Still a sucker for mash-ups like this one: Pinball Wizard v Folsom Prison Blues….
YouTube Channel: KenMiddletonUkulele
Brilliant….
YouTube Channel: sanfordandsong
Aldrine with a beautiful tribute to one of his idols, Gregory Isaacs….
YouTube Channel: ukuleleoversoul
Live at the Ypsi Songwriting Fest….
YouTube Channel: archivestereo
Web Site: http://www.mikekasselmusic.com
Agathe, the ukulele half of Agathe & Fine, with a lovely cover….
YouTube Channel: Peyrson
Part 2 – The second half of my interview with Jake.
0:00 – In addition to your solo work, you have toured
and recorded with musicians as diverse as Bela Fleck, Jimmy Buffet and
Yo Yo Ma. In which of these situations do you feel most comfortable,
and in which do you feel the most challenged creatively?
5:00 – Your brother, Bruce, is a talented ukulele player
too. Do you have plans to work together on any projects?
6:10 – James Hill is the other ukulele player in your range.
Do you know each other, and will there ever be a Jake/James duet?
7:35 – At the other end of the ukulele experience range,
there is me. If I was a baseball fan and met Babe Ruth, I would have to
ask him to play a game of catch. I would like to try and play something
together with you, if that’s okay? (Last Excuse: This is my first
performance on video, and I’m sure you can guess who was hitting the
flat notes ;-)
Jake Shimabukuro: 
Web Site: www.JakeShimabukuro.com
Photo Credit: Hisashi Uchida
Editors Note: Due to a busy week here, we will be replaying our interview series.
When I heard Jake would be playing at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville, Pa,
which is right down the road from me, I jumped at the chance to see him live.
If you haven’t seen him yet, do not miss the opportunity – on video and record
he is amazing – live you will not believe your eyes or your ears.
Once good tickets were secured, I decided to take the express train
out of my comfort zone and try to set up a video interview with him.
Much to my delight, his media manager, Michael Bloom, and tour manager,
Mark Darlen, were amazingly helpful in arranging time for the interview,
and the rumors about Jake are true: he is the most friendly, gracious
and humble person I have ever met.
First Excuse: While acoustically good,
the Colonial is 100 years old,
and those were hard worn years. My plan was two cameras and a sound
recorder covering Jake and I sitting in the front row, but we had no control
over the house lights so we had to set up on stage. There was only one
seat, which I thought I should graciously let Jake have, especially since it
was his seat. This left me rocking around on the squeaky floorboards of
the stage. With all that rocking and squeaking, I decided to just go with
the one best camera and sound source.
the Colonial is 100 years old,
and those were hard worn years. My plan was two cameras and a sound
recorder covering Jake and I sitting in the front row, but we had no control
over the house lights so we had to set up on stage. There was only one
seat, which I thought I should graciously let Jake have, especially since it
was his seat. This left me rocking around on the squeaky floorboards of
the stage. With all that rocking and squeaking, I decided to just go with
the one best camera and sound source.
The final footage was cut into two nine minute videos. My questions
with time stamps are listed below in case you want to jump to a specific
question/answer.
with time stamps are listed below in case you want to jump to a specific
question/answer.
Part 1
0:00 – There are a few people in a lifetime that are truly
extraordinary in their field: people like Tiger in golf, Bruce in Martial
Arts, and Michael in basketball. More than just successful, they
make the impossible look effortless, and accomplish amazing feats
with a grace and economy of motion that is beautiful to behold.
extraordinary in their field: people like Tiger in golf, Bruce in Martial
Arts, and Michael in basketball. More than just successful, they
make the impossible look effortless, and accomplish amazing feats
with a grace and economy of motion that is beautiful to behold.
If you wanted to add a musician to that list, it would be Jake Shimabukuro.
Listen to him play and you will assume you are listening to several musicians.
See him play, and you will be amazed.
0:35 – Sometimes, when musicians reach a high level of skill they get
trapped in that skill and lose sight of the music. While complex, your
arrangements serve the music well and don’t come across as excessive.
Is this a balance you work to maintain when you are composing and
arranging songs?
2:45 – In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Outliers
hours of practice to be world class at anything: hockey, playing classical music,
you name it – 10,000 hours. At 40 hours a week, that’s about 5 years.
When would you estimate that you crossed the 10,000 hour mark, and does that
time period correlate with any milestones in your career?
6:08 – Rumor has it that you are finally releasing the fabled “Book of Jake Tabs”
next year. Is this true, and do you have a song list and release date yet?
Editors Note: Due to a busy week here, we will be replaying our interview series.
As you will find out in the interview below, Ken is passionately engaged with the art of music, and with those who share his interests. His commitment to musicians and their craft is clearly demonstrated in the care and detail with which he answered my humble questions.
