Earth Day Adventures in Sac'to!

Today is Earth Day and someplace I read -- perhaps it was on the "harmony" email list I'm on for the San Francisco Folk Music Group, that people all around the world were singing This Land Is Your Land! And I thought that was cool. I've always loved that Woody Guthrie song...!

I had already made plans to head up to Sacramento because my friend Sharon was visiting Sacramento -- and she lives in Moscow, Idaho and I don't get to see her often. We were supposed to meet for dinner there at the Old Spaghetti Factory, so I thought, why not post to the good ukulele folks of Sacramento that I'd like to have an "impromptu ukulele jam" in that park we loved so much -- Fair Oaks Park. The Strum Shop was just getting started...

I was running super late, so I pulled into the park area just a few moments late -- a whole group of people waited for me. It was a hot day, not unusual for Sacramento, but still -- it was only April!

I had song packets prepared and everyone who joined me -- around 15 people, most with ukuleles, was thrilled to receive a packet of songs! Some of them even gave me money -- I tried to tell them they didn't need to, but they did anyway. A guy named Budd was there and he was pretty good -- and so was Dave (who calls himself DRW) and they helped me lead the Beatles songs which was so cool. Gary didn't show up, nor did Stu or my friend Sue because apparently there was a Hawaiian ukulele event happening that day as well. So I was just glad for the people who showed up -- we of course sang this Land Is Your Land and I told everyone it was Earth Day -- and they seemed happy about that!

Some of the people who jammed with me on Earth Day at Fair Oaks Park! (too bad I was too busy playing music to think of getting a picture when everyone was still there!) -- but there's Budd and Dave and the gang!

And, in the spirit of Fair Oaks Park, the roosters wandered about freely and crowed...it was a good day, even with the warmer weather! and you can never go wrong playing ukes and singing Beatles songs! and I had my wonderful 8-string ukulele with me!

After I parted ways with the ukulele gang, I headed for the Old Spaghetti Factory located in downtown Sacramento to meet with Sharon and her grandsons and her friends for dinner! I looked forward to seeing her and finally meeting the grandsons she had talked about for so many years. It was fabulous to meet everyone and hang out...! I talked about my ukulele gathering that I'd just come from and my 8-string ukulele. Then I mentioned that we'd sung this Land Is Your Land in honor of Earth Day. It was Sharon's grandsons Nik and Elliott who said we should definitely sing that song again -- outside!!! So I ran all the way back to my car which was parked a couple of blocks away because the parking lot had been full at Old Spaghetti Factory downtown, and got my 8-string ukulele.

And after dinner, we went into the parking lot and sang "This Land is Your Land" at the tops of our lungs! It was so much fun!

It was a good thing Elaine got a video of us singing the song on her iPad because her niece had attempted to video it on my camera, but somehow it didn't work. She shared the link with me through youtube a couple of days later and I sent the link to the Harmony list because I remembered that people were singing This Land Is Your Land.

I had NO idea that Hali Hammer would ask for a copy of the video so that she could include it in her MAJOR 15-minute documentary on youtube of people all over the world singing This Land Is Your Land! I was thrilled about it and so was my friend Sharon, and Heather, and her grandkids as well!

Actually, Elaine took the video for "Grandpa Josh," Nik and Elliott's Grandpa who couldn't make it to Sacramento!

Here's the video of us singing This Land Is Your Land in the parking lot of Old Spaghetti Factory in Sacramento, CA!

The only quirky thing was, apparently, everyone was "supposed" to play This Land Is Your Land in the key of D -- and I had NO idea! I wasn't even sure what the heck was going on!

So here is the amazing 15-minute video put together by the lovely Hali Hammer...and we ARE in it! (along with many, many others -- I LOVE IT!

and there are other people playing ukuleles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Santa Cruz Ukulele Club Open Mic!

