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! 

The filming is over.

After three weeks of craziness it is finally over. I never knew how much footage you really have to get to make a 15 minute film. It was a fun, rewarding, and eye opening experience to say the least. Now the hard part... waiting for the film to be finished.

As many of you know I live in a small cabin with no running water with my wife, dog, and cat. It was a challenging span of time this past month having two more souls occupying my living room literally. They had tons of bags, cameras, and gear along with their bodies. My living room has never seen so much action. The four of us however got along swimmingly and I got to practice my Australian accent. That's right, the filmmakers were both from down under.

I expressed to them one of my bucket list items that could only be satisfied in Australia. Before I die I want to gently cup a wombat's ass in the most non-sexual way. A slap of respect and wonder. I might be crazy, but we all have our quirks. Don't judge. I am sure there is something you want to do with your life that I would think was strange, but I would encourage you to chase your dreams. Even if that dream is to gently strike a marsupials rear end. Different strokes for different folks. I just have a long dark winter to contemplate these things.

Now back to the normal grind.

Gigs this week are as follows!

11/19 - SUBZERO MICROLOUNGE - ANCHORAGE, AK. - 8PM

11/20 - HUMPY'S GREAT ALASKAN ALEHOUSE - ANCHORAGE, AK. - 9PM

11/21 - THE FAIRVIEW INN - TALKEETNA, AK. - 9PM

11/22 - THE BLUE FOX COCKTAIL LOUNGE - ANCHORAGE, AK, - 10PM

It soon begins...

The filming begins this Saturday night for the Ukulele Russ documentary that I hope is titled, "The Last Ukulele Frontier". I don't know how much say I have over the title, but that is the one I am casting my vote for. This is either going to be huge for me or a complete embarrassment. I will see how I can influence the "huge success" part of the spectrum, but a complete embarrassment would be quite hilarious in a tragic sort of way. Ukuleles tend to have that happen either than guitars. Stigmas...

So if you want to be part of the magic come on out this Saturday night at the Blue Fox Cocktail Lounge and make an ass out of yourself with someone that does it for a living, me! 10pm on good old Tudor Road in the big city, Los Skankorage the city of lights.