Interview with Alex Beds of Southern Ukulele Store

Not a regular post as such, but putting it here for posterity so I can find it easily. I was recently delighted to do an interview with Alex from Southern Ukulele Store in the UK in which we chew the fat on ukes generally and my review process.

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Got A Ukulele Interview - Katy Vernon

It was quite some time ago now that I first hooked up with Katy Vernon online. The British born, US resident singer songwriter and I first started chatting about the time she first started out with the ukulele many moons ago.

Credit - Randy Vanderwood

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Got A Ukulele Interview - Danielle Ate The Sandwich

Time for another interview on Got A Ukulele and a performer I am delighted agreed to talk to the website.  Danielle Anderson, who performs under her stage name of ‘Danielle Ate The Sandwich’ will be well known to ukulele fans around the world, perhaps from her rather excellent YouTube videos (some of which I have shared on this site) but also on account of her extremely well received live performances and enviable songwriting skills.

Credit - Kaela Speicher

Born and raised in Nebraska, Danielle has more recently called Fort Collins, Colorado her home and has been touring the US since 2009 with a string of albums to her name. Later this year she is visiting and performing in the UK at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival which will be a real treat.  I caught up with her recently.

Hi Danielle! Let’s start off with finding out a little more about how you started in music – what were your first experiences? 

'I was in choir in school and church and took piano lessons as a kiddo. I studied violin from 4th grade until I graduated high school. I had always loved writing stories and poems! I have a notebook with songs I wrote from about 5th or 6th grade and some old cassette tapes with me singing some of my early songs. I taught myself to play guitar in high school, but kept my songs a secret until my early 20s! That also when I found the ukulele! I’m a late bloomer, so when I finally came out of my shell it was a bit of an explosion!' 

So have you been mainly playing ukulele since or do you have other instruments at home? 

'I play mostly ukulele, but this winter I got an electric guitar (with amp and effects) and a banjo. I think that different instruments can help unlock new songs or paths of creativity. Just like if you get a new haircut, you might walk a little bit differently down the street. Ukulele is a true love of mine, but I am willing to have flings with other instruments!' 

That’s what I regularly tell my readers – it’s healthy to enjoy all sorts of instruments. Flings are allowed! Aside from the instruments themselves, what styles of music are your real loves? 

'What I listen to on a daily basis and what inspires my music are a bit different! I love to find inspiration from folk, jazz and soul music. The lyrical styles found in all of them inspire my own, but I always love pop/jazz vocal melodies and as I develop my singing voice more, I love to let loose with some soul singing! In the car, I listen to pop radio and house/electronic music. The last album I got was Justin Bieber’s Purpose and I love it. It usually surprises people that I like mass consumed radio and cable TV.' 

I’ve picked up a soul vibe on the vocals in many of your videos – is there a style you haven’t yet attempted as Danielle Ate The Sandwich but would like to? Do you think everything can work with the ukulele? 

'There are songs I love, but can’t seem to make work well with just voice and ukulele. I don’t think that is a limit of the ukulele, so much as it is a limit of my own musical know-how.  There are ukulele players who make it obvious to me the ukulele can do anything! James Hill is one of these players-he does Michael Jackson and Jimi Hendrix and his own amazing originals. I am proud to have been able to cover a lot of genres-soul, jazz, pop, rock, country. I would love to do some James Brown and have been working on a Doris Day cover for a long time now!' 

Credit - Corey Hardwick

Like many artists on the ukulele circuit, you generated a lot of early success with your YouTube videos – how important do you think that channel is for new performers to get noticed? 

'YouTube was a very important part of how I got my start and success! I think it’s a great help, but I don’t think it’s essential to success. I know a lot of people ask me how they should get started on YouTube and how they can get big there, but I think it’s a very hard thing to cultivate and it certainly not for everyone. It worked well for me because I got on right when it got big and I’m a goofy performer who loves to be in front of the camera. I don’t think anything I am doing is necessarily right for another musician and vice versa. I should do exactly what they’re doing and expect the same results. I believe that just like finding your musical style and artistic vision, you need to carve your own business path!'

And how did the ‘Ate The Sandwich’ name come about? 

'It was in 2006, when i was making a myspace page for my music. I had to pick a URL for the page, so I was making a list of things to call myself and it came to mind. I think food (as an essential building block of life, as well as a visual thing) is fun and lovely. I like the word Sandwich-it’s got nice heavy consonants and sandwiches come in many different shapes and sizes! I didn’t want to change my last name or use a fake stage name, so I just thought what do you do with Sandwiches, you eat them. I’m Danielle, what do I do to Sandwiches? I eat them.' 

As a musician, what do you get the biggest buzz from? Songwriting, live performance or a mix of all those things? 

'Definitely a mix! I am a songwriter. I am living every day of my life, observing and experiencing every moment as a songwriter. It’s the difference between the question, “What do you do for a job?” and “Who are you?”' 


That’s a good point. So tell me how the performance element gives you a buzz? 

'Performance is something that I discovered I love in the last 10 years. It makes me feel alive in a different way! When I’m on stage, I’m brazen and liberated. I say what I think and I feel good about myself. The connection between the audience and a performer is really important to me. It’s wild to be two different people, one very timid and observing very quietly and another on fire and up in front of everyone!' 

Does that feeling of being on fire come naturally to you? What are your tips for dealing with stage fright and nerves?

'I wasn’t always good on stage! It took me a very long time to face my fears and perform for the first time. When I finally found the courage to get up there, I had to perform several times before I enjoyed it. I was critical of how I did and usually got off the stage feeling terrible about myself. I was always saying, “That was terrible Danielle, but you can do better, you’ve got to try again and do better next time.” There was some fire under my butt that kept me getting back up there. I was always self deprecating and a little odd on stage, so my schtick is natural in the way that it happened the very first time I got up to perform and I’m still doing that today. The experience I was personally having got better and better as I got more experience on stage. I think of stage performance a lot like learning to play a song. You have to practice. You have to do it over and over, know what you’re doing if you mess up, know what you’re doing if you’re doing well, you have to know how to do it when people are talking or when people are REALLY listening. Performance is a skill and an artform! I really like it!

Audiences in the UK and Europe will be thrilled to see you are on the bill for this years Grand Northern Ukulele Festival. Is this your first time over to the UK? 

'I travelled to Scotland in 2013 with friends, but didn’t play any shows! This will be my first time in England and my first time performing in the UK! It feels like a very important step for me professional as well as a person! I’m looking forward to the adventure!' 

Credit - Mercedes

Well I think you are at one of the great ukulele festivals and am sure you will go down well. Of course you have played many other great places already! What would you say is a performance highlight in your career so far? 

'I’ve done a few fancy things that people always like to hear about. I got to play the NPR Radio show, ETown with Mumford and Sons. I’ve also opened for Suzanne Vega and I’ve opened on tour for Pomplamoose. I’ve had a few experiences that were very rewarding and personal to me. Sometimes playing a show can be just like another day at work and other days you’re overcome with gratitude and emotions, getting to play your songs and getting to be where you are, sharing it with people.'  

Wow! some great names there! What about venues?Do you have any dream stages or events you would like to play? 

'My biggest (silly) dream is to be on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest and host! I’d also love to play larger, historic theaters and venues-the same kind of places where Damien Rice and Glen Hansard play! It’s great to be in a venue that helps bring alive your voice and songs, but can still be an intimate setting for you and your fans!' 

Naturally, my readers are always keen to know what instruments artists use – tell us a little about your performance instruments. 

'My first choice is always the ukulele! I play tenor the most often, but recently got into the baritone. My latest album, ‘The Drawing Back of Curtains’ was almost all baritone ukulele! And I find it’s been a great tool for writing!  I play Mya-Moe brand ukuleles. I also play guitar occasionally and just got a banjo! I love to write on any instrument I can get my hands on, but the ukulele is really my strongest writing partner!' 

I saw that you play Mya-Moe ukuleles – and obviously there is a connection there with Aaron Keim who you have also appeared in videos with. Are you pleased to be sharing the bill with Aaron and Nicole at GNUF?  (nb readers - as well as being a performer,  Aaron is a builder with Gordon and Char Mayer at Mya-Moe in the USA)

'I’m thrilled to be sharing the bill with  The Quiet American! They are very fun people! I love their knowledge of folk music and Americana and the information they can share about playing the ukulele in their workshops is amazing! I always try to sneak into the class they’re teaching! They have also been great sources of wisdom for me through my music career and life.'  

Finally – the question that I end all interviews with… Let us know your best piece of advice for ukulele beginners? 

'Keep it in tune and give yourself time to learn chords and learn how to switch easily from one to another! That’s the hardest part in the beginning! Also, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself to learn the next thing that may seem hard and impossible! I have that problem myself-pushing through the difficulty and practicing enough to master a new skill! Most importantly, have fun with it!'

Thanks Danielle – looking forward to seeing you play at GNUF this year!

Danielle Ate The Sandwich is one of the headline performers at this years Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in Huddersfield UK from 27-29 May.

