Ukulele Guy

I have been meaning to post this for awhile, but freaking summer just gets busier and busier. Anyway, Rick from Kala sent me a press release about Kala's new "Round About" Ukulele Amplifier. I know I've talked about the Roland Micro Cube before and I do love that amp, but as far as looks go, the Round About is the winner.  It comes in three styles: Black, Pink and Tweed!  What great choices!  The whole look of the amp feels really retro and fun.  It seems like something a foxy lady in the 60s would carry around with tiny white earbud headphones.  Or maybe something that Frankie Avalon would bring to a beach party.  Here's some pictures:

Kala Black Round About Amp

Kala Pink Round About Amp

Kala Tweed Round About Amp

The amps are 10 watts with a 5" speaker.  If you want more details, here's a YouTube video talking all about the Round About Amp:

If you are interested, then head over to the

Or take a peak at these Round About Amps up on eBay:

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new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP TWEED 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP BLACK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP PINK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP TWEED 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP TWEED 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP BLACK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP PINK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP BLACK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP PINK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP TWEED 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP BLACK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP BLACK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP PINK 10 Watt    US $109.99

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP TWEED 10 Watt    US $99.00

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP TWEED 10 Watt    US $99.00

new KALA ROUND ABOUT UKULELE AMP TWEED 10 Watt    US $99.00

KALA UM 10C Round About Ukelele Amplifier Black    US $99.00

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So, here's the deal.  Besides being a Ukulele Fanatic, I also really dig new wave music.  I've been making Heavy New Wave sonics with VOLUMEN for something like 13 years.  During those 13 years, we've released something like 5 full length albums, a handful of EPs and 7" records and some various videos and whatnot.  We've also toured portions of the US (as far NE as Minneapolis, as far SE as Austin, as far NW as Seattle and as far SW as San Diego).  Once we even did a 14 day tour of the Baltic countries (Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).

But, these days it's hard enough to get all 5 dudes (all of whom have wives now, and 4 of whom have kids) together for weekly band practice, let alone world tours.  So, I'm pretty psyched that we are going on for a Mini-Tour in August!  Woo hoo!  We are calling it The Replication and Entropy Mini-Tour.  That's a nice way of saying that we are getting old and making babies.  Heh.  This tour is to support our newest record, "Skipper of Reverses"  (Note: Check out Volutunes.com if you want to get some mp3s of this record.  I think it might also be on itunes, but it's cheaper on Volutunes).

Sadly, I don't play Ukulele in Volumen, but I will have at least one ukulele with me.  So, if you wanna hook up before/after the show, lemme know!  I'd love to kick out the jams with some good ukulele-lovin' folks!  I'd also love to see a bunch of nutty Ukulele-lovers at the show cause I think it'd freak out the rest of the showgoers.  Heh.

Here's the details of our tour:

Wed Aug- 4  Missoula @ The Badlander w/ Wartime Blues, Pony Canon
Thur Aug- 5  Spokane @ Empyrean  w/ Belt of Vapor
Fri Aug- 6  Seattle @ Sunset Tavern w/ The Royal Bear, Summer Babes, Panama Gold
Sat Aug 7- Pdx @ Dante's w/ Don and the Quixotes, The Polaroids, The Lordy Lords

If you want to know more about Volumen, here's a link to a short documentary about us.  This Documentary won "Best Directing" and "Best Music Documentary" in the International Documentary Challenge of 2006.  It was filmed/directed by a good friend of ours who spent several days in our Amulance on our Sonic Infection (aka Mustache Reunion) tour.

Here's some random videos for some of our songs.  These videos were made by a good friend, Andy Smetanka.  Who has made videos for Guy Madden and The Decemberists.

• Volumen - Snakes
• Volumen - Sexy Astronaut
• Volumen - Lost in the Baltics

Um.  So, yeah.  I guess that's it.  I apologize for the non-ukulele-ness of this post.  But, like I said, I'm really psyched to get out on the road.  And, if this means I get to meet more Ukulele folks face-to-face, then I'm all over it!

Thanks!

Ukulele Guy

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So.  Here's the deal (and try not to look shocked when I reveal this), I'm freaking addicted to "Novelty" music.  Yup, I know.. scandalous, right?  Anyway, in my family you don't have to look to far to find a "25 All-Time Novelty Hits" (or equivalent) Record or CD.  There's almost always one within arm's reach.  Anyway, one thing most of these novelty compilations have in common is The Martian Hop.  My kids can't get enough of it!

We've almost got it to the point where one of us does the "Pama em me meh" and the other one does the high pitched "Ee-ee-ee", meanwhile I play it on the uke.

I found chords for this somewhere online so I just reprinted them here with the fingerings for ukulele.  There is a modulation through the song (where it goes to G/C/D).  But, if you are having a hard time with the F#/B/C#7 fingers, just play the whole song using G/C/D instead.  It'll still sound fine.

