Beatles Complete on Ukulele: Roger Greenawalt and David Barratt

It’s no secret that I’m not a big fan of Beatles songs played on the ukulele. But even I am impressed by the Roger Greenawalt and David Barratt’s dedication to Beatles ukulele. Their first project was a performance of every Beatles song on the uke for 14 hours straight. Of course, it was all for a good cause. They gave all the money they raised to Warren Buffet.

Their current project, The Beatles Complete on Ukulele, sees them team up with a string of guest singers to record every Beatles song, posting one song a week until 2012 along with an always enlightening essay on the song. The reworkings often give the tunes new and unexpected contexts such as the Alan Cohen Experience chanting the story of Oedipus on Your Mother Should Know and Adam Green serenading the girlfriend he drugged into a coma with I Will.

I caught up with the pair to discuss ukulele persecution, ennobled actors and why everyone loves the Beatles on ukulele.

How did the idea of playing the entire back catalogue of the Beatles in one day on ukulele come about?

Roger: Serendipity. I was uploading the Beatles catalog on iTunes and noticed it only took up 9.6 hours. I realized that you could perform every song in one day.

How did you physically manage to do it?

Roger: In reality it took 14 hours, there were 67 guest musicians and about 40 singers. Just moving that many people around wasted a lot of time. There were several bands carrying the songs behind me, because just uke would be too boring. And I took lots of breaks. We’re doing the gig again this year on December 5/6 at Spike Hill in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This time we’ll have a tough Sharon Osbourne-like stage manager to whip me in to shape and keep the show on schedule. And also this year, unlike last year, we will have about 50 original uke arrangements which to do, which you can hear at: The Beatles Complete on Ukulele

Beatles covers are very popular on the ukulele. Why do you think that is?

Roger: The Beatles can’t help but make sense on ukulele. Because the Beatles began in John Lennon’s mind. And his first instrument was a ukulele. He continued to use ukulele voicings on guitar for his entire career. His songs, and George’s in particular, are completely idiomatic and always work on uke.

McCartney’s writing is as logical as Mozart, and also translates to uke easily.

The big kick of playing their songs on uke is that it gives you a clear insight into their compositional thinking. A lot of what they did was just put their fingers on the most natural, loudest place on each instrument they used. This is good thinking. You see the logic of what they are doing, and admire how they are always sailing with, not against, the natural forces.

Which songs are you most looking forward to tackling? Are there any songs you’re dreading having to tackle?

Dave: The really bad ones are the most fun to do. We saved the embarrassing Maxwell’s Silver Hammer by recording it much slower, in minor, as a non-ironic murder song. Revolution No. 9 is improved as a heavy metal sing along.

The really good ones are more difficult. How do you better Hey Jude or Something? To improve Let It Be we would have to get Barack Obama in to do the vocal. Do you have his number?

Which guest singers have you got lined up?

Dave: We cannot be completely candid about this, as there are many stars who have said yes, but not recorded yet. We can disclose that Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian MacKellen are reworking Oh Bla Di Oh Bla Da in the style of Samuel Beckett. Ben Kweller is somewhere in Texas recording She’s A Woman. Ryan Miller of Guster is down for I’m Looking Through You.

Who would be your dream guest?

Roger: Paul McCartney singing and playing Something. I think it will actually happen.

Dave: My dream is Britney Spears and Morrissey doing A Day In The Life as a duet. Britney, of course, would be singing Paul’s part.

Lastly we would like Jane Asher to contact us directly at 347-529-6500.

Here’s a question you asked Warren: With a Hawaiian president, do you think the mindless persecution of the ukulele finally cease?

Dave: The mindless persecution of the ukulele will never cease until Roger and Dave have total political and spiritual power over every sentient being in the universe. This is what we stand for. That, and peace and love. Aloha.

Have you got any plans for the next project once this one is over in 2012?

Roger: I don’t anybody besides Dave and I who has the next three years planned out, so what’s next is not our biggest focus. The constant challenge is this self-imposed, long-term deadline every week. We will either pull it off or not. That will make or break us.

You can keep up to date with the project and download all the songs so far on The Beatles Complete on Ukulele

Ukulelinks: Ukulele MP3s

Lots of ukulele MP3s: Pitchfork has a track from the tUnE-YaRdS (you can pick up the album on a ‘pay what you like’ basis here – it’s very good) and Dent May’s new video. A new instrumental from Bosco and Honey with Gensblue. New EP from Existential Hero (aka Steven Ray Morris of Foggy Ruins of Time). The Obama ukulele songs keep coming, this time from Jon Braman. Masters of Song Fu #3 features uke songs from Molly ’sweetafton23′ Lewis, Mike Bordet and Jutze Schult (and a non-uke track from Garfunkel and Oates). If the thought of four years worth of Beatles covers on the ukulele doesn’t make you want to punch your ears into your brain, check out this blog.

