Great Performances... and more to come!

Hi All

We had a great time playing at the Venice BBQ today. Thanks to Adam and Warren for setting it up, and to Howard (fresh off the plane from Hawaii), Jacqui, Daffodil, Susanna, and Delia for coming out to play. Thanks to Brian who helped us out with the singing, and wrangled my music stand when it started to blow away. We learned something more about wind and music sheets today. Even the clothes pins I brought were not enough to completely tame the effects of nature. Thanks to Marta, for taking photos and video of the event.

 Looks like we were enough of a hit to be invited again for next year's event. Hopefully, next year we will have a sound check. The collected funds will go toward the cost of the website and business cards (thanks guys). 

On the heels of that sucess, we will be performing at the Coffee Connection's Java Jam Thursday, August 8th at 8 pm. Looks like this will be a nice long set (30-50 mins!!). Come early at 7pm, and see Julie Tan's set.. she is the organizer for the Java Jam, which occurs every second Thursday.

A reminder... Tuesday 7:30 pm August 6th is our next meeting. Just in time to practice our Thursday set!!

Final Playlist for August 3rd Venice BBQ

Hi Ensemblers

The playlist has been finalized for Saturday. You can download the music from the Venice BBQ folder in the Downloads section.

Star Spangled Banner (get the newest revised version from July 30th)

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Eleanor Rigby

Somewhere Over the Rainbow/ Wonderful World (IZ version)

We will meet at Adam's place for pre-performance rehersal and sound check. Check your email for details.

See you Saturday!

New files for Star Spangled Banner

Hi Venice BBQ Ensemblers

In the song downloads, I have added an audio file to practice to, since our rehearsal time is limited before this performance. I had the metronome set to 73 bpm, and there are some ritardondos and pauses, so we need to get familiar with how to handle that when playing live.

A new pdf of the tab is included, this one has a few changes from the last one.

• An intro has been added. What do you think... do we need it, or should we annouce the song?

• Cm7 chords have been removed (they just sounded off). Any suggestions for other options are welcome. For now, we just stay on Bb.

• Melody tab has different fingering for the left hand, minimizing the movement up and down the neck. Some people will perfer the other version, but it's your choice... do whatever is most comfortable for you.

We could do some creative strumming for the grand ending, so give that some thought.

See you at Warren's on the 28th, and at the bonus meeting at the Coffee Connection on the 30th.

Bonus Practice for July 30th

We are going to have a bonus practice meeting on Tuesday July 30th at the regular time and place. We will be preparing for the upcoming Venice BBQ performance, so Star Spangled Banner, Eleanor Rigby, and 76 Trombones will be on the agenda. We will probably play a few other songs too, so hope you can all make it.

Another Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Kickstarter Docu

Another documentry by Litmus films is on Kickstarter right now. This one is for the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain US tour. I participated in the last UOGB Down Under Tour project and was happy with the resulting DVD. They have until July 20 to reach their goal, so if you want to see this film made (they need money for editing and DVD production) go to their Kickstarter page and select a reward. Click here– The Ukes In America. Chances are, the only way you will be able to view it–if it is finished, is by getting the DVD. They will send you NTSC or PAL formated DVD, depending on your locale.

Tell your friends too. Time is running out, and lots of folks are distracted by vacation and summer actitives.