“Support my fundraiser! Come to my soiree on the 22nd!”
He invited me to play the grand piano or bring my ukulele group for a singalong to fundraise for his half-marathon in Jordan. I can do neither. I am already missing the Chocoleles performing at the second annual Milton Porchfest. I am missing the open museum day in Boston and open historic houses in London. I am missing everything because I am running a seated marathon.
Barely two weeks after watching “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” – the sequel to “Mamma Mia!” I am now on the island where it was filmed, not quite a year ago in September 2017, not Greece but Croatia. The island of Vis is as beautiful as it first impressed upon me in the movie, with plenty of locations to explore in the coming week. Over a multi-course fish dinner on the harbour last night, I declared, “I think I’m finally chilling out.”
Won’t it be great to sing ABBA songs and see the new Mamma Mia movie? That seed of intention was planted back in April when my ukulele group in Boston dedicated one of our weekly jam sessions to songs from the ABBA GOLD album.
Yesterday, we did just that. After our outdoor ukulele gig at Kew Village Market, I followed Lisa on bicycle to nearby Richmond to celebrate our friend Sue’s birthday with ABBA songs and the Mamma Mia II movie. We brought our soprano ukuleles in anticipation. Should we play and sing before the movie or after? Time decided for us.
Ever since getting introduced to the ukulele on Maui, I have been curiously witnessing and participating the rituals of ukulele groups and clubs in Maui, Boston, London, and Amsterdam. The ukulele allows self-accompaniment for singing without a conductor or leader. What fascinates me is how little (if any) this explosion of amateur music making is mentioned in the academic literature and the amount of time we spend on “repertoire selection” to find suitable song sheets for our jam sessions and gigs, whether we search for them, adapt and transcribe them for our needs, or write them from scratch.
The ukulele is the quickest and easiest way to make music and connect with others. The first step is getting a ukulele and learning how to play it. Then you can strum, sing, and socialise!
Don’t miss the opportunity to learn with others, interactively online with others in a group class. Register via Google Form or Eventbrite. Minimum enrollment applies, otherwise class will be postponed or rescheduled with notice.
Complete Beginner Classes $139
No pre-requisites except a ukulele and clip-on tuner. This is the very first group lesson in Zoom: how to hold, tune, and strum your ukulele; how to read chord diagrams, how to finger chords, how to switch between chords; two chord songs; three chord songs; how to read song sheets; other tips and advice. For more information and free taster workshop dates, visit my ukulele page.
Today may be the first time I’m joining everyone else in cyberspace, to remember my dad on Father’s Day. In Mandarin Chinese, the word for father is “ba ba” which sounds like “eight eight” — thus the eighth day of the eighth month is the preferred day to celebrate Father’s Day for the Chinese.
When my friends posted a video of their business called “The Handy Man” on Facebook, I was suddenly reminded of a parody I wrote years ago on the song “The Candy Man” because I was so fascinated by what one man could do.
It’s easy to get sidetracked when you’re in a bathroom store buying your first bath tub together. You just want a no frills tub for two for a small bathroom. Each tub you try not only gets bigger but comes with more bells and whistles until you get the largest one with jetstream and massage options. Once you get home, you discover that you can barely move around in the bathroom. You’ll also need to knock through a wall to fit it. Continue reading
Still reeling from the high energy ukulele jam of the “Eighties Extravaganza,” I can’t stop exploring the songs we didn’t get to sing. One of these is the one hit wonder by the group “Men Without Hats.”