Low-G Ukulele: The people want tabs for low-G ukes, but it’s a pain in the arse trying to work out low-G tunes on a high-G uke or a capoed baritone. I think low-G tuning takes all the fun out of the ukulele, so if I bought a uke set up for low-G myself that’d make me a sell out. So the only way I’m going to end up with one is if someone gives me one. And if that was the Kala Acacia Tenor with the slotted headstock I could get two things that seem too icky to buy but I want anyway.
Ukulele Hero: I ummed and ahhed over getting this one the first time it was up, then it disappeared and I wanted one. Now it’s back and I’m umming and ahhing again. Some one has to buy me one so they don’t stop making them again.
This shirt – Everyone knows that the only reason people watch my videos is that I’m pretty. Things I’ve worn in previous videos: checks, Ralph Lauren, pink. So if you got me that shirt you’d really be saving money.
As you can see, they’re all entirely selfless so gimme, gimme, gimme.
I’ve featured a couple of videos from Galapaghost. He has a great way with a tune. So I threw a few questions at, Mr Galapaghost, Casey Chandler and he was kind enough to bat them back to me.
How would you describe the music you make?
I guess I would describe the music I make as ukel-indie rock. It’s hard for me to put a label on it because I take from a vast number of very different influences. making my writing kind of ambiguous at times. I basically try to take serious and sometimes dark themes and put a more fun spin on them, making the songs lighter and more approachable. After discovering the ukuelele, I realized it was the perfect instrument for me to maintain this innocence I want in my songwriting because a song can only be so dark with a ukulele.
How did you come to play the ukulele?
For my 22nd birthday last June, my parents bought me a ukulele. Before this I had always thought the ukulele was kind of a joke instrument, like the lost lonely runt of the guitar family. But then once I started playing it, I realized that it was just the forgotten child of the family that needed to be cast into the spotlight. Once I began playing it, it opened up an entire new style of writing for me and quickly became my main songwriting instrument.
How is writing songs on the ukulele different from writing on guitar?
Writing on ukulele is much different from writing on guitar because your options are much more limited on a ukulele. It’s just a much simpler instrument, which I really like. I’m used to writing songs with hooks, but on ukulele you pretty much have to just play chords. It was really good for me though because it opened up my vocal range more, since I couldn’t rely on riffs. I mean I guess I could’ve gotten a flying V electralele (which actually do exist) and written some badass stuff on that. Maybe that’ll be my next genre: Metalele.
Which three records should everyone listen to?
Wow. For a music nerd as myself, that is an EXTREMELY hard question to answer. I’ll do my best, though. Normally, I’d probly just list every single Beatles and Radiohead album, but I’ll just go with the 3 albums that influenced me the most: 1. Radiohead – The Bends. 2. The Beatles – Rubber Soul 3. Midlake – Trials of Van Occupanther. All these albums changed me musically forever.
You’ve got a degree in music production. What would be your top tip to people recording their own music?
Haha, well when I imagined recording my own first EP, I never thought that i’d be recording with just an Mbox and a 57, but that’s all it took and I’m surprisingly satisfied with how it all came out. So i guess my advice would be DON’T WAIT AROUND! Just make it happen. Make it happen NOW.
I had always been in these bands that were so fixated on making the “perfect album” or trying to create the “perfect show”. It’s a load of crap to me. I mean yeah you have to have a good recording (whatever that means, look at Iron & Wine, his first 2 albums were recorded in his bedroom with a tape recorder! and they’re great!) and a good live show, but the truth is people like to watch bands develop and progress. As long as the songs and the vision are there you’ve got a decent shot. I would say to people out there in my position, just go for it.
Don’t worry about making a “perfect recording”. That’ll come later if the the songs are there. I don’t think I’ll look back and wish I had done anything recording wise differently because my lack of recording equipment, which I can’t afford I guess kind of fits the whole theme of my EP Our Lost Generation.
The songs on Our Lost Generation are very sparse and delicate. Is that out of necessity or is that you ultimate vision for Galapaghost?
Yeah the songs are very sparse and delicate on my EP. That’s mainly my vision for the recordings, but also partially due to serious lack of recording equipment. I want my songs to come off as simple and too complex where the listener gets overwhelmed. I actually think that some of my recordings can be quite dense, like in the song Lost Generation, i have drums, bass, 3 guitars, ukulele, 3 part harmonies and hand claps, but it doesn’t feel too overwhelming to me.