Wait.  What?  You've never heard The Martian Hop?  Seriously?  Freaking public schools letting everyone down!  Ok.  Here ya go:

And here's the chords:
The Martian Hop:The Ran Dells.
Chords:
F# - 3121
B - 4322
C#7 - 1112
G - 0232
C - 0003
D - 2220

INTRO:(Slow)
F#            B            C#7                  F#
We have just discovered an important note from space.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
The Martians plan to throw a dance for all the human race.
(Fast)
F#            B            C#7                  F#
Papa em meh meh, papa em meh meh, papa buppa buppa buppa em meh meh..
F#            B            C#7                  F#
Papa em meh meh, papa em meh meh, papa buppa buppa buppa em meh meh..
F#            B            C#7                  F#
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee...Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee..

#1.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
I got into my rocket ship to see the Martian Hop.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
I saw the planet shining red so there I made my stop.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
But as I opened up the door and climbed the ladder down.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
I saw the Martians on the floor a-dancin` to this sound.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee(The Martian Hop)
F#            B            C#7                  F#
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee..

#2.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
It seemed I was the first one there and so I was surprised..
F#            B            C#7                  F#
To see the Martians Twist and Stomp before my very eyes.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
They did the Locomotion and the Hully-Gully, too.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
I couldn`t name a single dance the Martians couldn`t do.
F#            B            C#7                  F#
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee (The Martian Hop)
F#            B            C#7                  F#
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee..

(Change keys.)
G           C          D  G
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee..
G           C          D  G
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee..

#3.
G		     C		          D	         G
Now right around the stroke of twelve the dance had just begun.
G			    C	              D			G
The Earth kids parked their spaceship down on Mars to have some fun.
G	         C		        D	        G
And so I left my friends, the Martians, stomping on the ground.
G		    C	          D			G
And even though I`m back on Earth I still can hear this sound.

G        C	    D			G
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee..(The Martian Hop)
G	 C	    D			G
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee..

OUTRO:
G		 C	          D			 G
Papa em meh meh, papa em meh meh, papa buppa buppa buppa em meh meh..
G		 C		  D			 G
Papa em meh meh, papa em meh meh, papa buppa buppa buppa em meh meh..

G		 C		  D			G
Papa em meh meh, papa em meh meh, papa buppa buppa buppa em meh meh..
G		 C		  D			G
Papa em meh meh, papa em meh meh, papa buppa buppa buppa em meh meh..(Fade.)

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Well, John asked for chords for Trailer Park Moms so here ya go.  Don't spend it all in one place.  Hmm.. for some reason it didn't format right, but I think you can get the idea.  Just play along to the video.  Heh.

Bb                                                                                               C           F          Bb
Oh trailerpark moms are the funnest moms because they let you smoke weed
Bb                                                                                            C                                   Bb
trailer park moms are the funnest moms cause they get drunk and yell at the tv
Bb                                       Eb                                          F                                       Bb
trailer park moms are the funnest moms cause they let you pet the cat with cherry bombs
Bb                                                                                     C            F         Bb
trailer park moms are the funnest moms cause they let you smoke weed

Eb                                                                                       F
and the only thing better in the world than dating a trailer park girl
Bb                                                     Gm
is dating a girl with a trailer park mom
Eb
cause she's guaranteed to be hot
F
and if she's not
Bb                                                    Gm
she's like 100% likely to try and make it with you
Eb
like maybe she walks out of the shower topless
F
cause she "forget" that you were there
Bb                                                                                 Gm
yeah, that's the kind of shit that a guy could get used to
Eb                                             F                             Bb
and I used to.  I used to get used to you.  Oh trailer park mom

Bb - 3211
C   - 0001
F - 2010
Eb - 3331
Gm - 0231

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I wanted to keep my momentum going, so I recorded this little video today.  Before I get into the song, I wanted to bring something up.  See, I guess when it comes to music and art, I'm sort of a Marxist.  By that I mean, if you are telling someone they can't appreciate art correctly unless they know Art History then you are basically saying, "You can't appreciate art because you are poor and didn't go to college".  That's lame.  By the same token, sure if all you can afford is a $20 ukulele, then that shouldn't mean you can't make art with it!

Now, let me get off of my soapbox because I'm pretty sure I just called my song "art".  Heh.  It isn't.  It is, however, a goofy novelty song and that's plenty good enough for me.  I wrote this song for a project with my brothers Colin and Bryan and we were going to call it "Those Damned Hickey Brothers".  But we never practice, so I'm not sure if we're really a band or not.  You know how sometimes you get drunk with your friends and talk about ridiculous things like road trips to Mexico that you are never going to take?  Well, I guess our band is like that.

