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December 4, 2009: The Winter issue of Ukulele Yes! is out. You want a free lunch? You got it. This issue has two completely free arrangements (both C6 and D6 tuning) with audio and learning notes. Check it out here.
December 1, 2009: More sad news in the ukulele world: Lorna MacPhee, a friend and mentor of mine, has died. Lorna's teaching expertise, creativity and quick wit made her a driving force in the early days of the Canadian school ukulele movement. In the 1970s Lorna relocated from her native Nova Scotia to Langley, BC where she pioneered the use of ukulele in the schools and founded the Langley Ukulele Ensemble. After retiring from teaching, Lorna lent her proof-reading and editing skills to numerous publications including The Walrus and The Literary Review of Canada; she also served as a consultant on the Ukulele in the Classroom project. Lorna and I were good friends; we loved nothing more than to cook, sip wine and talk, talk, talk until neither of us knew what time it was. I will miss her. Link: Lorna's obituary in the Toronto Star
November 22, 2009: Traditional Album of the Year at the CFMAs? Wow! A great honour especially considering all the fabulous artists who were nominated: Colette Cheverie, Dave Gossage and the Celtic Mindwarp, Réveillons! and The Haints Old Time Stringband. Check them out.
The North American folk community has really welcomed us "into the fold" and this award is a wonderful way to top off a memorable year of touring, jamming and meeting new people. Big thanks to our families, to the good folks at Borealis Records, to our sound engineer extraordinaire Robert Corrigan, and to all the DJs and folk music lovers who have embraced True Love Don't Weep. Lots on the slate for 2010; hope to see you down the road!
October 30, 2009: Good fun or unforgivable blasphemy? You decide. Me, Victoria Vox and Ralph Shaw having a hoot at the 2009 Wine Country Ukulele Festival. One uke, one voice, one wig. Watch video. October 27, 2009: Big, big thanks to everyone who helped to organize the 3rd International Ukulele Ceilidh in Liverpool, NS! What a great weekend of music and good vibes. For those who don't know, the late John Kavanagh was inducted into the Nova Scotia Ukulele Hall of Fame; a fitting tribute to a man who gave so much to the ukulele community both in this province and abroad. Also, the Ceilidh was the official release of John's CD Small Rooms. The disc was nearly complete when John passed; a few of us pitched in to put the finishing touches on it and it'll be available for purchase and download very shortly. [John's CD is now available! Click here for more.] October 8, 2009: Had a great time at the Langley Ukulele Workshop a couple of weeks ago, just getting set to play at the Wine Country Uke Fest in the Napa Valley, True Love Don't Weep has been nominated for two Nova Scotia Music Awards and one Canadian Folk Music Award, Ukulele in the Classroom Book 3 is set for release in January 2010. Life in point form.
August 6, 2009: Anne and I arrived home a couple of days ago from the Blue Skies Music Festival in Ontario. Talk about the greatest festival you've never heard of! What a weekend. Totally grassroots and down-to-earth (i.e. everyone camps out -- even the performers -- and the homemade hospitality food flows like wine). Kudos to Artistic Director Joel LeBlanc for such a memorable lineup of acts. We left Blue Skies with strains of Matt Anderson, De Temps Antan, C. R. Avery, the O'Darlin', and Evalyn Parry dancing through our heads. It's a musical cocktail that we'll be dissecting and digesting for months to come. I was surprised -- pleasantly -- by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to our experimental uke/cello stuff. You might think that "chopsticks on the ukulele" thing is a novelty piece but it's really the tip of a much bigger iceberg. I'm slowly mustering the courage to explore that side of my musical life more deeply. I'm a little afraid of what I might find but most of all I'm excited about the possibilities. Stay tuned for more.
June 22, 2009: Just wrapped things up at the 2009 Portland Uke Fest. What can I say? It was an exhausting week... workshops, concerts, jamming, rehearsing. Just go, go, go. But worth every effort. What a joy to play with those musicians -- on stage and off -- throughout the week. And what fun to see the students basking in the glow of ukulele and good company. Magic.
It was also the first time I've had the chance to direct a ukulele big band! I've been thinking about it for months and finally got around to writing an arrangement in time for the Portland festival. I chose "Alexander's Ragtime Band" because it's familiar -- I knew we'd only have three rehearsals to get it together -- and because I though it would lend itself well to a big band makeover. Jim D'Ville caught the debut performance on video; click here to watch his tongue-in-cheek "mini-documentary" about the big band. Swingin'! June 10, 2009: We arrived home last week from a great tour to Japan and Singapore. Thanks to everyone who made the tour tick: Yamaha Music Trading Co., Fumi and everyone at Tomorrow House, and our new friends Glyn and Simon at Singapore-based Ukulele Movement. Check out snapshots from the trip here.
May 19, 2009: Anne and I are on tour in Japan at the moment but our hearts and minds are back home in Nova Scotia. Our great friend John Kavanagh passed away suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday and it's been very difficult to be so far away at a time like this.
