Site update: I moved the site to a new host over the weekend which is why you may not have been able to get on it. Hopefully, things have shaken out now. If you’re reading this by email or feedreader and can’t get on the site please do send me an email at ukulelehunt@gmail.com. Or if you notice anything else that’s wonky. Thanks!

***************SPOILER ALERT***************SPOILER ALERT*********************

Portal 1 is easily the best satire of working for a large corporation with all the jumping through hoops, monitoring, lies and promises of far off rewards. It’s a shame games rarely go for satire because they’re one of the best mediums for it.

Portal 2 does a similar job by making us forget everything we learn in Portal 1 and make us put power in the hands of one being and hope that this time everything will be cool. Replicating the hope-over-experience of countries who sell arms to non-democratic countries and organisations again and again and again and again and again each time saying, “You better turn out to be pretty cool or I’m going to be pissed.” I could easily go on and on about the game but I should move on to the song.

No ukulele this time and it doesn’t transfer entirely happily. But you can still make a good fist of it.

Twiddly Bits

You can play the little riff like this:

Riff

Suggested Strumming

I think the riff sounds better on uke if you include the chords with it (shown in the chord chart). That beefs it up a bit and means you can play it an octave lower. You can strum this for the first chord in the riff:

d – d – d – d u

Then switch to this for the next chord:

d – d –

Then stop.

That sounds like this:

Verse Strum

In the chorus you can just switch between the usual F# and B chord shapes, but the ones shown keep the ascending sound. Either way, you can use this strumming pattern:

d – d – d u d u

Once for each chord.

Chorus Strum

Buy Portal 2
Buy Jonathan Coulton stuff

It’s a shame I never got to see the Asylum Street Spankers live before they split up. They were one hell of a band. Two video this week from their trio of final shows; one with Pops Bayless on uke duties and the other with Christina Marrs.

Quick warning: I’m going to try to move the site this weekend (if I get the courage) so it will be down for some time. I’m not sure how long. Last time I tried it was a bit of a disaster.

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Martin, being a very generous company, allowed employees near retirement to come in on their days off and build an instrument of their own choosing. While it was a bit stingy not to let them do it in their work-hours, it has produced a healthy number of collectable ukuleles. This week there’s this 1947 Spruce-top Martin Tenor. It’s being sold by Ukulelefriend so the description is well worth a read (just don’t look at the price).

With all the hype surrounding Eddie Vedder’s uke album, I hope some will spillover onto his luthier of choice: Eric DeVine. Who makes handsome ukuleles like this.

I think this ukulele is too camp to have been made in ‘late 1800’s to early 1900’s’.

8-string pineapple from Kapono

The solid-body Kala UBasses are around and I’m quite taken by the Skyline Red model.

London’s chief ukulele floggers, the Duke of Uke are being chucked out of their premises. You can help them out by buying a t-shirt or donating on their website.

While we’re in London, good friend of the blog and all-around fantastic person, Lorraine Bow is running two ukulele courses from early June – one for ‘absolute beginners’ and one for ‘advanced beginners’. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend signing up.

Amsterdam may be famous for its legal laxity but Amanda Palmer got arrested for playing her ukulele in public. You can read her side of the story here.

Listen to Eddie Vedder’s ukulele album on NPR.

Stephin Merritt is releasing a new obscurities album and you can grab a free uke track from it on Merge Records.

Make your own felted ukulele gig bag

Lil Rev is raising money for a new album.

Religious cult’s ukulele band.

Playable lego ukulele (thanks to Emily).

Ukulele minimalism and songs with one chord.

I intend to steal this pun next time the Bushman slow-delivery issue crops up.

Photos: a tour of the Kamaka factory (via Ukulelia), 3 neck ukulele and others (also via Ukulelia)

Continuing the celebration of Manchester in honour of the Bossarocker’s Ukulele Show with five – mostly jangly – Manc riffs.

The Stone Roses – Waterfall

I moved this one up a fret because I like this sound of the g-string ringing. But, if you want to play along to the record, it’s easy to move everything down a fret (and the G down to the C-string 6th fret).

Riff

The Happy Mondays – Loose Fit

This one is slightly adapted to keep it in the same key.

Riff

Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart

I wanted to have this one strummed. That way you can get away with implying the low B and A notes in the last two bars rather than playing them.

Riff

The Chemical Brothers – Galvanize

I don’t know if this one even counts as being from Manchester. The Chemical Brothers were both born in London and this riff was sampled from Moroccan Najat Aatabou.

Riff

The Fall – Wrong Place, Right Time

I couldn’t let this post go without one from The Mighty Fall. The first half of the riff sounds great with full chords. But it does make the second half – played as single notes – sound a bit wimpy.

Riff

More Manchester

The Smiths – This Charming Man
The Fall – Theme From Sparta FC
The Fall – Blindness
The Fall – How I Wrote Elastic Man
The Happy Mondays – Step On

Yes, Uke Hunt is four years old. I’ll forgo the usual self-indulgent post and do a quick look back at the last twelve months on the blog and in the ukulele world.