Take a listen to one of Danielle's more recent songs below!



http://danielleatethesandwich.com
http://northernuke.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/daniellesmagic



© Barry Maz

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Ukulele Russ - The Got A Ukulele Interview

A ukulele interview session that has been far too long in the gestation this one. Some years ago now I first came across some ukulele music videos that just ticked the right box for me. A great blues style, a great voice, dark humour and most of all, a player who prefers to do things his way rather than what some people prefer to dictate.

The wild man of ukulele - Ukulele Russ - aka Russell Copelin. We talk regularly online but only recently have schedules collided to enable us to talk in more detail about his stuff.

(Is 'the wild man of ukulele' that his nickname? I have no idea - but I just called him that. Well, bear in mind I live in mild mannered Cheshire in the UK, whereas Russ spends most of the year in the heart of Alaska USA. Believe me - that is indeed wild compared to here!). Outside of Alaska - Russ has appeared on stages around the world including Australia (could that be any further from Alaska?) together with numerous TV spots in the US. I caught with him recently to talk gigs, ukulele and Alaska!

Credit Nick Pitsas

I always consider you as one of the most travelled musicians in the ukulele world. Tell us about some of your trips.

Every time I take a week or more to leave my cabin for a string of gigs in Alaska it is a trip in more ways than one. For the road hardened and resourceful individual Alaska offers a lot of challenges, opportunities, and rewards. For example this summer I decided it would be fun to buy an old RV from the 1980s and headed 550 miles south to play a three night stretch at a carnival and held a private concert / ukulele clinic for a local ukulele group. On the ride home the flex plate got chewed up by the starter and I was forced to have it towed to my place, drop the transmission, and fix the thing. Gotta be resourceful up here especially if you are poor. I’m working on a ukulele budget here not some grandiose guitar salary! 

So, how do you break up all the travelling to keep things sane?

On the way to and from my gigs I get to stop at several of my favorite salmon fishing spots, run my dogs on some trails with my wife, and visit friends along the way. I always find myself calling acquaintances on my route to see if they want me to bring them some fresh vegetables or supplies from either Fairbanks or Anchorage depending on if I am heading north or south. In the middle of nowhere during the winter a fresh tomato can bring a smile to anyone’s face. Lettuce? Don’t even get me started on crisp lettuce. Try to keep it from wilting as you walk to your car in -40F (about -40C -- the scales meet up at -44) through the parking lot at the grocery store. The race is on! 

To a Brit like me, the distances seem enormous. But they are even enormous within your own state right?

Enormous is a good word for it. It is just the regular grind for me. I live in the largest state in the U.S. (Texas, eat your heart out) so it is never a short ride for anything. To give you an idea how large Alaska physically is we could split Alaska into three states thus making Texas the third largest state in the union. Best part is we would still have enough leftover to make another South Carolina. It’s big. 

But not that many people there?

The population is only 700K people in the whole state which gives us all a lot of breathing room. You can go into the city and do your socializing, but you can also drive right outside of town and never see a soul. Just for me to get to the edge of the closest town it is a good 20 minutes in the car with absolutely no traffic rolling at 55mph. This is also the same distance (plus ten minutes) for me to take a shower. Nothing is easy and running water is for fancy people. I sure do wish I can become fancy one day. 

What sort of mileage are we talking here?

My average week on the road when I’m gigging in Alaska will put around 1000 miles on my vehicle. One way from Fairbanks to Anchorage, which is my most regular Alaskan commute, is about 6-8 hours (370 miles) in the car depending on weather and road construction. I have had it take as long as 15 hours. So any average work week for me will include around 20+ hours in the car. Last year, which wasn’t one of my heaviest driving years, I put around 30,000 miles on my vehicles just driving to gigs in Alaska. Let me tell you… the roads are so nice and smooth. (I wish I could insert a scratch and sniff sticker for sarcasm here. What would it really smell like? Your guess would be as good as mine.)    

So let's get on to music. What were your beginnings? 

Well I think I was always destined to play the trumpet, however, when I was a young child my father stepped on my plastic trumpet toy I had left on the living room floor in the night stumbling his way in the dark to the bathroom. Thus shattering my dreams to blow. haha. I eventually decided after my older brother started playing the guitar that I should rock the drums. I took lessons for several years through my pre-teen and teen years, participated in marching, concert, and pep bands in high school. Making beats finally started to bore me. I plateaued as a drummer and moved on. From there I got into programming music with programs like Cakewalk, Fruity Loops, and Rebirth. I guess you could call this my techno / electronica phase. 

Well, I honestly didn't expect that!

This was a very dark portion of my life.... Eventually the hard drive crashed on my old desktop computer and all the music I wrote was lost. This is probably a good thing for the world. Trust me.

So what about strings? 

My junior year of college I discovered stringed instruments and ultimately the ukulele. I traded nights of partying and hanging out with my friends for evenings alone with a ukulele. I felt like such a loser, but I was mesmerized. The power of the ukulele is strong and when I realized you didn’t have to sing songs about rainbows and beaches the world became my oyster. Perhaps the ukulele was my oyster. That sounds deeper. I’m gonna go with that. Fast forward twelve years and now I play ukulele for a living. If you would have told me when I started that I would be doing it for a career I would have laughed at you. It has been a decade now and I couldn’t be happier. 

So like many people there were other stringed instruments first. What prompted you to pick up a ukulele?

It was a college day like any other. I had been surviving off of ramen noodles and cheap high alcohol content beer for over the last two years. Typical college stuff. Poor diets and over consumption of low quality booze. Nothing out of the ordinary. A strange twist of good fate had somehow landed $30 in my pocket which was a fortune to me at the time. I was flat broke constantly so I decided why not buy some beer, right? It is full of vitamin P and your body needs that stuff. So I walked into town on a mission. On the way to the store I stopped in the local music shop. There it was. A $30 ukulele. I reached in my pocket. Counted my money. Paused. Then finally decided why the hell not? ...Still kinda would have enjoyed that case of beer though. I really wish it was more complicated than that or at least cool. I just had a clear sober moment. It was destiny. I think it would have been way cooler if it was like the sword in the stone. A ukulele half sticking out of a giant rock that no one can pull out until I come along and when I do the town rejoices around me. Yeah. That’s the ticket. Forget my initial true story and exchange it in your mind for the sword in the stone one. 

So turning to your performances today. You have a real knack for blues and rock – what is on your CD player these days? 

CD player? Who has one of those? haha. Since I’m not a guitar player and I am living on a ukulele player’s income most of my vehicles (I have way too many) are from the 1980s. I only have cassette players. I do this for two reasons. I can actually fix cars from the 1980s which saves me a lot when I’m on the road making my long trips. Secondly, cassettes are CHEAP and force you to listen to the whole album due to the inconvenience of fast forwarding just the right amount of time. Who can time that stuff right? No one. That is a science fact. I think I have Prince’s Purple Rain in my car right now. However, in my 1985 1-ton quad cab long bed Chevy pick up truck I make it a point only to listen to country music. There is something about driving an obnoxiously large pick up and cranking country on the one speaker in the dash. It feels very American and if the shoe fits, turn up the country. RIP George Jones! 

I got switched on to you first when I saw that, like me, you don’t like the idea of ukulele rules and playing what people tell you to play. Tell me more about that

If I get asked to play Somewhere Over The Rainbow one more time I think I might have an aneurysm. No I don’t play any Formby songs. Roy Smeck was awesome but I don’t really want to emulate him. Jake… well Jake is Jake. He is incredible, but I am only good at being me. Is there a rule against that? I could care less. Rules for ukulele is about the silliest concept to me. I am just me and am going to manipulate the instrument, because that’s what it is, in my own way. If you want to put the shackles of rules and regulations on yourself go for it. I don’t need that kind of burden. Just play to your strengths and work on skills where you are lacking. I just play what sounds good to me. It is only a matter of time before everyone, since some have opened their eyes to this, sees that the ukulele doesn’t have limitations only their operators do. Adding rules on top of that… well… that sounds like an awesome time . 

Could not agree more Russ!  Do you really think the wider ukulele world is changing in that regard, or is this way of doing things holding the instrument back? 

Obviously I think things are slowly getting more welcoming to alternative ukulele music. Slowly however isn’t a great way to more forward, but Rome wasn’t built in one day. Since most of my business isn’t completely centered around the ukulele I’m insulated from a lot of the drama. Meaning, I don’t just tour around doing ukulele festivals and clinics full time. I enjoy being in the trenches playing long sets at bars, clubs, and festivals alongside all the guitar acts that dominate the scenes. This is where we are going to change the public's view of the ukulele. Obviously ukulele people have embraced the ukulele. We have a stellar community of people all over the world, but that isn’t enough. I am in it to change everyone else’s minds. It isn’t just a toy. It is an equal contender for the championship. Ukulele world domination is possible. 