Bette Midler strums out on Loose Women (Warning: may contain traces of Leslie Garrett). And, no, I wasn’t watching this live. And anyone who tells you that I was because Loose Women is my favourite show and I’ve been in the audience three times is lying.

Send your valentine a ukulele ecard and subtly hint they should be more loose with their wallet and less loose with their tongue.

Lily Allen’s The Fear on Uker Tabs.

Top notch ukulele poster.

Jake does an informercial for Analysis Plus cables (and he isn’t kidding about them being “pretty pricey”: Holy crap!).

Tripping Lily’s Monica Rizzio officially uke crush #1

The DEA try to prosecute ukuleles on trumped up charges. “INTELLIGENCE ALERT – COCAINE IN A UKELELE” (about halfway down the page). May I refer the court to Photos 15 and 16 which clearly show a charango. Case dismissed.

Dr J does some interesting audio-nerd analysis on the Grammys. Apparently, Taylor Swift wins at microphones. She obviously knows a thing or two about sound quality; she’s a uker.

The always fiercely contested ukuleles and homemade flower-trousers round of Mr Tahiti.

Amy Crehore, Yo-Yo Ma and 12hr Beatles

You can get a sneak peak of Amy Crehore’s next show Dream Girls and Ukes on her Flickr and find out more here.

“”The ukulele is already a magical instrument, but there’s something about his playing and being that is other-worldly.” Yo-Yo Ma discusses working with Jake Shimabukuro.

Roger Greenawalt will spend 12 hours performing every single Beatles song on the ukulele. But it’s for a good cause. All the money raised will be going to Warren Buffett.

4th Peg Forum closes.

I’ve been slowly working up a tab for Roy Smeck’s Music Box Waltz, and Dav on the KDUS forum has beaten me to it.

“How do you relax? This might sound slightly ridiculous but I play the ukulele for at least an hour a day and I find something really blissful about it.” Frank Skinner in The Guardian.

Anyone know who this is in the Dutch T-Mobile ad? (Thanks Martin)

Death Cab for Cutie and All Time Quarterback on Uker Tabs.

Bette Midler ukes it up on Ellen (head for around 6:30).

Peter and the Wolf and Amanda Palmer do Black Cab Sessions.

Get Del Ray or Terry Kinakin to play in your living room.

Jeffery Holland’s using-the-uke-to-pick-up-chicks technique in You Rang M’Lord?. Dangerous tactic, though, because apparently playing the ukulele means you’re an “eccentric nice girl who only pretends to be interested in sex.”

Julia and Wade display mad skillz. It’s a bit depressing watching Julia fans getting her CD. They get so excited they make me wonder if I’m living in an emotional coma. I wish I could get that excited about anything, never mind a CD. (And that’s not me picking the strangest two videos – that’s a random sample).

WIUO Ads, Ukepedia, Rolling Cocunuts and other Ukelinks

The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra are providing the music for, Kiwi merchants, Whitcoulls’ latest set of ads. You can watch two of them here and here. (Thanks to Mike for pointing it out).

Ukepedia: set a Wikipedia article to ukulele backing. Get involved here.

The Japanese ukulele magazine, Rolling Coconuts is bringing out a CD, Ukulele Now, with tasteful, understated artwork and tracks by Bosko and Honey, The Sweet Hollywaiians, IWAO and Ohta San. I’m also fairly sure the third track is Ayano Tsuji, if anyone can confirm that.

The forthcoming Beatles ukulele chord book I mentioned a few weeks ago has now forthcome. whilst a new film sets the record straight about George Formby’s towering influence over John Lennon. Although he was no good at cleaning windows.

Warren Buffett will play ukulele as the economy burns

Vote for Uni and Her Ukulele in the SF Readers Poll (via KDUS.

Make money on YouTube playing your ukulele. Word to the wise, I can tell you from experience the Amazon affiliate program sucks gigantic monkey balls.

How to order a pizza.

It All Started with Carbon Monoxide has an mp3 from The Pierces.

Looks like the ukulele is proper fashionable. Even the models are pouting at them and taking them for a good, old fashioned jump through the desert.