Donnie Bubbles: In addition to the ukulele, you also play guitar and piano. When you choose an instrument for a song, how does that choice influence the structure of the song? What makes you choose the ukulele for a particular song?
Ken Middleton:< It is really more a question of what instrument interests me at the moment. At the present time that instrument is the ukulele. I don’t believe that a song will sound better because you choose a particular instrument to accompany it – it will just sound different. Unquestionably, some songs sound great on the guitar, and some sound like were meant for the piano, but I believe that any song can be played on any instrument, as long as you don’t just want to copy the original version. If you take a well-known guitar song, for instance, and try to copy the guitar part on the ukulele, you will be in danger of just making the ukulele sound like a toy guitar. I think that the secret is to choose a song (any song) and try to make it your own. In other words, play it in a way that works on the ukulele. A great song will work well, even with a very simple accompaniment.
In short, I just choose the songs that interest me and I don’t pick them just because I think they will sound good with a ukulele accompaniment. I try to keep the accompaniment straightforward and uncluttered. Fancy playing doesn’t necessarily make good music.
When I am recording a song I usually play it live one vocal part with one ukulele part. I try to avoid overdubbing, miming and multi-tracking. I like the simplicity of this process. That’s not to say that I don’t use multi-tracking at other times. I think that modern audio software makes just about anything possible, and some YouTubers use it to great effect.
When I record a song, what I don’t usually do is to listen to the original before I record my version. Neither do I practice the song very much (if at all) before recording it. I find that this keeps the music fresh and gives it the live feel that I really like. It may have a few wrong notes, but so what?
As a lifelong Glass/Reich/Riley fan, I was so excited to hear you doing minimalism on the ukulele. Have you come across a song or style of music where the ukulele could not work?
KM: I really feel that the ukulele has not even come close to reaching its potential as a serious instrument. I’m really interested in expanding the possibilities of the ukulele. In the UK particularly, many people still think of it as a comedy instrument and immediately start talking about George Formby. Now I’ve nothing against that style of playing, it’s just not for me.
I was recently teaching the topic of Minimalism to a high school music group and I realised that the ukulele was the perfect vehicle for conveying some of the effects and techniques of this style. Just as Steve Reich had used the marimba, I decided to try the ukulele. Minimalism works well if you are economical with the way you use the instrument. Because the ukulele has its limitations (like few strings, range of only a couple of octaves, less volume than most instruments), it should work very well only playing a minimal amount of material. I have hardly had chance to explore the possibilities of minimalism yet. There will be more to come this year.
DB: The bulk of your covers are Leonard Cohen songs. While most people know of him, far too few could identify more than a couple of his songs. What could we all learn from a closer study of Cohen’s works?
Yes, I have always loved Leonard Cohen’s music. About 40 years ago I learned the finger-picking patterns to all the songs from his first couple of albums. I could play them just like Leonard Cohen did and I used a Spanish guitar just like him. I have never forgotten them. Some of them are a little tricky to adapt to the ukulele, but with most of his songs I don’t even try. I prefer to do them my way. But there are one or two where I make a conscious effort to imitate him. My recording of Suzanne, for example, has an accompanying pattern that is very reminiscent of Cohen’s recording. The same would be true of The Partisan and Seems So Long Ago, Nancy.
So, what do I admire about Cohen’s songs? Well for one thing, he accompanies very sparingly – sometimes just a guitar. Perhaps this is one reason why they seem to work well on the ukulele. Another important factor is that he writes simple, beautiful melodies. But because he sings in that deep, sonorous voice, people often fail to recognise just how tuneful his songs are. Again this helps them to stand up with only the simplest ukulele accompaniment. One more thing I must say about Cohen’s songs is that they have wonderful lyrics. His words are sometimes mysterious, often obscure, but always interesting. Perhaps this is why the song Hallelujah has become so well-known. I really don’t think it has anything to do with Jeff Buckley.
DB: Everyone knows you need to practice, practice, practice to become proficient at an instrument. Of that practice time, what skills do you think are the most important to focus on for a beginner, and for an intermediate player?
KM: I don’t practice as much as I should. As I have already said, I rarely practice songs. But one other thing, and this will horrify some people, I never play scales. However, I am definitely not saying that these things are bad – it’s just that I do things a little differently. I am not very interested in being a brilliant, virtuoso player. I don’t care if I am never able to play Gently Weeps. What I prefer to do is to play simple things, but play them well. What I practice is techniques. And when I do a video for a piece of bluegrass or Celtic music (for which I have done a tab sheet), I like to get it more or less right so that less experienced players can learn from it.
