Welcome!

This is a blog about my ukulele misadventures. I thought it would be interesting to chronicle how a musical instrument has changed my life.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?



by Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt


A very nice rendition by Zooey and Joseph.  For the uke-aholics, it looks like Zooey is playing a Collings ukulele.

Here are the ukulele chords for this song, as performed by Zooey and Joseph.  I made some minor modifications that sound better (at least to me).

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Baby, It's Cold Outside - Ukulele








Baby, It’s Cold Outside  (Simple version)
Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser


We hope you enjoy our amateur musings.  For the ukulele chords and lyrics, please see the full post...

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Tonight You Belong to Me





A rendition of a classic song from "The Jerk". 



http://youtu.be/s62vgC7LeFc

We hope you enjoy our amateur musings.  For the ukulele chords and lyrics, please see the full post:

Thursday, August 18, 2011

The gift of ukulele





My coworker gave me a Kala KA-S ukulele a while back.  She wanted to learn, but did not have the time or patience.  So she ended up giving it to me.  I was going to put it up for sale through Craigslist, but it just did not feel right.  After all, it was a gift.  So, I decided I was going to put it up as a prize to a lucky contestant through the Ukulele Underground. 

Today at the hospital, I saw a sad little child who was with her family visiting her sick grandfather.  She looked quite uncomfortable being around the hospital, so I ran up to my office and grabbed the uke.  I went to the visitor's lounge and played "You got a friend in me" (Toy Story) and "Part of Your World" (Little Mermaid) and all the songs I play with my daughter.  Over the next half hour, it kept her occupied as she sang along (as well as the rest of the visitors).  In the end, I gave the uke to her and I asked her to play for her grandfather. It turned out he was a WWII veteran who spent a lot of time in Hawaii, and he loved the uke. 

Words cannot describe the look in her eyes when I gave the uke.  And nothing can describe the joy I felt. 

Monday, July 25, 2011

Suzanne Kramer Quartet





Caught the Suzanne Kramer Quartet yesterday in a small, eclectic bookstore in Glen Park (a little village in the outskirts of San Francisco).  Their lineup was mostly jazz standards, such as "Fly Me to the Moon," "All of Me," and "I Could Write a Book."  Suzanne has a great voice, perfect for singing the standards.  An awesome performance.  Would watch again.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Ukulele gift - a Kala KA-S





My co-worker gave me a new Kala KA-S ukulele. She bought it with the intent to learn how to play, but she just never had the time. So she gave it to me. This make and model ukulele has gotten pretty good reviews on Amazon as a starter ukulele.

I already have a few of these babies lying around. I really don't want to sell it, because it was a gift. So, I may just have to give it away.

I may just have to create a give-away contest. Any ideas?!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Friday, July 15, 2011

Brought the uke to work today





Uke, gig-bag, tuner... check-check-check.

After Monday's mayhem on BART, I was hesitant to bring my uke to work today.  I opted to bring the Kala KA-ST as a compromise.

A few of my colleagues and friends are going to Park Chalet in San Francisco along Ocean Beach for lunch, and will be jamming with a few friends over by the Ocean Beach area just across from the restaurant.  

Good times...

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Jake Shimabukuro

Jake Shimabukuro is playing at Napa tonight.  If only I could go... his concerts are always fun and entertaining.

Today, Wednesday, July 13 8:00 pm
at the Napa Valley Opera House in Napa, CA
 
Napa Valley Opera House
1030 Main St.
Napa, CA 94581
(707) 226-7372  

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Kamaka survives riot - thanks to Ameritage case





Subtitle: "SF BART commute disrupted by protesters"


Last night was an interesting experience riding in public transportation in San Francisco. The Civic Center and 16th Street BART stations were closed due to demonstrators protesting the recent fatal shooting of a transient man by BART police.

Protesters boarded my train... with me and my Kamaka inside... and BART-PD and SFPD with riot gear in full effect.  Geez...


Remembering Sherwood Schwartz

Scherwood Schwartz is the creator of my favorite childhood tv shows "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch." It is sad to hear that Mr Schwartz died of natural causes this morning at the age of 94.

From "a three-hour tour" to "until the one day when the lady met this fellow" you truly will be missed. Thank you for the memories.

Rest in peace.