What’s holding us back? I believe stigmas and stereotypes are a huge part of it and it appears that it isn’t just folks from outside the ukulele community that are perpetuating them. I find it interesting looking into the whole ukulele community that is out there. Tons of great people, but let’s face it, I’m in Alaska and on the outside. It seems attitudes are changing, but the progress is being held back by this thought that if you aren’t only playing cute happy music something is wrong with you. No jazz? How about some ragtime? That is one of my favorite parts of being an ambassador of the ukulele to the general public. Exposing them to the underbelly that isn’t so pretty, but is just as appetizing. 

My readers are always keen to know what the professionals play. Talk me through your ukulele collection

My collection consists of only one man’s ukuleles. I own several of master luthier Tom Parse’s ukuleles. During the winters he builds Hokukano Ukuleles. A small high end ukulele shop situated on the big island of Hawaii on a 31 square mile cattle / tree ranch. He is an Alaskan and lives here in the last frontier during the summers. When he makes his ukuleles in Alaska they are called Far North Ukuleles. These are the ones I play. Having a ukulele produced in Alaska is important to me. The instrument was built here and therefore is a little more acclimated to the weather changes and harsh conditions I live with. -40F (which is around -40C) in the winter and extreme dry conditions make a ukulele’s life hard here. Sure, my road instrument right now has a ton of surface cracks due to wild temperature swings it encounters, but it is as acclimated as an instrument can get for here. 

Wow. People stress about care for ukuleles in temperate climates. It must be tough in Alaska?

Alaska has a tendency to eat high end instruments. Just ask my warped Kamaka tenor that I have lost all hope for. Dear Kamaka, please start putting carbon fiber rods in the neck of your instruments. For the love of god, please. I’m basically Tom’s road tester. I beat the snot out of them and if there is a weak spot we find it and update the model. His stuff is so high quality I would never even think of switching to another brand. Not only does he make a mean ukulele he’s also a fellow Alaskan and a good friend of mine. 

So what does the rest of 2015 have in store Russ? 

The busy Alaskan summer music season is coming to an end, but there is still many gigs to rock. This summer I have been playing arts festivals, concerts, several carnivals, bars, lodges, private parties, ukulele clinics and much more. Now it is coming to the time of year where I hunker down and prepare for the winter. On top of the gigs I’m building a house on a piece of property my wife and I have been working on developing over the past two years. 7.2 acres of awesomeness way outside of civilization. Hopefully we will have a house up by winter. It is a lofty goal, however it is possible. Did I mention I am building a 200 person amphitheater on my property? Perhaps a Alaskan ukulele retreat will happen there someday and there will be very little rules other than no rainbow songs unless there is a rainbow overhead. I’m serious. 

Living in Alaska I spend a lot of my year on and off harvesting food, gathering firewood, the endless mechanical tasks of fixing our vehicles, and just getting stuff done in preparation for winter. Blueberries, fiddleheads, salmon, wild mushrooms, moose, and hopefully a caribou this year will be on the menu for some of our local foods. We don’t buy any meat from the store since we feel as though if we are going to eat it we should be connected to it. Plus it tastes better when you spend 10 days in the bush looking for your meal. I have never been afraid of hard work. Seems like most people these days are. At the end of the year I will be leaving Alaska to tour the East Coast of the States before I head west to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia again. However once it hits May - October I don’t leave Alaska. I don’t wait through / avoid six months of darkness and cold to not enjoy the midnight sun. I was under my RV last night removing the driveline at 1am without a flashlight or anything. You really can’t beat it. 

Are there any places you have not played yet but you would like to? 

Well, I would like to come on over to the other side of the pond and play some gigs in Europe and Scandinavia. Iceland would be fun also. I have always wanted to go perform in the Falkland Islands. I like the out of the way backwaters. Guess that’s the Alaskan in me. 

A final question I ask in all my interviews, what is your best tip for the aspiring uke player? 

Umm… if you know your open chord shapes you know most of the shapes going up the fretboard. Escape the first four frets. Don’t be scared. There is a whole world of awesome up there. 


Russ - thanks for your time - some great words here!

If you haven't done already I would urge you to hook up with Russ and check out some of his performances

https://www.facebook.com/UkuleleRuss/

http://www.ukuleleruss.com



And how about this mash up for a real feel of what Russ is all about?


© Barry Maz

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The Mersey Belles - INTERVIEW

It has taken us a little bit of time to get this one together (my fault!), but I have been wanting to feature the Mersey Belles on Got A Ukulele for some time now.

The Mersey Belles are Danielle Laura Perkins (Nancy) and Lindsey Stainthorpe (Pearl) who have seen an astronomic rise in their fan base over the last year or so, performing with style and verve. They describe themselves as 'cousins who take you on a trip down memory lane,  infusing the ukulele with fabulous renditions of all the old classics from the 20's, whilst making songs from the 21st century sound better than they do on the wireless radio!'

Amber Von Nagel from Ukulele Magazine called them, 'English Uke Chanteuses who channel a retro vibe in pursuit of modern day fun'.

What I know is that I last saw them on the main stage of the recent Grand Northern Ukulele Festival and the crowd went wild for them.  I have been catching up with the duo recently.

Credit - Kelly Loughlin

Hi both, lets start with your musical backgrounds.

Pearl:  I have played musical instruments since I was about six from piano to guitar.  I have also been a singer since I was 12 in choirs. My mum has been a massive influence on me as she is the musical inspiration in my life. She's a music teacher and a piano tutor.  I love music; it's good for the soul!

Nancy:  Well I have been playing music for as long as I can remember. My mum also was a grade 8 pianist and played a lot as I was growing up. I also played classical flute and piano and had lessons in both. When school was over I went to Bretton Hall,  a college for arts where I studied music and learned to play a little bit of guitar and steel drums. The rest is history really. I had a short break from music when my daughter Nancy Jr was born, but it was short lived. I'm not happy if I'm not being musical.



What brought you together as a performing duo then?

Nancy: We have a couple of mutual friends in the Liverpool music scene, and it was Elaine Kinsella from Ukulele Club Liverpool who formally introduced us.

Pearl:  Yes in early 2013 Elaine received an email from a Jennifer John who runs a company called Sense of Sound in Liverpool. She was asking if she knew anyone who was playing the ukulele who would like to join a duo. The message was passed on to me, I emailed Nancy and here we are today in 2014 - bigger and stronger than ever!


So was it at Ukulele Club Liverpool where you started playing then?

Pearl:  I first picked up the ukulele in September 2012 with a group of friends from a choir I was in at the time. I was self taught and transferred my skills from the guitar to the ukulele. I then supported Elaine in forming the UCL and played with them for about two months.


A question my blog readers are always interested in. Tell me about your ukes and what you are playing today.

Pearl:  My first ukulele was a £30 soprano from a Liverpool music store called Curlys music. It was a Redwood brand.  We now have brand spanking new Kala SEME ukes following our endorsement by the brand. They are electro acoustics and we have been waiting so long for them to come out. Beautiful instruments.

Nancy: My first uke was a Kala KA FMS904 and it was a gift from Ian McNabb (the front man for The Icicle Works) in return for singing on his album 'Little Episodes'. I think that was about March 2012 but don't quote me! It's the nicest uke I've played and I still play it most days.

I'm going to sound like an advert for Kala now but they are what I have always played. I have a Kala tenor KA-JTE/2TS (the one with the F holes). We also both have Kala sopranos (the KA-ASAC-S) and I also have an iUke which I LOVE.


OK, so you met, got together, but when did you first perform as The Mersey Belles?

Nancy:  My old music manager used to own a little coffee shop in Liverpool. He had heard about us and asked us to do a weekly residency there. It was a good way to start out actually, now I think about it.


Yes, I think a residency can be a great way to start out. Were the receptions good? (I presume they were!)

Nancy:  We did have great receptions back then, but we have really perfected our act in the last 18 months. We have developed so much as players.

Pearl:  It was great getting that coffee shop residency. It provided a great platform to where we are now as performers.



Tell me about your gig highlights. There must be a few!

Pearl:  Every gig we have ever done is so special in my eyes and they are all equally amazing. Just getting up on stage and being a Mersey Belle for me is the highlight.  I love the audience reactions and i've found at the most recent gigs people are now singing along to our versions of the songs we do. Awesome!

Nancy:  You know what? Pearl is right. We have done so many awesome gigs it's hard to pin point one. But I will, and that was our recent performance at GNUF. We have been playing all summer in preparation for that gig and all the hard work paid off for us in the end. Best gig I have ever done I think. We absolutely loved the whole event, workshop and all.

Mersey Belles on stage at GNUF 2014

Within my readership are a lot of players taking steps to getting out and performing. What are your best beginners tips for stage performance?

Nancy:  One tip from me is to try and not take yourself too seriously. Obviously me and Pearl DO take our music seriously, but we are doing what we do because of the love of it and to have fun. I think it's important to always remember that.

Pearl: Be prepared, be organised, and lastly, get up and love what you are doing. It comes across when you are on stage.



I can agree with all of that! But what about nerves though? We all get them!

Pearl: I get terrible nerves. Even though I'm a confident person it is still really nerve wracking performing to large AND small audiences. But as soon as I get on stage and look at Nancy I forget those nerves and sing my heart out!

