I included Emily Scott in my post about ukuleles at the Edinburgh Fringe mostly because I was intrigued by the idea of combining ukulele with a string quartet. After that, she got in touch and was kind enough to send a copy of her album, i write letters i never send, and I was blown away by it. The strings aren’t just ballooning away in the background, they’re beautifully arranged. I highly recommend getting your hands on it.

Here’s my favourite track from the album.

And here’s an interview I did with her.

How was your Edinburgh Fringe? What did you get up to?

It was great! Unusually busy for us; often I panic at the amount of stuff on then miss it all. We put in a couple of appearances at Lach’s Antihoot, did an in-store at Avalanche Records, and sold out our full band show, which is cool to be able to say. They give you a wee logo and everything, but we kind of owe our friends and family now.

How did you first pick up the ukulele? And what keeps you playing it?

My brother was learning, and got one for me as a surprise gift from my local music shop, called me and told me to go pick it up. It came at the perfect time, as I had reached a slight stumbling block playing double bass, which is my first instrument, in terms of hoofing it around and the sheer physicality of playing it. What keeps me playing the uke is the desire to really explore it; I like the upside-down feeling of my quite low voice and a relatively high instrument, and a band who believe in me, who do silly things like come on tour when there’s little prospect of fame and fortune, and I need not go on about how great it is to skip to gigs with the smallest instrument in the band for a change.

How do you go about combining ukulele with a string quartet?

It’s amazing. I finally feel like I’m doing something that I can do like no-one else can, that’s really and truly me. I’m using what I learned at college, which I never thought I would; it’s like when you actually use the maths you hated at school in real life, and have a total a-ha moment. The band is great, I feel lucky to have found them; they play through stuff like a marvellous string machine, and it’s easy for me to hear how to progress. It’s been a major learning curve but I want to just keep doing it. I tell them I want them to live in my living room and they think I’m joking.

You’ve obviously got big ambitions for your sound. Where do you see your music going in the future?

Hmm, so hard to say. I can’t believe that the kind of job that I want, where I gig all the time, and record forever, really exists any more, we’re just going to see how it goes. Booking this tour has been an eye-opener for me, but luckily we’ve managed to find a handful of intimate and unusual venues that really suit our music, and the kind of DIY promoters that are into it for the music not the money. You can’t ask for more than that.

Where can people pick up your music?

From my blog, at EmilyScottMusic.com.

Listen to and buy the album on BandCamp And she’s currently touring the UK.

There’s a new Shiny and the Spoon album on the horizon (sign up for their mailing list to be alerted when it’s out). It features their hit cover of Take On Me, and Black Nag from Uke Hunt Podcast #8.

I also threw a few questions in Amber Nash’s face:

What can we expect from the new album? How’s this album different from the EP?

I think the biggest difference that you’ll notice is the quality of the recording. We recorded our EP at home, using some cheap mics and a Mac. For “Ferris Wheel,” we’ve spent most of our time recording at a professional studio, with some “fun” tracks recorded at our home, using more sophisticated microphones and software. Musically, I feel that we’re kind of growing up, I guess. There’s a lot more heart and soul in the new songs. We’re taking more risks, using more instruments, and just making the music that we want to make. Playing out a lot and building a fan base has given us the confidence to really create our own sound.

Why did you decided to fund the album via Kickstarter? Would you recommend that route to other musicians?

We decided to use Kickstarter because we felt that we had enough of a fan base that would be willing to put the money up-front. We really played out the songs on our EP and it got to a point where, almost every show, we would have several folks ask us when we were coming out with new material. Our fans are loyal and wonderful!
I would recommend Kickstarter if you have a good fan base established, and especially if that fan base is internet/web-savvy. It’s not just about having a group of folks that are willing to support you, but it’s about having folks who know you and trust you enough that you’re going to give them a wonderful product.

How did that influence the way you made the record?

