So, if you read yesterday's post about Cigar Box Ukuleles with Jon "CornfedGroove" Spencer, then you saw some pictures of some beautiful CBUs (Cigar Box Ukuleles). Well, I checked my e-mail this morning and saw that Jon sent me some links to some videos of him playing some of these ukes (and a mandolin and dulcimer). These are a treat because these cigar box instruments sound beautiful and Jon is a really skilled player. Check em out!
Ok. Please be gentle. I was having a bit of a rough time making this little medley and then I just got too dang busy to finish it. So, I asked on Twitter and the consensus was to release the sloppy version now and then possibly re-do it, down the road. So, if you don't like it, don't blame me, just blame jothekendall, radgyle, shelflifecc, lisaandy and spaceshipmark. 😉
In my defense. I never said I was "Ukulele Badass Guy"... just "Ukulele Guy". Also... um... it was windy in my office.... and a... a... bug flew in my air. Plus I have palsy. There, that outta cover the bases.
So, I got on a bit of a roll yesterday and actually recorded two videos. Here is the second video. This was played on my Rogue Baritone Ukulele and it's a kid's song I wrote awhile back. The idea was to teach kid's to be naughty. This was before my boys had grown up enough to be truly naughty and, I realize now, I made my karma bed on this one. In case you ask, the Rogue Baritone ukulele was like $20-30 and it sorta shows, but it's still pretty fun to play.
Alright, as you may or may not know, I bought a Gorillapod for my Flip Video last week and I've been itching to use this thing. I talked about it in this post, Time to make some videos! (UPDATE). But, this freaking chest cold has been making it impossible to even talk without coughing like a 70 year-old chainsmoker. Well.. I'm tired of waiting. So, while this isn't how I envisioned my first ukulele video going down, I'm still fairly happy with how it turned out. But, I am a little nervous, though, for several reasons:
Now you know what I look like and disappointment is sure to follow. 😉
It took me 5 takes to get one where I didn't cough mid-song. So, this probably isn't the best of the takes, but it's the least interrupted.
I forgot to "dress for success" in this video. I'm effectively one step above pajamas here.
Ah well.. If I start off like this then we have no where to go except for up, right? K. Here ya go.
Oh yeah! My hair isn't always that ridiculous. You are just looking at the remnants of my mohawk from Halloween. My new wave band covered David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust record and our second set was 10 punk rock songs from 1985 or prior (Agent Orange, Fear, Black Flag, etc). I've honestly forgotten that I look so goofy, but I get reminded of it when I see people's faces when I actually do leave the house (which, is rare).
I have to admit that I didn't have any idea who George Formby was until 3 weeks ago. It seems to me that here in the states, if you only know one thing about the ukulele then you know about Tiny Tim. I think across the pond, over in the UK, it's George Formby instead. Now.. everyone should know that I love Tiny Tim dearly! He was like a walking encyclopedia of tin pan-era music. But, he's not really an exceptional ukulele player. I mean, he's great, after watching Formby it seems to me that Tiny Tim is outmatched. Formby has some crazy strums! Also, he's a real crack-up! I mean, look at those facial expressions! What do you mean, "Look at what?". Oh.. right. Here's the video:
I've been working on a version of this song, but just watching the video now I realize that I play it in a different key. I start with F and then go to F7 but I think George starts at C and goes to C7. I'll make a video soon of me playing, but don't get your hopes up. George is definitely the master. Maybe I can get my son (Age 5) to sing it with me, though, he loves this song. This and Big Rock Candy Mountain are our big duos (besides our Ramones covers).