PugsLee's UkeWorld

What a great treat! We had a very good turnout yesterday with new and old friends meeting at Marshall's BBQ Restaurant to hear Lil Rev. He is a super teacher and gave us a lot of material to work on. Then we sat back as he delighted us with his Mid-Western humour and some great playing. If you ever get a chance to hear Lil Rev - go for it!

I am so far behind on this blog! Just got back from the Portland Uke Fest which is really a ukulele music camp held on the campus of Reed College. It is a great event with world class teachers, concerts and new and old friends. This year was no exception!!!

Gerald Ross was kind enough to back me up on guitar at open mic. I'm posting the video. I'll add pictures and more info later.

Just got home form 3 intensive days of music camp all arranged by  www.thegeraldjones.com . This camp did not have uke workshops but the uke was well represented at the jams! I took this opportunity to explore the mandolin. It was great fun and I learned a great deal in spite of fingers that bled from the steel stings (just kidding - almost!).

A last minute change to the instructor line-up proved to be my favorite and an incredibly valuable time for me at the camp. Dave Waser of the local band Beatlegras stepped in to handle the vocal harmony class. He invited me to sit in on the last day of class (I think he was enamored with my ukes). There were only 6 of us in the class and we we learned how to blend our voices, create harmony and did a fine job of singing some great tunes in 3 part harmony. Dave is a great guy to work with and the workshop was a lot of fun. www.beatlegras.com/

That said, I don't want to minimize the mandolin classes. As a rank beginner I got an amazing amount of understanding of the instrument (your fingers will bleed) and the way a mando works is very logical compared to some other instruments. The instructors were great. We had both Gerald Jones and Tim May as instructors and they both gave freely of their knowledge and help.

I met some wonderful new folks, saw a few that have been skirting around the uke community for awhile and best of all met and listened to a couple of teenagers that are already great players that I'm sure we will be paying top do;;ar to hear perform in the near future - Ruby on fiddle and Lucas from Corsicana on guitar, mandolin, fiddle and whatever other instruments he decides to play! I met Lucas about 1 1/2 years ago at the Old Time Music Festival in Palestine, TX. He was quite the gentleman and helped my mom and me get our booth broken down and our car loaded with our instruments and other goodies from our mobile "store". He has really developed into a great player and is fearless in jamming with just about anyone!

This was a super event for Dallas and Gerald is already planning to host it again next year!

Gerald arranged a fabulous line-up of talent as instructors. Here is the line-up:

Brad Davis - Guitar
Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, Sam Bush, John Jorgenson, Billy Bob Thornton

Tim May - Guitar / Mandolin
Crucial Smith, Patty Loveless, Charlie Daniels, Eddie Rabbit

Jim “Texas Shorty” Chancellor - Fiddle
Five-time World Fiddle Champion, Mark O'Connor, Porter Waggoner

David Talbot - Banjo
Grascals, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Tony Rice, Kenny Chesney

Terry Baucom - Banjo
Boone Creek, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, Lou Reid

Gerald Jones - Banjo / Mandolin
Roanoke, Texas Shorty, Red Steagall, Mark O'Connor, Hank Thompson

Wil Maring - Songwriting
Winner of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest

Robert Bowlin - Fiddle / Guitar
Bill Monroe, Osborne Brothers, Kathy Mattea, Tom T. Hall

Dave Waser - www.beatlegras.com

Since we had to cancel plans to attend the NY Uke Fest, I was feeling uke withdrawal. So, I put on my thinking hat and came up with idea of creating am impromptu mini festival of our own. After a little internet searching, I found that Combo Mahalo, an Austin hapa haole band, was playing and that our good buddies from the Shorty Long band were also in town.  SO we made a road trip to Austin and listened to Combo Mahalo on Thursday night and spent a little time with Brian from the band on Friday. The weather was perfect so we went to the Lady Bird Johnson WIldflower Park which was beautiful. We even found a few quiet spots where we strummed a little uke. There is a display of giant decorate guitars all over Austin - very cool. We got some great pictures that I'll post. Quite by accident we discovered that Rue McClanahan was in town and giving a talk as well as having a book signing. We went. She was very personable and truly as much a character in real life as in her Golden Girl roll as Blanche!  We went to some interesting restaurants including the funky Magnolia Cafe and a new find for us, The East SIde Grill - both were great. Another landmark is Eddie V's which serves incredible seafood and has wonderful jazz in the bar. The crowning jewel of the weekend was spending a relaxing afternoon under the carport with Pops Bayliss and Mysterious John and a handful of ukes. Pops is great!

Our friend Gerald Ross was in Dallas for the steel guitar jamboree! Carmen, Carol and I snagged him for an afternoon of lessons on both lap steel guitar and ukulele! Not only is he a super nice guy but a knowledgeable, organized teacher. We learned a lot, had a great time and introduced Gerald to Texas barbecue.

At last we had a Saturday with beautiful weather! Carmen and I drove to Austin to pick-up her custom King concert. It is beautiful and already has an incredible warm rich tone - just imagine how it will sound after it gets played and really opens up. I also brought a new King uke home. It's a very unusual uke made from woods initially planned for a violin and cello. The back is fiddleback maple and the top is master grade Swiss spruce. The tone is brilliant and bright - the opposite of Carmen's uke. Played together, these two ukes sound like a beautiful orchestra!!!

The afternoon was a learning delight as we spent several hours with Bob Guz who plays in the band Shorty Long with Pops Bayless. Bob is a super teacher. We both learned a lot and have lots to practice to take our playing to the next level. We are hoping to bring Bob to Dallas to teach a workshop.

We topped of the day by having dinner at Jeffrey's Restaurant - it is one of the top restaurants in the country. Superb dinner! The we had a very very long drive home.