Nancy: I do get nervous, yes, but not as much as I used to back when we first started. My problem with my nerves is that it's my uke playing that suffers, not my singing. I've been a professional singer for a good few years now and only playing the uke for a couple, so that's probably why.

Credit - Kelly Loughlin

Lets look to the future now. Is the duo model the one you intend to stick with? I know you have collaborated with other bands in the past.

Pearl: Personally, I love the duo concept, but we also love collaborating with other uke groups and bands and sharing the love of the ukulele.

Nancy: Yeah, we are just Nancy and Pearl and that's the way we are gonna mainly keep it. But we do like to have the odd collaboration. We recently had a 'band' play with us at the Summer Strum festival where we had a uBass played by Steve from UkeBox, Elaine from UCL on cajon and Sophie Gray playing accordion. We loved every minute of it and the sound was so full and rich. But for me i'd like to save the collaborations as one offs. That way you appreciate them more I think.



Who really impresses you in the ukulele world today?

Pearl:  We were at GNUF as we said, and I enjoyed all the performers. I was really impressed with Tricity Vogue and Zoë Bestel.

Nancy: I have to keep with the girl theme too with Danielle Ate The Sandwich. I like her style a lot. And of course, Sarah Maisel who I fully intend on watching at next years GNUF.  I think one of my favourite players though is our mate Ukulele Uff. I've had a couple of lessons off him and I intend on going back as soon as we have a spare minute!

Credit - Kelly Loughlin

So what is next in the diary for the Belles?

Nancy: Well we have a few private events to play first, and then...

Gala Dinner for Macmillan at Crewe Hall on 3rd October
Heswall Hall 10th October
Liverpool Everyman Theatre on 22nd October
Hoose Bar, Hoylake on 31 October
Old Swan Pub, Liverpool on 8th November
Wallasey Village Christmas Fair on 27th November
Thornton Hough Village Club on 29th November
The Old Swan Pub again on 6th December
Grand And Newton Ladies Guild at West Kirby on 18th December.

I could go on........


Well, I look forward to seeing you on a stage again soon. Been a lot of fun talking to you and thanks. Let's end this with a song!  And to my readers - make sure you check out http://merseybelles.co.uk

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Got A Ukulele Interview - Manitoba Hal Brolund

I am delighted to be able to introduce my first ukulele interview of 2014 with a real star of the international uke circuit. I was lucky to see this guy headline the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in 2013 and having had a chat with him whilst he was there, came away knowing that as well as being a sensational player he is also a really interesting and charming fella too. Say hello to Manitoba Hal Brolund!

Manitoba Hal - Credit Jessie Buchanan

Hal hails from Canada and is a guitarist, ukulele player and songwriter. He plays fresh and inventive originals mixed with arrangements of traditional blues, in a mixture of fingerpicking and strumming styles. Trust me, if you have a chance to see him live you should jump at the opportunity!


Hello Hal and thanks for speaking to Got A Ukulele! First up, tell me about your earliest musical experiences – how did you get into playing?

I began playing music when I was 18 years old. The bug bit me when I was sitting at a friends house as he was jamming on his acoustic guitar to some record. I have no memory of who the artist was but I clearly remember the music. It was the blues. I knew right then I would play music the rest of my life. Only one problem though...I didn't play anything right then! That moment was my 'Road To Damascus' moment. I began learning to play guitar and writing songs knowing what my future would hold if I put the work in.

And what musical instruments did you start out on?

I began on steel string folk styled guitar. I played Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens, The Box Tops, John Cougar Mellencamp, The Beatles and some Fleetwood Mac.

That is quite a range of styles! When did the uke first fall into your hands?

I got my first uke in 1995 when we were moving my grandfather into an assisted care home. He had an old 1955 Martin Uke in his basement that he'd inherited. He offered it to me with the condition that I learn to play it. I said I would and set about learning songs he would know. Of course in 1995 there was no YouTube and internet resources for ukulele were much scarcer than today. I bought a bunch of old sheet music and had to learn to read it to play the songs of his day. In the end he gave me the gift of music and helped my find my true path.

Tell us about the origins of the moniker ‘Manitoba’, I must say, it’s a cool handle you have there.

In 1998 I was hired to play at a blues festival in Regina, Saskatchewan. The fancy themselves as a national Canadian blues festival and would introduce their artists by telling where they were from right before their name. In my case I lived in Winnipeg Manitoba at the time and they would introduce me by saying "ladies and gentlemen from Manitoba, Hal Brolund".  Now up until this point I'd had trouble with people misspelling my last name. I would get all manner of strange spellings so I knew I wanted to fix that and Manitoba Hal sounded like a good stage name. So in 2000 I adopted it officially.

Well I think the name certainly fits the style of music you play! What is your take on ‘the blues’?

This is a tough question to answer. I actually took three days to think about this before giving you my answer! Son House described the blues as that which consists between a man and a woman. That's it, that's all. It may have started there but it has grown to include all ranges of human emotion. There are happy blues, low down blues, sad blues, playful blues, sexy blues...you name it. Some believe you have to be black to play the blues. Or that it has to be played on an old guitar with a bottle neck and learned at the crossroads at midnight. I believe "the blues" are simply the human spirit communicating through song. Every person has experienced troubled times, happy times, love, heart break, betrayal, friendship. These are the subjects of the blues. It is the raw emotion that is communicated that give the blues it's legitimacy though. It's not enough to use a blues musical form or rhyming scheme. It's not enough to use coded language, tales of the devil or to play it on this instrument or that, there MUST be real emotion involved or it's just a song and NOT the blues.

Credit - Missie D'Eon

You had me totally caught out when I reviewed one of your blues CD’s as I was convinced you had used more than just the ukulele – tell me more about that!

One of the goals of my CD Flirting With Mermaids was to make a CD that wasn't an obvious ukulele CD but was filled with ukulele. I wanted to take the ukulele into places it doesn't often go so in the studio we put it through a Leslie speaker (which is most commonly used with a Hammond organ), through distortion and other effects to show that as a small instrument it is only limited by your imagination. The plan was to make a CD that if you weren't a fan of ukulele you could listen to and enjoy and if you were a fan of ukulele you would enjoy the variations of tone that the ukulele created. The end result came out so beautifully that people often mistake the organ sounds for an actual Hammond organ or the distorted lead solo lines as being performed by an electric guitar. Of course the uke is featured in a pure acoustic form in several places on the record as well.

I am increasingly seeing people scoff at the idea that the uke can or should work with such a wide range of styles. It’s one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed your approach so much. Clearly you don’t agree that the uke should be pigeon holed?

I think the ukulele is a musical instrument. If you can imagine it's sound in a context then it belongs there whether or not it's been there before. The instrument obviously works well (maybe better) in certain styles but why not try it out everywhere?

How much time do you spend recording to get a CD just as you want it?

This depends a lot on the material and production style. Usually I stick with a "live off the floor" aesthetic which to me means playing the song all the way through without mistakes and recording that as a single take. So a big part of my "pre-production" of a record is simply practicing and deciding the arrangement of a song. Then I'll spend a day getting the sound right. i.e. where the mics should be placed, how I'll capture the sound etc... Then I just go for it. My CDs Huckster, Little Box of Sadness and Devil On The Wall were all recorded this way over 2 or 3 days. Flirting With Mermaids was a little more involved because of the large cast of musicians and singers that appear on the record and all the extra production tricks. This CD took almost 2 weeks in the studio recording and another week of mixing and finalizing the record.

And do you always perform solo? Any plans for touring with some of the other players you have worked with?

I do mostly tour solo because it's costly to carry more than one person on the road. Also I don't have a regular band so I am often picking up people as I go for specific jobs. I'm not ruling out touring with some other players but I haven't found that right fit yet musically or personality wise.

Talking of touring, you are certainly a busy man in that regard! What have been some of the highlights, and what is the down side?

This is so hard to answer. Every tour has it's high points and truthfully it's hard to compare them because they are all special and unique. From 2013 I'd have to say the highlights for me were playing a festival on Vancouver Island with John Hiatt, James Burton, Amos Garrett and Albert Lee ... touring in Australia and the UK and of course sailing up the coast of St Marrten in February on a Brigantine sailing vessel. I love to be in motion. My life makes more sense to me when I'm on the go. Of course with this carrot comes the stick. It means being away from loved ones and friends for most of the year. Living out of a suitcase. Not having your own space. I'm a solitary individual in many ways and I really enjoy my peace and quiet. That's hard to get on the road. I cherish my winters for this reason because I stay home between November and February. This is when I do most of my writing, recording and planning of the coming year.

Tell me a little more about your ukulele collection - my readers will be interested to know!

I'm not really a collector of ukes. I tend to acquire a uke and then play it for a while, then retire it and move on to another. After a while I get tired of looking at an instrument gathering dust when it should be played so I sell it off. Currently I have two tenor ukuleles (one Mango aNueNue signature model uke and one Ohana TK-50G), one soprano (no name) and my custom double necked uke made by Fred Casey (a tenor and a concert scale neck on the one body). I am also in the designing phase of building a tenor cigar box resonator uke and a concert scale tin box uke. That's it for the uke collection right now.

