It's the little things....

Around the end of the year, i received the most curious and charming card in the mail. From the recycled envelop to the inscription on the back of it which stated, 'This is not a Christmas Card', i just love it. On the front of the card it says, (if i may translate)

House of Ukulele-Joy
A Shelter for Ukuleles with a Past...
Den Hague.
On the inside... Well, i'm going to keep that to myself. Now, don't go getting the wrong idea. It's just that it was sent to me and i'd like to keep it special. But, i can tell you, it's a beautiful thing. I don't believe i've ever met the fella' that sent this little gem. But, one thing is for sure, he understands that, "It's the little things..."
Thank You Ocker.

New Doggies in the Window...

There is a phrase one sings when tuning the ukulele which goes, "My Dog Has Fleas". That's why these little doggies have their own ukulele. I make them out of socks and they are available via 'The Jumping Flea Market'.

Ukulele Safari Desktop

Bosko & Honey are now kicking off their Ukulele Safari OZ. And, as i mentioned before, they will be presenting a wonderful Ukulele Safari Compilation CD which i'm sure you have already pre-ordered, right?! Good! And, for your support, i've made a little something extra which Bosko & Honey can give to their fans in appreciation... Click here to download your own Ukulele Safari Desktop.
Click on the image & ZOOM.

Art Design for Imogen Gunner

I met Imogen in Dublin last summer when we were performing at the Irish Ukulele Festival. LOVELY gal and a very talented one at that! Playing fiddle, Imogen will be performing with her 'Imo Band' at the Temple Bar Trad Fest.

Listen up folks, if you are close to, or can get to Dublin next weekend don't miss this Fest. It is sure to be absolutely amazing. Imogen will be presenting a Special Limited Edition of her upcoming CD. I did the art design for the CD & Booklet. It looks luscious if i do say so myself. But then again, I had a beauty to work with. Take a look... (& See if you can spot her cat, 'Harry')
Click on the image and ZOOM.

OooooOooooOooooooo,..... I'm a Night Owl.

'The Uke Box' together with Rene 'Buurman' Verberne*
on Washtub Bass at Café de Ooievaar. *Rene 'Buurman' Verberne: 'Buurman' means Neighbor in dutch and a swell neighbor he is. He was destined to fall in with The Uke Box. Below is a photograh of him & ukulele at age 5....cute! (He's going to shoot me) After the first evening that we met, he went home and built his own uke....from steel! Besides this, we found out he plays a mean washtub. Handy. Ashame you can't hear the bass very well in the video because dude is taking it for a walk, baby!

Printable Baggage Tag For Your Uke!

As all of us uke players know, the minute size of the instrument makes it very easy to carry along with you anywhere. Also makes it easy to, uh, misplace. And heaven forbid you should lose your trusty Jumping Flea! I've designed a little tag for you should your uke lose its way. On the reverse side there is a handy little chord chart!

Print this Ukulele Baggage Tag, preferably on extra thick paper. Apply glue to the reverse side and fold along dashed line. Allow to dry and then cut it out along the dotted line. Punch a hole through the 'paper eyelet' and use a string or rubber band to attatch it to your ukulele case. For extra durability...laminate, baby!

This Tag is part of my Ukulele Card Set which is available via The Jumping Flea Market.

'Underpants' (& Ukuleles) Desktop Theme.

Download the new ukulele desktop from The Uke Box.
(Click on the image & ZOOM!)And here you'll find 4 More Nifty Desktops

For the first time since that incident in Dublin....

(Click on the image to ZOOM)

PreView & PreOrder!

Too exciting... Bosko&Honey's Ukulele Safari Volume 1 CD is nearly ready for your listening and viewing pleasure! Here below is a preview of the booklet included in this fabulous collection of music by ukulele artists from around the globe. 16 pages! (I know, because i designed (& fretted over) every one of them. Pre-Order your Ukulele Safari CD now!
Click on the image to ZOOM.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

A winter landscape from my Paint by Numbers collection.

We've had an amazing spell of weather here in Holland. The week before Christmas it snowed...a lot. Being from Mississippi, i still get all kinds of silly about snow. It's magical. Even makes a parking lot look beautiful. Now it's snowing again and it is damn cold. I heard that it reached -20ºC! As far as i'm concerned if you have to have winter then please let it either snow or freeze hard enough to ice skate. Otherwise, you just have cold.

So, i'm actually enjoying the extreme weather and wintery stuff like Snuggly Sweaters, Homemade Stews and Spiced Wine...mmmm. Hoping to ice skate soon with our ice buddies Coen & Paul. We had a ball skating last year. Of course Marko will also be on the ice, but i demand a stunt double!

Busy start to the New Year....

That's why i'm so damn late wishing you a Happy New Year...

Happy New Year!
May 2010 bring you many a splendid adventure
followed by cocktails with a fluffy stir-thingy in it.

And what have i been busy with? Well, it's a fabulous project for Bosko & Honey. They went on a world wide Ukulele Safari in 2008 and visited ukulele players all over the world. They made a video with each performer they met. The video we made with them can be seen here.

Well, they are now making a compilation CD comprised of tunes from many of the performers that they met called, "Bosko & Honey Presents... Ukulele Safari, Volume 1" They'll be presenting it in about 3 weeks during their kick off of the Ukulele Safari through Australia. It's going to be amazing. Fantastic performers like Yan Yalego, Peter Madcat Ruth (Dude is a Grammy Winner!) and Gerald Ross have contributed tracks.

So what the hell do i have to do with it? I designed the CD packaging and Booklet! One more day of revisions and off to the printers. I'm praying that the printing comes out well. (Usually i shadow the printer dude until we get the colors just right. Unfortunately, no hopes of that seeing that the printing will be done in Australia). Here's a preview of the front cover. Oh, and i'm very proud to tell you that Bosko & Honey also asked us (The Uke Box) to contribute a track to the CD. It's a song i wrote called 'Firefly Crown'. I played the Washtub Bass, Singing Saw, Ukulele and sang all the parts. Marko added some Banjolele and did all the mixing. That was a hell of a job too. We're not very experienced with recording and are learning the hard way.

So, that's what has been keeping me awake at nights lately. I'm looking forward to a bit of a rest next week. We need a little break...time to just play and write songs. Oh, and read books. Marko gave me a great book for Christmas about Woody Guthrie.