The night before we left we were cramming to get some recording done for John's new album Small Rooms. John, who had played harmonica and cuatro on True Love Don't Weep, wanted me to play "some non-ukulele instrument" on his new disc. I volunteered to play brushes on cardboard box (a tip of the hat to John's wife, Mary, who often plays brushes at our jams). John and I were corresponding madly back and forth about the recording and about the cover art which I was also helping with. Amid the "Tokyo bustle" I almost didn't notice that John's emails had abruptly stopped. It's still very hard to accept that another great friend is gone. John taught me how to love music more and for that I'll be forever grateful. Those who knew him (virtually or in the flesh; he was a prolific contributor to many online music forums) know what I mean. The man had a pure-bred, contagious love for music the likes of which I've rarely seen. He was often the first to start jamming and almost always the last to stop. Boy, we had some great jams. I wish there could have been more but I'll treasure the ones we had. John, you're in the music now. I'll see you there, my friend.
April 18, 2009: Kicked off the Play Ukulele Today! tour yesterday with a workshop in Halifax, NS. If that session was any indication, the tour's gonna be lots of fun. The Toronto workshop is sold-out and my school-visit schedule is completely booked solid. There are a few spaces left for the Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver workshops (click here for details). Hope to see you down the road real soon. April 4, 2009: Today I share the sadness felt by so many of John King's friends and admirers. When I heard just a few hours ago of his passing I wrote down some fond remembrances and I'd like to share them with you.
John was a walker. He often told me about his daily walks to a Starbucks - a couple of miles from his house - where he would order a latte, chat with the pretty baristas, or sometimes just sit and play his ukulele. That was when John played his best: at the coffee shop, around the lunch table, on the park bench. He loved to play for strangers because he didn't feel nervous and they had no expectations. When I think of the time I spent with John, I think mostly of walking together, talking, and laughing a lot. We had great walks in Waikiki, Portland, Seattle and Santa Cruz. We had a special friendship; he cared greatly for me and was always encouraging. I looked up to him, was transfixed by his music, and greatly respected his meticulous approach to research and writing. After we we'd seen each other on the road somewhere, John would often take the time to send a "James update" to my father - himself a great John King fan - just to keep my dad in the loop. John was gentle, caring, full of wit, and always ready to celebrate life in spite of its many challenges. He often told me how much he loved his daughters. John had a unique method for keeping his mind focused when he became distracted during a performance: he would visualize breasts. Beautiful, natural breasts. That, he said, would calm his mind and allow him to get "back in the zone." Whatever works, I figured. I tried it myself once with poor results. In the past two years John had really started to "loosen up" on stage. He was allowing himself to bring the witty, relaxed, talented, thoughtful John King I knew into the light. As a result he delivered some of the most sublime ukulele performances I've ever witnessed. It hasn't hit me yet that he's gone. I don't think it'll hit me until June when the Portland Ukulele Festival happens again. That's when I'll really notice that some things are missing: that laugh, those Converse sneakers, and the sound of J. S. Bach in the morning. Love you, John.
March 24, 2009: Today's the day! Our new CD has "officially" hit the fan. To kick things off, Anne and I will sign the first 100 copies sold through the Ukulele in the Classroom store (link). More of your money will actually go to supporting us and our work and you'll get a one-of-a-kind CD. Such a deal!
March 11, 2009: Well, it's been a bit of a wait but Anne and I have finally recorded our duo debut. True Love Don't Weep will be released "officially" on March 24th but apparently it's available now on iTunes.
I'm not going to ramble on about the album but I will say that it's different than anything I've ever recorded; lots of singing, fewer pyrotechnics (some, of course!), lots of different instruments... more heart. Definitely more melancholy. It's amazing what three years will do... I guess I feel that the "ukulele campaign" -- you know, where we try to convince people that the uke is a "real instrument" and not a toy -- is coming to an end for me. I don't care much about that any more. People will think what they think; I just want to play music. And that's the spirit of this album; it's a collection of tunes that Anne and I like to play. About half are originals. Oh yes, I played a bit of fiddle, too, which was a nice full-circle for me. Ok, I said I wouldn't ramble on... Listen to True Love Don't Weep here.
January 27, 2009: Some have commented on the fact that I'm no longer playing GString ukuleles exclusively. It's true: in concert and in the studio I play a range of instruments. Banjo uke, resonator slide uke, vintage Martin 3K soprano, custom instruments from a variety of luthiers and, of course, GString ukuleles.
Derek Shimizu, the owner of GString Ukuleles, has been a great friend to me for many years. He made me my very first custom instrument. He brought to life my signature model ukulele. He also recognizes that it's best for me and my music if I'm free to experiment with a variety of brands and work with a variety of luthiers. He's right, of course, and it speaks volumes about his character that he has never asked me to sign an exclusive contract. It comes down to this: when I need the GString sound, I'll play a GString. When I need a different sound, I'll play a different instrument. Makes sense, really.
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November 2009
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