I ask this of all my interviewees – what is your best advice for new players?

This is a hard one to answer because I don't think people want to hear the answer. There is a lot of emphasis on the current ukulele resurgence to just play songs. I think that is great but the one thing that is lacking at nearly every ukulele club I've visited is true skills development. There is lots of emphasis on repertoire (learning songs) but not very much on learning chords and scales. So my best advice to new players is to practice skills every day. Spend 15 minutes a day working on chord shapes up the neck, learning scales, which chords belong in which key etc... then when you get together with your group to play songs you are equipped with the skills to really play them accurately and this will increase your fun. Practice makes better!

And finally Hal – I was thrilled to hear you are heading over to the UK later this year to do some workshop sessions – tell me more.

With the help of Mary Agnes Krell and the gang at GNUF I'll be doing a “workshop” tour of ukulele clubs in the UK in May 2014. The tour starts May 24th in Bournemouth. Full dates will be posted shortly but I expect to be around for almost 3 weeks and travel all over the countryside.

Hal at GNUF 2013 with his twin neck Fred Casey uke (credit Ed Sprake Photography)

Hal - I will be sure to get the dates on this site when I know them - I am sure it promises to be extremely popular. Hope to catch up with you when you are over too! For now though, thanks for taking the time to talk!

http://www.manitobahal.com

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Got A Ukulele Interview - Sarah Maisel

Earlier this year I got to both watch and meet a truly special ukulele player at the Ukulele Festival Of Great Britain in Cheltenham. She captivated the audience during her set, gained a well earned standing ovation and also warmed the hearts of anyone who had a chance to chat with her. She is in high demand on the ukulele circuit and I am delighted that she has agreed to speak to Got A Ukulele. Say hello to Sarah Maisel!

Sarah hails from Birmingham Alabama and has had a love for music from an early age. She actually came to the ukulele quite late on, but that doesn’t show in her playing! She performs effortlessly beautiful jazz themed numbers that create that ‘pin drop’ feeling in the audience and I would highly recommend you try to see her if you can.

Credit - ABI Photo

Hi Sarah, good to speak to you again. You certainly seem very busy at the moment - where abouts are you at the moment? 

I’m back home in sunny San Diego! I just returned from doing a ‘Ukulele Retreat’ in Hawaii AND right after that, I headed to Tampa, Florida to perform at the Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway. It’s been a crazy year full of travel, and it looks like next year is shaping up to be the same. 

I’m very excited. I see you are back at the UFGB – will be great to see you there again! 

The Ukulele Festival of Great Britain will always hold a special place - it was my very first International Festival and the reception my music had there blew me away. I actually cried on stage because of the standing ovation I received. I adored the people attending the festival; everyone was so friendly and willing to share. It was truly the “Spirit of Aloha”. It was also one of the most organized festivals I’ve ever been a part of- I GREATLY appreciated that. I’m INCREDIBLY excited to be coming back- I’ve made so many new friends and I can’t wait to jam with them. 

Take us back to your first musical memories - how did you get into music? 

Music has always been played in my home, in the car, everywhere. My parents (particularly my father) were really into music, though neither of them played an instrument. My dad likes to tell the story of how, when they brought me home from the hospital (as a newborn) Count Basie was playing in the car. So for me, music has always been in my memories. 

So, Jazz from an early age then? You have a really effortless style to your jazz playing – clearly a musical favourite of yours? 

Absolutely. I love Jazz, particularly the standards. I grew up listening to them, so I have many fond memories attached to them. 

Had you been playing other instruments before the ukulele? 

Yes, I played Classical Violin from about age 6-17. I also studied piano for a few years during that time as well, but not seriously. The violin was my main instrument. I played in string orchestras for years, as well as taking private lessons. I loved the violin, but at age 17 I quit playing music all together. I didn’t pick up the uke until I was 24. 

So what was the uke epiphany? 

The ukulele was not very popular in the state I grew up in (Alabama). After I moved to California, that is when I found the uke. My friend from work was telling me about this pizza place where there were 40 or more ukulele players that would get together and play- PLUS there was Hula dancing as well! To me, this was unbelievable, so we had to go check it out. Once I walked into that place and saw all the happy people, and the amazing spirit of the place, I had to be a part of it. Luckily, the man that ran the ukulele group (Moonlight Beach Ukulele Strummers) was starting to do his very first group ukulele lessons at the local community college. Several of us from work started taking lessons, and the rest is history. 

And aside from jazz, what other types of music put a smile on your face? 

I do love Classical music as well, particularly Baroque music. I’m also a huge Mozart fan. BUT of course I love other genres, Rock and Roll, Classic Rock, Folk. Things like The Beatles, Donovan, Crosby Stills and Nash, Eric Clapton, etc. I’m not much into “modern” music, but there are some artists I like- such as Jason Mraz and Corrine Bailey Rae. 

I think the ukulele suits most styles of music, but I do come across those who prefer players to stick to certain styles – what are your thoughts on that? 

I think you should play whatever style you want. There are no RULES for the ukulele- if you want to play rock and roll, or classical, or even disco, by all means, play it! I can understand some folks wanting to only hear Hawaiian music from the ukulele, but I feel that is closed minded. There are so many possibilities available to the instrument and it is incredibly versatile. There is no reason to pigeon hole it to one genre. 

Couldn't agree more Sarah! We are also well and truly in a worldwide ukulele 'boom'. What is your take on that and where do you think we are headed? 

I have no idea where the ‘boom’ is headed- all I know is that I hope it lasts for a long time. The uke is such a happy instrument and brings such joy to so many folks. I think the world needs more joy, so the longer the uke stays in the spotlight, the better. I know it will always hold a special place in my heart. I do hope that with this resurgence of ukulele, that we will start to see more serious players. The uke has been seen as a toy for so many years, and I am so happy to see that notion being dispelled. Yes it is a great instrument for someone who has never played, but it is a TRUE instrument that can play any genre of music. I’d like for others to see how versatile the instrument is. 

Sarah playing with Paul Tillery on double bass

You have played with some big names and at some great events - where do you like playing best? 

This is such a hard question- I love many of the places and for very different reasons. I currently have two favorite festivals- The Ukulele Festival of Great Britain and the Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway. 

Here are my reasons: 

As I said earlier the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain, being my first will always hold a very special place for me. 

The Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway was amazing. It is limited to 150 folks, so those that get tickets REALLY want to be there. That festival sold out in 5 days. For that one, at the end of the event, everyone feels like family. You really do get to know EVERYONE, and again, everyone is incredibly supportive and willing to share. The other thing that this festival did, that I’ve never had at any other, was they made the workshops available to EVERYONE- meaning that they had you teach the same workshop twice so that folks could be sure to take your class and not miss any teacher. I thought this was brilliant. They also had all of the teacher notes in a pre-made booklet that everyone got at registration- also brilliant! 

What do you think makes a good ukulele event? 

The first and foremost are the folks that attend the festival. They are truly what make the festival great. Without them, the fests wouldn’t happen. I love visiting and getting to know them- the great thing about the uke world is that I haven’t met a jerk yet that plays the ukulele. Ukuleles tend to attract nice HAPPY people. Organization is another attribute that I think is very important to a festival. You may have the best line up in the world, but if you don’t have your festival together, it will be a flop. There was one festival that I was a part of that had two AMAZING headliners- and SO many seats were empty because the festival wasn’t organized in getting their fest advertised, or in getting tickets to people on time. It was truly a shame. Of course your artists are important. The Festivals that do the best will have not only folks that are great performers, but great teachers as well. The uke is an instrument that is based on sharing; if you have good teachers, people will always remember that more so than the performance. 

I was lucky enough to have a play of your Mike DaSilva ukulele when we met at your last event on this side of the pond. Tell us about that and your other instruments. 

I have a 5 string ukulele made by David Iriguchi (the Happy Ukulele). His ukes are unique and have a sweet tone. He also names his instruments, and mine is named “Banshee”, after my guinea pig. The uke has two G strings, a high and a low. It’s a lot of fun to play. 

I also have a Rick Turner, Compass Rose. I LOVE this ukulele. It is his “Le Jazz” model. I feel very fortunate to have such an amazing instrument. It has fantastic tone, and it’s pretty to boot! I remember when Rick gave it to me he said, “This will be the best sounding amplified instrument you’ve got”, and you know what- he is right. 

My DaSilva is my pride and joy. This is my main performance uke and is very special to me. Mike DaSilva and I are good friends and I enjoy his instruments immensely. 

I still have my very first ukulele- it’s a Flea. I take it to the beach and anywhere that I don’t want to worry about my uke getting hurt. I have dropped it SO many times and it has survived very well. 

My Pono is one of the rare ones they made out of Koa. They only made a few of them and I lucked out. It was my first “professional” uke. I still enjoy playing it and use it to teach my high G students. 

