Cairns Ukulele Festival: Friday Links

The Cairns Ukulele Festival seems to have been turned into a political football. It looks like local politicians became involved (always bad news) – and Bosko and Honey are no longer involved in organising it. Understandably, the prospect of funding a ukulele festival didn’t go down well with the uke-ignorant tax payers. This article in the Cairns Post, complete with mocked up photo of the mayor of Cairns, attracted plenty of uke-bashing comments from people with an obvious axe to grind:

“Do the investors in five star hotels, restaurants and first class tourist facilities really want the town to be inundated with combi vans, floral shirts and ukeleles complete with eskies of mung beans, coconuts and happy weed?”

“Now come on everybody what is this woman on ??? we’ve voted and paying for a complete Idiot with the imagination and common sense of a dead cane toad.”

And it ruffled a few pro-uke feathers – as you can tell by the subsequent comments. The counter insurgency obviously worked as the paper then printed this article and this was the front of the magazine. And now the mayor has gone on a publicity offensive. All this entertainment and the festival still an entire year away.

Jimmy has launched a Bobby McGee’s competition where you can win a t-shirt and a special edition of the album.

New Re-entrants CD: The Good, The Bad and the Ukulele.

Preview of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain documentary.

Halifax Ukulele Group has a pdf of camp fire songs.

I’ve only just noticed that Mark Occhionero is offering ukulele lessons by Skype. Seems like an excellent way to do things.

Ben Harper gives the gift of uke (via James Hill).

Video of the Vicenza Ukulele Festival and one of Ukelear Meltdown II including the quite brilliant Cat Green Bike.

A song for those of us in the small Venn diagram crossover between ukulele players and WordPress fans.

If you live outside the UK you can find the UOGB’s Ode to Joy tutorials here.

Zoe finds a simple solution to her ukulele storage problem.

Ukulele fever spreads to Thailand.

How to steal a ukulele in 10 easy steps.

The ukulele vs recorder story is doing the rounds in the UK press again. Here’s what the Telegraph said this week and here’s what they said two years ago. I hope that’s not a typo and the headteacher’s name really is ‘Barabara’ – I hope the kids taunt her with this song. Although when your school is called ‘Rood End’ you’ve probably got all the fun you need right there.

And so ends a rather cynical and world-weary edition of Friday Links. I think it might be due to reading Flat Earth News.

UkeTube: Rocky and Balls

I try not to feature two videos from the same act in a week, so I’m fudging it by having one video from Rocky and Balls and one from just Rocky or Balls (I give it about 3 weeks until they’re on Boing Boing). Along side them are plenty of old friends (including GUGUG, Jake Wildwood, the Bobby McGees and Rod Thomas doing a mashup of Same Old Lines and The Sign) and new faces (including Olivier Ruldry with some seriously smooth picking).

And I wanted to post this video because those two are superstars. But, well, I really hope she thinks she’s singing about lollipops. [Read more]

WIUO, Julia Nunes, Minor Constellations: UkeTube

Loads of great stuff this week including a new video from the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra (who you can also watch playing Dancing in the Dark with Uni), Julia Nunes, my favourite Minor Constellations song and plenty more of those very low quality songs played poorly that I love so much. [Read more]

Izumi: UkeTube

It’s not often I feature two videos by the same person in one week, but I’ve made an exception for Izumi. I’ve moaned about the bland, easy listening nature of most modern Hawaiian music before, but I love the traditional stuff. The Hawaiian yodel is one of those love-it-or-hate-it sounds. Personally, I think it’s beautiful and Izumi’s voice is incredible.

I was going to include Bosko and Honey’s Seven Nation Army but embedding is outlawed. You’ve seen it already though, right? [Read more]

Max the Ukulele Punk Rocker, Seeso and More Videos

Look, Mum, I’m in the New York Times. I do feel a little slighted that they didn’t include a link to me (FMM and MUD got one), but now you can expect to see a big, “As Featured in the New York Times,” sticker every time I mention the National Anthems ebook*.

Anyhoo, you came for ukulele videos, and that’s what you’ll get. Particularly good this week are Max the Ukulele Punk Rocker with an original song, and Seeso and Jason Arimoto (together and apart).

*As featured in the New York Times. [Read more]

Saturday UkeTube: Kelli Rae Powell, The Jack Lords

Videos this week from Kelli Rae Powell, The Jack Lords, Mark Occhionero and many more.

Kelli Rae Powell – Some Bridges are Good to Burn [Read more]

Ukulele Caravan Videos

Three performances from the Ukulele Caravan Tour (Alan Drogin, Craig Robertson and John Kavanagh) along with plenty more.

Alan Drogin – Classical Ukulele [Read more]

Lars Larsson’s Ukulele Video Showcase: Ukulele Noir

Mark Occhionero

(Played at Mike DaSilva’s Studio in Berkeley and made a special broadcast from Boston to Berkeley, Ca for our second club meeting!)

Pork Pie Hat
Body & Soul
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
When You’re Smiling
BUC Lesson (When U Smilin’)
Sleepy Eyes (At Mike DaSilva’s Studio)
See YouTube for about 40 more

Melvern Taylor

Sad & Blue
Sad & Blue (Art Video version)
Andrea (MT and the Fabulous Meltones) — &mode=related&search=
Sleepy Eyes

Craig Robertson

Kirtland Murder Barn
Sawing a Lady in Half
Mermaid
She Likes to Pull the Wings Off Flies
Masochism Tango
Houdini
The Hypnotist

Craig Robertson also has a new album out, That Dress, which includes Sawing A Lady… and She Likes To Pull…

Fran Spain

5 Foot 2
All of Me
Hone A Ka Wai
Sweet Georgia Brown (Risa Solid)
Singing in the Rain

Keep up to date with the latest Noir-ings at Ukulele Noir.

The Lars Larrson lists were compiled by The list was compiled by Jeff West of the Berkeley Ukulele Club and had to be rescued from a hole at the bottom of the internet.

The Saturday UkeTube

Curiosities of the week are Italy’s answer to GUGUG and Kazootv’s NSFW songs. Head over the fold for more of the week’s uke action.

[Read more]

The Saturday UkeTube

It seems like every week there are more and more great ukulele videos being uploaded. Check out this week’s after the fold.

[Read more]

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