We raised more than we had initially asked for, so we were able to spend more time in the studio recording and mixing. That translated into fun, extra instruments like piano, some wonderful percussion parts, and things like that. Our fans and Kickstarter backers are the reason we have been able to really put our thumbprint on this album. We’re so proud of it, and we still can’t believe that so many people have that kind of faith in us.

You got your students involved in the recording, how did that work out?

It was great! I was a little worried that they wouldn’t take it seriously, but they were absolutely amazing. Very professional! I’ve been a teacher for six years, so knowing the child psychology aspect of the endeavor really helped. Jordan and I showed them everything beforehand so there were no surprises…they saw the microphones, the equipment, we talked about breathing, we practiced hand signals so they would know when to stop…we even had a system of how to get a hold of me if we were in the middle of recording. The kids were really incredible, and I can’t wait for them to hear the track.

What can we expect from you in the future?

We’ve been laying pretty low, trying to get the album finished and to our liking. Once it’s released, you can expect more of a presence from us, both in the physical and “cyber” sense, I guess. There will be a focus on getting our live act together, and there’s a good chance, actually, that our duo will grow pretty quickly. We’re talking with an upright bass player and drummer. So, yeah. Things will get interesting:)

Sign up to Shiny and the Spoon’s mailing list to be kept up to date with album’s release. Or hook up with them on Facebook.

The Leftover Cuties hit it big when Game Called Life was used as the theme tune to The Big C. Last week they released their debut album Place to Go (which they kindly sent me). If you liked Game Called Life, I highly recommend you pick it up. It’s the same winning combination of instant pop melodies and jazzy setting.

My favourite aspect of the album is how comfortably the ukulele sits in the band. All the tracks on the album feature backing of the classic ukulele-upright bass pairing (along with occasional other uke-friendly instruments: brass, accordion and a smattering of stylophone). I think we’re all familiar with records that announce, “Hey, look at me, I’m playing this on a ukulele,” but here it’s used much more naturally and, therefore, pleasingly.

They’re giving away the albums title track. Grab it on this doodad or on their website:

Ukulele Cutie, Austin Nicholsen generously agreed to field a few of my questions:

How did you first get into playing the ukulele? And what made you stick with it?

I had recently purchased an upright bass and thought it would be silly to pick up the smallest string instrument at that point. I thought violin, ukulele…. ukulele it is! I walked around with it for a few days playing and trying make it sound like it was remotely in tune. Then i realized, this thing is beat. Years went by and I picked it up again and that is when it really started to resonate with me. Success! The ukulele is AWESOME! Looking back at my first encounters with the uke i realized i wasn’t ready for the awesome power of this wonderful little instrument yet.

How did you go about building a band around the ukulele? What did you have to consider?

I showed up at my good friend Shirli’s house in the middle of the night with the ukulele. I guess she had never seen one before then and didn’t know what to make of it. I don’t think she even thought it was a real instrument. Anyhow I started playing a chord progression I had been strumming on and Shirli pulled out a napkin that she had earlier wrote some lyrics on while she was working. We recorded a rough demo the next day and then it was buried for a couple of years. Little did we know that this was the beginning of something far greater than we could ever conceive at the time.

Years later Shirli stumbled across that little demo and felt something special within that little song “Game Called Life”. She played it for some friends and family and the reviews came flooding in, people wanted more of this magic. We did some more bootleg demos and people were stoked! Shortly following the band name came and we were off and running. It was time for this little seed to grow. We decided it was time for higher quality recordings. We met with a great man named Ryan Hewitt who recorded and produced our EP and he said you’re going to need drums if you want to sell records. One man came to my mind for this musical adventure, Stuart Johnson. One of the greatest and most musical drummers in the world without a doubt.

Next came the proper low end bass player, Ryan Feves. A great man who in my mind is a world class bassists, amazing feel and tone that warms your insides. The family kept growing, it took a bit before we found the missing piece but it was worth the wait. Mike Bolger, what can’t the guy do. I mean really, he plays piano, accordion, all brass and who knows what else. But get this he can play them at the same time, that’s right piano in left hand, trumpet in right. I believe this guy has been on a million recordings, maybe more. Oh yeah and he really smokes a mean BBQ, grille master extraordinaire! No consideration when it all started because the uke was the foundation.

