Ukulele Tonya

Note: This is a lengthy account to give you an idea what it’s like to have attended this festival. If you want to skip the words and head directly to the 37 photos in the photo gallery album, 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.

Sweet sounds of the ukulele, wonderful workshop opportunities, island food and drinks (the kinds with the little umbrellas and wedges of pineapple perched on the edge) served in a tropical setting—and the friendliest group of ukulele people you could imagine. All of that defined my time at last week’s Windy City Uke Fest (WCUF), held in DesPlains, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

While organizers Terry Pensel (Nui Ukkulele Club) and George Klinglehofer  (Windy City Islanders) hadn’t staged a festival prior to this inaugural year for WCUF, you wouldn’t have guessed it from the final results of this ukulele festival in the heart of the Midwest. Top-name musicians and enthusiastic ukulele players showed up in force from all over the Midwest, Canada, Washington D.C, Hawaii and even Australia

My mom and dad are from a little, tiny (415 residents) dairy community in Wisconsin and, while they “escaped” before their 20^th birthdays, most of my relatives are still scattered from Wisconsin to Illinois and Iowa; this means that the distinctive Midwest accent (yes, you folks do have an accent!) comforts me; in short, it feels like I’m with family—my Midwestern ohana, if you have it. And that friendly feel—and improving ukulele skills, listening to ukulele masters and plenty of opportunities for playing—was what the WCUF was all about.

I’ve been to a passel of ukulele festivals but never have encountered the friendliness right off the bat that there was at this one. Typically it takes folks a while to get comfortable with one another and be willing to let down their defenses to learn new techniques, try different strumming or attempt jamming with songs out of their usual repertoire. That definitely wasn’t the case at Windy City; jam sessions in the hotel (despite the surly late night clerk and the meeting room with an aroma, as Gerald Ross suggested, of a recent taxidermists’ gathering) and the workshop site featured the widest range of songs I’ve played lately.

And talk about hospitality: Anita, a student in my beginning class, invited a group of us to her home for a delicious lunch on Sunday (and an impromptu hula performance by her little-bit of a daughter); and Lopaka and Julie Young surreptitiously picked up the tab one morning for breakfast at the Silver Stallion (thank you, again!). Is this kind of warmth typical of Chicago-area folks??? Or is it that genuinely nice people are drawn to the ukulele? Hmmm…perhaps there’s a master’s thesis study in there somewhere for a sociology student…

The venue:

Who’d have guessed that, in the middle of the typical suburban Midwest strip mall, you’d find a tropical paradise, replete with hand-carved tiki, friendly servers attired in Polynesian pareo and Hawaiian foods that you’d think were right off a menu on the Big Island of Hawaii? But, I’m here to tell you, it’s there—and it’s called Tiki Terrace, miraculously located in the midst of Des Plaines.

The friendly folks at Tiki Terrace hosted the evening events throughout the Windy City Uke Fest. That means I got to enjoy everything from dinners of coconut crusted chicken, to kalbi ribs, kalua pork, special order loco moco and even taro chips with pineapple salsa. This also means I have a renewed commitment to visiting the gym more regularly now that I’m back home—but every delicious calorie will be worth the few minutes on the elliptical. Dozens of pineapples and lots of rum evidently gave their lives for the various drinks at the Tiki Terrace (I wasn’t driving so I sampled a variety); there was even a drink called the “Kamaka,” which, being a devoted ukulele player I had to try a sip of, too.

In addition to the great food, the Tiki Terrace’s sophisticated sound system and large stage provided an up-close experience from almost every seat in the restaurant. Imagine enjoying the awesome precision of Abe Lagrimas Jr.’s ukulele fingerpicking while sitting at a cozy table with friends, both new and old—and being so close that you can see each of Abe’s left fingers traverse the fretboard. ‘Talk about an intimate and sound-filled venue, the Tiki Terrace definitely fit the bill.

If you had a yearning to be videotaped playing ukulele and post it on YouTube, WCUF’s UkeTube  Stage (at the Tiki Terrace) offered you that chance—with a professional sound system at your disposal and the tropical setting as a backdrop. I took a pass on the experience—but some day I do think I’ll work up something for YouTube…watch out world!

Workshops, vendor displays and other daytime activities were held across the parking lot from the Tiki Terrace, in a vacant commercial space. While the space did tend to get a bit noisy during workshops, it worked fine for its purpose, especially when Terry found a second location for workshops on Saturday…

The physical ambiance of the setting wasn’t really wowser but add in the ukulele “candy” from MusicGuyMic and Karl Markl as well as oodles of teaching materials from Curt Sheller and others and you have a toy store of delights for the ukulele afflicted. And no, despite the great instruments available (and Mike’s sincere help in finding me one), I still haven’t bought my “dream” tenor. Everyone needs a holy grail to pursue and I guess that’ll be mine…

The workshops:

The Windy City Uke Fest followed a format similar to that of the Portland Ukulele Festival: participants could sign up for all three days and  most workshops would continue each of the three days. This is in contrast to the more typical “one session only” classes at most ukulele festivals. Workshops were timed so that beginning and advanced classes were held concurrently; intermediate classes were in the afternoon.

