Durham Ukulele Group

Uke Jam tonight. Bring Songs!

2009-06-15T15:25:00.004-04:00

I saw Elvis Costello and a bunch of ridiculous (in a good way) musicians play last night in Cary and was reminded of yet still surprised by his general awesomeness as a musician, collaborator, and writer. In celebration, I'm bringing two Elvis tunes to uke jam tonight, one "classic" Elvis tune, and one classic country tune from his new record (erm, neither of which he actually penned... that's for another time). Come on out and play!

As always:
1st and 3rd (today!) Mondays, 7-9 p.m.,
High Strung, 1116 Broad Street in Durham

If you're new to uke jam, it's best to come at the beginning so we can get you started.

Ukulele Challenge benefits Ukuleles for Peace tonight!

2009-05-15T10:33:00.004-04:00

What happens when you mix a bunch of ukulele players, a bunch of great local musicians inspired to pick up a uke, a supportive music store, a cool club, and a fantastic cause? Find out tonight at Pinhook in downtown Durham.

First, the basics:
Tonight, Friday, May 15th
Pinhook - 117 Main Street, Durham
10 p.m. - Durham Ukulele Orchestra plays first!

Now, from the Ukulele Challenge blog:

With the generous help of High Strung Violins and Guitars of Durham, we challenged local musicians to break out of the confines of their normally gigantic instruments and have fun experimenting with the versatile, forgiving, beautiful, goofy, sad, bright, recession-proof, every person's instrument that is the UKULELE!

The result? LET'S GET SMALL!: A Ukulele Challenge and Benefit Concert! It'll be an 8 act line-up of fancy and not-so-fancy panted musicians from the area, each plying their trade to "The Tiny Art" at the Pinhook on Friday May15th, in what promises to be a hot damn grab bag of genres, original tunes, cover tunes, original cover tunes, and other noises. There will be ukes of all kinds, accompanying instruments of all flavors... (read more here)

Also, check out this great article in this week's Independent Weekly.

All proceeds will benefit Ukuleles For Peace, a small non-profit children's ukulele orchestra based in Central Israel that brings together Arab Palestinian kids and Jewish kids, with the broader purpose of fostering a sense of connection and shared community between Jewish and Palestinian families in the region. We're asking for suggested donations at the door of $5 for this event, but anything you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Come on out and support local musicians and their ukuleles!

Uke jam tonight; Thanks to High Strung

2009-05-04T12:08:00.002-04:00

It was great to see a lot of uke jam faces at the Jake Shimabukuro show on Thursday night. What a musician, huh?! I loved the comment by a young audience member when asked if she was going to learn to play like Jake: "Are you kidding? I can't even fake move my hands that fast!" I can't either, but still I'm more inspired than ever to play more and to find ways to bring out the beauty of my little ukulele.

To that end, come play with us at the uke jam tonight. Bring songs. Bring ideas! We can always look up songs on the ol' net and print them out.

Special thanks Lee and Christine at High Strung for making tickets to Jake's show available on Thursday. I'm glad some of you got to use them. For anyone else who missed the show, I recommend taking a listen to Jake Shimabukuro's Live CD.

Intro to Uke workshop this Sunday (tomorrow)!

2009-04-25T15:11:00.003-04:00

I'll be teaching an introduction to ukulele playing workshop at High Strung tomorrow, Sunday, April 26th, 1 - 3 p.m. The cost is $20 for two hours. Get to know your ukulele and discover its potential through melodies, basic chord strumming, rhythm, and ensemble playing. The workshop is aimed at adults and will be useful whether you're a first time player or have recently started playing and want to work on your basics. There will be lots of time for practice and questions.

Please sign up in advance, if possible, through the High Strung web site. Or you can register at the door, starting at 12:30 on Sunday.

Future workshop plans include an advanced beginner workshop for adults, and an introductory workshop for kids.

Ralph Shaw/Joel Eckhaus uke workshop this Thursday

2009-04-14T11:04:00.005-04:00

The ukulele workshop with Ralph Shaw and Joel Eckhaus is on for this Thursday at High Strung. Sounds like this workshop will be a chance to learn and practice some great strums. Here's the description from Aaron at High Strung:

Techniques for the Advanced Beginner with Joel Eckhaus and Ralph Shaw. Joel and Ralph will be presenting a workshop for ukulele players of all abilities featuring the strumming techniques, songs, and instrumental solo styles of both Roy Smeck and George Formby. Come ready to push your playing to the next level.
$20
6-7:30pm Thursday, April 16, 2009
High Strung Violins and Guitars 1116 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705
919-286-3801
email aaron @ highstrungdurham.com

Check the High Strung web site or call them to sign up.

Ralph Shaw is a well known ukulele entertainer who has produced a good series of uke instructional DVDs. For more info on Ralph Shaw:
Check out the bio on his web site (RalphShaw.ca)
And here he is playing Viva Las Vegas on YouTube.

As well as playing uke and teaching workshop, Joel Eckhaus makes great instruments. See them at his Earnest Instruments web site. And here's a little more information about Joel.

