WUE contact for now.

Aloha Ensemblers! While Lori is away, please direct your inquiries regarding WUE and/or the YMCA performance to Warren. While I'm not exactly "away," I will not be participating in WUE activities for about a month, as I've just got a little too much going on right now.

Happy and safe travels to Lori!

Acoustic Blues Jam at McCabe's.

Just got back from attending Fred Sokolow's Acoustic Blues Jam at McCabe's, and I'm so excited - I had a great time!

I was the only uke there tonight - there were 2 harmonicas, a banjo, and several guitars. We played a number of blues tunes in mostly uke-friendly keys - C, D, and A mostly, with a couple songs in E. No chord charts or sheet music was involved; for each song, Fred would walk us through the progression once or twice and after that, it was a matter of relying on memory, playing by ear, or - in my case - a little of both :)

It was really fun and not intimidating at all, and a real change from the more intricate ensemble pieces that we usually play. I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I did just fine. I might even be brave enough to solo the next time... that is, as long as the song isn't in E :)

This group meets Wednesdays, 8-9:30pm, and you can pay on a per-sesson basis ($25) - no need to sign up for the whole series. The next meeting is not until 6/5 (and I think there are 3 more meetings after that). I'm planning to go, and I'd encourage any ensemble players who want to break away from their stack of sheet music to attend.

Venice Walkstreets Stumble; Ritz audio.

At last night's meeting we discussed our performance at the Venice Walkstreets Stumble, Saturday June 8, 5pm-8pm. Set list has not been decided yet, but Warren has requested that all who are participating suggest three songs, and bring chord charts to our meeting on June 4 (or email them to everyone).  While it would be fun to include a few ensemble pieces, strumming/singing songs that the spectators can sing along to might be more appropriate. Also, anybody who wants to solo or is encouraged to do so! Additional considerations: we will be outdoors, possibly moving to several locations, so you might want to travel light for this one.

~ ~ ~

Also - I just posted a bit of audio for the C and D parts of Puttin' on the Ritz. I thought we did just fine with it last night, considering we just got it the day before :)

Puttin' on the Ritz

We have a new song to work on! I've uploaded 2 PDFs - the melody, and the chords and rhythm. Sound files to be added eventually.

Ralph Shaw heading down to Island Bazaar in Huntington Beach

Ralph Shaw is coming to Island Bazaar in Huntington Beach on Sunday, May 19...

The Island Bazaar website says the concert time is 7:00pm and the workshop time is earlier that day at 3:00pm.

He puts on a great show and is coming here all the way from Vancouver, Canada. You won't need to bring a passport to see him in Huntington Beach, but don't forget your ukulele!