Not long after I put out the call for ukulele players in Kingston, I got an e-mail from someone who wanted us to perform at her event. I had to reply that we hadn't even had one jam yet! The Kingston Ukulele Society started jamming in September of 2010. But it took until March 2011, before someone suggested that we should work on a core repertoire. And so we began to think about performing in public.

More...

We all know that there are multiple fingerings for each ukulele chord. There are the open, or first position chords, which typically have a few unfingered strings. Then there are the barred chords, or second position chords. Often, although published chord charts indicate particular fingerings for certain chords, other fingerings may turn out to be easier for a particular song. In this missive, I'll list a few alternatives for a couple of chords, and show how the alternatives work better in one particular song.

More...

Ever willing to push the limits of my comfort zone musically, I eagerly plunged into volunteering for a couple of busking sessions a few weeks ago. The idea was for area musicians to busk for a half hour on Kingston's market square and donate the proceeds to the Joe Chithalen Memorial Musical Instrument Lending Library.

More...

The past months have been quite busy for us. Back in February, we made the decision to move from Toronto to Kingston. But it took us until May to get our house in Toronto in shape to be put on the market. The last week was a mad rush for us, cleaning every room in the house. What does this have to do with ukulele? We set the second Saturday in May as our deadline since I wanted to be in Kingston that weekend for a James Hill ukulele workshop.

More...

One person suggested we do "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". Another added that the last time they did that song in public, people thought they were a religious group. I then commented that my wife sometimes thinks we're a cult. But someone else pointed out that it isn't a cult until you get naked.

More...

I'm not the kind of person who spends his time in bars. But most Wednesday evenings these days, you can find me at the Dominion on Queen, in the Corktown neighborhood of Toronto. I'm easy to find. Just look for the middle-aged guy wearing a green baseball cap with a Corner Gas logo. And carrying a ukulele.

More...