The biggest asset to have when playing any instrument is to be able to understand the music you are trying to play. It doesn’t matter how many different chords you can play if you don’t understand how to use them. Learning something about the rudiments and theory of music is vital. This is perhaps the most important thing for an aspiring ukulele player to find out about. If you understand what you are playing, you don’t have to rely on other peoples understanding, and you don’t have to keep asking for the tab for a song that you like. There are a lot of young players out there who think that they can learn to play by some kind of osmosis. What they actually need to do is to practice and understand the basics. The problem is, of course, that young players hear something that they like and, naturally, want to play it for themselves. I have to say that there is a great deal of real enthusiasm for the ukulele at the moment and that is a really positive thing.
DB: I think know what you mean. I have been playing ukulele for just over a year. Most of my practice time has been spent leaning specific songs from tabs and chord sheets. While it is gratifying to be able to play my favorite song from beginning to end, and physically I am getting more and more comfortable with both fingering and strumming, I am starting to see the gaps in my musical knowledge and how those gaps are keeping me from moving forward from being a “player of songs” toward being a “musician.”
KM: There is a bigger problem though. Compared to other instruments (guitar, flute, saxophone, etc.), there is a real lack of good instructional material for the ukulele. Great players like Dominator and Wilfried Welti are producing beautiful and inspired arrangements, but how do people get to the stage of being able to tackle these pieces? They need to learn the basics, but this is easier said than done. However, the situation is rapidly improving as the ukulele gains in popularity. New tuition books are becoming available all the time and I would encourage aspiring players to purchase some of this material and work though it conscientiously.
My wife Liz, for instance, would love to play the ukulele. The problem is that she wants to learn it without doing any work (she’s given me the okay to say this). Just as with any other instrument, you must approach ukulele playing with a serious intention to learn correctly. This means practising the right things – and not just playing through your favourite song over and over again. I don’t know whether Liz will decide to put the time in or not, but, if she wants to learn, this is what she has to do. For both the beginner and the intermediate player, the most important skill to learn is to understand the music you are trying to play. Then you need to practice it properly.
Fortunately, for those learning the ukulele, ukulele players are the most friendly, helpful, generous and considerate musicians that I have ever had the honour to be associated with. It is just incredible how many real friends you can make, and all because of one thing – the ukulele. It truly is a wondrous instrument.
DB: What projects do you have in store for us this year?
KM: I shall, of course, carry on with the things I am already doing. There are plenty of Cohen songs I haven’t tackled yet. As I’ve already said, I shall be composing some more minimalist music for the uke. I hope to record more jazz/swing music, particularly songs from the 30’s and 40’s. And I shall continue to review ukuleles. Any company that sends me an instrument will get my honest and impartial judgement.
However, I do have a project in the pipeline that I am really excited about. I am in the process of putting together several eBooks of ukulele music which should be available for purchase later this year. The first one is likely to be a collection of either bluegrass or Celtic tunes. These will be all-new and are not currently available on the Internet. The music/TAB will be in PDF format and will probably be accompanied by a MIDI file. By using a MIDI file I can email the eBook to the buyer. MIDI files can also be slowed down to make practice easier. The books will contain lots of information about how to play each of the tunes.
2008 was a really good year and things are going very well for me this year. I would really like to take this opportunity to thank all the players and ukulele enthusiasts who have given me so much support and encouragement on YouTube.
Ken’s five (!!!!!) YouTube Channels
YouTube Channel – Ukulele: KenMiddletonUkulele
YouTube Channel – Haiku: KenMiddletonHaiku
YouTube Channel – Guitar: KenMiddletonGuitar
YouTube Channel – Christian: KenMiddletonSongs
YouTube Channel – Jazz: KenMiddletonMusic
Editors Note: Due to a busy week here, we will be replaying our interview series.
Remember that kid in high school? Not the one who made fun of your no-name sneakers, but the one who was always nice to everyone. Both athletics and academics always seemed to be effortless for him. His Ferris Bueller like charm would get him out of serious trouble with a wink and a smile. And when his name came up in conversation, your girlfriend’s eyes would get that dreamy far away look they used to get when she looked at you. Man you hated that kid, but mostly because he wasn’t you.
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! 🙂
YouTube Channel: wadejohnston
Myspace: wadejohnston
Facebook: wadejohnston
Editors Note: Due to a busy week here, we will be replaying our interview series. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a ukulele? Maple leaves? Snow? Hockey? Not yet, but if Canada keeps it up, these things may become synonymous with the ukulele the way palm trees and grass skirts are now. First there was J. Chalmers Doane’s innovative use of ukuleles in music education. Then they gave us James Hill and his masterful technique, followed by the yodeling vaudevillian Ralph Shaw. What’s next – charming young Canadian lassies plying us with their witty wordplay and artful strumming?!?!
Too late! If you haven’t already, prepare to meet Zoe, better known as Ukulelezo, from Southern Ontario. Her choice of cover songs, and her earnest yet whimsical performances, have quickly made her a darling of the ukulele Internet set. And now she has started writing original songs that are both clever and hummable.
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)
YouTube Channel: Ukulelezo