Not too long after returning from the Reno Ukulele Festival, still basking in the newness of the ukuleles, Steve and I went to the Santa Cruz Ukulele Club open mic night at Bocci's Cellar! He had never been to the Santa Cruz Uke Club meeting before, but he had been to the beach to play ukuleles on Saturday mornings...which is always a really cool, special experience.

We signed up for open mic and happened to be one of the last people to perform, but it's always great fun to watch and hear everyone! Always lots of entertainment with cool people.

It was my suggestion to do "Devil in the Deep Blue Sea" an old song that George Harrison had also done...because we had played it at the Reno Uke Festival...and to this DAY, whenever I hear this song, I always think of Steve!

Here I am with my friends Jeanie and Suzette -- good times at the Santa Cruz Uke Club meeting!

it was fun to play and sing this with Steve -- who is an INCREDIBLE musician!

I am reminded of who I am here as we play the ukuleles we obtained at the Reno Ukulele Festival just a couple of weeks prior to this -- I am a chick with a ukulele after all...and that's okay with me! I dig it... I'm playing music and having a great time...in such a way I never in a million years thought possible!

Check it out -- Santa Cruz Ukulele Club Open Mic Night -- Mary and Steve, Devil in the Deep Blue Sea

these are experiences I will not forget...

Reno Ukulele Festival Adventures!

me with my good friend Sue (from the Sac'to Uke Group) Kris F. and Steve with his stellar new banjo ukulele
Reno Ukulele Festival - March 31, 2012

This year I was determined to get to the Reno Ukulele Festival on time for all the workshops and event -- no getting stuck in the snow this time 'round! Steve said he would make sure I made it. I had to get up at 5am on Friday morning (something I normally would not do) because Steve said we should be there when the whole thing starts at noon time Friday and the roads were clear so we needed to go! So yes, I got up and met Steve at his family's house in Dublin and we made fabulous time and got to the Ukulele Festival when the vendors were still setting up ukuleles! It was a miracle as I rarely if ever get to anything this early! So it was cool that I got there right from the start -- and we got our room situated and everything...and brought in all the stuff we had in the car, luggage, ukuleles, what not... after all, once you get into Johnny Ascuaga's Nugget, you don't have to leave at all! You get a room there and you just go to the lobby where the ukulele festival is happening.

I saw friends from various ukulele groups -- even from Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz, so that was cool. I had a HUGE desire to get an 8-string ukulele, or what Steve called a "taropatch" ukulele. Last November, I got to play Linda's 8-string ukulele at one of our jams and I immediately fell in love with the beautiful sound -- so full and unique! I wanted one so bad, but with the big move and everything, I really didn't have the money to invest in one. But that didn't mean I didn't lust after one! Steve showed me a hand-made 8-string ukulele that was so beautiful -- it cost around $1,500 which of course I couldn't afford, but at least I could admire it and strum it a little.

I had left a note on Stu's website that if anyone knew of a reasonably priced 8-string ukulele to let me know -- I figured I'd put that out in the universe and that at least maybe someone in the Sacramento Uke group or beyond might know of something... Since I hadn't heard back, I didn't think much of it.

Steve bought this cool banjo ukulele! I'd never seen one quite like it and I had thought about a banjo ukulele, but it wasn't really what I wanted -- I had my beautiful Kala uke which Steve helped me put new strings on with me -- and also my tie-dye fluke ukulele, my fun little ukulele I had bought on a whim..but which sounded amazingly good for what it was. That fluke ukulele came in super handy at Burning Uke 9 where we had loads of damp weather -- they are made of plastic and you can play them in the rain or inclement weather and they won't get messed up!

I obtained a wrist band so that I could attend workshops and we were ready to go...

I showed up at a couple of workshops with my tie-dye fluke ukulele and had loads of fun playing three chord songs with Jim Deville and then the Dominator let me come up and help demonstrate how easy it is to "jam" on ukulele! Kris Fumigucho (I can't spell his name correctly to save my life) taught us how to play "Crazy G" but let me tell you, it was PRETTY CRAZY!

then I ran into Stu and the Sacramento gang and that's when Stu shouted, "Hey I brought an 8-string ukulele for you to check out! It's used but I got it all set out and I saw your note, so I thought you'd want to try it!"

