Ukulele Tonya

Note: This is a lengthy account to give you an idea what it’s like to attend a three-day festival. If you want to skip the words and head directly to the photo gallery, click here.  If you want to see the captions for each pix, click “detail” in the bottom right corner of the album’s page; also, enlarge the thumbnails by double clicking on them.

Portland Uke Fest 2008

My “barre chording” thumb is sore, I’m still catching up on sleep and I have so many new ukulele concepts to practice that my fingers won’t get any rest for at least eight months. But would I have missed the Portland Uke Fest held last week at Reed College? Nope, not for all the Aquila Nylguts in the world.

While I’ve been to more than a dozen ukulele festivals in the past four years, I’d never taken the plane north to Oregon to attend what’s known as the “favorite” festival by many ukulele workshop teachers, performers and students. This year I made reservations in early spring (they have limited space—sign up by late April if you want to be assured of a slot), snagged a couple Southwest flights and got myself prepped for three-plus solid days of ukulele learning, listening, playing and schmoozing. Sigh…I should have gotten more sleep ahead of time.

While many of the event’s “students” live near the Portland area and are “day trippers” for the event, most of the participants took lodging in spiffy dorm rooms on the Reed College campus where the festival was held. I was assigned a “single” room (perhaps, once again, my reputation has preceded me) on the all-woman second floor in Foster. A brilliant tangerine orange wall complemented the turquoise door to the hall. Alert: The door locks behind you so you’d better have your key with you all the time—I discovered my after-shower pareo doesn’t come equipped with a pocket. (You can imagine my joy waiting for a security guy whilst dressed in nothing more than a rectangle of Hawaiian-print fabric, sporting damp hair and freshly-brushed teeth when I locked myself out one morning.) A small desk, tall dresser and closet finished off the dorm room’s decor. I finished unpacking, spread out my pareo on the bed for a bit of wild color, put my iPod on the charger and headed across the campus to the Student Union.

People milled around inside the building, renewing friendships, checking out the dozens of CDs, books and DVDs and comparing notes on what had happened to them during the past year. This festival is set up as a “camp” experience and, being a first-year attendee, I have to admit I felt a bit left out of the camp “family” that first evening, despite knowing more than a handful of people. Many came from Canada—even heading in from Nova Scotia. Lots of Washington and California folks—and even Shigato was there from Japan (what an awesome player—and now he dances hula, too!).

Instructors at this festival are alloted a few minutes on the night before the first workshops to explain what they’ll be teaching—and in many cases, their approach to teaching. This helps you choose the right workshop for your needs and abilities. The festival is structured so students take three classes which are held at the same time slot for all three days of the event; this allows teachers to really develop their concepts, students to develop their skills and all of us to develop friendships. (The upcoming Windy City Uke Fest will be using the same format—check it out for a similar type of learning experience).

With so many stellar instructors it was more than difficult to choose my classes but I finally settled on Gerald Ross’ “Introduction to Swing” class, James Hill’s “How to Teach Ukulele” workshop and Mark Gutierrez (aka Marko or Spanky) for a fingerpicking class. My afternoon “extra” workshop was “Beginning Hula” all three days with Francis Doo. Sure, I could have napped during the afternoon slot instead of trying hula, but how much fun would that have been?

Every class was excellent. Handouts were plentiful and informative. Each teacher I had was well-prepared, enthusiastic and bursting with solid ukulele skills he was eager to share. Talk about motivational and inspiring! If I’m not a better player thanks to their teaching, I’ll be embarrassed to return next year.

Each evening featured entertainment. Thursday’s was an open mic that wasn’t like any open mic I’ve ever experienced; these people were really, really good. Funny, skilled, commanding stage presence and unique (although it was the *second* ukulele/tap dancing set I’ve seen—just imagine!). Friday and Saturday were more formal concerts in the 409-seat auditorium (which was filled to capacity).