Joel Eckhaus has been playing the ukulele for over twenty years. He studied with Roy Smeck (the Wizard of the Strings) and has performed with the Arm & Hammer String Band, the Blue Sky Serenaders, the New York Banjo Ensemble, the Howitzer Mandolin Orchestra, the Neverly Brothers, the Blue Sky Serenaders, the New England New Vaudeville Review and the Pinetones. He currently plays with the Fore River Jazz Band; a ukulele/tap dance duo, Ham & Legs; and his own group, Ukulele Eck and the Fabulous Lacklusters. Joel was a featured performer in the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum's Ukulele Masters Tour in 1998. Joel operates Earnest Instruments, building ukuleles, mandolins, tenor guitars and other uncommon musical instruments.

Ralph Shaw/Joel Eckhaus workshop coming

2009-03-19T15:28:00.004-04:00

High Strung is hosting a workshop with uke masters Ralph Shaw and Joel Eckhaus on Thursday, April 16th. Here's the info from their web page:

Joel Eckhaus & Ralph Shaw,
Ukulele Workshop
DESCRIPTION - More Info Coming!!
$20. Limit 12 people, so please sign up
early.

Sparkling with wit, charm and an infectious comic energy,
Ralph Shaw is the epitome of the very best that the
golden age of British Music Hall and Vaudeville can offer.
Joel Echaus is an American master of building and
teaching the ukulele. Together, they are coming to
Durham on their Southern Tour and teaching a workshop
at High Strung!!

For More Info on Joel Eckhaus: earnestinstruments.com
For More Info on Ralph Shaw: ralphshaw.ca

Ukuleles Rock at High Strung, says Herald Sun

2009-03-17T10:16:00.001-04:00

There was a nice article about the uke jam in the Herald Sun recently.

Victoria Vox: more details

2009-03-13T19:49:00.004-04:00

As we head into the weekend, we're looking forward to Monday's uke jam with our special guest, Victoria Vox.

Please let us know if you plan to attend by adding a comment, emailing marilee88 at yahoo dot com, or registering with High Strung.

Here are some important details:

Workshop topics: Making cover songs original/your own, plus cool strumming patterns.
The workshop is geared towards players with at least basic uke skills (i.e., you know at least a few basic chords - contact me if you have questions about this). Brand new players, non-players or others who wish to observe and not actively participate in the workshop are also welcome to attend the whole evening for a reduced rate.
The cost is $10 for workshop participants, $5 for auditors/observers. Please contact me if cost is a problem for you. All proceeds will go directly to Victoria. Cash is much appreciated.
The evening will start at the usual uke jam time of 7 p.m. with open playing. In addition, we invite you to bring any songs you'd like to sing in a very informal "open mike," or songs you would like to teach the rest of the group. Or songs that, in the usual uke-jam style, you would like the group to just play.
Victoria will perform several of her songs for us starting around 7:45, and then teach a short workshop.
Please note: Though Victoria will not start until 7:45, we ask that participants arrive as close to 7 (or earlier) as possible so we can all be signed in and settled before the show starts.
At the end of the workshop, we will all play together. I expect the performance/workshop portion of the evening will go until 9 p.m., and we will stay until 9:30 for open playing.

Hope you can join us. The more ukuleles we have in one room, the more fun we have!

Victoria Vox coming to jam March 16th!

2009-03-08T23:27:00.004-04:00

Victoria Vox, a full time touring singer/songwriter whose ukulele figures prominently in her performances and recordings, is coming to the March 16th uke jam.

Victoria will perform a few of her songs and lead a short ukulele workshop, followed by open ukulele jam madness.

All of this will take place at High Strung during the usual Uke Jam time. We're asking attendees to contribute $10 for the show/workshop, all of which will go to Victoria.

Check out Victoria Vox's web site, where you can also hear her new album in its entirety.
And this is her performing The Bird Song, with ukulele, mouth trumpet (!) and toy piano.

Please call or stop by High Strung to pre-register so we know how many to prepare for. You can also use the comments section on this blog for questions or to RSVP.

Snow Date jam tomorrow, March 9th

2009-03-08T23:00:00.005-04:00

Last Monday it was winter. Yesterday it was summer. Tomorrow it will be spring. Come reminisce about snow covered trees and celebrate the passing of seasons at the snow date second monday uke jam tomorrow.

Uke Jam Canceled; Snow Date March 9th

2009-03-02T13:16:00.003-05:00

Tonight's ukulele jam is canceled due to the snow and the expectation that roads will be icy tonight. Please stay home and play your ukuleles in safety!

Because some of us can't go a whole month without ukulele jam (me!), we will have a special snow date jam next Monday, March 9th, at the usual time and place. Stay tuned for more news!

Love/Anti-Love Song jam

2009-02-15T15:55:00.002-05:00

How are you feeling about Love? Love it? Hate it? Well, in honor of Valentine's Day, tomorrow's jam will feature love songs and anti-love songs. Come on out and play with us, and bring any songs, love or otherwise, that you want to play.

Inauguration Eve Jam!

2009-01-19T15:28:00.001-05:00

Yes, there is UkeJam tonight. If anyone is inspired to bring tunes inspired by tomorrow's presidential inauguration, please do.