What are your plans for 2010?
My plans for 2010 as of now are to move back to my hometown of Woodstock, NY in February because I can’t really handle the stress of the city anymore. I’m planning on moving back there til around June and then I’m moving to Austin, TX in the summer. I’m very excited, I have a big year coming up.
At Christmas we should spare a thought for people less fortunate than ourselves – I write about the ukulele for a living so everyone is less fortunate than me – and there are two excellent ways to do it. Helen Arney is recording a ukulele video every day this month and all she’s asking is that you donate 79p to Shelter. And you should pick up Rocky and Balls’s charity single Grow a Mo before they take it down on Tuesday (even if they did spell my name the satanic way – yes, it’s even more satanic than spelling it this way).
Also this week: Cole Clark’s pin-up girl Abbie Cardwell showing she’s more than just a pretty face (and a shapely pair of legs), Sam ‘Mario Kart Love Song‘ Hart, Herman Vandecauter playing three songs from the Andes and plenty more.
Hard to find much to get excited about amongst the hundreds of Kala ukuleles that are hoping to be someone’s Christmas present. But one interesting newbie is the Riptide ukulele (made by Boulder Creek Guitars). It looks like the strangely placed soundholes that the more experimental ukulele makers have been using has filtered down to the cheaper ukes.
I thought Pono was one of the classier makes until I saw the Pono PSO-H.
You can now get ukulele chord shapes sent to you via Twitter and SMS. Tweet the chord you want to @ukechord or read the instructions here.
Xmas MP3s: Garfunkel and Oates have recorded a new extra-Christmassy version of Present Face you can grab it for free on their website. And you can get Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer’s Christmas Song in exchange for your email address here.
From ReyalpEleluku: “A young man who was inebriated and who was carrying a ukulele had been arrested and charged with unlawful possession. His only offence seemed to be that he was playing his own ukulele.”
Since it’s Christmas I thought I’d let you take a break from the tricky arrangements and I’d put up a couple of single note arrangements (along with easy chords) of a couple of Christmas tunes. For kids, newbies and people too drunk and bloated to play anything more complicated.
Suggested Strumming
Like a lot of Christmas songs, it’s a waltz so I’m using:
Christmas is coming fast and it’s time to start practicing a few tunes to entertain the family. With John King’s Classical Ukulele and Famous Solos and Duets for ‘Ukulele being the two best ukulele tab books around and his arrangements of Carol of the Bells and What Child Is This? being great, I felt pretty safe picking up a copy of his Christmas Carols for Ukulele.
Lowdown
Melody in standard notation only and ukulele chord diagrams (NO TAB) for:
Angels We Have Heard On High
Away In A Manger
Coventry Carol
Deck The Hall
The First Noel
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Here We Come A-Wassailing
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring
Jingle Bells
Joy To The World
O Christmas Tree
O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
O Come, O Come Immanuel
O Holy Night
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Silent Night
Toyland
Up On The Housetop
We Three Kings Of Orient Are
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
What Child Is This?
The Good Stuff
Erm…: I’m assuming this book is aimed at people who just want chords to some traditional Christmas songs. It fulfills that purpose.
No tab: That makes it either useless or a huge chore to use to at least 90% of ukulele players.
Boring arrangements: If you could call them that at all. There are so many ways to play the same notes on a ukulele that standard notation doesn’t cut it. If you’re expecting anything like his other books, you’ll be very disappointed.
No audio: It doesn’t give you any idea of how it’s supposed to sound.
No performance notes: John King’s writing is as good as his arranging. None of it here.
Overall
The information on this book online is very scant. I was expecting something completely different given John King’s other books. I was very disappointed with it (a shame to say that about somethig that John King has put his name to). Definitely one to avoid. It seems to have been thrown together to make a few quid at Christmas. If you’re looking for chords and melody for these public domain Christmas tunes you can find them all over the net.
I’ve been patiently waiting to put this one up since seeing this video starring ‘thingamy off of Heroes‘ and ‘was he the one who was in My Name Is Earl once?’ I don’t know why they uploaded in January. Anyhoo, eleven months later it’s finally December and I can post it without it seeming a bit weird.
Twiddly Bit
For the intro you’re using the same chords as the song and hitting the E and A strings with an up strum with your index finger and the down strums on the g and C strings with your thumb.
Suggested Strumming
For most of the song she’s using that same picking pattern. But if you want to keep it simple just a down, up, down, up… strum will see you through fine.