If you have a decent-sized collection of ukulele CDs, you can just glance over to it now and I’ll bet you’ll find most of those artists on the list of presenters of workshops and performances at this festival. Okay, I’ll drop a few names: James Hill, Ralph Shaw, Lyle Ritz, John King, Gerald Ross, Del Rey, Li’l Rev, Joel Eckhaus, Jim Beloff, Kimo Hussey, Brook Adams, Mark Gutierrez. Oh, and don’t forget Jere and Greg Canote, Piper Heisig and Casey McGill. Just wandering around for three days and listening to these folks play was a treat. And, they all willingly converse with us “nobodies,” too. Talk about ukulele democracy—wow!

Jamming until well after 1 a.m. finished off every evening (the open bar really helped loosen any inhibitions; a bump and a splash of red wine on a favorite ukulele sweatshirt left me sticking with white wines on the remaining nights). At one point I looked around and there was a banjo, a stand-up bass, Gerald’s slide guitar and a coronet making music with the slew of ukuleles the rest of us cradled in our arms.

A highlight for me was attempting “my first solo in front of other people” during an open mic in Mark’s class; I bombed it pretty badly, but I finished the song (finally—after three tries). Fortunately the day ended on a high note as the students in our temporary hula halau did a more-than-passable job at dancing at Saturday night’s concert. I found the dance a joy—mainly because we’d learned the meaning of all the Hawaiian words and it was like telling a story and sharing it with the audience. That doesn’t mean, of course, that my movements were in sync with everyone else’s, but no one seemed to notice as we all shared the tale of “E Ho’i I Ka Pili.”

At the Portland Uke Fest I made new friends (including a real dentist!), got to know old friends even better and learned so much about ukulele as well as about myself. I’m determined to do better next time in an open mic-type situation. And I will try hula again.

My advice? If you’re looking for the ultimate “ukulele intensive” experience, don’t miss the Portland Uke Fest. But be sure and get in enough naps ahead of time—you’ll need the extra sleep!

Mark was still in the shower, I was ready for work (right down to the lip gloss and earrings—I always seem to forget them) and I figured I could sneak a few minutes to play my ukulele before we left for the office this morning. I needed the time, too; I’d promised to play a couple of “Hawaiian” tunes for a Vacation Bible School later in the morning at a nearby church (the week’s theme was “Outrigger Island”) and I could certainly use the minutes to practice—especially the singing part!

My trusty LoPrinzi didn’t need tuning (it almost never does) so I started right off with a sweet D7-G7-C vamp and launched into “Pearly Shells.” I usually have a tough time getting “started” with the singing part of songs, even if I play the first few melody notes, and this morning was no different. But by the third line I was singing and strumming happily—when I looked out one of the windows in the bedroom and saw a tall and lithe observer just outside, a female turkey.

Mrs. Turkey (I know she’s been wed because I’ve seen her before with her doting guy and, later, a brood of baby turkeys) is a frequent sight, along with her sisters, in our neck of the woods. We live on the edge of a canyon and the combination of pine forest and the open tilled areas of the orchard attract a variety of wildlife. Wild turkeys are part of the scene so we’re familiar with their habits. If you’re not, let me offer you a quick turkey overview: Turkeys are always eating. Always. Their necks seem permanently bowed down as they graze along the pathways, forest floor and fields, looking for delectable ground-living goodies. If they’re not looking for edibles, they’re scraping them up from under the thatch and pine needles with their big, scaly, strong feet (sorry, Mrs. Turkey, but the truth may be a bit harsh). A turkey’s eyesight is keen and the ones around here shy away from any close human contact.

But back to my appreciative audience…Mrs. Turkey was not looking down. She was not scratching for food. She was not turkey-trotting away. She stood tall and straight, looking directly at me through the open window as I strummed my Hawaiian song. I played and sang through “Pearly Shells” three times and my audience of one absorbed it all—the C chord, the F chord and the transition between them, the C7. Even my parents (who think my ukulele playing is better than Jake’s) are never as attentive as Mrs. Turkey was this morning. If I can keep a turkey from its never-ending quest of finding food, it must be darn good ukulele playing. Or something.

After eight minutes of “Pearly Shells” I felt it was time to move on to my next practice piece, “The Hukilau Song,” and Mrs. Turkey demonstrated her disapproval. She shook her feathered shoulders as if coming out of a daydream and turned away, legs lifting stiffly as she stalked toward the stream and away from my stage. Sigh…I hope the kids at Vacation Bible School like that song better than she does.