I became very excited...really? An 8-string ukulele. Cool! He went over to where his stuff was and pulled it out. "Here," he said, "Try it out! I took the beautiful Lanikai 8-string ukulele and felt like an excited little kid as I strummed it -- it was already tuned and sounded FABULOUS!

"Ohhh I love it!" I said.

"Go ahead and try it out," Stu told me. I ran off with the 8-string ukulele, not even thinking about it -- I showed Steve who took it from me and played it for about an hour. He wouldn't even let me have it back right away -- what the heck? I even took the elevator upstairs to put my own ukulele away and devote all my time to this 8-string WONDER that I'd fallen for already!

I attended jams and workshops and played the 8-string ukulele...and then I ran back to where I thought Stu would be -- in the open mic/jam room -- and he was GONE! I wanted to tell him that I'd buy the coveted 8-string ukulele, that I'd just write him a check that he could put through within a week when I got paid and...

but where was Stu? Steve and Albert who had also showed up for the Reno Ukulele Festival thought it was pretty funny that we couldn't find the guy who owned the ukulele I was playing! we even signed up for an open mic and played some songs and I carried that 8-string ukulele with me EVERYWHERE throughout Johnny Ascuaga's Nugget! Even when we all went out for dinner and to the Saturday night show! We ran into Stu's wife and daughter Dani and Gary who is an awesome bass uke and uke player and who loves the Beatles just about as mucha s I do (and can play any and all Beatles songs as the drop of a hat as well as Steve)...

"I told Stu I can't believe you let that lady run off with the 8-string ukulele!" Stu's wife said to us, while we stood in line to go into the show, laughing...Stu had said, "Oh it'll be okay."

She said that Stu was "around," and that we'd catch up with him eventually! I carried the 8-string ukulele into the show with me and as we walked out of the show a live band across the way just HAPPENED to be playing, "If you're going to San Francisco be sure to wear a flower in your hair!!!!" and there I was wearing my tie-dye, flower in my hair garnishing the 8-string ukulele...I just started strumming and playing along walking up towards the band while everyone applauded and cheered. They thought I was like part of the act or something, but REALLY I wasn't! the timing could not have been better! GOOD TIMES! I felt like a hero or something!

So me and Steve and Sue's boyfriend Ed hung out where this cool live band played -- Ed said he had no idea where Sue had run off to so it was all good...we danced and had a fabulous time! Steve was very seriously dealing with his banjo ukulele!

with our NEW UKULELES right after the band played "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear a flower in your hair!!!!"

Me and Steve hangin' out with NEW ukuleles -- me with the 8-string uke I would never give up and Steve with his banjo ukulele (Kala I believe)

We stayed until well after the band stopped playing -- and played ukuleles for a while before finally crashing...! And the next morning, I did finally find Stu and I wrote him a check for the 8-string ukulele because I already felt as if it was mine. He said that "technically" this was his very first sale for his brand new store "The Strum Shop" in Roseville and I said that was super exciting and that I could hardly wait to visit "The Strum Shop!"

Things began to wind down on Sunday, and I realized I had made a whole bunch of copies of a group of Beatles songs for a jam we hadn't had yet. "Umm...aren't we going to jam?" I said, and Steve said I should do it right now -- so I said, "Who wants to jam?" and a whole bunch of people showed up in that main lobby area -- and we sat around in a big circle and jammed on ukuleles for a long time...

Me and Stu (UKE FACE!) and Dani and Gary AND MY 8-STRING UKULELE!!!!

Good times!

and you'd think that would be the end of the story, but not quite because Steve and I actually ended up staying longer, another night -- and it was ALL because I forgot to pick up the gig bag that came with my 8-string ukulele and those Canadian ukulele players we ran into! Luckily I had taken that Monday off work (always take the Monday after off -- good thing I had taken Monday AND Tuesday off after the weekend the year before when we all got stuck in the snow!).