What’s in your ukulele collection? Any favourites?

My main uke is an old Kamaka pineapple uke, my guess is 1930 or 31, # 5416 9 – maybe someone out there can help determine the year. I hold this uke near and dear to my heart, I have picked up few ukes that can even come close to the tonal quality.

Also have a label free soprano uke with great tone but chunky fretts, still cool though. And an old soprano supertone from Sears Roebuck and Co. from maybe the 40′s, very fragile little mahogany uke with a cheerful tone. A cookie tin uke that i frankensteined together using a banjolele neck that would never ever stay in tune no matter what and a holiday cookie tin with a wreath on it. An old May bell banjolele from the early 1930′s. A Cigar box uke that I ripped the neck off my first label free Chinese uke for, kind-of dead sounding. A Tahitian uke with fishing line for strings ( a bit bitty ) and last but not least, also not really a ukelele, an old Wurlitzer Tiple made by C.F. Martin from the late 20′s.

The pineapple takes the cake!!!!! Every time

As well as a love of ukes, we’re both enthusiastic cap wearers. What do you look for a good cap?

Comfort and versatility.

What can we expect to hear from the Leftover Cuties in the future?

Who knows what’s in store for us, the sky’s the limit! I am pushing for some remixes on this album. Also there is a lot of great new material on the burner already!

And an entirely selfish question: any plans to visit the UK?

Absolutely!!!!! Some day for sure – hopefully soon.

Visit LeftoverCuties.com. Buy the album on iTunes.

When they get round to writing the history of this ukulele revival Craig Robertson‘s name should be up there with Jake and IZ in importance. One thing’s for certain, if it hadn’t been for his involvement in Ukulelia and Ukulele Cosmos there wouldn’t have been a Uke Hunt.

Craig’s just put all his albums up on Bandcamp where you can buy them or listen to the full tracks. With there being seven albums to negociate, I thought I’d select ten of my favourites as a starting point for people who are new to his music. If you think I’ve left something out, feel free to leave your own selections in the comments.

Practical Hypnotism

Staten Island Slide

An instrumental track from his debut album. It’s become a ukulele standard and is my favourite tune to mess around with. You can pick up Dominator’s tab here (PDF link).

That Dress

That Dress
She Likes to Pull the Wings off Flies

Possibly the most prominent of Craig’s themes: femme fatales. Usually to be found in bars.

Houdini’s Perspective

Houdini Never Hung Around in Bars

Another one of his recurring themes: performance magic. This time a series of escapology based puns.

DeChirico Street

The Leopard – My all time favourite Robertson song. Don’t listen to a word he says, this song is definitely about his penis.

Goodbye Paul Tibbets – Craig’s next album will be a collection of protest songs. If they’re all as good as this one, it’ll be a fantastic record.

Read my write-up of DeChirico Street

Under The Mystic

The Ballad of Blanche Barrow

A story song about a real-life femme fatale. Blanche Barrow was the sister-in-law of Clyde Barrow (as in Bonnie and Clyde).

Read an interview I did with Craig when this came out.

Better Liar

Narcissa
Better Liar

You might recognise the Shiny and the Spoon featuring Narcissa from the very first Uke Hunt podcast.

Perfect Wife

Ghost of a Chance

It was a close run contest, but in the end Manitoba Hal won Ukulele Video of the Year 2010 with his funky blues of Poulet Shack from his latest album Huckster ( you can buy it on BandCamp, you can also get a ukulele songbook for it on his website).

Rather than a huge gong and a substantial cash prize, this award only carries with it the chance to be pestered with some of my question.

(And before you ask, yes, I will be putting up tab).

How did you first get into playing the uke? And why did it become your main instrument?