Note: This is long; it’s written for those folks who wonder what it’s really like to attend an ukulele festival and like to know the details. If you just want the photos, go here.

Pre-Festival:
Sunny weather, warm aloha and hot ukulele playing were on this weekend’s agenda as I traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area for the Northern California Ukulele Festival. Held in Hayward, this festival is the 15th annual for this group, making it the longest-running mainland ukulele event. While the day-long festival is on Sunday, there were some great pre-festival activities slated the day before the event so I headed out from Paradise early on Saturday morning. While I love my merlot special edition Miata (and the UKALADY license plates would have been especially appropriate for the weekend’s activities), it feels like an awfully tiny car to be slipping in and out of lanes on high-speed Bay Area freeways—so I toodled down in the ever-trusty 1986 Mazda 626; not a lot of style to the car but it got a whopping 41 miles per gallon—and at almost $4 gallon, that was more than appreciated. It’s about 3-1/2 hours to Berkeley, so I loaded up on a wealth of Hawaiian and ukulele CDs, aimed the steering wheel south and ventured out of the Sierra foothills and toward the Big City.

To get me in the mood for a Hawaiian weekend (as if Bryan Tolentino’s “Ka Ukulele Lele” hadn’t done it), I stopped by an L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Vacaville for an early lunch. Freeway-close and predictably tasty loco moco made it a good choice. Plus, they subscribe to the “Honolulu Advertiser” and, as I enjoyed the brown gravy, rice, hamburger patty, egg and mac salad, I caught up on a bit of island news (albeit one week old).

Next stop on my whirlwind Hawaiian weekend was at Mike Dasilva’s ukulele shop/venue in Berkeley. Mike staged an open house throughout Saturday afternoon with refreshments, informal tours of the shop, instruments to try and an open mic stage. I met a delightful woman from a small ukulele club over in Sausalito, enjoyed talking with Genaro (he, Sil and Evan played some great Hawaiian tunes on the small stage) and saw first-hand some wonderful ukuleles in progress.

Mike has brought in a slew of ukulele cases which are different from any I’ve seen; they’re fiberglass-based, but are that “formed” shape like you see on Bolle sunglass cases. They appear really sturdy and yet aren’t overly heavy. He has them for all sizes.

Leaving Mike’s shop I continued south on 880, checking in at the Fremont LaQuinta ($59/night!) to leave my roll-along in the room by itself while I grabbed my ukulele and happily anticipated the upcoming party at John G. and Katie’s delightful home in Campbell. Every year these two host a pre-festival barbecue. Not only are they wonderful hosts, but the afternoon and evening features good-natured bocce ball games, the most awesome barbecue beans I’ve ever enjoyed, wonderful libations, plates of thinly-sliced grilled tri-tip and, best of all, kanikapila well into the night.

As a “lifetime” invitee to this event, I consider myself a lucky gal. Jeff Turner and his wife, Deena, traveled up from Woodland Hills (we missed super ukulele collector Roger, who chose a bad time to pick up a flu bug); Curtis and his wife, Elizabeth, were there, as, usual (with Kendra, Curtis’ talented ukulele student); Toebone and his wife, Tracey, dropped in as did Dominator and wife, Joanne. Dom was anticipating his solo performance coming up on Sunday morning at the festival and admitted to being a bit nervous. We played and sang (some better than others; well, really, everyone better than me, but I just consider that I make the others feel really good about their musical abilities in comparison) until well after 10 pm. Since some of the attendees had early-morning volunteer roles at the next day’s festival, it wasn’t a really late night.

Festival:
Sunday morning’s sunny skies promised plenty of warm weather for that day’s festival in Hayward. I was in the parking lot by 9:45 (meaning I got a parking space!) and I paid my $5 (what a deal!) and lined up with the others waiting to enter the auditorium. The doors weren’t scheduled to open until 10:30 but I knew Dominator was second on the schedule and I wanted to scout out a good seat. Joanne was in line beside me and, when the doors finally opened, we found ourselves front row seats on the aisle. As an aside, Joanne is one of those “really prepared” people; ‘need a tissue? She’ll pull one out of her purse. Aspirin? Same thing. We’d both had an overload of ink from the entrance stamp on our wrists and Joanne’s had smeared onto her jeans. She had a packet of Shout! out in no time to remove the stain. Wow. I think Joanne must have a Boy Scout background.

