ukulele_sales_soar_as_sound_strikes_a_chord_with_all_ages.php

I’d love to say I told you so, but this is my first day with my new blog, so I probably didn’t tell you so. But I’m telling you now. The renaissance has arrived!