Tag: ukulele

Video: 3am “Girl from Ipanema” on Ukulele and Keytar

Well, I'm finally back from the whirlwind Volumen Mini-tour of the northwest.  I feel like I'm still recovering, though.  This morning Simon (my five-year-old) asked me when I was getting my normal voice back.  I wish I knew kid.  I wish I knew.  Anyway, we played 4 shows in 4 days and after the 2nd show I had already lost my pillow and my voice.  After the 3rd show I had lost my credit card and any dignity and sanity I used to have.

The tour was awesome!  We had really great turn-outs and we sold buckets of CDs and shirts and whatnot.  Actually, the t-shirt sales weren't all good news.  We discovered after the Seattle show that we had sold at least one shirt that still had the security tag on it.  Whoops.  Sorry about that folks.  Just drive to Montana and we'll unlock it for ya.

Anyway, this is all leading up to a Ukulele video, right?  Umm... yup.  Here's the story.  We played at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard (Seattle-ish).  We played with Summer Babes (who are awesome) and two other bands who were fine, I guess?  I was a little grouchy on stage because we weren't allowed to drink on stage.  It's apparently against the law.  But, for some reason $37 white belts and tight pants are totally legal.  I'll let you figure that one out.  So, after our set we all made up for lost time with something I like to call "Extra Beers".  Then we loaded up our gear and drove to the afterhours at Jeff's house (Jeff is in Summer Babes and The Lights).

After arriving safe and sound we went across the street to The Buckaroo and had $2 cans of Olympia, pickled eggs and Misfits played super loud.   They ran us out of there by bringing a motorcycle inside the bar and peeling out inside the bar.  It was nuts.

So, we ran back to Jeff's house and decided to chill out.  This started the impromptu Girl From Ipanema session you are about to witness.  Keep in mind, Bob is our drummer and we'd never seen that keytar before.  K.  Here goes.

Crazy Frog Ukulele!

So, being someone who plays ukulele, you are used to being happy and the center of attention, right?  I mean, let's face it, people count on us to play the clown a little bit, right?  If you ever saw me play, you'd know it was true.  Seeing a big guy playing this tiny little instrument just brings a smile to your face.

Now... imagine if that ukulele was decorated to look like a frog.  Huzzah!

Hmm... that thumbnail is freaking tiny!   Sorry about that, but if you look at "Stagg Frog Ukulele with Gig Bag" you'll see the whole deal.  I did some searching on the Internet and the only other one of these that I saw was on a site that I didn't know much about.  Besides, everyone has an ebay account, right? 😉

Anyway, here's some more information from the auction:

Traditional soprano Ukulele w/ Frog graphic top, in black nylon gigbag - Top: nato - Back & Sides: nato - Neck & Headstock: nato - Fingerboard & Bridge: nato - Tuners: geared pegs w/ "antique white" plastic knobs - Scale length: 349 mm, (13.74 in.) - Fingerboard Dim. 177 mm (7 in.), 12 frets - Neck & Head: 300 mm (12 in.) - Body: 240 mm, (9.3 in.)- Total length: 540 mm, (21.25 in.) - Finish: Frog design.

Now get out there and make a fool of yourself! But, for god's sake, do it tastefully.

Ukulele Wall Mount

So... you have some ukuleles (Wait, you do have some ukuleles, right?  If not, correct that problem and get a ukulele already!).  Anyway, you have ukuleles, but you need somewhere to put them when you aren't playing them.  I mean.. you can't play all three of them at once, right?  Well, sounds like you need to buy this hand carved ukulele wall mount on ebay.

I currently have something like that in my office and it holds up to 5 guitars/ukes.  But, I can tell you right now that it cost me more than $30.  Plus.... my poor thumbs!  (damn you, hammer!).  Here's some notes from the auction:

Welcome!! This piece is carved out of Select Pine and stained brown. It measures 24" x 5-1/2" x 3/4" thick. The black pegs (3/4" soft foam rubber over steel) have 1-1/2" clearance and are 3" long. I will supply two 2" screws to secure the holder *additional hardware may be needed for your application* Thanks for looking, and if you like unique carvings and I'm sure you do, please be sure to check out my other auctions & store inventory. Thank you.

eBay: Vintage Surfer Swagerty Singing Treholipee Ukulele

UPDATE:If you found this page looking for a Treholipee, then check out the following deals:

Wow!  I've never seen, nor heard of, one of these before.  Take a gander:

Swagerty Singing Treholipee

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Treholipee Ukulele.  From the auction notes:

Being sold out of local estate is a vintage Swagerty Surfer Ukulele. Called a "The Singing Treholipee". Made in San Clemente, CA, licensed by Don Gardner. From the 1960's, these Ukulele's were used by Surfers. The long headstocks were stuck in the sand while they were surfing. Measures approximately 47" in length. It is in very good condition, except that it is missing one tuning paddle and one tuning paddle is broken off. Please see pictures. Sold "As Shown". I have seen replacements paddles sold on Ebay. Will make a wonderful addition to any collection!

It sounds like this particular Treholipee Uke could use some love, but it's still freaking gorgeous!  I searched through past ebay auction data (check out http://easypriceguide.com to see how) and based on the past 90 days of eBay data, Treholipee Ukes sell for about $186 (on average).  So, it sounds like this auction might be worth watching more closely.