Ukulele Rainmakers - The Ukulele Underground crew

Another in my series of Ukulele Rainmakers - those in the uke world who, whilst they may perform, have made a big noise in contributing something else to ukers worldwide.

In this edition - say hello to those behind Ukulele Underground - Aldrine Guerrero, Ryan Esaki and Aaron Nakamura.

Aldrine, Ryan and Aaron of Ukulele Underground
Picture Credit - Heather Toshiko - used with kind permission

If you have been using the internet as a beginner to find resources to help your uke advancement and have NOT come across Ukulele Underground I would be VERY surprised!

Started by the three Hawaiians in 2007, Ukulele Underground set out to be one of the biggest resources for uke players online, and it's arguable that they have achieved that goal. Many will know it for it's extremely popular discussion forum (which and my count this morning had over 75,000 members), but there is more to UU than the forum - the site also has, at it's heart, a teaching element with literally hundreds of how to play videos which visitors can subscribe to. And it is not just about beginners either, there is something for players of all abilities, helped along by one of the best players in the business.

And the forum - well - it really is pretty huge and you will struggle not to find answers to beginners questions with either a quick search or asking the question for yourself - with that many members it certainly is a helpful place.

And for creating something that is just so immensely popular, hats off to Aldrine, Ryan and Aaron for being true Rainmakers.



Read about my other Rainmakers HERE

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Ukulele Rainmakers - Tony Coleman

Another in my series of Ukulele Rainmakers - people who may not necessarily be performers (or perhaps even players), but have made a name for themselves in making a big positive noise in the ukulele world. In this edition - say hello to Tony Coleman!

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Tony is actually a filmmaker by trade, though a musician (and a player of the uke) on the side. So why does that make him a Ukulele Rainmaker?

Well, a little while ago Tony embarked on a bit of a journey to make a new feature film regarding a subject he loved - the ukulele. That project, which he directed and produced (and with help from Margaret Meagher and Ron Mann) was to become the film "Mighty Ukulele".  But it didn't stop there and just fade out of site. The film went on to great acclaim, and Tony then started on the Ukulele Roadshow - taking the film on tour of THE WORLD, and taking with him ukulele players to put on performances including the great James Hill. This was more than just the work of a throwaway filmmaker - Tony through his life and soul into the project - taking the film on tour as a showcase.

The reviews were great, as was the film (see my review of it HERE ).

To me - Tony is a great example of a ukulele rainmaker - just seeing the comment appearing on social media as the film moved around the globe was enough to see that - a massively positive response and, of course, encouragement to new players.

You can check out the other rainmakers in my series so far HERE.

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Ukulele Rainmakers - Alastair Wood

Continuing my series of Ukulele Rainmakers - in other words - somebody other than a gigging performer who contributes significantly to the ukulele world.  In this edition - Alastair Wood.

You may have gathered that there quite a few (massive understatement) ukulele websites out there. Heck, you are reading one. But there is one site that gets mentioned by every ukulele player you will speak to, no matter where in the world you are - Uke Hunt.

It was back in 2007 that UK music lover Alastair Wood decided to set up a new website dedicated to the ukulele. He had been blogging before about music more generally but found he had more and more to say about the uke and chose to dedicate a site to it. In the time since, Uke Hunt has gone on to become what is more than likely THE most popular ukulele website there is (Don't believe me? Go to Google, do a search for the word Ukulele and see for yourself (Wikipedia doesn't count - its not a uke site!).

Al's is a site that nobody misses - and contains a huge resource of song sheets, a blog, videos, tips, tricks and more.  So popular was the site that Al was asked to write the first ukulele guide in the "For Dummies" series of books.

I've heard Al called idiosyncratic, and it's right to say that there is a definite style to his work - but it is about as informative as it can get and I adore the acerbic wit with which he sometimes delivers his writing.

So there is a ukulele rainmaker right there - Al's site is his full time job - a man totally dedicated to writing about the ukulele and giving others the information they need to move on. Oh, and did I mention? He can play a bit too....





And you can check out my other ukulele rainmakers  - HERE

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Ukulele Rainmakers - Jim Beloff

A new series of articles for Got A Ukulele - Ukulele Rainmakers.  On most ukulele sites you will find (including this one) you will find many articles, videos, interviews and the like that champion the the professional ukulele players and performers, but it struck me that we don't see enough for those other ukulele champions - those who have done something else in the world of ukulele to make it keep turning.

So what is a rainmaker? Well, it's a term for somebody who has made something happen, made a success, or made an important noise in their field. First up then - say hello to Jim Beloff.

Photo Credit - Jim Beloff

Some ukulele beginner may not know the name Jim Beloff, but I guarantee you will have come across something of Jims on your ukulele travels. In fact some say that "Jumpin' Jim"  as he is sometimes called (and of course, his wife Liz) may well be responsible for the current surge in popularity in the ukulele around the world.

Perhaps his most famous contribution were his ukuleles the Flea and the Fluke, which the Beloffs developed in setting up Flea Market Music in 1992. Working with his brother in law Dale Webb, Jim, recognising that there were very few ukes around at that time that suited new players, they set about creating a new trouble free instrument that would allow new players to get going with minimal fuss, whilst still getting a great tone. The Fluke was born and went on to be hugely popular around the world ( I own both the Fluke and the baby version, the Flea!)

But that wasn't the start of it - before bringing his new uke to the world, the Company had already been putting out what became a hugely popular series of ukulele songbooks, starting with his "Jumpin' Jim's Ukulele Favourites" which went on to be so popular that the couple chose to quit their day jobs and concentrate on their uke business. Bear in mind, this was at a time when the internet was only a fledgling service and the idea of just logging on for tabs just wasn't an option - you went to a music store. Before Jims books can you imagine how many uke songbooks there were on the shelves - yeah, you guessed it.

Most recently the firm have had huge success with their songbook "The Daily Ukulele" giving new players a new song for every day of the year - still delivered with the Flea Market charm and careful selection of songs that will help beginners progress rather than put them off.

So here we have a man and his wife who can quite rightly be credited with bringing ukulele music and the whole idea of playing one back into the mainstream. Truly a rainmaker in my opinion!

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