I was so excited about the 8-string that I forgot Stu did bring a gig bag for it and every ukulele needs a case of some kind or something not so great can happen to it. I actually got a call on my cell phone that a lady from another ukulele group had picked up my gig bag and that she would hold on to it for me... this was after me and Steve had left to drive up to Virginia City to the Bucket of Blood Saloon. I just HAD to show him this really cool, special place that I love. I'd been to Virginia City a few times -- I told Steve about how me and my friend Emily had gone for the "Hippie Days" parade one weekend the summer before when I was just learning to play the ukulele. I thought it was a whole weekend of events -- and had even booked a room at the Gold Hill Hotel -- the haunted hotel I had stayed at with my daughter down the road. Turned out there was only a 20-minute hippie parade -- but Jefferson Starfish had performed the night before (yeah I know, Starship but I like Starfish better) and we got to see them for free because we stood right outside...and we met the band and danced with all the locals in a saloon down the street.

so we went...because we had to wait for this lady to come bag with my gig bag -- to Johnny Ascuaga's Nugget.

Here we are with David Johns and his band THE COMSTOCK COWBOYS...I had met the fiddler dude (on the left) the year before  and he invited me to see the band...meet us at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, he said!!! I LOVE IT!

When we returned to Sparks to pick up the gig bag, night had already fallen...and as we were contemplating what to do, we ran into a lovely lady and her mother who were playing ukuleles in a lounge by Starbucks -- holdouts with ukuleles, yaaayy! So we got caught up playing ukes with them and it got late and we decided we'd have to crash one more night before heading back to the SF Bay Area the next day, but not before we stopped at a music store called Bizarre Guitar and Steve asked the dude there to show us "The Vault!" That's where we saw all these expensive, rare guitars from back in the day...

and then we went home and back to our lives...but the memories of the weekend will always remain and of course I still have the 8-string ukulele!!!

Ultimate Tribute to Davy Jones...

At first, when I got to work on Wednesday, February 29th, the "leap year" day, I was super excited because I had just managed to win two tickets to the Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion concert at the Greek Theater on June 1st! It's not easy to be caller number 103 on the radio, especially when you're in bad traffic and you just randomly push a button and hope that a cop doesn't catch you messing with your cell phone and give you a ticket. What really blew me away was the I won as the radio station began playing John Lennon's, "Imagine" on the radio. It almost seemed surreal when Don Blue said I won!

So yes, I was flying high when I got to work that morning and even shared the good news with all my friends on Facebook. But then the news came...the sad news..

Davy Jones has passed away. THE Davy Jones from the Monkees, THE Davy Jones who was the original Artful Dodger in the Broadway hit Oliver! back in the 1960's...THE Davy Jones whom I had seen perform with Peter and Micky just last July -- the Monkees concert at the Saratoga Winery. And what a fabulous show it was. What girl didn't have a crush on Davy Jones, even the die-hard Beatles fans like me (who knew the Beatles ruled but still watched The Monkees on TV).

Suddenly I went from being excited to sadness as a whole bunch of us remembered Davy Jones on Facebook...and beyond. What could I possibly do to pay tribute to the great Davy Jones? What could all of us do?

Then it hit me -- so I contacted my good friend Steve and told him we just HAD to lead the song "Daydream Believer" at the Second Monday night ukulele jam. He agreed of course. And I knew it would work out with Steve helping out because he's a mega ukulele player who can play anything on ANY instrument! 

Annette, Bob and the gang play another song earlier in the evening...

I let our fearless leader Dave F. know that I was going to bring in like 50 copies of Daydream Believer to share with everyone and that we would lead the song -- perhaps right before the break or right after. Dave said "okay" but said he had his reservations. Why? Because he thought the song would be too hard for many people at Dana St. Roasting who go every month to play -- it was not a three chord song and it was in the key of G. I talked him into it -- "It's for Davy Jones!" I emailed back. "We must do it."