Instructors submitted  workshop handouts prior to the festival and the organizers created a “workshop practice book” for every participant which had all the instruction materials. This allowed each participant to take home materials not only from the classes they actually attended, but also the handouts from the classes they didn’t go to—adding greatly to the learning possibilities in future months, when memories of the class are dimming.

Workshops included: “Introduction to Swing Ukulele”  and a demo of swing lap steel guitar (Gerald Ross); “Introduction to Fingerpicking (Mark “Spanky” Gutierrez); “Intros, Solos and Endings” (Curt Sheller); “Moving from Beginner to Accomplished Ukulele Musician” (Seeso); “Hula: ‘Ulupalakua” (Joyce Flaugher); “Blues Ukulele Class” and “Intermediate Strumming” (Li’l Rev); “Advanced Ukulele” (Ali Lexa); “How to Effectively Learn the Ukulele,” “Recognizing Common Progressions” and “Best Methods for Teaching Ukulele (Kimo Hussey) and “You Can Play the Ukulele, Too” (taught by me!).

Additionally Terry offered mini-workshops on what to look for when buying an ukulele, ukulele resources on the web and the Kodaly Method of learning music. With such an intimate setting, instructors could often be seen between classes, working with individuals or small groups of students, offering even more information (thanks, Mark, for the tips on playing lead using the song’s pentatonic scale—I’m working on that scale “shape” and am almost ready for the next).

While I really enjoy teaching local folks how to play the ukulele (people in these parts know to duck out when they see me coming!), the Windy City Uke Fest was my first opportunity to teach “formally” outside of our area. What a joy it was to help new players gain the skills—and confidence—to play the ukulele! We had a few total “newbies” who’d not picked up an ukulele before and a host of others who had basic skills but wanted to stretch those a bit. It was easy teaching  (and learning from) such an enthusiastic group—my goal was to give each class participant the joy, fun, camaraderie and a real sense of accomplishment that comes from learning to play the ukulele. In case you hadn’t guessed it, “fun” was the operative word…

The kani ka pila (aka “jamming”):

In his class, Kimo asked participants why they’d come to the festival. Answer choices included A) concerts, B) learning, and C) playing with others. The largest number of hands raised was for “learning” but then everyone laughed that they wanted to learn so they could play with others!

Playing with others/kani ka pila/jamming is a highlight for me of attending festivals—and I wasn’t disappointed at WCUF. On Thursday, a group played until midnight at the Tiki Terrace. For most of us ukulele players scattered around the country, a festival is the only time we’ll get to strum side by side with the likes of Kimo Hussey, Mark Gutierrez, Gerald Ross, Lopaka Young and and other “name” players. For some of us in ukulele-isolated regions, they’re the only chance to strum alongside others period! Keenan Kamae (yes, from that Kamae family) graced us during Thursday night’s jamming with a lively hula rendition of Ulupulakua as we all strummed and sang.

The playing continued throughout the weekend as spontaneous jam sessions popped up in the workshop area as well as the lobby and the meeting hall of the hotel. In the words of Lori, from Wisconsin, who’d never attended an ukulele festival before, “Playing and singing with so many ukulele friends was something that I never, ever dreamed of doing and, wow—there I was, right in the middle of it.”

 And, yes, at least one group played “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”—but we played the “old” version of it with the lead-in verses, not just the Tiny-Tim-Made-It-(in)Famous chorus.

The concerts:

Ukulele performers played for three full nights of concerts (six half-hour sets a night). Take a look at the line-up and go ahead and be jealous: Kimo Hussey, Ali Lexa, Windy City Islanders, Seeso, Abe Lagrimas Jr., Gerald Ross, Tim Sweeney, Victoria Vox, Mark Gutierrez, Li’l Rev, Jonathan Carreira, Keenan Kamae, Lopaka Young, Curt Sheller, Dale Anderson, Barefoot Hawaiian and comedian Mark Griffo.

Whew! We even saw MusicGuyMic take to the stage (with Debi Velasco’s bass ukulele) to accompany one of Abe’s numbers; he was joined by Debi’s hubby, Gordon, on ukulele.

In summary:

The TSA guy at the airport on the West Coast snickered when he heard that I was heading to an ukulele festival in Chicago. Ha! What could he have known??? The Windy City Uke Fest was a joy to attend and a solid success as a first-time festival—if Terry and George are brave enough to take it on again in 2009, I’d call it a definite “you gotta do this” event.

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!