Big Damn Ukulele Weekend, Route du Nord

I'm going to keep this short because i'm still exhausted from the weekend....it was that good! Route du Nord is an art route through Rotterdam North and in conjunction with that we, The Uke Box: Held a Ukulele Intervention (ukulele workshop for beginners), Held a Ukulele Infiltration (by walking through Rotterdam North with about 25 ukulele players and playing for the folks on the street) and hosting The Ukulele Jamboree.

This was the 9th edition of the Ukulele Jamboree and the first of the 2nd season. We never dared to have just an Open Mic before. There aren't that many uke players around and we feared that we would be left improvising about 3hrs of entertainment. But, we tried it and what do ya know?....We had 10 acts show up! Big Thanks to The Beast from the East, Pieter Popster, Gertrude Miss Yovonne, Dion & Kate, Yoshimi, Hans de Rhoon, Sylvia van de Berg , Martine Cleintaure and Maartje.

Unfortunately we still dont have the means to film these evenings (we're working on it) and even photographs aren't easy to get while hosting at the same time. But, i did get some. Here is a small slide show of the hilarity. (Don't miss the cool prizes we gave away) And, while you're looking, why not listen to Pink Martini's "Sympathique" performed by the lovely Martine Cleintaure & my-okidoki-self.

New! Nifty Download-ables

To my Dear Readers,
It is incredibly inspiring and enlightening to receive your feedback and i am very grateful for your support. I have been thinking of a way to give you all a gift to show my appreciation. I've decided to start a new segment called 'Nifty Download-ables'. I will be adding fun & useful things such as tags, labels, cards, and DIY projects for you to download for free!

To kick it off i've made three ukulele themed desktops for your computer. Click on the hyperlink above the image to download. These are high resolution images and may also be printed to be used, for example, as cards or invitations. Enjoy!

The Mermaid Oh, That Man!

Aloha.

The Ukulele Jamboree Is Back!

Click on the image to ZOOM! To celebrate the opening of the 2nd Ukulele Jamboree Season we have planned a weekend full of fun activities in conjunction with Route du Noord.

Friday 25th of September, 8pm
Rotabs Entrance, Zwaanshals, R'dam
Ukulele Intervention
(a free workshop for aspiring ukulele players)

Saturday 26th of September, 9:30pm
Café de Bel, GerardScholtenstraat 161b, R'dam
The Ukulele Jamboree
We invite all ukulele players to come play us a song at the Open Mic and all ukulele friends to come enjoy the fun! Also expected: Surprise Guests, Fantastic Prizes & Special Effects. We'll be giving away a beautiful Pineapple Ukulele valued at 100,-euro's!

Sunday 27th of September, 9pm
Acoustic Jamsession
(for advanced players of all instruments)
Café de Bel, GerardScholtenstraat 161b, R'dam

All the activities are free & FUN! Come on out and Enjoy!
Oh, and just to get you in the mood, i've made a fun little "Aloha" desktop for your computer which you can download for free by clicking here!

Cigarbox Ukulele No.2

Gosh, it's been a while since i posted something on the blog. We're very busy getting ready for the fall season. Lots of great projects and ventures on the drawing board. Next weekend we kick off the second season of the Ukulele Jamboree. Also,'The Big Damn Ukulele Band' is practicing for some guerilla concerts during the Art Route in Rotterdam North. And, most importantly...we're trying to figure out who the hell is going to pay for all this fun! Anyway, this next month will be spent getting all the plans down on paper, setting up some new projects and looking for sponsors. Lot's to do but very exciting.

But, all this paperwork has to be balanced out by time spent creating something wonderful. This winter i have great plans of making as many homemade instruments as possible! I've finally started my second ukulele which i hinted about previously. Here are a few photographs of my progress. Click on the images to ZOOM! First, i cut the sound hole out... Then, i started on the bracing inside the box. Oh, and i also removed the label from the top of the lid and fixed it to the bottom of the box so that it will be seen through the sound hole. This is the neck. I drew the design on to the wood and then went over to my favorite neighbors house (Hi René!) and used his saw to cut it out. Beat the hell out of sawing it by hand like i did last time. Power tools rule! I'm saving up for a saw like this one. Until that time, i sure hope the neighbors dont move! In case you haven't seen my first cigar box ukulele you can see it here and you can hear it here. I think it's the cutest cigar box ukulele in the whole damn world.

Tin Can Microphone!

This is one of the most swell gifts i've ever received. It was given to me by Rikke. It's a microphone made from a tomato-puree tin can! He made it himself. Isn't it the cutest little microphone you've ever seen ever?!! Rikke is a very interesting guy. I don't know him very well but what i do know is that he plays guitar, banjo and probably lots of other stuff i don't know about and he has a great voice to boot. You hear lots of folks trying to play the old timey stuff. Sometimes they're good at it technically but quite often they just don't have it...you know what i mean? But Rikke, he's definately got it. Great style. He usually performs with Elma who plays divers instruments as well and sings like an angel. I hope we get to know each other better. I'd love to sing low harmonies with them or do some washtubbin!

Back to the tin-can microphone... I haven't tried it out yet but i'm thinkin' that it's going to have a really cool 1920's kind of sound. We've got a couple of songs where this kind of sound would be just the thing! Rikke said you can also tap on it too and get a pretty cool percussion out of it. NEATO! Thanks Rikke, so incredibly kind of you. One of the neatest gifts ever & wrapped in Jack Daniels paper...you're my kind of guy. I just love it! & Here is a picture of me looking goofy-er than ever just to prove it...