My grandfather had a 1955 Martin Soprano Ukulele in his house. He was a piano player and I’d never seen him play the uke. I asked him about it when we were moving him from his house into a seniors care home. He gave it to me on the sole condition that I learn to play it. I loved my grandfather very much and I would do anything for him. So I agreed and it changed my life. When I started to learn there were no resources anywhere nearby to use. There wasn’t any YouTube or online lesson sites. The were no radio stations playing ukulele music (there still aren’t here in Canada). I literally had to buy old sheet music and learn to read music to hear the way this instrument should sound.

Right away I noticed that sonically it occupied this space that was in pitch above my voice. This gave my vocals a lot more room in the song without colliding with the notes of the accompaniment as they did when I played guitar also I noticed that people seemed amazed at the sounds I was producing with the ukulele. The last thing that clinched my decision to switch to uke full time was that for all the years and concerts I’ve given as a guitarist, people usually didn’t tell me stories of their life when I played guitar. There is hardly a show where I play the uke where I don’t hear about the first time people heard a uke or how their uncle Alex used to play. People seemed compelled to communicate about their life when the uke is played. I like that.

You went with a very stripped down sound for Huckster. What was behind that decision?

I wanted to show the uke off as a qualified blues instrument. I think there is a great deal of popular ukulele that is just strumming and even many “blues” players that simply play the basic chords with the occasional riff thrown in for good measure. I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to show that with nothing more than a ukulele, my voice and a foot to stomp that I could deliver a solid honest blues performance such as one would expect from a slide delta blues player. Not sure if I got there but I think I did alright.

Do you approach playing blues ukulele differently to playing blues guitar?

Yes. I think you have to. Even though the guitar and the uke are related it’s a very different thing to have those two other strings and all the bass available. I generally think in terms of bass riffs on guitar and they don’t exist on the uke. My guitar background comes again from that “solo blues guy” delta background where I would sit on a stage and play a groove that would get people moving, sing a lyric that would move their spirit and add some slide soloing to impress the ladies (as they say). The uke makes me think more in terms of pure rhythm when I play solo or of melodic chord based soloing. There is more space for the vocal to be evocative and that space demands an extra bit of confidence and ego to fill the stage.

What are your top blues-ukulele playing tips?

Know your chord vocabulary and your scales! That’s it. Well getting a mojo hand or a John-the-Conquerer root doesn’t hurt none either.

What’s your uke and effects set-up on the Poulet Shack video?

For Poulet Shack I ran the uke through a Boss Blues Driver for the “edge”, an Electro-Harmonics POG octave generator for the bass sound and a Boss RC-20XL Loopstation, to create the background, then the signal was amplified through my little acoustic amp. The vocal mic also went through the same amp. The sound on the video is the audio my video camera recorded from that live set up. The track developed like this. First I set the POG for a sound 1 octave below the root of the uke, then I turned on the loopstation and captured a simple quarter note bass pattern. After that the rest of the song is just me playing on top of the loopstation groove.

What else is in your uke collection?

I own two RISA tenor ukulele’s which are basically identical except for the tops and strung GCEA with the low G. Other than that I’m running lean right now. I have a signature model aNueNue uke coming out this spring, and a double neck custom uke this summer. That’s my compliment right now. I am looking into a good cigar box uke though….

Who are your favourite uke and non-uke musicians?

I gravitate to good songwriters over pure virtuoso picking. As for uke players, Melvern Taylor, Tim Sweeney, James Hill, Craig Robertson and Gerald Ross pretty much top the list. I’m always open to more and new voices though and I love discovering someone who just floors me with a lyric.

I listen to alot of blues performers (both old and many newer unknown acts) and as I said gravitate to the solo singer-songwriter types. Taj Mahal, Robert Johnson, Bukka White, Willie Dixon, Mississippi John Hurt, Seasick Steve and Otis Taylor for the more famous names. Colin Linden, Kelly Joe Phelps, Harry Manx, Ray Bonneville, Paul Thorn, Rick Fines for the lesser known roots guys.

What can we expect to hear from you this year?

