Patti Plinko, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes: Saturday UkeTube

9 Comments

1. Jimmy November 21st, 2009 8:12 pm
   

   Both Ukulelezo and Me First and the Gimme Gimme are amazing. A good week for sure.

2. Nick B-C. November 21st, 2009 9:17 pm
   

   …It never ceases to amaze me as to how much tallent there is in the Uke world…another top drawer selection…But…Uketreehugger really has it going on, amazing…and ukulelezo, I swear, if you close your eyes you could almost be listening to Harriet Wheeler from the sundays…truly fantastic…Good work ladies…

3. live2tivo November 21st, 2009 10:06 pm
   

   Uketreehugger has an amazing voice.

4. Ron Hale November 22nd, 2009 2:27 am
   

   Was listening to Ton van Bergeijk on LP back in the Kicking Mule Records fingerpicking guitar days of the ’70s. A master on the six-string, so what in the world is he doing on the four-string? Slumming? Just relaxing & having fun? If he’s moving to the uke it could have big picture significance. And what of Kaki, is she still uking, or tired of the new toy/pet & gone back to serious business? These very serious guitarists dipping their toes into the ukulele pool can be very off-putting to me if they aren’t really keen on it.
   If they’re just going to do a tune or two on what they see as a silly (or, as the nitwit quoted by Der Spiegel would have it “quite a girlie”) instrument & then return to important concerns, they can just stay away altogether as far as I’m concerned.

   And what about the “girlie” issue? Don’t get me started. Except to say that there are some persons for whom picking up a ukulele is (and I’ve said this on other sites) akin to putting on a Starfleet uniform, complete with pointed ears (Ukies, the ukulele version of Trekkies, players who have crossed a line, & while we may not always know where that line is, we do know when it’s been crossed), & the rest of us pay the image price.

   The heat during the Paris Uke Fest has been noted onsite, so Boy is excused from wearing his gas mask. The effect, however, brings to mind Kiss without makeup (Kiss with makeup is bad enough), so in future Keep.The.Mask. Thank you. The more you listen to them the more you realize the brilliance of Boy’s playing, &
   Patti would not be the same without him. People suppose that they must have had some sort of interesting or quirky meeting, but, as I understand it, she simply placed an ad & he answered.
   And Ukies, in Patti’s hands the
   uke isn’t girlie, not even close. Sometimes you just want to channel John Belushi’s Bluto Blutarsky in Animal House & smash some sensitive (or better yet, some campy) type’s uke to smithereens.

5. Sebi November 22nd, 2009 9:33 am
   

   Aly aka Uketreehugger is AMAZING. I can’t get enough of her voice. Zoe’s songwriting skills are one in a million, and the Gimme Gimme’s are the funniest party band I’ve ever seen onstage. Of course, all the others are great as well.

   Thanks for another Saturday UkeTube collection, Al!

6. Nick B-C. November 22nd, 2009 12:20 pm
   

   …Jeeezz…If I’d known this morning would bring so much vitriol into uke world I’d have not bothered logging on…I play my uke for fun…life’s too short for line drawing…Pointless categorizing and being judgemental…That’s why I log on to the broad church that is ukulele hunt…I feel the need to grab my daughters very Girlie pink Mahalo…Don my campest spock ears and join U900s sleighride…I’ll worry about the “cost to my image” another time, cos even though i’m rubbish on the Uke, in all “seriousness” I’ll be happy…

7. Aimee November 22nd, 2009 1:06 pm
   

   @ Ron Hale

   “uke isn’t girlie”

   … There’s nothing wrong with girlie!

   Love everything. Especially U900… my 2 year old loved that one too!

8. Jake Wildwood November 22nd, 2009 2:46 pm
   

   Thanks for the props, Mr. W.

   My $0.02 on the issue of musical instruments is… essentially they’re tools for expression. I tend to like to paint with a lot of different tools to keep my fingers and my ears excited.

   I’ve always thought that using instruments as a fashion accessory was a poor way to make music.

   Of any kind.

   That said, I wrote that song of mine on a mandolin, carried it over to guitar, and now play it on uke. I think people who play multiple instruments enjoy changing things up from time to time. I don’t think they see it as some all-consuming life-changing event.

9. Woodshed November 23rd, 2009 9:21 pm
   

   Jimmy: I think it’s about time ukulelezo put out an album.

   todd: I hadn’t thought about the Sundays comparison. I’ll have to give it another listen.

   live2tivo: Uketreehugger is one of my favourite voices on YouTube at the moment (and easily my favourite hair style).

   Ron: I’ve bought my fair share of Kicking Mule releases in the past (Brozman, Grossman, Renbourn) but Tom completely passed me by. I guess they decided it wasn’t worth re-releasing them – a real shame judging by the quality of those videos.

   Sebi: Glad you enjoyed it.

   Nick: I love pink things. But then I am quite girlie.

   Aimee: My inner two year old loved it as well.

   Jake: I can understand the appeal of changing things up, but I do find that things are just ‘right’ when I’m playing the ukulele.