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Mark E
Lokahi
USA
186 Posts |
 Posted - 11/27/2008 : 6:45:45 PM
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I suppose many people have found many strange and amazing things on YouTube, but try this - The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Two people playing one guitar? Heck - that's nothing. Try 4 people on one uke playing Orange Blossom Special.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DadK3ICM50
And after that, try this for a musical experience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTIv8hP-UIA
Have fun. Aloha.
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2008 : 07:36:10 AM
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Those guys are very entertaining. Their arrangements are inventive.
Jesse |
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Podagee57
Lokahi
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2008 : 09:57:18 AM
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| Love to see them live! |
What? You mean high "E" is the TOP string. No way dude! That changes everything! |
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javeiro
Lokahi
USA
459 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2008 : 06:27:41 AM
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Those people are terrific! You're right Kurt, they would be great to see live.
Hey Trev, where are you? Maybe you can give us more information about them.....or maybe a live show review? |
Aloha,
John A. |
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Trev
Lokahi
United Kingdom
265 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2008 : 05:36:48 AM
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Sorry John - life's been a bit busy lately, and I've not been near a computer for several days (not that this is altogether a bad thing, but you know what I mean).
I’ve had a prompt from Javiero to talk a little bit about this bunch of lunatics.
I’ve been aware of their activities for some years now. I believe I first heard them on one of our national radio stations, BBC Radio 2 or 4. I was instantly delighted with it, as I’m sure you can imagine. They seemed to be having the most fun of any band I heard on the radio that day (and in fact most days).
I live in Sheffield, Yorkshire, (where the film the Full Monty is set, in case any of my US cousins have seen that film), and one day I heard they were playing here, quite possibly for the first time.
They came on, wearing formal ‘evening dress’ clothes. Several ukuleles and an acoustic bass guitar. (they later claimed that it was a Bass Ukulele, because clearly guitars have four strings, ukes have four, therefore, as it had four strings, it was obviously a bass ukulele! Which is the sort of logic I approve of!)
The concert was great – you’ll have seen some of the things they do on Youtube. Youtube didn’t exist back then, so I’d no idea what to expect. I was grinning like an idiot all night, as they performed everything from ‘dance of the sugar plum fairy’ to the ‘Theme From Shaft’, all with equal seriousness/lack of seriousness. It was a great, great gig, and I’d thoroughly recommend everyone to go and see them, if they get the chance.
But it didn’t end there, oh no. They decided to hold a ‘ukulele masterclass’ in London. Well how could I resist this? Now going to London is like going to another country for me, and it’s a three or four hour drive away. However, Alison and I went along, thinking it’d be quite a good laugh.
Well I can honestly say it was one of the most fun days. There were three members of the ‘orchestra’ present, and they were amazingly patient, filled with infectious good humour, and very knowledgeable. They’d written charts for rhythm and lead, in two different tunings (the ‘C’ tuning that they use in Hawaii, and the ‘D’ tuning that’s more common in the UK). In fact they’d also provided ‘countermelody’ charts as well. We were split into smaller groups (beginner, intermediate) and worked on a few tunes. Within a short time we were all playing together, 20 ukes at once. I’d never experienced that before, and I think it’s probably the happiest sound in the world.
We learned about half a dozen songs/tunes that day, and brought home a lot of material, and idiot grins which lasted the 200 miles home, and for several days after.
But the best bit – the very best bit – was that when Alison and I went to the Aloha Music Camp in February 2007, we actually played a tune that had been taught to us in that class! It really felt that we had completed some kind of circle – the influence of the uke travelling halfway round the world and back. And this was to our new friends that we’d met that week at the camp, which was the friendliest atmosphere in the world! And I was especially proud because my Alison had not performed in front of anyone since the age of about 12!
I play a lot of music, and I’ve probably done over a thousand gigs, in thirty or so different bands over the years. But offhand, I can’t think of any of them that I’ve enjoyed more, or looked back on with more affection , than doing that little ukulele tune with my Alison to the smiling faces of our transatlantic cousins!
So yeah, there’s a special place in my heart for the UOGB. We’ve been to a couple of their workshops (sorry, ‘masterclasses’) and will doubtless go to some again. If anyone wants to know anything more, then by all means give me a shout and I’ll see what I can do.
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javeiro
Lokahi
USA
459 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2008 : 4:07:48 PM
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Mahalo for the great review, Trev! It's really appreciated! They really do sound like they're a fun group.....now if we can just get them to tour the US it would be terrific!
Thanks again, |
Aloha,
John A. |
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