Well I’ve been working on this one-man-band concept alot this year and I think it really showcases well in my latest live video Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women. This song was recorded much like Poulet Shack with the video camera recording the audio live as it happened in my little studio room. The sound is more of a traditional electric blues band with some funky beats and a solos over the groove. I think the next recording will definitely be moving more in this direction. Right now though all I’m thinking about is getting out on the road this year and playing Huckster live to folks all over the US and Canada. I’d love to get over to the UK and Stockholm too though. Know anyone who can arrange a gig?

Buy Huckster. Visit ManitobaHal.com

Writing a compelling story is a tricky task. Writing tunes that sound good from the first listen is a huge challenge. Doing both at once is near impossible. Perhaps that’s why there have been so few decent operas in the last century or two.

But the challenge hasn’t stopped Annie Bacon picking up her ukulele and writing her ‘Folk Opera’. And it’s a good job she wasn’t intimidated as it’s a huge success.

I caught up with her to pump some more information out of her.

How long have you been playing the ukulele and how did you get started?

In December of 2008 I was recording some of my friends songs down in Los Angeles, and another friend lent me her uke in case we needed to use it on the songs. I had never played, and didn’t know the proper tuning or the chords patterns, but I just tuned it to an open G and wrote my first uke song two days later. (The exact version you hear in the video of “Why Do They Cry?”) It was love at first strum.

Can you tell us a bit about the Folk Opera, the idea behind it and the story.

The Folk Opera is a story about folks, using folk music to tell the story in an operatic form where everything is sung. It is both a comedy, a tragedy and a love story (between two elders). It is mostly a story about loss – of memory, time, people and places – but also contains within it (as all good tragedies do I think) the kernel of its own triumph.

I don’t know why I wrote it. I just decided I was going to write a folk opera while I was traveling – thought I was making the genre up, turns out I was not. But the story came from two disparate experiences from my earlier years that became the plot around which I created characters, relationships, emotions and histories.

I’ve read The Folk Opera was created during a 6-week trip to the Middle East and Southern Africa. How did these places influence its writing?

The two places influenced the writing in that they gave me a place far away from the life I am so entrenched in here at home. Musically, I deliberately rejected any outside influence as I was trying to stay true to the Americana Folk style. But then of course there was the beauty and the stark different-ness of the two places, which always piques and heightens my creativity.

How is the Folk Opera different from your other performances?

My other project – with a band I call the OSHEN – is pretty much rock n roll. There are some folk/Americana influences for sure, but it’s mostly rock. The instrumentation is almost all electric, and I play the guitar. Also the music I write for the OSHEN is typically very personal and reflective on my own life and experiences while the Folk Opera was a world entirely without myself, and entirely acoustic. Right now it’s performed with ukulele, upright acoustic bass, and fiddle with 3 different singers.

In addition to my own projects I sing with the Elationists Centennial Band (www.elationists.org), and with Savannah Jo Lack (www.savannahjolack.com), and I play upright bass with Wolf + Crow (www.myspace.com/wolf.n.crow). In all of these I am a player only and not a songwriter, which provides a nice balance to the other projects.

What was your most unforgettable experience with regards to the Folk Opera?

Two things come to mind:

First, a most memorable morning while I was staying at a friend’s place in northern Namibia in a little cottage on the Teachers’ College campus. Late in the morning I woke up humming melodies and with twitching fingers. I barely had time to get my computer open to record what was coming out. With Africa out my window, three songs (one of which I think is the best song in the Folk Opera) just rushed out in a matter of minutes, as though my fingers knew the chords, and my lips knew the words from a long time ago.

The second was after a performance we did at a little spot in San Francisco. It was not our best show ever – things were loose for sure. But at the end the drummer for the band playing after us came up to me and he had tears streaming down his face and he was just looking at me, like he didn’t even know what to say but felt compelled by the enormity of his emotion to try to say something. My goal with all of my music is to make people feel things (anything) and this was a stunning moment of realizing success in my goal.

What plans have you got for The Folk Opera and for your own music?

