Sorry for the slow updating on the old website here... I have been having too much fun flying around on planes, hanging with my ukulele colleagues, and enjoying the Hawaiian beach sand between my toes with a ukulele in my hand. That's right, not only did I have an awesome time at the Melbourne Ukulele Festival I got to hang with my wife at my ukulele sponsor's place on Hokukano Ranch on the big island. Living 3300' up a mountain in a private 32 square mile ranch is something I didn't realize was on my bucket list. It is checked off now and I believe I will have to do it again.
First off, Australia was awesome. The ten hour flight from Honolulu... not so awesome, but it was all worth it. I had so much fun actually meeting some of my fellow professional ukers. IT was my first real straight up ukulele event instead of working folk / arts fests and being the "ukulele guy" this time I was awash in a sea of ukuleles. It was a refreshing experience and I can't wait to hopefully do it again next year. :) The second highlight of the trip down under was the flying foxes...Raven sized bats. I am not kidding. They are serious and mean business.
After the Melbourne Ukulele festival I headed east back across the international date line which really messed me up. Gaining a day? I arrived a day earlier than I thought to Kona on the big island of Hawaii. Lucky for me my ukulele sponsor at Hokukano Ukuleles picked me up and brought me to his shop / home. 3300ft up on a mountain side is where I spent my nights. Days I spent at random beaches with my wife, who flew in the day after me (we were supposed to fly in at the same time but silly me not knowing how time zones work). I have been to Hawaii before, but I forgot how much of a golden ticket playing ukulele is when on the islands. It is not only an awesome instrument, but it is a guaranteed conversation starter / friend maker. Needless to say our trip went well. Ukuleles just make you want to smile unless you play angry metal music. Thank you Bosko and Honey. You blew my mind. Literally.
Also did you know that the big island of Hawaii is actually an Alaskan suburb? That is right! The Alaska / Hawaii connection is HUGE. for example, I played at a house party of under 20 people while I was there. Only 2 or 3 people at the shin-dig were not from Fairbanks. Wierd wild stuff. Jamming with random musicians on a small hard to get to beach... the drummer ended up being the percussionist from Delmag, and awesome Anchorage group. The last frontier needs an island buddy. That little guy Hawaii. Now I just need to find a way I can go there during the winters and just hunt pigs and snorkel...and obviously play a metric crap ton of ukulele. That would be sweet.
I figured I would post a few glamour shots taken by my friend Nick Pitsas from Melbourne, Australia. This guy knows how to capture a moment for sure. Also he likes pho. Go figure that I am into pho too. Noodles my friends of the Asian variety. Yum. I mean this is in the most heterosexual way, it was friends at first pho. Haha I like the ring of that. Pho friends. Needless to say my time in Melbourne was well spent meeting some cool people. Thanks Nick for the photos. They came out great. Now only if I can work on my fake Aussie accent. I always turn to my standard Crocodile Dundee lines. "You call that a knife?"
