Ukulele Guy

So, today I felt like I needed to do something special for my wife, Erika.  I stayed up super late playing poker and maybe drinking too many beers and I slept in too late, etc.  She's the center of my world and I knew I needed to remind her of that today.  So, what did I do?  Well, I covered some Magnetic Fields, of course!

Maybe this doesn't make sense to everyone, but Magnetic Fields are pretty much a touchstone for us.  Hell, our youngest son's middle name is Merritt for heaven's sake.  We're pretty rabid fans.

But, this song is something special for us.  A fantastic Missoula band, The Oblio Joes, played on our wedding day and they played this song as "our song".  I actually sang it with them (although, I guess I probably should have been dancing with Erika, right?) and it sealed this song in time, as ours.

Then several years later, The Oblio Joes played their last show ever in Caras Park in Missoula.  Well, this last show took place on the anniversary of our wedding.  So, as a surprise to Erika, I jumped up on stage and sand Strange Powers with the Obes for the last time.

Well, today I had to do it without the Obes, but I did as best as I could.  There are 11 tracks in this song and they are:

1. muted strumming on a Tacoma acoustic guitar
2. muted strumming on a Rogue baritone ukulele
3. muted strumming on a Lanikai CK-TEQ tenor ukulele
4. bass on my Applause acoustic bass
5. guitar on my Tacoma acoustic guitar
6. ukulele on my Lanikai CK-TEQ tenor ukulele
7. vocals
8. backup vocals
9. tiny hook on my Kala Pocket Ukulele
10. weird harpsichord (?) part on my Lanikai CK-TEQ tenor ukulele
11. synth electric guitar sound from my Eleuke

Oh yeah, and I recorded it on my MOTU Traveller interface.  I love it!  And I used an AKG C 2000B Microphone.  But, enough of all that tech jibber jabber.  This one is for my baby.  I hope you like it, Erika.

Strange Powers (Magnetic Fields Cover) - by Ukulele Guy, for Erika

P.S.  I need a windscreen for my mic.... I know.  I'm buying one today as well as new Aquila strings.

P.P.S. I'd love to make a video for this song.  You know one of those rad videos that shows me playing each of the instruments as the part comes in for the first time.  But, that seems like a ton of work and I'm not really sure what software to use.  Does everyone do those with Adobe Premier?  It seems like it has a steep learning curve (and costs about a million dollars).  Any other suggestions?

P.P.P.S  Crap.  I just realized that I muffed the lyrics in a few spots.  Hopefully Stephen Merritt never hears this because I'm not sure I could stand up to his sardonic comments and cool stare.

Related Items:

Lanikai UC-S Hardshell Soprano Ukulele Case

Easy Songs for Ukulele - Play the Melodies of 20 Pop, Folk, Country, and Blues Songs - Fretted -Book and CD Package

I've never seen a Lanikai SM-T Tenor Ukulele before.  In fact, I'll go one further and say that I've never seen a spalted mango ukulele before.  I love it!  But, what does it sound like?  Well, I did some searching on Youtube and found this video of a guy playing a Lanikai Spalted Mango Ukulele, but I couldn't verify the model.

This ebay auction for a Lanikai SM-T pretty much just got listed, so keep your eyes on it.

Lanikai SM-T Spalted Mango Tenor Ukulele

Related Items:

Lanikai LU-21C Concert Ukulele

Lanikai LU-21T Tenor Ukulele

So, I've been pretty intrigued with the Lanikai LU-21 as one of the better choices for a starter ukulele.  Heck, even at $70 it seemed like a good deal but the price is just getting cheaper and cheaper.  So, I went looking for reviews and I found this great Youtube review of the LU-21.

Pretty thorough!  Well, if you do want to get your hands on this ukulele, here are 3 different methods for doing so and also there is another variation you might be interested in.

eBay:

Most of the Lanikai LU-21P ukuleles on ebay are around $79.  You can do better than that, right?  Well, you might want to bid on this auction for your Lanikai LU-21. Right now it's only $30.

LANIKAI UKULELE GUITAR LU-21 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

Musician's Friend:

Depending on the deals and specials that are running, sometimes Musician's Friend has cheaper prices than Amazon and other times they don't.  However, what they do have is great customer service and a fantastic return policy.  Also, if you are looking to buy more than just a ukulele (strings, mics, cords, etc) then you'll spend less time looking at Musician's Friend and overall, I'd expect your cost to be just about the same as Amazon.  On the Lanikai LU-21 and LU-21P, though, they are about $10 higher than amazon.

Lanikai LU-21 Standard Ukulele Rosewood Fretboard from Musician's Friend

Then look at this cute little pineapple number, the Lanikai LU-21P!

Lanikai LU-21P Pineapple Ukulele Rosewood Fretboard from Musician's Friend

Amazon:

So, in this case at least, Amazon has the best deal (unless you can score that ebay auction for less than $49).  Check it out:

Lanikai LU-21 Soprano Ukulele from Amazon.com

Lanikai LU-21P Pinapple Ukulele from Amazon.com

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Stagg Soft Case for Soprano Ukulele- Black

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dropDavid, on Twitter, asked me the following, "hey uke guy i need professional advice, should i buy the lanikai lu21 concert uke? is it a good buy for the price?"

Well friend, I think you are gonna be psyched.  Let me start out by saying that I have been the proud owner of a CK-TEQ Lanikai Ukulele for about 5 years and I absolutely love it!  I know we aren't talking about me or my ukulele, but look at this pretty thing!

Lanikai CK-TEQ Tenor Curly Koa Acoustic Electric Ukulele

Anyway, I did some research on the Lanikai LU-21 and it looks like a pretty great ukulele for the price.

Lanikai LU-21 Soprano Ukulele

$49 is a great price for your first ukulele and looking through the reviews, it sounds like a good value.  There were a total of 12 reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars.  Not too shabby!  Lanikai ukuleles are well made and they sound great.  Like I said, I'm totally in love with mine.  I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.

Another uke you might look at is the Oscar Schmidt OU2 Concert Ukulele.  It's only $7 more and it looks beautiful.  I've never personally played one, but I hear people say that they are quality instruments.

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Lanikai LU-11 Soprano Ukulele

Lanikai LU-21C Concert Ukulele