I'm playing my wife's purple Mahalo ukulele in this video.  I bought it for her because I was already buying two Mahalos for my little boys and she expressed an interest.  For $20, it's pretty much the best Ukulele you can get, if you ask me.  This is especially true if you are buying a ukulele for a younger kid.  Sure, in a perfect world you'd buy Jr. a Kala, Ohana, Pono or other bitchin' ukulele.  But, let's be honest, they are going to break it in like 6 weeks... tops.

So, get them a Mahalo because it's inexpensive and totally playable.

Now... on to the song and possible offensiveness.

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So, I'm actually cruising down the road at 70mph right now (thank god my wife is doing the driving) but I really wanted to do a post because it's been for-freaking-ever. Somehow, real life (especially work) got insanely busy. So, here I am in the car and I don't quite have enough room to actually play the ukulele and record myself so I need to use something I've already recorded. After a quick search I came across this crazy-ass video footage of a bachelor party I was at last week.

I'll set the stage for you here.  Imagine, if you will, roughly a dozen dudes decked out in their finest Bavarian attire (think Oktoberfest).  The groom-to-be has already been tied up in the middle of the farmer's market and pelted by water balloons (that were sold to passersby).   Then there were at least three stop-offs at various breweries for refueling.  By the time we got to our campsite there was just enough time to shoot about 3 bags of potatoes, through one of the 4 potato canons onsite, and then enjoy the campfire.

I had my Lanikai CK-TEQ Ukulele, Doug played guitar, Bryan (my brother) had his acoustic bass, I think there were some makeshift drums and Greg had a squeeze box.  So, we were pretty set for merriment.  Well, at least, we thought we were.

Then Greg whipped out his Roland Micro Cube amp and we realized what was missing.  Loudness and total effects insanity, that's what.  Ahhh yeah!  There's just something a little surreal (and totally fucking awesome) about playing through a loud amp with tons of sick effects in the middle of the forest.  It was like if there were such a thing as bad hobbits.  You know, using their magic and whatnot to make bourbon from corn and make their music creepy and slightly evil.

After dicking around with the various effects, we launched into an impromptu version of Captain Fantasy by Ween.  Here's the video:

I didn't know anything about these Micro Cube amp before, but I'm totally getting one.  They're like $129 and you can power them with freaking batteries!  The night in question is a little bit foggy (*cough* Bourbon *cough*) but I remember there were quite a few built-in effects.  Delay, Chorus, Tremalo, Phaser and more, I believe.

Looks like they actually come in Red and White as well, if you'd prefer that over the normal black.  Here's a picture:

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So, after my last post about my new Aquila Ukulele Strings, I got a fair amount of feedback from my Twitter buddies.  @ApollosTowel (from Finland, no less) had the following to say (I'm paraphrasing):

The rule I use is Koa Ukuleles sound best with Aquila or D'addario Strings.   Mahogany Ukes sound better with Worth. The exception to this is Koaloha. Spruce goes either way.
Laminates generally like Aquila Strings (except for Kiwaya) as well. I think Worths are so much better than Aquilas on Flukes and Fleas.
Kiwaya laminates tend to like the fluorocarbon types, including Worth. The same rule applies for their solid ukes.

@hermanvdc had this to say on the subject of Ukulele Strings:

Indeed, Aquila helps give more brilliance to cheap ukuleles but on good the better ones Worth and especially Orcas sounds better!

So, I figured that I should post this so that everyone can make up their own mind and then give you some links to buy Orcas and Worth Ukulele Strings.

Orcas Ukulele Strings:

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ORCAS OS TENOR LOW G UKULELE BLACK STRINGS ANUENUE    US $11.99

SOPRANO OR CONCERT Carbon UKULELE STRINGS ORCAS OS MED    US $8.99

SOPRANO OR CONCERT LOW G UKULELE STRINGS ORCAS OS MED    US $9.99

TENOR CARBON UKULELE STRINGS ORCAS OS STRINGS ANUENUE    US $9.99

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Worth Ukulele Strings:

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No items matching your keywords were found.

Two weeks ago I was running pretty much ragged with work and family visiting, etc.   I pretty much didn't know which direction I was headed.  But, sometime during the two weeks window of insanity, I had the clarity of mind to order some new Aquila Ukulele Strings and then pack them into my ukulele case (for my Lanikai CK-TEQ).  Then I surprised myself even further by remembering to pack my Ukulele and my flipVideo when I had to leave town for a week-long job.  Long story short?  I had new strings and the means to make a before and after video in my lonely hotel room.  Boo-yah!

Hopefully you can tell a difference from that video, but I think it's definitely more clear during the single note stuff.  On the Aquila Strings it's just so much more percussive and it really rings out.  I'm totally loving these strings!