And so at the UCSV Dana St. Roasting Second Monday night jam, we all paid tribute to Davy Jones in the most stellar way EVER!!!

Check out The Ultimate Tribute to Davy Jones!!! (<---click here!)

This is what the Ukulele Club of Silicon Valley as well as the ukulele spirit is ALL about!

AFTER NOTE: on November 11, 2012, I saw the remaining three Monkees, Peter, Micky and Mike Nesmith, perform at the Flint Center. They said they couldn't decide who should do "Daydream Believer" because it was Davy's song...in the end, they "gave" the song to the all of us, the audience...I like to think that on March 12, 2012, we all did the same thing...we all sang and played Daydream Believer together...

Ukuleles, Music and the Return of a Wayward Soul!

Albert and Steve my FABULOUS music playin' friends!

The Amigos are BACK! me with Steve and Albert at the South Bay Acoustic jam in Campbell (March 3, 2012)

It had been almost a year since I'd seen my friend Steve Lussie -- the three of us, me, Steve and Albert were virtually unseparable at the Reno Ukulele Festival in 2011. I drove up there by myself from the bay area in my little Honda Civic Coupe and literally got stuck in the snow in the Sierra Nevadas! I had to turn around in Colfax due to shut down roads and spend the night at my Dad's in Placerville and I was a whole day late for the Reno Ukulele Festival -- missing most of the workshops for Saturday and the big Friday night show.

STUCK IN THE SNOW -- HEADING FOR RENO UKULELE FESTIVAL 2011!!!!

Me and Dad (I was supposed to already be in Reno at the Uke Festival in 2011!)

I was so sad when I finally arrived, and I must have looked down trodden because my friend Albert immediately took me under his wing -- and took my picture with Jim Deville and Daniel Ho! Then he introduced me to his new buddy Steve. We got stuck in a rain storm

Me with Jim DeVille -- who gets excited about songs with only 2 or 3 chords!

me with Daniel Ho -- thanks Albert! :) I already felt better even though I missed the workshops that day!

As it turned out, another major snow storm hit and EVERYONE (or almost everyone except those who left early) was pretty much stranded at Johnny Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks, Nevada. So what did we do? We all walked around with ukuleles and jammed -- we jammed in the swimming pool area, we jammed in empty rooms we found, we jammed at the restaurant where we ate most of our meals, we jammed at the Starbucks and out in the lobby...! it was ukulele craziness with Albert and Steve and the gang! and I will never forget it!

Me and my new-found Ukulele Playing friend (aka Truck Driver) Steve!

So, we finally parted ways and went back to our regular lives, whatever that would be. I heard from Steve sporadically on Facebook throughout the year. Steve had asked me about Burning Uke 9 at Plasket Creek Park in Big Sur and I gave him all the necessary info -- and had even hoped perhaps I'd see him there in September 2011. Albert made it, but no Steve...didn't hear from him again for several months until he reappeared in the SF Bay Area at the beginning of March 2012! I first saw Steve and Albert -- the three of us amigos (and AMIGA, hehee!) together once again at the South Bay Acoustic jam in Campbell! Steve and I attended the San Francisco Ukulele Rebellion meeting the next day -- I hadn't been in ages and forgot how much I loved that jam and group of people. Because I had just moved over to Union City, I found myself close to the BART station which made it easy to get to the jam. this past year, we've had many interesting ukulele and music adventures...and I'm grateful for that....

Ukulele Club of Silicon Valley Anniversary!

