Ayano Tsuji, Japanese Ukulele Godess
NPR ran a very nice profile of the Japanese ukulele player Ayano Tsuji a while ago.–MJS (Thanks, Patrick!)
2 comments January 31st, 2006
Archive for January, 2006
Museum of Making Music
The Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California, had a teaser display for an upcoming exhibit of Howe-Orme instruments. These mandolin family instruments are extremely rare and it was a real treat to see them all in one place.–MJS
Add comment January 31st, 2006
OME Banjos
Chuck Ogsbury of OME Banjos had a nice sampling of his work on display. The standout was this very fancy custom banjo with a very fancy price to match. OME shared a booth with Weber mandolins, which meant that there was some good bluegrass jamming going on pretty much at all times. -MJS
Add comment January 31st, 2006
Koa
Not everyone at the NAMM Show was there to sell finished products. Winkler Woods, for example, was there with a stash of stunning koa that was just right for making guitars or ukes. That’s Mike DaSilva of the DaSilva Ukulele Company eyeing a particularly choice book-matched set. -MJS
Add comment January 31st, 2006
Kamaka
Kamaka made its first NAMM show appearance this year. The uke on the pedestal is their new Jake Shimabukuro signature model. Very sweet….-MJS
2 comments January 31st, 2006
Random NAMM
Patrick Ford, who took all the NAMM photos for us, had never been to the show before. We let him loose for a while to wander around and see what images he came back with. If you find that these photos confuse and disorient you, then we’ve given you a small taste of what it’s like to attend the NAMM Show.–MJS
Add comment January 30th, 2006
Fluke and Flea
One of the best things about the NAMM Show is being able to catch up with old pals like Jim and Liz Beloff. I really believe that Jim is one of reasons the ukulele is undergoing its current resurgence in popularity. His books have introduced loads of new songs into the uke repertoire, and the Fluke and Flea ukes he sells are great sounding, inexpensive instruments. And to top it all off, his father Marv makes wooden bow ties with ukes on them. (Robert, thanks for setting me straight on the bow ties!)-MJS
1 comment January 30th, 2006
Shameless Self-Promotion Alert
Mark Brend has written a wonderful book called Strange Sounds, which is devoted to some of the more peculiar instruments that have been used in popular music over the years. Along with things like Theremins, stylophones, Ondes-Martenots, ocarinas and clavolines, Mark writes about ukelins and Marxophones. Which is where I come in. The book includes a CD of recordings of almost all of the instruments Mark writes about, and I was the guy who played the ukelin and the Marxophone clips. Despite that, you really should get the book and learn how bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Radiohead, the Beach Boys and even the Osmonds made some of their trippier records. -MJS
Add comment January 29th, 2006