ALSO, I’m so excited! In the works I have a Moore Bettah Ukulele, by Chuck Moore. I met him this past October in Hawaii and I loved him as a person. Then I played a few of his ukes and I thought “Wow! No wonder folks love his instruments.” I am on “the list”, so who knows when I’ll get it, but I’m super excited to have made it onto “the list”. I know it will be a beautiful instrument. 

Tell me what the future holds - any plans in the pipeline? 

I have lots of plans! I have quit my day job and am now a full time musician. It is a very exciting endeavor and I’m extremely happy with my choice thus far. This coming year I will be performing in England, as well as several festivals in the states. I am hoping to pick up some work in Asia, but we shall see. One specific event I’m looking forward to is a Ukulele Cruise to Alaska! Craig Chee and I will be doing a mini ukulele festival on Princess Cruise Lines up to Alaska in July. It should be a ton of fun. I am also doing a lot of teaching- via Skype as well as in person. I absolutely love teaching, so I feel incredibly lucky that I’m getting to pursue that avenue. 

Cool! I know full well that my readers will want to know how about getting lessons with you – how are they best to get in touch? 

The best way to get in touch with me is through the contact button on my website. Send me a note and we can discuss times, etc. I do Skype lessons a lot. It actually has turned out to be a great way to teach. I was VERY skeptical of teaching that way at first, but after having enough people ask, I gave in. I have students from around the globe now, it’s quite exciting. Also, while I’m in Cheltenham, if I have free time, I’m always happy to teach in person as well. It all depends on my schedule. It is always fun to meet folks in person that I’ve taught through Skype. 

And finally, I ask this of everyone I interview - what are your best tips for new players? 

Have fun. Yes technical stuff is important, but you won’t practice that stuff unless you are having fun. Also- make sure to play with other people as much as possible. You will become a better player the more people you play with. There are so many Ukulele Clubs around that if you can get to one weekly, you’ll be amazed at how much better you get within a months time. Lastly, never leave your uke in its case. I leave mine out and about so that I see it and pick it up whenever the muse hits me. You will forget about your dear ukulele if you leave it forever put away.

Wise words Sarah - thank you so much for your time and see you again soon!

Catch up with Sarah at http://www.sarahmaisel.com

Credit - ABI Photo

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GOT A UKULELE INTERVIEW - Mary Agnes Krell

I do enjoy the Got A Ukulele Interviews, and have been keen to get this person featured for some time now.

She is a well-known face in the ukulele world and has been for ages, but recently she has really found herself surrounded by the instrument on a whole other level. She is leading the organizing committee of the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival taking place 12-14 October this year in Pontefract UK, is the partner of one of the UK’s most respected luthiers, and is just an all round lovely person! Say hello to Mary Agnes Krell.

Mary in Seattle - credit Mary Agnes Krell

Hi Mary! So, first up, give us some of your musical background that led to you being immersed in ukuleles.

I have always been a lover of music. Ever since I was a child I’ve been in musicals and choirs and I’ve dabbled with loads of instruments. It’s funny because I can’t really sing very well at all but I properly love singing. A few years ago, at a music festival, I stumbled across a ukulele stall, bought one that wasn’t terrible (a soprano Lanikai) and, when I got home, found a local group. I started playing with the Brighton Ukulele Jam and later with the Wukulele group and never looked back.

There certainly are a huge number of ukulele clubs in the UK now. Do you get along to clubs near to Hebden Bridge?

I actually started a Hebden Bridge ukulele jam. It meets the first Weds of each month. I also try to get along to Haworth every once in a while and the Bradford group are great. It’s their first birthday this weekend and that is just a lovely thought.

Mary adding impromptu percussion to the N'Ukes set at N'Ukefest 2013 - Mary organised the raffle and raised hundreds of pounds for Macmillan Cancer Care - credit Geoff Thorpe

You originally hail from the USA – do you think there is much of a difference between the ukulele community on the two sides of the Atlantic?

My exposure to the ukulele world in the USA has been intermittent. As a child in Los Angeles, everyone played it and, though it was comic, it wasn’t seen as the joke many would have you believe. In the 90s and 00s, the ukulele groups I came across seemed to be really quite into the Hawaiian side of things (so my American ukey friend certainly played a lot more Hawaiian stuff and there were more Hawaiian shirts at uke gatherings). I guess I always chalked that up to the British uke heritage stemming from George Formby (who I’d actually never even heard of until a few years ago – sorry!). In the States, I always saw the ukulele heritage as stemming jointly from the Hawaiian tradition and from the late 20s and the depression era where it was a portable and inexpensive way to entertain.

Ukulele festivals are are really booming now and the idea of one in the north of England is really exciting. How did the idea of a Grand Northern Ukulele Festival come about?

I have always been a kind of organiser. When I was at university, I started a coffee house with live music on my campus and helped start a radio station. I later went on to produce theatre and film (and even did a Postgrad degree in directing). When I started really seriously playing the uke in Brighton back in the noughties, I wanted to plan something then. The problem was, by the time I felt I knew the people well enough, I’d heard that Daniela Gargiulo was planning the Wukulele/South Coast ukulele festival (so I helped her with the fringe for that festival). The desire never fully went away and this past year, a conversation started with Tony Casey. He too had wanted to organise a festival so we had a few discussions about the idea (could it work, should it happen?) and decided to do it.

Well you are certainly in a good part of the world for roping in assistance (Mary’s team include local players Tony Casey, Rob Collins, Paul McCann, Lou Armer and Kris Ball). But I see you also ended up getting support from much further afield?

You know, the funny thing is that I never really asked for that support. For example, I didn’t ask anyone for raffle prizes… People just started offering them. Then there’s people who like the idea of our festival, like Ken Middleton. Every time he travels somewhere I get these emails from people saying, “Ken was telling me about your festival and it sounds great and I’d like to get involved in some way, what about…(X or Y).” There’s also the lovely folks at Aquila and  Mercatino dell’Ukulele in Italy. They practically bent over backward to help us get a performer over that we would otherwise not have been able to invite (and again, all without having to be asked). There’s more but I won’t bore you…

It’s just really lovely and humbling and exciting.

Mary with fellow GNUF organiser Tony Casey at the Ukulele Hooley - credit Becky Casey

It’s certainly a big thing to take on - what has been the biggest challenge to bringing the festival to life?

There aren’t enough hours in the day!

And when planning it, what was your biggest ‘wish’ for the festival and do you think you will achieve it?

I would like a ukulele festival where people feel welcomed and feel a part of something that brings them happiness. I don’t know if I’ll ever achieve it but I am certainly happy trying.

As I said in the introduction, you really are surrounded by ukuleles these days – do you think the current wave of popularity is going to continue? (or like me, do you really not care?!)

Popularity fades in all things so it certainly has to happen with the ukulele. The scene in the UK is already very different from what it was a few years ago. Uke groups and clubs are organising themselves in different ways and it seems there are far more clubs getting up to play in public and far fewer ukulele acts/solo performers/duos. That could just be my perception of things but I am not sure it matters.

Everything in life changes. I think embracing change is the only sensible way to face it. ☺


I think that is a fair assessment. One thing I am noticing more is the ukulele being played alongside other instruments more and more. Do you find that exciting?

Heck yeah! I think live music is exciting. I really like the ukulele and one of the reasons I’m so excited to have Ukulele Uff and Lonesome Dave on our bill is that they are both so talented and the guitar and ukulele are equals in their performances. It also helps that Dave is one of the most talented guitar players I’ve ever seen.

He certainly is. I loved their set at Cheltenham so thrilled to be seeing them again. So turning to home life, your partner Rob’s ukes are highly rates  (Rob Collins is a UK Luthier who builds under the name Tinguitar) – do you contribute ideas to him on his business?

Rob’s ukes are all him. We talk about ideas occasionally over the dinner table or while out somewhere but it’s only really the kind of conversation you might have with any of your friends or loved ones about their life…, “how’s it going?” “ooh, that looks nice, are you happy with it?” kind of thing. The one thing I did do is build his most recent website. I would say that’s really the only area where I actively contribute to the business… that and the bunting. I am 100% responsible for arranging the bunting around his stall (though his mother is the one who made it… I simply arranged for it to happen… see, that’s the organiser in me… urf!). ☺

Mary with partner and ukulele luthier Rob Collins - credit Tony Casey

You said earlier that your first uke was a soprano Lanikai, but I see that Rob features the Route 66 ukulele that you commissioned on his site. That really shows some of the great designs he can work up doesn’t it?

You know, I almost gave you a picture of that uke but I didn’t want to seem like I was trying to push Rob’s instruments on people. They are great and don’t need an enthusiastic American to help sell them!

Funny thing about the Route 66 uke though… I grew up in a tiny town called, “Monrovia” in California. We were properly poor and never really travelled BUT the Route 66 ran through my home town. That sign… the iconic US Highways sign was like some kind of vague promise… It didn’t matter where I’d come from because there was a road (a kind of magic road) running through my town. I know that sounds silly but that was what I believed as a little girl. So that Route 66 uke was an attempt to (re)capture some of that wonder and possibility.