Today we celebrated the second anniversary of the Ukulele Club of Silicon Valley -- my FAVORITE uke group ever -- and also the first one I encountered...stumbling upon these fabulous people literally changed my life in July 2010 and things would never be the same again. It began when my friend Mike gave me a ukulele...a baritone ukulele which he tuned like a tenor uke with special strings so that I could learn ukulele chords. At first I wasn't happy. I knew guitar chords, but I did not know ukulele chords, and, I argued, I am not a real musician. But I downloaded chords and figured out a few things. A couple of months later, when I happened to be at Dana St. Roasting, my long-time FAVORITE coffee shop, I saw a sign that said, "Ukulele Singalong Jam, Second Monday Night!" Wow, in all the years I'd been going to this coffee shop, I'd never seen a sign like that and what perfect timing. So I figured I'd bring my ukulele which was new to me...and play along with a few folks. Never in a million years did I expect to see well over 75 people crammed into my favorite coffee shop brandishing ukuleles! Is this for real, I thought? People stood outside with ukuleles...peered in through open windows on that warm July night -- and the place was packed. A big friendly guy named Dave passed out ukuleles to people walking by. "Do you need a loaner uke?" he shouted and just randomly handed someone a colorful ukulele.

I managed to squeeze into a spot next to a couple of uke playing chicks. They had printed out song sheets and said I could look on with them. This I was familiar with from all the guitar classes -- and I used to play folk guitar a lot back in the day in San Francisco. But this -- all these people playing ukuleles together and singing, over 75 of them -- brought me back to the days of growing up in San Francisco where music was all around and everywhere -- where it wasn't unusual to find people sitting around with guitars...everything singing and playing music together. This is what life is supposed to be about. We played for over two hours. Dave taught a beginning workshop where everyone learned four chords in 30 minutes and I was instantly HOOKED! I started helping out and I never miss the second Monday night gatherings at Dana St. Roasting where month after month, year after year, at least 75 people convene to play music together.

I didn't realize at the time that the whole ukulele "culture" had gone nuts -- that the Santa Cruz Ukulele Club was probably the largest group of ukulele players in the United States and that 100 people jam on the beach every Saturday morn rain or shine in Santa Cruz. I wanted to be there and I did show up... all this from finding the Ukulele Club of Silicon Valley. Now I play everywhere from Sacramento to San Francisco and Santa Cruz and beyond...

Today we celebrated the second anniversary of the Ukulele Club of Silicon Valley -- I was off work because of Martin Luther King day. I normally don't make it to the Monday morning jams Dave holds at his house because of work...but no way would I miss this special event! I love these people -- and all of our lives are forever altered...

Ukulele Playing into 2012!

Stu and the Gang leading the monthly Uke Jam on Jan. 7, 2012!!!

Just when I thought I'd been through enough changes in my life and things have really settled down, just when I feel that I've found my "home" at the Linden Arms Apartments in Sunnyvale, a trip to Sacramento to visit my son and his little family reminds me that nothing in life ever remains the same -- that change is inevitable. On Saturday, January 7th, 2012, I found my happy place with Stu Herreid and the fabulous Uke University gang near Sacramento -- whom I'd grown fond of. I had found them a year earlier because I found myself visiting Sacramento and the area often and my grandson arrived in July 2011 -- he was born in Sacramento. My whole family had spent Christmas there as well.

They also use the Santa Cruz Ukulele songbooks, the ones I was very familiar with and everyone was so warm and inviting.

In August 2011, we had an impromptu Beatles ukulele jam at Fair Oaks Park where the Uke University gang had a picnic the month before. 

So it seemed fitting to begin the year with the Sacramento Uke folks...they were about to embark on big changes too because a couple of months after this, Stu opened "The Strum Shop" in Roseville! I moved out of the Linden Arms Apts. in Sunnyvale and to the house on the hill in Union City with my son, my grandson Baby Jeremiah and Mama Jen -- and life was to change for all of us in major ways.

But on this day all we could think about was jamming and having fun -- strumming our ukuleles and singing our hearts out! I remember having lunch with Stu and his family -- his wife and daughter Dani and Gary -- and then there was a workshop with "The Dominator" that afternoon...and awesome day.

It was my first ukulele jam of 2012!!!