I mention Musicguymic in this video.  He's a big eBay seller and I would consider him a great resource for any ukulele-related purchase.  Hell, he's got almost 600 ukulele-related items up for auction right now.  I'll include a few sample items at the bottom of this post, or you can check out Musicguymic's eBay Store.

I was going to make a video showing everyone how to string their Ukulele, but I'm not a big fan of re-inventing the wheel and Aldrine from UkuleleUnderground.com already made this great video:

So, if you need to re-string your uke (and if it's been so long since you've done it that you can't remember, then it's time), I would highly recommend Aquila strings!

As promised, here's some listings from Musicguymic!

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Kiwaya rectangle deluxe TENOR Hard case Blk KT E    US $84.95

Kiwaya rectangle deluxe soprano Hard case Blk KS H    US $64.95

Brand New Kala KA 6 Mahogany TENOR 6 STRING GLOSS    US $219.00

Brand New Kala KA 8 Mahogany TENOR 8 STRING GLOSS    US $249.95

Brand New Kala KA TE Mahogany Tenor Ukulele Acous elec    US $149.95

Brand New Kala KA TG Mahogany Tenor Ukulele GLOSS PKG    US $142.95

Brand New Kala KA T Mahogany Tenor Ukulele case w setup    US $139.95

KALA BRAND KA C Mahogany Concert Ukulele Setup w case    US $119.95

1	Want eBay auctions on your site?

So, first off, sorry I've been gone for so long (assuming you noticed).  My work schedule has ramped up into insanity mode.  But, no excuses.  Anyway, I'm not sure how I found this video because I haven't watched Scrubs in several years and even then I barely watched it to begin with.  I think it aired right before or after something I did want to watch but I have no idea what that even was anymore.  I don't even have cable these days, so it's hard to remember what life used to be like when I had to watch commercials and shows I really didn't give a rat's ass about just to watch the ones I did.

Anyway, apparently there's something to be said for watching shows accidentally because if I was still sitting through Scrubs I would have seen this super charming video.  I think I remember the bald guy as the defeated hospital lawyer, but I don't recall the girl character at all.  Maybe she was later or something.  Anyway, watch the video and then you can learn more about her.

See. Wasn't that rad?  Anyway, using my super sleuth skills, I was able to determine that cute ukulele-playing girl's identity.  She is Kate "Oates" Micucci.  Oates, you say?  Yup, more on that later.  But, first, you probably want to know how to play that song right?  Yeah, me too.  So I started transcribing it and then I had the brilliant thought to search first and see if anyone else has already cracked that egg.  Well, of course, Woodshed over at  UkuleleHunt.com has done it already.  If you wanna see why I have a real man-crush on him, check out his post where he has the tabs for the Scrubs Screw You song.

Anyway, back to this "Oates" business.  Yeah, so apparently Kate is in some sort of non-New Zealand folk/parody comedy duo with Riki "Garfunkel" Lindhome.  You know, like Flight of the Conchords only the American lady version.  Yup, they call themselves Garfunkel and Oates and I might have as much of a crush on them as I do Jemaine of the Conchords.

So, apparently the Screw You song is one of theirs, only their version is called "Fuck You" and it has a kazoo.  Can't go wrong with a kazoo and extra swearing, I always say.  See, take a peak.

Yup. Adorable, right?  Anyway, I expect I'll be posting more Garfunkel and Oates in the coming days, assuming my work load lets up.

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Holy crap.  It's almost been a month since I've posted something.  How freaking embarassing.  In my defense, we had family in town for a week and we built a shed, compost pile and a mess of raised garden beds.  Also.... I'm lazy.  But, I made myself hop on Twitter today and try and get caught up with "the gang".  Minutes later, I know exactly what I'm going to post, thanks to @AnIdleDad (check out his blog at cookingwithtoomuchsalt.wordpress.com).

He sent me a link to a Ukulele Rap Novelty video by Fully Sick Rapper.  I hadn't heard of this guy before, but I'm a sucker for rapping ukulele novelty acts (*cough* Mr. B, The Gentleman Rhymer *cough*).  Also, I'm not sure that I've mentioned this before, but I was actually in a White Trash-themed rap band somewhere around '98.  We were called PWT and we had songs about Convoy, BBQ, attractive cousins and the like.

Anyway, back to Fully Sick Rapper.  The video rules and was, apparently, made from his hospital room.  Unless this is a gag (and I don't believe it to be) he was diagnosed with TB and was in quarantine when he made the video.  If you wanna learn more, you can follow him at @FullySickRapper on Twitter, or on FaceBook.  His Youtube channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/ChristiaanVanVuuren.

So, without further ado, I give you "F you, I'm a Ukulele".  Hooray!

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