Stats

My mind continues to be blown by the number of people who visit. In the last year there have been 3.4 million visits and 17.5 million page views. Both up about 75% on the year before.

As always, a huge thanks to everyone who visits the site. And in particular to everyone who gets invloved by commenting, emailing and mentioning the site around the net. Knowing that people appreciate the site and find it helpful really makes the difference when I feel like packing it in.

May 2010

In chords: Billy Corgan and South Park.
In video: Trent Reznor busts out the uke and Honeycomb do an incredible session.

June 2010

The internet debated if Tiny Tim should be in the Ukulele Hall of Fame.
Frank Sidebottom died.
In tabs: Rodrigo Y Gabriela
In chords: She and Him

July 2010

The Uke Hunt podcast makes its debut.
I released How to Play Classical Ukulele and tabbed up O Fortuna.
I bought my favourite ever ukulele.
I considered the upside of having ads on the site.
I listed the essential ukulele records of the 2000s.
In tab: Tallest Man on Earth and Bjork
In chords: Darren Hanlon and Amanda Palmer

August 2010

I listed songs with chords you know (an update to that coming soon).
I talked ukulele history with Jim Tranquada.
The Big Foot and Tiki Show hit the net.
I listed my tools of the trade.
In tabs: Kaki King and Top Cat.
In chords: Cee-Lo Green, Mumford and Sons, Paolo Nutini and Smashing Pumpkins.

September 2010

I got my hands on the Mighty Ukulele DVD.
In tab: Fraggle Rock.
In chords: Rocky Horror Picture Show.

October 2010

I went to Wukulele without anyone noticing and caused such a ruckus with my write-up that I took a post down for the first time ever.
Ukulele in poetry.
Jim Boggia covers Springsteen.
In tabs: Duelling Banjos, The Stripper and Falling Slowly.
In chords: UOGB and Carly Simon
Riffs: Dillinger Escape Plan, Deee Lite

November 2010

I discuss why you should give a crap about copyright terms.
I round up ukulele iphone apps.

In tabs: Ellie Goulding, Sonic the Hedgehog and five Black Keys riffs.
In chords: Florence and the Machine and Sophie Madeleine.

December 2010

Ukulele Quiz 2010
Christmas chords for: The Hives and Cyndi Lauper, Rocky and Balls, Weezer and Hello Saferide (one of my favourite Xmas tunes of all time and it gets zero comments).

January 2011

Amanda Palmer grows that shit like a jungle.
I find out about quelbe and fungi.
In tab: Gorillaz.
In chords: Charlieissocoollike’s entire album

February 2011

Manitoba Hal wins ukulele video of the year.
The UkeTube takes a trip to Madeira.
In tabs: Manitoba Hal and ABBA.
In chords: Beach Boys, WIUO and Ryan Gosling.

March 2011

Kahauanu Lake (writer of Pua Lililehua) passed away.
I do my best to stick up for Tiny Tim.
In tabs: Crazy by Willie Nelson and Gnarls Barkley
In chords: Eddie Vedder, Bee-Gees and The Pogues.

April 2011

Musicguymic shut up shop due to ill-health.
The name U K L Lee crops up on Obama’s birth certificate.
I have a shot at explaining Bosko’s CAGFD system.
In tab: tUnE-yArDs, John King and the Cabral manuscript.
In chords: Mumford and Sons

May 2011

I wrote the post you’re reading right now.
In tab: Five grunge riffs.
In chords: Garfunkel and Oates and The Smiths

It used to baffle me how people could describe The Smiths as depressing when they’re one of the funniest bands there’s ever been. Now I’ve figured it out: they were trying to work out how to play this song on the uke and it made them want to crack their skull open. Yes, it’s a bit of pisser. But this week is Manchester week and it couldn’t be Manchester week without The Smiths.

Johnny Marr, being a flash bastard, isn’t happy just playing the chords. In the first chorus, for example, the bass suggests the same chords as the verse but the guitar is doing something completely different. I’ve written up the chords as played by guitar in the first and third chorus, and as suggested by the bass in the second and fourth.

And don’t go asking for a strumming pattern.

Twiddly Bits

The original guitar intro uses open strings which makes it tricky to play on the uke. This is what I adapted it to:

Intro

The solo, on the other hand, works quite well.

Solo

The Uke Hunt podcast first took shape this time last year when Lou ‘Bossarocker’ Armer somehow managed to talk me into being interviewed for her Ukulele! show on Manchester’s Chorlton Arts Radio (my first, last and only talking interview). I enjoyed the show so much (except for that one wanker) that I asked her to present the Uke Hunt podcast.

She’s back again this year with her Ukulele! show this year. You can listen live online here Monday at 8pm UK time (time zone converter here). If you missed it, there’s a listen again feature promised and I’ll be sure to let you know about it.

In celebration, I’m dedicating this week to the music of Manchester starting off with the lady herself.

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

My friend bought me a Blue Moon pear shaped f hole uke for Christmas 2008 & I haven’t looked back since. I already played other instruments but the uke completely stole my heart, which I wasn’t expecting. It also really opened up a lot of stuff for me & my songwriting has developed no end. I found myself playing more complex chords on the uke that I’d always shied away from on the guitar & it got me out of falling into the same old patterns. I think I’ve written my best songs on the uke & it just feels so much nicer to play than a guitar. I can’t imagine life without it now.