Was it a challenge to get right?

Rob was the best designer one could ask for when working on that uke. I asked about a Route 66 uke and he went out and found the specifications for the vintage US Highways signs. He put them into CAD and then built the ukulele around it, emailing me with questions every time an important design decision came up. Don’t tell him this but he could have charged me twice as much and I’d not have blinked!

OK, last one! I ask this to all my interviewees. What is your best piece of advice for new ukulele players?

Find a song you love to sing and learn to play it. Play it and sing it at home, at the top of your voice and just be silly with it. Also… try to find ways to challenge yourself. Don’t let your playing settle into a routine that bores you or you’ll just stop playing. I have found that taking lessons with Phil Doleman has helped me to grow as a player. I also took group lessons at Duke of Uke when I lived in London. I think lessons are pretty awesome.

Very good advice Mary, thank you!

No – thank YOU! ☺

A Grand Northern Ukulele Festival takes place on 12-14 October in Pontefract, UK, and features a dazzling array of international performers including Manitoba Hal Brolund, Ukulelezaza, Ukulele Uff and Lonesome Dave and Chonkinfeckle. Alongside the performances is a packed weekend of fun, workshops and much more. You can find out more about the festival at http://www.northernuke.com. Hurry tickets are going fast!

For details on Rob Collins ukuleles visit http://tinguitar.com or attend the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival where he will have a stall!

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Chonkinfeckle - INTERVIEW with Tim Cooke and Les Hilton

Time for another Got A Ukulele interview, and the first of 2013. I am delighted to have hooked up again with the good guys from Chonkinfeckle – Tim Cooke and Les Hilton.

Chonkinfeckle - Tim Cooke and Les Hilton (credit: Dylan Chubb)

I met the guys earlier in the year and had the pleasure of both hearing them play and played with them myself. They are a ukulele duo based in Wigan in the UK who, in their own words, play songs that “tell stories of everyday life, work, wives, kids and local characters, and often include a little bit of the local northern dialect”. On meeting them I also learned that they are very nice blokes with a great sense of humour!

Got A Ukulele reviewed their last CD “I'm From Wigan Me” and loved their easy style with songs that provide both a mix of the amusing to the contemplative and moving.

So thanks to Tim and Les for talking to Got A Ukulele. I very much enjoyed doing this!

Give me a bit of background – how did you guys get into making music and how did you first meet up?

Tim: I come from a musical family, and as the youngest of three, I was never going to escape listening to music in the home from any genres, be it classical, straight through to 70’s pop! 

Dad was a church organist; Mum was in the local choral society, big brother Steve a club organist and sister Andrea a jobbing singer / guitarist. I had always wanted to be a drummer from an early age but Mum and Dad didn’t see that as an option! I eventually got a drum kit at 17, but it was too late. I loved playing but was limited as to what I could achieve. I played in a few bands including a Brass Band, but eventually got fed up at always being the first there to set up, and always the last one to leave by packing all my clobber away. 

I thought there must be an easier way to enjoy making music! So, for my 40th birthday whilst on holiday in Cornwall, the wife bought me a Mahalo Telecaster type ukulele and a chord book. I went back to the caravan and found I couldn’t put the thing down! But I struggled with a few chords, so when I got back home I went to the newly formed Wigan Ukulele Club, and that is where I met Les.

Les: My first introduction to music came by way of my granddad, when we would visit as young kids he would entertain us by playing the harmonica… through his nose! 

One day he gave me the harmonica as a gift. I reluctantly accepted. Now, this harmonica was a double sided one, and fortunately for me, the side with the least glazing on was in the same key as my favourite song of the day, Lindisfarnes ‘Meet Me On The Corner’, which in turn led me to seek out other recordings featuring the harmonica. So while all my school mates were busy platting their legs to the Bay City Rollers at the afternoon Penny Dance, I was telling them about Sonny Boy Williamson, “and there’s two of um you know”… now, it turns out, this is not a good chat up line for a 14 year old!

Tim: Les was performing with another lad at the time we met, but after a few months he asked me if I wanted to do something together. 

Apparently he heard me sing ‘Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls’, and that was my secret audition. Les writes these wonderful stories with added music, with a ‘Lancashire / Wigan’ slant, and wanted someone with a local accent to perform these songs. I’d never seen myself as a vocalist, as not being blessed with the family musical gene, but we got together at Les’s house and tried various way’s of performing. Nearly three years later, here we are!

Les: I felt I’d seen his face somewhere before. He told me he had been the resident DJ on the Antony Cotton TV show. But I tend to think it was Bo Selecta myself….


And what about that name – explain to the readers where that came from and whose idea it was?

Tim: The name is made up of two words really. ‘Chonki’, which means good or great. And ‘feckle’ (fettle) as in order. So if you were ‘Chonki Feckle’ you would be O’reet and in good health or spirits. 

Les: Yes, some years ago I used to work in a factory and as you walked into the canteen for your first brew of the day, one of the old timers Owd Jack would often greet you with the phrase “nah mon, what fettle?” ‘in fettle’ meaning to be in good order (he would pronounce it ‘feckle’). If you were at one with the world that day the standard reply would be “chonki i fettle, the best kind”. Now, if you happened to be in a bad mood for some reason, to much beer the night before or other symptoms often brought on by a nagging spouse, the answer would be “no fettle” i.e. Keep Away! 

So when it came to sorting out an email address one day I remembered that little phrase and put it together as one word spelling it the way I remembered it spoken (Chonkinfeckle)…. It looked better than ‘LesH569 if you know what I mean. 

Tim: I think it was me who started to use it right at the beginning, as I thought, there will be no other buggers going around with that name! Stick it into Google and just our ugly mugs pop up!

Les and Tim in Wigan, alongside a statue of famous Wigan user - George Formby

So how did your first performances go – tell us the good and the bad!

Tim: Well, we sort of hit the ground running, the first gigs we did we both playing ukulele and had the backing tracks on a minidisc player.

Les: I think our first performance was in Wigan town centre. We’d posted a YouTube video of the song ‘I’m From Wigan Me’, which had been spotted by the town centre manager – there was a festival going on in town and he called us up at very short notice asking if we would perform the song in the gap between bands changing over. One song was never going to be long enough to fill the gap, so they asked us to do ten minute slots! Luckily we took a few backing tracks with us. At this time we had only done a few songs together, and so after fumbling our way through we promised ourselves we would start rehearsing…. A promise we often find hard to keep.

Tim: Our next gig was a fair size smaller which was for a local art exhibition to which we had contributed some recordings of Lancashire dialect, and they asked us if we would like to perform at the end of the exhibition. It was in an old mill, very small audience of about 20, and you could see the whites of their eyes, but it was a great gig! And that experience really opened up all the other possibilities of playing our stuff live.

Les: Chonkinfeckle usually only perform when asked, which is not a bad thing as people generally know in advance what they’re letting themselves in for, and we usually have a lot of fun. But for me some of the low points of performing come when we turn up to events (often for no fee) that are poorly attended. Recently we have been involved in a couple of Local Heritage days that have included amongst other things, clog dancing, dialect story telling, steam engines, vintage cars, fairground rides etc. Lots of effort put in by lots of people only to see a handful of people turn up on the day. It’s very sad.

One thing I find refreshing about you, is that you are songwriters, not a covers band. Tell me about the writing process that works for you.

Tim: Well, Les writes all the music and lyrics, so this section is all his!

Les: We have only ever played original songs or instrumentals. There are plenty of other acts doing a much better job at cover songs than we could offer. 

All our songs are usually conceived and written in my Taxi, often picking up on stuff I overhear or conversations I have with passengers about life in general and the things that matter the most…. Partners, or marriage, nostalgia (when I was a lad), kids, work, beer…..beer! This often reminds me of my own experiences, sometimes I write a song as my way of getting my own back on someone, like a mean boss or a cowboy builder, so be warned! 

I keep a cheap ukulele and note pad under the drivers seat in the taxi and during quiet periods (and there are many) I’ll take an idea and slap it around a bit to see if there’s a song in there. To be honest I’ve had no training as a writer of songs, but most stories have a beginning, middle and end, and a reason to exist. The hard part can be finding a chorus that ties it all together.


So do you bounce ideas of Tim or find yourself writing for his distinctive vocal delivery?

Les: I usually record a bunch of songs first then let Tim have a listen. He then decides if a song would suit him. Some work only as recordings, it’s during the recording stage that we will alter some of the words or phrases to suit Tim’s style. As for live performances, Tim needs to consider what accompaniment he is going to use, and more often than not a song will come out different from the original recorded idea.

Tim: Les is very generous with his songs. He constantly asks me for any input or ideas I may have. The trouble is, I ain’t too hot on the song writing front. I may come up with a line or so, or a certain rhythm for a song, but generally it’s all Les’s work. 

I did write one song though about how I met Fred Dibnah as a kid. I showed it to Les, who basically scribbled most of it out, and re-structured it properly. At the time though, he was preparing a meal in the kitchen, so as well as chopping & cooking, he was rewriting my song! Who said blokes can’t multi task! (Bloody smart arse!)


