Maybe that’s why Wade Johnston hasn’t gotten the respect he deserves from the ukulele blogosphere – it just looks so damn easy for him! But this is no fly-by-night strummer clicking record and crapping out covers. His multi-track videos are more fun and better produced than most of the stuff put out by corporation backed professionals, and his original songs display a disarmingly mature sense of harmony, structure and inventive playfulness.

To find out more about Wade, we asked him the following questions:Donnie Bubbles: What was it that brought you to the ukulele, and what keeps you playing it?

Wade Johnston: The summer before I moved to college, my dad informed me that I wasn’t allowed to take his guitar with me to school, (yeah, I wasn’t happy about it, haha) so I decided to shop for one of my own. As I was searching for one on craigslist, I found a guy who had a nice Takamine and he happened to have an Ovation Applause Soprano Uke as well. I’ve always been interested in learning new instruments, so I bought it for about $50 bucks. I started learning it and quickly fell in love with it’s playability and unique sound. In just a few months, it’s become my go-to instrument when I’m bored at school because it just sits on my desk…begging to be played.

DB: YouTube has been very, very good for you. Your participation in the UkeTube Live event put you onstage with “name-brand” acts, and online in front of an audience of more people than most of us will even meet in a lifetime. Could you have imagined this level of success just a year ago when you joined up?

WJ:< Never in my wildest dreams–it still doesn’t even seem real to me. I was a little embarrassed to start posting videos, and I actually didn’t tell any of my friends until after I passed the 100 mark of subscribers. As you can see from my “Julia Nunes, I Love You” video, when I realized she acknowledge my presence, I freaked. As I’m sure you can imagine, when I found out I was going to San Francisco, I nearly died.

I have talked to several young musicians who scoff at the new media route for aspiring artists. Can you see any legitimate long term downside to self publishing and self marketing for this generation of performers? Could these dangers possibly outweigh the benefits?

WJ: The only problem that I’ve ever encountered with that is in the songwriting process. As a song writer, it’s easy to grow tired of a song and change it up, months after you thought it was previously finished. Sometimes I’m apprehensive to post videos of originals, because if I change it in the studio, perhaps the fans won’t like the professional version as much as the low-key video version. But overall, I think YouTube is a fantastic way to market yourself as an artist, and the benefits easily outweigh the dangers. It gives me a tangible medium to critique myself both as a singer/songwriter and a performer, and attract a worldwide fan base in the process. An besides, where else can you have unlimited takes at performing live for millions of people?

DB: You have been less than shy about announcing your love and respect for Julia Nunes. When is she going to come to her senses and just marry you already? She has to admit, Julia Johnston does roll off the tongue quite easily….

WJ: Julia and I plan to get married in the spring of next year…and all of YouTube is invited! (hahaha) But really, Julia was a fantastic person to meet, and she was better than I could have ever dreamt her to be. She’s everything she is on YouTube–and then some. I was truly privileged to have met, performed and become friends with her–it’s a fairytale story worth telling to my grandkids when I’m 90 years old.DB: Your very good (even if it is light on ukulele) EP has just been released. What other projects do you have in store for us this year?

WJ: Well, next on my to-do list is to get a full length album out. God knows how long that will take–I’ve got a full plate with school, performing, and other endeavors. I’d also love to put together some tour dates across the country, but I’ll have to leave that to luck (and YouTube). In the mean time, I’ll just keep posting videos, I guess!

To learn more about Zoe, we asked her the following questions:

Donnie Bubbles: How did you come to play the ukulele? Had you already been playing another instrument?

Zoe: I literally picked it up on a whim. I was in a music store and they had some of the J. Chalmers Doane cool looking ukuleles on display. I think they look like the love child of a traditional ukulele and a flying V guitar, which is probably why I was immediately drawn to them. I picked one up to give it a strum, and although it wasn’t in tune, I was compelled to buy it! I had played guitar for a few years. I’m very much an autodidact, so I taught myself to play in all sorts of alternate tunings, with chords I never bothered to find out the names for, but it never quite felt right. The ukulele felt like coming home.

DB: Surprisingly, with the millions of songs in human history, few have been written about the allure of the moustache, the career aspirations of future bikini models, or love stories featuring people who live with insects. How do you account for your unusual subject matter?

Zoe: I like amusing subjects. I’m drawn to unexpected stories and things that make me laugh. Some of the best songs are written about love and people’s own experiences, but I just can’t write those kinds of songs. It takes a real bravery to put that out there, and I guess I’m just not ready yet. I appreciate it, but I can’t do it. Instead, I will bring you “Urban Dictionary – The Song” and “I want to be like She-Ra”. I just made those titles up right now. They have not been written…yet.

DB: As a child of the punk era, it’s heart warming to know that someone younger than me has heard of Jello Biafra. Is this due to your having worked in a record store? Are we, as a society, losing something with the demise of the record store, or is the expanded-reach/lower-entry-bar of the digital age worth the cost?

Zoe: I used to listen to the Dead Kennedys in high school. It was music to skip class to! I’m a fan of a lot different types of music: Jazz, Blues, Folk, Rock, Funk, Electronica, Rap, Bluegrass, Punk, the list goes on and on. It just depends what kind of a mood I’m in that day. I love independent record stores and spending hours trolling through the bins, talking to other customers and finding out what they are into. I hope there will always be a place for them, but the digital age brings music to ears all over the world much more easily. I don’t think being a musician is easy, but there are now so many accessible forums and ways to get your music heard! I’ve discovered so many great bands and songwriters through blogs, Myspace, YouTube and other Internet adventures, that I probably would never have heard of before the digital age. I think it’s worth the cost – anything to give musicians more of a chance.

DB: Your duet with Seeso on Angel from Montgomery was described by Woodshed of Ukehunt as “bursting with sexual tension.” Ummm – was the duet experience good for you? Do you have more duets planned?

Zoe: I don’t know about that whole “sexual tension” thing. I recorded my part first, by myself, in my room, in another country! It was a lot of fun to do though, and Seeso is a great player, writer and person in general. I’ve never met him, but hopefully I’ll get the chance. It would be great to sing with him live, and we both really love that song, so maybe someday. I don’t have any more duets planned right now, but if anyone is interested, I’d love to hear from them!

DB: You are publishing one new song a month for Grumpy Coyote’s Bring the Song Challenge. Do you find that the self-imposed deadlines help focus your creative energies?

Zoe: Yes! I’m a terrible procrastinator. I have a lot of first verses to songs I haven’t completed yet. Ideas will run around in my head for a long time. I usually need to force myself to sit down and flesh it out into a full-fledged song. There are always too many distractions, so a deadline, even self imposed, is key to me being at all productive!

Chords and Lyrics: Ukulelezo (look in the info)

Bon Iver: 

YouTube Channel: bizabellax

Chords and Lyrics: Bon Iver Flume – Ukulele

Rihanna: 

YouTube Channel: yourphoenix

Chords and Lyrics: Rihanna Umbrella – Ukulele

Billy Holiday: 

The Zombies: 

OK Go: 

YouTube Channel: theicetray

Chords and Lyrics: Zombies This Will Be Our Year – Ukulele

John King: 

YouTube Channel: krouk

John King Web Site: http://www.nalu-music.com/

Del Shannon: 

YouTube Channel: logophile

Chords and Lyrics: Del Shannon Runaway – Ukulele

Billy Holiday: 

YouTube Channel: Lstrachey

Tab with Chords and Lyrics: Isham Jones It Had to be You – Ukulele