How did the CAR Ukulele show come about?

I’ve loved radio since I was a kid & got involved in community radio when I moved to Manchester about 8 years ago. I started out as a volunteer at ALL FM, producing & presenting various shows including the weekly Friday Night Fish Fry/Chip Shop Sounds which ran for about 3 years. I then worked as a radio trainer before going on to set up North Manchester FM, so I stopped doing regular broadcasts as most of my time was spent training & supporting other people to get on the air. When CAR asked me to do a show for their first broadcast in 2010, it kind of brought me out of retirement. I almost said no! Previously I’d played a lot of jazz & weird stuff but I wanted to do something different, so my ukulele obsession was an obvious choice. There’s still plenty of jazz & weird stuff but even more besides; I love the sheer diversity of music that people make with ukuleles.

You’ve got some ukulele music in your family tree. Can you tell us about your granddad?

Yes! I only recently found out that my grandad, Frank Pickford (who also shares my dad’s name), was pianist & musical director for Felix Mendelssohn’s Hawaiian Serenaders for a while. You can see a picture of the band here. (Grandad is second from the left at the back, next to the pretty woman sprawled all over his piano).

Sadly, my dad & my grandad were separated when my dad was five years old & they never saw each other again, so I never met my grandad but I grew up knowing he was a musician. Although my dad never became a musician, music was always his passion which was something he instilled in me. It was only when Dad’s mum died that he went on the trail to find out what he could about Grandad & discovered he’d actually been a very successful musician. As well as playing with the Serenaders, he worked as an army musician during WW2 in India, where my dad was born, before leading his own orchestra in Singapore & then retiring to Bondi Beach, Australia. Not bad for a working class lad from Ashton Under Lyne!

It’s only very recently that I’ve started to piece a lot of this stuff together. I wasn’t even really aware of the Serenaders until I found the photo of Grandad in an album after Dad died last year. I’m surprised at how little information there is on the internet about them, considering what a class act they obviously were. If anyone out there has any information or a tale to tell about the Serenaders, I’d love to hear it. I may well turn into that random nutjob who takes up the baton of Serenaders Ubergeek!

You seem to be involved in a number of musical projects. Can you give us a rundown?

As well as working on my own stuff, I sing & play with Paula Darwish & the Country & Eastern Band. We perform songs in Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic & English & have quite a following in Turkey, where we toured last year. I’ve always loved Balkan & Eastern European music so it was a natural progression really. I really enjoy collaborating with other people & recently worked on a couple of tracks for Craig Robertson’s next album, which is an honour. I’m also working with writer Gavin White & artist Tom Greenslade on a web comic ukulele musical. It’s still in the very early stages yet as we’re all so damn busy, but I hope we will have something to show soon. Gav has a penchant for writing nonsense so putting his lyrics to music has been really good fun. I also increasingly teach music for a living.

How’s work on your solo record coming along? When can we expect to hear it?

Slowly at the moment as life keeps getting in the way. But it’s getting there, thanks in no small part to Craig Robertson who is helping me produce it & generally poking me with a big stick. It will be a 6-track EP & should be ready in July.

If you could get anyone – no restrictions – in to do a session on the podcast who would it be and why?

TuNe-YaRdS – I just think she’s amazing. And James Hill, in the hope that I could figure out wtf he’s doing to that uke! I’d also love to get in Gwyn Edwards, Mathias Kom, Sanford & Song, Rose Turtle Ertler, Ukulelezo & Brenna Macrimmon, to name but a few, because I just love what they do. Of course, if we’re really talking no restrictions – like time, life & death – then it would have to be Felix Mendelssohn’s Hawaiian Serenaders while my Grandad was with them. And my Dad would be there too.

When’s your website going to be up and running?

My website will be going live in the next couple of weeks. If anyone is really that bothered, they can sign up to my mailing list & I’ll send them an email when the website is ready.

Listen to Chorlton Arts Radio here.

Some outstanding videos posted while I was away including Bartt and James covering Led Zep, Misty Miller finally winning my wholehearted support by doing a song to benefit the Woodland Trust, Matt Kresling on the rapture (which will mean only wicked heathen sinners are reading this post – just like every other week) and new (to me) bands The Haunted Windchimes and The Honey Month.

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Ukulele I’d buy if money were no object: Breedlove Soprano Prototype. Ukulele I’m a bit tempted by and is within my budget: Ohana TK35G-5 5 string. I love my Ohana TK-35G and the prospect of a uke that has both low and high-G strings is intriguing.

The number of heavily decorated ukuleles just keeps going up: Kapono soprano, leafy Blueberry, floral Blueberry. As well as the odd shapes: Electric Concert Ukulele C17

Kala’s slimline travel ukuleles have been a huge hit. So not a surprise to see a bit of horning-in: Mele Slimline.

Photos: Black man playing a ukulele, Child in rocking chair with a pipe and ukulele, Evil forest sirens play the ukulele.