Last jam of the year!

Tonight, Monday December 21st, is the last uke jam of 2009. We'll have the usual uke jam song books out, along with some holiday song books. All other songs are welcome, especially ones that reflect your experiences this time of year, be they Merry Christmas songs, Bah Humbug tunes, songs in celebration of the solstice, snow, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah... or if you prefer to fantasize about getting away from it all with some beach music, that's fun too. Come play with us.

I also hear there will be cookies.

Halloween/Moon-themed jams in October

In celebration of Fall, the month of October, and Halloween, and as a warm up for Bookulele, we're going to focus on songs with Moon themes, and any other Halloween tunes we can think of. So bring along your halloween/moon songs and come play with us!

Halloween Bookulele

Bookulele, the annual Halloween-themed ukulele-centric show and party thrown by High Strung, will be on Halloween this year:

Saturday, October 31st
3 p.m.
Broad Street Cafe

Lots of performances planned this year, including the Durham Ukulele Orchestra, and the ukulele costume contest. Stay tuned for details!

Labor Day Uke Jam

We'll be having uke jam tomorrow, on Labor Day, at the usual time. Come end up your long weekend, whether you spent it in town or on the road, playing some ukulele and singing with us!

Somewhere Else

16 year old Killian Mansfield (with whom Paul has played much ukulele up at Ashokan) who is battling a rare form of cancer has just put out an album with some amazing guest stars on it, including Levon Helm, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, John Sebastian and many more. There is a concerted effort underway to try to push this album all the way to number one on the Amazon music charts and to keep it there for as long as possible. All proceeds from this record go to Killian's foundation which supports integrated therapies for kids with cancer. Now here's a kid who cares enough to try and make a real difference in the world, even when he's not feeling well. Amazing and humbling. This from the Amazon.com page:

"SOMEWHERE ELSE is the dream project of Killian Mansfield, a 15-year-old ukulele wizard from Woodstock, NY who is battling a rare form of cancer. Eclectic, uplifting, fun and funky, SOMEWHERE ELSE is a mix of songs performed by Killian with critically acclaimed singers and musicians including Dr. John, Kate Pierson, John Sebastian, Todd Rundgren and Levon Helm. Proceeds benefit the Killian Mansfield Foundation, which supports and promotes Integrative Therapies for children with cancer. Produced and engineered by Ralph Legnini (former studio sidekick for Todd Rundgren and Nile Rodgers), SOMEWHERE ELSE includes world class rock, jazz, blues, country and folk musicians doing a lot of genre hopping, (picture B-52's Kate Pierson with renowned country fiddler Jay Ungar!) There is truly something for everyone on this remarkable CD."

Here's the link

Thanks, and good listening.

Lil' Rev tonight!

Today's the day, folks. Come to High Strung at 6 p.m. to learn from and listen to Lil' Rev, one of the great teachers on the uke circuit these days. Tonight's workshop will include a short performance by Lil' Rev. Details below.

Uke Jam 7-8 tonight!

Come on out and play with us at the uke jam tonight.

For this week only, the jam will be just one hour, starting at 7, ending at 8.

The first 30-40 minutes we'll stick to beginner friendly tunes, with the option to challenge ourselves for the rest of the hour.

Come hear us gush about Dan Zanes and friends. Bring songs!

BOULDER ACOUSTIC SOCIETY: Old School But Never Old

Yet another great event for uke players/lovers/listeners in the area:
Looking Glass Artists Collective in Salisbury, NC, presents a day of workshops and an evening performance by Boulder Acoustic Society on Wednesday, July 22nd.

If you haven't heard (of) this band, check out their web site or look them up on You Tube. They are returning to LGAC after playing there in the Spring and being asked back for another show and some workshops. They describe themselves as "old school but never old" and have a great mix of traditional sensibility, modern flair, creativity and musicianship. Note that their descriptive blurb on the home page of their web site does not mention ukulele (what?!?!), but 3 of the 4 band members play uke (and do so on stage) and have had special ukes made for them by luthier Mike DaSilva.

The best source of info is the flyer, available at High Strung. Stop by and get one, or call them for details @ 286-3801

There's uke, jazz history, and fiddle workshops that are $5 each, if you register before Monday. After that, the price goes up to $10 each. Go to three and get into the evening show for free.
Online details (that I've been able to find) are few, but you can check out the LGAC web site or their google calendar.
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=operamama3%40gmail.com

And there's this, from the Salisbury Chronicle website:
Fiddling, ukulele, history of jazz — July 22, master classes led by members of Boulder Acoustic Society coming to Looking Glass Artist Collective, 405 N. Lee St. Classes $5 each- "History of Jazz:" 2 p.m.; "All Things Fiddle:" 4 p.m.; choose between "Ukulele 101" or "Simple Songs for Uke" at 5:30 p.m. (loaner ukes available). Each class approximately one hour. Those registered for three classes get free ticket to attend evening concert. 704-245-2302. www.salisburyartists.org

Note: According to the High Strung flyer, there is another class at 6:30: "Indie and Punk Ukulele songs demonstration", but this one is free & won't count for the "buy 3, see the show free" deal.

Lil' Rev uke workshops July 29th

Lil' Rev, a highly regarded ukulele player and teacher, and the author of some of my favorite ukulele instructional books, including the green book we've used in the past at uke jam, is coming to High Strung for an evening of ukulele workshops. From the High Strung web site (click the link to sign up):

Tunes and Techniques for Ukulele
This workshop will cover learning rolls, triplets, slides, tremolo and other tricks that will expand your toolbox and bring new texture to your repertoire. Lil Rev is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and music-historian who teaches and tours nationally, around the continental U.S
Wednesday, July 29th 6-9p.m. $20/person

There are plenty of video clips on Lil' Rev's website. Here's a good one from YouTube.