Who got a uke for Christmas?

2009-01-06T14:09:00.004-05:00

Looks like lots of people did. Others resolved to play more in 2009. Whatever the reasons, a dozen people came to the uke jam last night, and we had a great time. It's always fun when there are more players. Sounds like many are planning to return, and are already thinking about what songs to bring. Yay!

For anyone who just got a new uke, check out So You've Just Got Your First Ukulele over at ukulele hunt. It's free!

Hope to see you next time: Monday, January 19th, on Martin Luther King day.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T18:08:00.000-05:00

Join us for our first 2009 uke jam tonight!

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-14T20:23:00.002-05:00

There's a nice version of Winter Wonderland posted on Ukulele Hunt. I'm planning to bring it to the jam tomorrow. If you have a chance, listen to it and check out the chord sheet. It includes a not often heard intro/verse.

http://ukulelehunt.com/2008/12/11/christmas-ukulele-winter-wonderland-chords/

Ukuleles for Peace

2008-12-14T16:38:00.003-05:00

Check out Ukuleles for Peace.

From Ukulele Hunt (where you can also find a cool book of uke music, sales of which benefit the project):

The charity is based in Israel and run by Paul Moore who teaches ukulele to Jewish and Arab kids and brings them together in a ukulele orchestra. The goal is to create friendships and links between otherwise entirely separate communities.

The Durham Ukulele Orchestra is in preliminary talks about how we can help. There might be a benefit show in the works. Stay tuned!

(Holiday) Uke Jam

2008-12-14T16:30:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow night (Monday, December 15th) is our last jam before Christmas, and the last jam of 2008. I'll be bringing some Christmas tunes. Come on out and bring any holiday tunes, or any songs you'd like to play to bid farewell to 2008!

If anyone is feeling ambitious and inspired, I thought it might be nice to try one of the uke tab solos mentioned in the previous post (below). There's a nice version of Greensleeves (aka What Child is This?). We can all muddle through it together in the second hour.

Uke Jam material

2008-11-20T15:56:00.000-05:00

Hi.
George Michaels brought a great set of music to the jam last time, and I wanted to pass on the link so that anyone who wants to can get a copy:

http://ukulelehunt.com/2008/11/12/wilfried-weltis-ukulele-tabs/

This is a set of mostly classical and some other tunes written in tablature. We thought it might be fun to play some of them at the next jam. There's a nice arrangement of Aloha O'e in there too. That tune has a pretty simple chord progression, so maybe next time some people can play the tab and others can play chords.

We're always looking for new ideas for tunes and ways to make the jam fun for everyone. So if you have any ideas, please post them in the comments section, or email me (Marilee) directly.

Next jam is Monday, December 1st. Hope to see you there!
~marilee

Election Eve Uke Jam!

2008-11-02T14:47:00.000-05:00

We are having uke jam tomorrow, Monday November 3rd, 7-9, at High Strung. Bring any election appropriate or just plain fun tunes you want to play and come join us!

Durham Uke Orchestra plays the Marvell

2008-10-27T16:02:00.000-04:00

The DUO is excited to play another gig at the Marvell Events Center this Wednesday night, October 29th. Doors open at 9. DUO plays, we think, at 11. We love this club, a funky little place with a great vibe in downtown Durham. We'll be playing, in addition to our usual offerings, some tunes chosen for their halloween appropriateness. Come join the fun!

Bookulele fun

2008-10-27T15:51:00.000-04:00

We had a great time at Bookulele on Friday night. The Friends School group was fun. The ukulele costumes were cool to see. And the DUO had a great time playing for a really enthusiastic, supportive audience. We even played our first "Encore!" ever. Special thanks to George Michaels, who led us in a fantastic version of The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. George, we hope to play with you again! And our young guest performer AJ: Wow! Thanks for joining us! Extra special thanks to Lee and Christine at High Strung for making the show happen, and to Broad Street Cafe for giving us space to play.

BOOkulele!

2008-10-20T14:56:00.000-04:00

The second annual Bookulele show, hosted by High Strung, is happening this Friday night, October 24th, at the Broad Street Cafe in Durham. Performances of halloween and other music by the kids from the Friends' School ukulele class (wait until you hear their set list: awesome!), and the Durham Ukulele Orchestra, joined by some special guests. Check out the uke costume contest - best dressed ukuleles win some great prizes. All ages enthusiastically welcomed. Festivities start at 7 p.m. Free admission. Hope to see you there!

Uke Jam tonight!

2008-10-20T14:53:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone.
High Strung is closed today, but we are still having Uke Jam tonight. 7 - 9 p.m., as always. Stop on by and play with us!

Durham Ukulele Orchestra Gig 7/30/08

2008-07-22T08:24:00.000-04:00

Hey Everybody,

We're playing a benefit on the 30th. Please come out and see us and make sure to say hi. Here are the details:

**FREE BENEFIT nite for DestroyIndustrY distro/zine, etc.** w/movies @ 8pm & concert @ 930pm mysp...
Age Limit: All ages Tickets: *FREE, donations if u got em*
119 W Main St Durham, NC, US 27701

See you there!