Beatles Ukulele Chord Book, Ukulele Force and more Ukelinks

As if I didn’t blather on about the ukulele enough, I’ve gone and set up another ukulele site: Ukulele Online. The original idea came from all the Yahoo! Answers questions I was answering. I decided I was going to answer every single ukulele question that’s ever been asked online. Then I calmed down a little. So the blog is going to consist of Yahoo! Answers inspired questions and my rambling thoughts thereon. I put it on it’s own site because I didn’t want to clutter up Uke Hunt with it, a lot of it’s going to be obvious to Uke Hunt readers and it’s not the sort of thing you’ll want to subscribe to and read religiously – just there for people who need a particular question answered.

There’s a new Beatles for Ukulele chord book up for pre-order on Amazon (thanks to NashUkes)

The legendary Ukulele Force Star Wars cover album, is more talked about than it is listened to. It’s only available in Japan and if you can find an import, it’s massively expensive. But you can download a medley of clips here.

The new Hawaiian Edition of Ukulele Yes! is up. Thanks to Humble Uker for pointing it out (it’s worth subscribing for the excellent photos alone). It appears that, despite numerous attempts and assurances from the man himself, I’m still not on the mailing list. Epic fail, as I believe the kids say.

And speaking of cool uke photos.

Ukulele Underground find time to launch their latest competition to design a T-shirt in between days spent frolicking on the beach.

Rod Thomas’s Same Old Lines is now available for pre-order from Rough Trade. It’s going to the ukulele hit of the year. In five years time two months time it’ll be all like, “Noah and the what?” and stuff. So book now to avoid disappointment. You can also watch a fabulous but ukeless session here.

You’ve downloaded Jacob Borshard’s albums for free, now you can buy them on CD. And there’s a new album promised for November.

Pure Imagination chords on Uker Tabs.

Latest in the on going ukuleles/’picking up chicks’ debate: the Pick Up Artists are all playing the ukulele and The Be Arthurs get “a lot of [sexual] offers from 13-year-olds and 65-year-olds.” When I start my ‘pick up artist’ blog I think I’ll name it after this ukulele act.

Ukulele chord designer needed (edit: not anymore apparently).

We’re challenged to a uke off.

The Beatles – Girl

The Beatles – Girl (Chords)

When Amber requested this one, my first thought was, “More Beatles ukulele? There must be chords up for this somewhere.” I had a search around and didn’t much much like what I found. Besides, who could say no to that face?

It might be a little redundant to say, but The Beatles really knew how to write a chord progression. That Ab between the Fm in the middle section and the Eb in the chorus is just perfect. Ab is in the Fm chord (C is in both chords also) and Eb is in the Ab chord, so it creates a bridge between Fm and Eb which don’t have any notes in common at all.

You might notice I’ve used a slightly different version of G7 to the standard one. It really needs that high D note in there and the ‘…going to listen…’ parts. But feel free to use the standard G7 for the ‘…stay‘ bits.

I couldn’t resist tabbing out the little instrumental break for two ukes as well:

With the exception of one note, it is possible to play this on one uke with a bit of fiddling around.

Windy City Ukulele Festival, Play Well With Others

I’m back a little early. There’s news to be newsed. Over the break I had to take the fancy rotating banner off the front of the site. It was bringing the whole site crashing down every couple of weeks so it had to go. It was very pretty but a whole heap of trouble (like a few girls I could mention).

Windy City Ukulele Festival details.

I’ve had a few people ask me various questions about playing with others and in uke groups but – being an anti-social loner who avoids human contact at all costs – I’ve never been much help to them. Now I can point them towards Play Well With Others. It’s a book and website giving advice on jamming which boasts endorsements from Janet Klein, Jim Beloff and Lil Rev. It’s also a handsome looking site.

Amy Crehore is selling 50 signed prints of ‘The Creature’. You can pick up yours here.

Seeso and Clara Belle featured on Boing Boing (thanks for the mention, Seeso).

MP3s: I’ve mentioned foggy ruins of time many times in this section. The guy behind it has released an EP, under the name Existential Hero, featuring his bariuke. You can download the whole thing here. songs:illinois has Jenny Jenkins.

Uke chords on posters: officially a good idea. Shelley ‘Uke Box’ Rickey features Kokomo on her poster (and some not safe for work material – what is it with ukes and nudity?)

Paul McCartney reprises his ukulele version of Something at the Anfield gig plus a quick burst of When I’m Washing [sic] Windows.

Dr Sparkles’ TV theme game.

Isaac was a little disappointed not to win Ukulele Review’s contest and came up with this (inspired by Cyanide and Happiness). Click to enlarge.

Transparent ukulele.

Vote for the song you want Fin Raucous to play in his shed.

Rebekulele: a cross between a ukulele and a rebec.

A jumping fly’s jumping flea.