Vacationland

There is nothing like being up on the marquee next to Penguins of Madagascar! I have made the big time!

There is nothing like being about to get out of the bar scene and play a sit down theater show. If I could just play sit down shows like the one I played last night full time... That would be a treat compared to the marathons I have to pull off multiple nights a week year round. However, there is nothing like the bar scene. If you can distract people from their dinners, drinks, and conversations to look over and stare in awe of the butchery of contemporary music on the hatchet of strings then you got something. If it works, run with it.

Last night at the Pittsfield Community Theatre my good friend Mike Reny and I put on a great show for the people of Pittsfield. There were no heart attacks during our rendition of Hall and Oates' Man Eater and in fact the sound in that nice large theater room was EXCELLENT. A big shout out to the MCI Alumni Association at Maine Central Institute for making it all possible. Can't wait to come perform for the students on Monday the 5th!

Several ukulele clubs converged on the Universalist Church in Pittsfield today for some ukulele guru time.

Today I had a great time doing my 2nd annual Ukulele Russ Get-together sponsored by the Sebasticook Ukulele Group.  I must say the turnout was most excellent and everyone seemed eager to learn about our friend, the fret board. It is always really awesome for me to be able to share my passion of the ukulele with others.

oh..Vacationland is Maine's nickname. Sorry for the confusion.

Someone died at my gig

In a decade of gigging and over 11000 hours on stage I have seen some strange, exciting, and sad stuff during my shows and I'm not even talking about my personal performance. Bars and clubs are the places where people let their hair down and people relax. This was not really the case last night on New Years Eve for the first part of my night.

My longtime friend and colleague Mike Reny and I were about three or four songs into our night when all of a sudden during our rendition of "Man Eater" by Hall and Oates a dancing man right in front of us fell lifelessly to the floor. I mean I hate Oates as much as the next guy and know that Darrel Hall was the only real driving force in that dynamic duo. Oates just had a cool jerry curled afro and a sweet mustache, nothing else. Hopefully this wasn't the reason why a patron would fall over dead in front of us. Note to self; stop playing Hall and Oates OR have a disclaimer.

The best part was that this man, who was obviously not breathing, was immediately saved by the people of the room. Two staff members pulled together and started CPR right away. This was crucial! They got his heart and breathing started twice until the paramedics finally arrived and got the man stable enough to transport (meaning hooked up to the machine that goes "Bing"). I have seen CPR performed before, but you always seem to forget when it is done properly that if you aren't breaking the person's ribs you are compressing you aren't doing it right. Well it was done right and that guy is going to be pissed when he wakes up, but happy to be alive. It was a new years day miracle and I got to witness it with ukulele in hand from about 10ft away.

Don't believe me? Here is the link to the article.

The rest of the night went without a hitch. It is a good year to be alive!

Silver Street New Years Eve

Jingle #2 for the week goes out to the Silver Street Tavern in Waterville, Maine. No they didn't ask for it, but we made one anyway. Mike Reny and I were trying to channel our inner 90s radio DJ into this jingle and I think we successfully did it.

We basically spent 5 hours on 17 seconds of audio because we couldn't stop laughing. I can tell ya one thing, I don't really care how the recordings turn out at all when you are rolling on the floor laughing so much. If I could write jingles for a living the laughter would probably keep me alive for the next 100 years... or my heart is going to pop fairly soon from the belly laughs. Either way I would perish a happy man.

Come on out to the Silver Street Tavern tonight in Waterville if you are in the central Maine area! It is going to be PACKED and AWESOME! 9pm start and $5 at the door!

CLICK THE LINK AND ENJOY

-----------------------------   Silver Street Tavern Jingle   ----------------------------- 

^^^

 

Jingle master...

I rarely ever take time to do recordings. It seems as though I'm always chasing the next show, but this week while I'm in Maine I am going to set some time aside to lay down some non-ukulele ukulele tracks.

That is exactly what I did yesterday and it ended up being something completely different. Mr. Mike Reny (long time musician friend) and I decided we would break new ground by diving into the world of jingles. So here ya go people out there in internet land. Here is one of the gems we came up with yesterday! Please take the 20 seconds to listen.

This particular jingle is about my favorite sandwich shop in Maine, Big G's. Big G's is known for its GIANT sandwiches named after famous people. So giant they inspired a tiny song. A jingle if you will. Enjoy!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW!!!!

------------------ Big G's Jingle - By Ukulele Russ ------------------

Maine and the Festivus Pole!

It is a FESTIVUS miracle!!!! Look at the pole that has been erected over night! Praise Festivus!

Maine, the tiny little Alaska in New England...kind of. So I have escaped the darkest time of the winter to head to tropical Maine. Well, 30F+ does feel tropical at this point in the year to me. I don't even need a coat outside. It is balmy as far as I am concerned.

It is nice to be back in my pre-Alaska stomping grounds. I have a lot of great shows lined up starting next week (I had to take at least one week off from gigging to enjoy this weather) and will be working my way down to Florida by the end of the month.

Over the next two weeks I am playing a few select drinking establishments, doing a few sit-down concert type shows, and am doing some clinics for the ukulele people of the East Coast. It should prove to be a great time. Plus once I'm done with Maine I get to head south into the tropics, as far as I am concerned, and eventually make my way to Florida for a few days of R&R with my folks who have decided that being a snow-bird is better than being frozen. That is yet to be proven correct or false. Different strokes for different folks. If I had a choice to avoid most of winter I would head further west...and south... to Hawaii. Can you say in your best fake Jamaican accent, "Down by the beeeeach boyyyeeee!"

Here is a list of my gigs in Maine for the next few weeks!


12/31 --- Silver Street Tavern --- Waterville, ME. --- 9pm w/ Mike Reny
1/2 --- Pittsfield Community Theater --- Pittsfield, ME. --- 7pm w/ Mike Reny
1/3 --- Ukulele Clinic @ The First Universalist Church --- 10:30am
1/5 --- Maine Central Insitute ---
1/8 --- 207 TV Show ---
1/9 --- Bloomfield's Tavern --- Skowhegan, ME. --- 9pm
1/10 --- Smiling Moose --- South Paris, ME. --- 7pm

THE INTERIOR

Two last chances to see the Fairbanks All Stars and yours truly here in the majestic interior of Alaska before I head down to the lower 48 for a month and a half of shows! Come on out and support the only professional (I use that word generously) ukulele player in the largest state in the union. Sorry Texas. Perhaps one day you will grow up into a big state. Until then...

Tiki party and the dark darkness.

We have nearly entered the darkest month of the year here in the subarctic. Being a night owl by trade means I rarely get to see the light of day. By the time I wake up at 2 in the afternoon the sun is all ready making it's sharp descent below the horizon and the lack of vitamin D is becoming apparent. You can sleep for twelve hours straight, wake up, make coffee, drink several cups, and just want to lay back down again for a nap. It really does take its toll on ya, but this is what you get when you live in the land of opposites. Sun all the time in the summer and darkness during the winter. They say there is a lot of night life this time of year....the humor on that one seems to only be funny the other half of the year.

SO to pick myself out of this winter slump I am playing a "Tiki Party" at the Moose Creek Lodge by Eielson Airforce base with the All Stars this Saturday night around 9pm. Should prove to be the hottest most tropical thing north of the 65 latitude... What am I kidding. Tropical like an arctic fart in the wind. If you don't know don't ask. You wouldn't get it any way...

MOOSE CREEK LODGE! 9pm! Right next to Eielson Airforce base!