The festival’s program features a variety of ukulele-playing individuals and groups; each applies to be on the program and then agrees to play a 10-minute set; this allows for a huge number and variety of performers throughout the day. The auditorium is lushly decorated with greenery, flowers, kahili and Hawaiian quilts and the audience is typically appreciative to each act—whether it’s a large group of enthusiastic youngsters, a mellow trio, a group of aunties and uncles with nahenahe tunes or an ukulele soloist. Dominator was second up that morning and walked on with aplomb—and no hint of any nervousness. His playing of his first selection,  ”Blue Roses Falling,” was a joy. Audience members seemed to be leaning forward to catch every nuance on the fretboard. He played “Something” for his second selection and, for his third, he performed “Star-Spangled Banner,” dedicating the song to those who are serving our country at this time.

After listening to Dominator, I headed out to the courtyard where the vendor booths and informal jamming takes place. My first stop was Kamaka Ukulele, where I was warmly greeted by Asa Young (’such a talented player and singer and yet so modest). I spoke with Chris Kamaka for a bit about perhaps building a tenor with satin finish and a dark binding (hmm….) and then wandered by the booths. I spoke with Tiki King (I really like the new Bark Cloth Flea he designed for FMM), the gal from Hawaiian Airlines (their credit card earns us “free” mileage since we pay it off in full every month) and Tony Graziano. Over on the “other” side of the courtyard I stopped in at Hawaiian Eye Designs (I love their shirts and stickers) where I was surprised to see BruddahMark (does that guy travel all over or what?); he said he’d just flown up for the day since he had never been to the Hayward festival.

At the KP Ukulele booth, John was showing off a variety of Ken’s instruments; two new concerts, including a cutaway, were available. John shared space with Aldon Sanders, who was playing songs from his new CD, “The Uke Files.” The CD includes original songs, some Hawaiian tunes and even a few Mexican melodies; I’ve met Aldon before at John’s party and I knew his playing and singing is wonderful, so of course I had to buy it. You should, too.

On the way back from foraging for lunch (chili plate with mac salad and rice), I spotted Little River Ukuleles‘ booth. Luthier Dave Sigman displayed some absolutely delectable ukuleles—most of them tenors. His inlay work, I’d heard earlier, is impeccable and, I can tell you from first-hand experience, that’s no exaggeration. But these are not just good-lookin’ ukuleles, Dave’s instruments sound superb. The action is just how I like it and the neck and construction made even my soprano-primed fingers feel at home on the fretboard. I went back three times to play a koa tenor with a lovely hula girl on the headstock and an even lovelier sound. I know one is never supposed to have regrets, but that instrument is the closest I’ve come to sharing my heart with another ukulele. Unfortunately, I dallied and it went home with someone else. Passing through the courtyard again, Tom B spotted me and, after catching up on a bit of news, I took him over to the Little River Ukuleles booth to introduce him to Dave. Tom B typically only buys vintage ukuleles, but he fell in love with a walnut tenor (made from wood from nearby Chico) inlaid with the sweetest barn swallow in flight—and, after much thought, he bought it; I felt a bit like an ukulele matchmaker, helping along what will surely be a great relationship.

But the day wasn’t over—there were still great performances on stage to enjoy as well as friends to jam with in the courtyard. The Marin ukulele group (Ukulele Friends Ohana) was at the “usual” spot in the shade at the far end of the courtyard and they welcomed any who wanted to join them in kanikapila—even me! BruddaBu and Dave from Petaluma were among the welcoming strummers in the shade. And, they even played kazoos at the same time they strummed ukuleles!

My total purchases for the day? A tuberose lei (and it still smells good—’though it looks a bit worn out), two bottles of water, Aldon’s CD and the chili plate lunch. Not much damage to the credit card this year at Hayward—but I’m still thinking of a new tenor!