I found another great Ukulele songbook (in pdf format) and apparently I asked the fellow if it would be alright if I were to link to it. I honestly don't remember that, so it must have been some months ago. Well, Stewart finally got back to me and he's cool with it. So, check out his great songbook at stewartgreenhill.com/blog/ukulele/. There are 48 pages of Ukulele tab goodness here, so it's definitely worth your while. Two songs that immediate jumped out were "Elanor Rigby" by the Beatles and "Turning Japanese" by the Vapors!
Honestly, what Ukulele play could resist a chance to play an early 80s proto-ska song about masturbation, right? It's practically MADE for ukulele. 😉
Month: February 2010
Another Eleuke Demo – This time with extra LOUD
So, as you may or may not know, when I'm not "Ukulele Guy", I play in Volumen. We are a heavy new wave band from Missoula, MT, and we've been playing weird sonics since 1996. Well, yesterday was Wednesday and Wednesday=Volumen Practice. So, I went in a little bit early and brought my Eleuke so that I could make some videos of it through a better amp.
I lucked out because Volumen^2 (my brother) showed up just minutes later with a case of Coors and he agreed to hold the camera for the second half of this video. Woo hoo! I didn't really have an idea of what I wanted to play, so I just went for it. Sadly, my wah wah pedal badly needs a new battery, apparently, so that part is a little bit weak, but you get the general idea right?
After we finished recording this video, we had regular Volumen practice and then I convinced the boys to play "Halloween", by the Misfits, with me on the Eleuke. We'd never played it before, but we picked it up easily enough. I'll post that video tomorrow, or maybe later today. It's a little blown out, because we are so damn loud, but that just makes it punk rock, right?
P.S. Whoever can tell me what I'm playing during the "clean" portion of this video wins extra special bonus Ukulele Guy points.
Video: First glimpses of the Eleuke in action!
Well, my Eleuke arrived on Friday and I've been as giddy as a schoolgirl ever since. For those for those of you who don't know what an Eleuke is (shame on you, you mean you aren't hanging on my every word?) check out my "Everybody, meet Eleuke (and a rad Pedro da Silva video)" post. I imagine that this will be the first of several videos talking about the Eleuke and showcasing what it sounds like.
I was in such a rush to do this video that I didn't even leave my office. The down side to that is that the only amp I have in my office is a wimpy little guy, but it'll give you an idea anyway. Tomorrow I'll run the Eleuke through my Fender SuperAmp and various pedals (Electric Mistress, Marshall Guv'ner, etc.) Maybe I can even run through a song with my Heavy New Wave band, Volumen. I'm thinking Misfits (Maybe Halloween?), but we'll see what I can talk them into.
Anyway, on to the Eleuke itself. This is the model that I have in my grubby little mits:
Just holding the Eleuke is pretty soothing for some reason. I think I am so used to playing Electric Guitar that the smaller body and weight of an electric instrument feels more natural to me. So, if you spend more time on Electric Guitar than you do on Acoustic, then you might have a similar experience with this Electric Ukulele.
I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with the Eleuke, overall. Sure, It's the first solid body electric ukulele that I've played, but to be honest, there aren't really that many of them out there. It's well constructed, sounds great and the design is really interesting. It's also hard to believe that it's only $220. That seems like a scream of a deal. Anyway, enough of my jawing. Here's the first of what I hope to be a long string of videos showcasing this little number.
U900 Freaking Rad Video for “Walk Don’t Run”
Ya know I think Frank Zappa said it best when he said "You can't always write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say, so sometimes you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." To prove that the reverse of that is also true, I'm not going to say anymore. Just let the goodness wash over you from this video.
P.S. Thanks to @Gmorks on Twitter for this one.
The Scoop on these Pretty Luna Ukuleles
You might remember, from my January 18th post "Luna Tattoo Pineapple Soprano Ukulele (it’s new to me)", that I seemed a little surprised by Luna Ukuleles. Basically, I was a little stunned that something as cool as their Polynesian tattoo and floral designs had snuck right on by me. Well, I'm not feeling so flabbergasted now. Today I was contacted by Yvonne at Luna and that was apparently their first ukulele shipment. I think they've been making primarily guitars up until this first Uke foray. I asked about possibly reviewing one of these beautiful ukuleles but Yvonne informed that their first just flew out the door. So that seems like a good sign for their first effort. If you want to learn more about Luna, you can check out their website at www.lunaguitars.com. The Ukuleles are listed under Acoustics. You can also take a look at this neat flash animation that shows off their line of ukes (in exotic locations, no less). Yvonne tells me that they expect their next shipment around March 15th, so I might be able to get my hands on one around that time. If I do, you know I'll post a video/review so everyone can take a look and listen at these ukes.
Oh yeah, and I created a Luna Ukulele section on my site as well, where you can buy their guitars.