For the Folk Opera our plan is to get it on a stage in the next year. There are still a couple of more songs to write to really flesh out the body of it and to bring it to full length. There’s also a lot of orchestration left to get down. I think one of the ideas is to get it on A Prairie Home Companion, a popular radio show here in the States. Ultimately, though, I want to put it down in such a way that anyone anywhere can pick it up and perform the whole thing completely on their own.

As for the OSHEN – I’m just back from a West Coast tour. The plan here is to just keep playing as long as people will keep listening. More recording, touring, writing, performing; lather, rinse and repeat.

If you want to make sure the opera makes it onto vinyl you can pre-order stuff via Kickstarter (I have done so I can wholeheartedly recommend you do to).

On my wanders around the net I stumbled across a few mp3s from the former band of, Katzenjammer ukestress, Marianne Sveen (and, no, I wasn’t looking for compromising pictures and any server logs you find that suggest otherwise are forged). They’re not quite as genre-hopping as the Katzenjammer stuff but display what an incredible voice she has. Makes you wonder why the other ones in the band get a look in.

Download more here.

Because of the amount of money and people it takes to make a film, it’s very rare you get someone who is willing to try completely new ways of doing things. Cory McAbee‘s latest film, Stingray Sam, is made up of six 11 minute episodes, designed to be watched on mobile phones as well as cinema screens and was released for download minutes after its premiere (which itself was streamed live on the web).

And he’s quite a renaissance man. He writes, directs, stars in, provides the music for (with his band The Billy Nayer Show), choreographs and even paints his films. Most pertinent for us, he is also a keen uker. Stingray Sam has two scenes of McAbee ukeing for his real life daughter and on-screen co-star Willa Vy McAbee (check out Lullaby)

And he was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

How did you come to pick up the ukulele? What keeps you playing it?

My best friend, music/film producer and drummer for The Billy Nayer Show, Bobby Lurie, brought me one from Hawaii. A girl I knew had an antique booklet on how to play the ukulele. It had some basic chords and the sheet music for “Frankie and Johnny” and “Old Black Joe.”

The scenes with you playing the ukulele for Willa are adorable. Is that something that goes on at home as well?

It used to happen a lot. That was the inspiration for that scene. Music happens around the house spontaneously. My 2 year old son also likes to contribute. Mostly he loves to dance. He has a crush on a cartoon mouse named Angelina Ballerina.

Do you approach writing songs for the films differently to writing Billy Nayer Show songs?

Songs usually occur for different reasons. The ukulele piece entitled Lullaby Song in Stingray Sam was written for the film. Most of the songs for Stingray Sam and some of the music for The American Astronaut were written on the ukulele. I think part of the reason was that I can leave a ukulele sitting on my desk and reach for it without preparation.

Stingray Sam is made to work on small screens and is in YouTube sized chunks. And I, like many people, discovered American Astronaut on YouTube. How do you feel about people sharing your stuff on the net?

People share it for different reasons. When they share it because they like it, I’m happy, as long as they don’t put the whole thing up. The people who do that mean well, but it works against filmmakers. There are also now a lot of sites that aggressively advertise their websites using my films. They give my work away for free to sell ad space, subscriptions and so on. It would be a fulltime job to fight them. They protect themselves by working from countries that don’t have copyright laws. US sites link to those so they take no blame. They post every film they can get their hands on.

What advice would you give to people who are making their own music and videos and putting them up on the net?

If it makes sense for the kind of work that you do, then it’s perfect. But what’s good for one artist isn’t always good for another. For example, the Grateful Dead became enormously famous through live events. It wouldn’t have happened for them on youtube. Or so I think.

You’re one hell of a mover. What are your top dancing tips?

I usually make it up when I’m writing. Sometimes I come up with a dance a day or so before a shoot. When I work with other actors we work together on their moves based on what they can do. Thanks for saying that, by the way.

What can we expect from you in the future? More Stingray Sam? More episodic films? Werewolf Hunters of the Midwest?