What do you make of the current ukulele ‘boom’ we seem to be in at the moment?


Les: The first time I picked up a uke was in 2005, and I’m pleased to see its still a very popular musical tool. I get the feeling that the boom has levelled out though. I think the days of it being considered as a novelty may be over and it seems to me more widely accepted for what it is. It’s the norm these days for music shops to stock a fairly decent range of ukes, when once your only choice was either Spongebob or Flying V. 

I think it gains more credibility when it gets used by some young and new acts as well as old ones. Did I see a Robert Plant pictured with one somewhere? (Yes you did it's HERE!)


Tim: The ukulele boom has been around for quite some time now. I don’t really know if the ukulele ever really fell out of popularity, but I think the introduction of the instrument into schools has helped enormously. For a child to pick up the uke and be strumming a tune in a short scale of time is fantastic. Plus it’s a natural progression to the guitar. The thing about the uke is, it’s light, it’s easy to play, but most importantly it’s fun to play.


I saw that you played the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain at Cheltenham. How was that for you and what other highlights have there been?

Tim: Well, what can you say about that experience!! We were a little bit gobsmacked at first, as this is the premier ukulele festival in the UK. And with the calibre of artists we were on the bill with, I must admit, it was a bit of a ‘bum twitcher’! 

The worst part about it was having to hang around backstage, waiting to go on. It’s a large, very impressive room, so that is the thing that makes you nervous. I wasn’t nervous really about playing, as we had put a lot of time and effort into the set, but it’s not your usual audience. What we primarily do is to tell stories over the music; we just hoped that came across. We had some great feedback afterwards, and once we’d done our bit we could enjoy the rest of the day!

Les: Cheltenham was a great experience for us, though as Tim says, a nervous one. My concern was how would our local stories and sayings go down in an international setting? The Jury’s still out on that one. 

Tim and I had attended the two previous events as members of the audience, so you can imagine what a shock it was when we found ourselves on the stage! We had a couple of technical problems – the drum-kit decided to dismantle itself before and during the set, and EQ’ing the washtub bass for the sound engineer was not the easiest task. We learned a lot from it though, and I’m thankful for being given the opportunity. As an added bonus I got to busk a bit of harmonica with Manitoba Hal, not bad considering we would have been there anyway. 

I think playing at the festival has given us more confidence as performers, plus we don’t have to worry about the drummer anymore… he sacked us! 

Tim: 2012 really was the busiest we’ve been. Apart from the festival of GB we supported The Lancashire Hotpots at a big festival in town. We played the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre in Bolton – we are huge Fred fans, so this was a dream job! Getting to mooch around his home and workshops and chat to some of his old mates as well. 

We also got on the bill at a very popular folk festival in Coppull where one of the other acts was Joseph Boe, brother of the famous singer Alfie! Joe Boe runs the Fleetwood Folk Club. 

Les: Other highlights for me were performing at the St Helens Rugby stadium to a crown of more than 16,000, and having the chance to do some live radio. I think we made six appearances as well as a Christmas Special by BBC Lancashire. 

Tim: Yes, we got picked up by the late show presenter John Barnes. From that experience we got to play for the BBC at the Great Eccleston Agricultural Show, and from that go to perform on the Sally Naden show on BBC Radio Lancashire. 2013 has a lot to live up to! 

Les: Recently we received a request from Mike Harding for all six albums to be sent to his studio. Short on coasters no doubt! 

Chonkinfeckle take to the stage at the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain 2012 (credit Peter Johnson)

Six albums is impressive. What’s next on the horizon? 

Les: Yes, six albums are available at the moment from our website, and album number seven which is titled ‘Francis Powells Foot’ is already recorded and will be out last October…! Or, as soon as Tim gets the chance to come and do the vocal tracks, which ever is the sooner. 

There may also be an album of instrumentals after that. I’ve been experimenting lately with some exotic drum loops, but with any luck this phase with pass and I can get back to writing daft songs. I get lots of ideas….. They’re not all good ones. 

Tim: Les finds it hard not to write stuff down. He has quite a bit of time on his hands, so his creative ‘juices’ tend to be flowing nonstop! I literally can’t keep up with him. It seems that every time I go round to his house he presents me with new stuff. Trouble is, I’ve not learned the last batch of songs yet! 


Francis Powells Foot – now there is an album title. What’s the story? 

Tim: Sir Francis Sharp Powell, 1st Baronet (29 June 1827 – 24 December 1911) was an English Conservative politician. He was first elected as MP for Wigan at a by-election in January 1881.

Now, there is a statue of Sir Francis Powell which stands in Mesnes Park, Wigan. It was erected in 1910; the statue is made from bronze and is green in colour. The statue shows Powell sat in his office chair, deep in thought. It also shows his right leg crossing in front of his left, which makes his right shoe protrude out further than the statue's base. 

It has long been a long standing superstition that the rubbing of Powell's protruding shoe will bring a person good luck. Local belief in this tale is so strong that the shoe of the statue is never allowed to turn green due to the constant rubbing by locals and tourists. And believe it or not, they have just had to do extensive repairs on his foot, as it was, basically worn out! So as kids, we would go to the park, and give the foot a good rub, but I’m still waiting for my 6 numbers to come! 

Les: I tend to think there’s one in every town! Anyway I was talking to someone the other day about the statue and he said, “who is he anyway?”. And if you ask any of the locals, nobody seems to know. Then he said, “the only famous Powell I know is Baden!” 

A few of the songs on the new album deal with luck (the lack of or need of)… but not all of them. The first one is about by Uncle Bill, but that’s another story as they say. 


Tim, we have to talk about your tea chest bass. It’s become something of a talking point at your gigs hasn’t it? 

Tim: Well, this came about way before the big Cheltenham gig. What Les and I had a problem with was, playing 'live' to backing tracks. They were great to start off with, but you become 'slaves' to it after a bit. You have not got the freedom to experiment, and to go off at a tangent. So without the backing tracks, just us two on ukuleles, the sound was a bit 'thin'. It worked on the instrumental tracks, but not on the others. So, I was in a charity shop in Wigan, and they had this old tea chest, on sale for £3.00! So, I parted with my hard earned cash, took it home and attached the washing line & a broom handle. And to be honest, I was well impressed with the sound. A deep, warm, resounding noise it made. Even more so when I stuck a pick up underneath! Plug that baby into a sound system, and we have got some serious bottom end to play with! 

And that was that, it breathed new life into us, and playing live was a completely new experience again.  

Then Les had an old water butt, which he cut in half, so the same thing happened again. So, I have two basses to play with. But the only trouble is, now I've gone onto percussion! I got an old Zimmer frame, attached a washboard to it, a couple of old pans and tins, and voila!! A homemade drum kit. So my dreams of becoming a drummer finally came a reality....only 40 years too late!! 

Performing on BBC Radio Lancashire

So what ukuleles do you play?

Les: I only have three ukes. The one that lives under the seat of my cab is a Stagg Soprano given to me by a friend to replace my black Bruko Soprano that was stolen by a passenger (Bastard!!). I have a Risa Ukelectric tenor that I use on most recordings and gigs. I have it tuned F, B flat, D, G with a low F). 

I also have a six string (no name) tenor ukulele which is my favourite one at the moment. I’ve changed the order of the strings to suit fingerpicking and also prefer it tuned down to low F. For anyone who is interested in the reason for the low tuning, it’s my attempt at trying to fatten up what can be, to my ear, a thin sounding instrument for our current setup of washboard and harmonica. 

Tim: I still have my original Mahalo and I have a Risa soprano. 


And finally, the question I ask all the people I interview – what are your best tips for new ukulele players? 

Les: Don’t keep your instrument in its case… Once you polish it up and put it away nice and safe in its case you’ll be amazed how much effort it can take sometimes to get it out again, especially if there’s a good film coming on telly… Always have it to hand, that’s what I say. 

Tim: I would say, join a club. Even if you can’t play a note, you will find someone there either in a similar situation or there will be someone to show you what to do. Plus it’s great fun playing with other people. And the main thing is to enjoy it and have fun. That’s why I do it any how! 

Les: I would also recommend getting yourself to a club or similar. After all, that’s where I met Tim and we’ve had some cracking ukulele adventures so far. 




I couldn’t agree more fellas. Thanks so much to Tim and Les, and be sure to check them out on http://chonkinfeckle.co.uk and on their YouTube channel.

Their impressive range of CD's can be bought HERE together with their Chonkin' T-Shirt which I regularly sport at our jam sessions!

CHONKINFECKLE GIG DATES

February 22nd -- Unity Club, Standish. All profits to Coppull Folk Club weekend of 'Free Music' 14-16 June

March 3rd - Mesnes Park, Wigan - FREE EVENT - 12.00noon - 3.00pm

March 9th - Wigan Town Centre - FREE EVENT supporting Lancashire Hotpots from 1.30pm

March 17th - Haigh Hall, Haigh, Wigan - FREE EVENT 12.00pm - 3.00pm

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