I’m hoping to begin Werewolf Hunters of the Midwest within a year. I’ll keep you posted at corymcabee.com. There’s a link to everything I’m working on posted there.

The Mural and the Mint – Virgin Mouth (MP3)
The Mural and the Mint – I’m on Fire (MP3) via their website.

The Mural and the Mint are named after, their hometown, Philadelpia’s association with public art and the production of money. There’s an interesting comment

Philadelphia does have more public art than any other American city as a result of our (first in the nation) Percent for Art Program that requires developers to spend 1% of their project budget on public art. This can be spent on sculptures that sit in the lobby or outside the building or on special architectural details for the building itself. We also have a RDA Percent for Art program that requires that 1% be spent on art on any project that is located in an area overseen by the Redevelopment Authority.

It’s an interesting idea – particularly since it encourages businesses to get rid of the money and not care about the outcome. I hope the business men just grab a kid off the street, give them a pile of money and say, “Go do art.” That’s bound to have much more interesting results than carefully selected works.

When I’m made Grand High Commander of Earth, I’m going to institute a law that 1% of all advertising budgets must be used to create jingles. The jingle is a moribund art-form. I can’t remember one since IKEA’s shlomp. It’s all licensed pop songs or arty background music. Where’s the fun in that?

The Mural and the Mint are dedicated to their own public arts project by releasing all their recordings free because they, “believe that this is the only way for them to be heard as music, and not as products in Today’s culture.”

Download their stuff free on their website. If you like it you can donate here.

Ukulelezo has been a favourite on here since I first featured one of her videos two years ago. What I didn’t know then was that she’d turn out to be such a witty and unique songwriter.

I dragged her away from her constant toil recording her debut album to talk about songwriting, puns and winning the Bushman contest.

How did you come to play the uke and why have you stuck with it?

I, like many people, picked it up on a lark at my local music store. My first uke was a J. Chalmers Doane designed Northern. It looked cool and it sounded fun. I’ve stuck with it, first and foremost, because I love it. It has been the most fantastic creative vehicle for me. But a big part has also been the support and friendship I’ve found in the amazing ukulele community. If you had told me two years ago, that I would play the ukulele and have all these great friends all over the world, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet here I am, reduced to a cliché but, having the time of my life.

You’re a very distinctive songwriter. Who are your songwriting influences?

I grew up going to summer music festivals so I have a great fondness for the whole singer songwriter experience. Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell were the first artists I heard as a child and I have always loved old bawdy blues songs and folk tunes from all over the world. I would say songwriters such as Ani Difranco, Jonatha Brooke, Dar Williams, Jonathan Coulton and author Tom Robbins have been my greatest influences in the last 15 years. But I cannot discount the effect of all the wonderful musicians in and around the city I live. I’ve been blessed to know some pretty amazing songwriters within a 100 mile radius of my home. Lately I’ve found a lot of inspiration in the conversations I’ve had with people. I am truly influenced by everything I’ve ever heard, read or seen.

Your songs seem to have moved away from the tongue-in-cheek to more heart-felt. How do you see your songwriting developing in the future?

I think I needed to give myself permission to write the more personal and heart-felt songs. It took me a little while to get past the happy, quirky feel of the ukulele and realize that I could write songs with a more serious bent. I’m not really sure where my songwriting is headed. That’s the beauty of it. I’m open to any and all directions. I’m just going to keep writing.

How did you feel when Optional Accessory won the Bushman contest?

I felt fantastic. It totally deserved to win.

When will you be releasing your album from you and what can we expect from it?

Arg. The album is hopefully coming out in the next few months. I’m in the process of trying to finish a bunch of songs so it doesn’t feel like a fractured offering. It will most likely include a lot of old favorites with a smattering of new tunes sprinkled in for good measure. How’s that for a non-committal answer? Basically, I’m working on it.

You’re the only person I know that comes up with more obscene puns than I do. What’s your favourite?

I do have a fondness for puns. That is very true.

“Happiness is a worn pun.”

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