Tiki Oasis - A Pair of Kings

One of the great things about living in San Diego is all of the great events that happen here. Of course there's the huge San Diego Comic Con. But there are also some interesting smaller events, too. For the past few years I've been spending a weekend at Tiki Oasis. The best way to describe the it is a Woodstock for hipsters. It's at the now renamed Hanalei Hotel famous for it's tiki architecture. While there I had the opportunity to meet some ukulele royality.

First up is Tiki King. Hailing from Felton, CA he is well known in the ukulele community. His website is a great source for ukulele information including a very comprehensive listing of ukulele makers both past and present. Almost 700 ukuleles are listed! Tiki King is also an accomplished artist having made his own custom ukuleles as well as designing artwork for the popular Flea and Fluke ukes. He also fronts his own band Tiki King and the Idol Pleasures. Their songs are definitely worth a listen. And if that's not enough activities for one man he's also an amateur bartender! On his website he has a great list of cocktails both tiki inspired and conventional. Here's the Mai Tai recipe on he wrote on the ukulele:

1 oz. Light Rum

1 oz. Dark Rum

1/2 oz. Rock Candy Syrup

1/2 oz. Orgeat

1/2 oz. Orange Curacao

Juice of 1/2 a lime.

Shake well, strain into a double old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice garnish with lime shell, mint sprig, orange slice and a maraschino cherry. Delicious or should I say, "Mai tai!"

Our next royal guest is none other than King Kukulele. King Kukulele is a Southern California ukulele fixture. He's performed at many ukulele events, night clubs, and even McCabe's Guitar Shop. But he is probably best known as the emcee of Tiki Oasis. Every year he keeps the stage running smoothly from one band to another by keeping the audience laughing at his spontaneous humor. Personally, I'm a big fan of his ability to entertain both the kids and the adults in the audience. This is not an easy thing to do when the grown ups are enjoying a tasty adult beverage and the kids are watching their first burlesque dancer! If that's not enough to do he also fronts his own band Kink Kukulele and the Friki Tikis. You can find more information about this one-of-a-kind entertainer at his website: http://www.kingkukulele.com/

SD Ukulele Festival Star Derick Sebastian

While hanging out in the sun at the SD Ukulele Festival my wife grabbed my arm and said, "Did you hear Derick Sebastian play? You should get him on the chalkboard ukulele!" Never one to miss an opportunity, I waited patiently in line with his other fans and asked him to draw a little something on the uke. He was laughing the whole time he drew his big-eared creature. It seems that his family says he has no artistic talent! I think he did a great job. He also did a great job at the ukulele festival. He shared the stage with Jake Shimabukuro, did a set of his own, and taught a couple of workshops. A week later he was in Arizona playing the national anthem at a Diamondback's game. Derick is one busy guy. You can keep up with him over at his site http://www.dericksebastian.com/ Enjoy!

Jim D'Ville - Chalkboard Ukulele by Ear

While at the San Diego Ukulele Festival Mike DeSilva was again nice enough to introduce me to ukulele instructor Jim D'Ville. In addition to being a wonderful ukulele player Jim is best know for his 'Play Ukulele by Ear' DVDs. While I haven't viewed his DVDs I have perused his blog. I'm a big fan of his '3 Chord Club.' It's amazing how many songs use just three chords. You can see that Jim drew a big '5' on the headstock of the ukulele and a 'circle of fifths' around the soundhole. While playing music can be a lot more complicated than that three chords are a great place to start. And, Jim D'Ville will get you off with the right start. Check out his blog, Play Ukulele by Ear. You'll be glad you did.

Guest Artist Tim Blackburn

I've know Tim off and on for quite a few years. I say "off and on" because he lives in Plano, Texas and I only see him on his all too rare visits to California. We first met through the mail. It seems we both share an interest in eraser carving, making relief prints on the soft smooth surface of white vinyl erasers. We then make prints on postal cards and send them off to other like-minded artists. Our first face-to-face meeting was in the 90's in Santa Barbara at Stampfest, an artist retreat for eraser carvers. Did you know such an event even existed? Since then he's come out to Comic Con, the HUGE comic book and pop culture event in San Diego. On his most recent visit a few weeks ago he showed me a journal he's filling with little figure sketches. I immediately asked him if he would sketch them on the chalkboard ukulele. Of course, he was more that happy to do it. And here they are for your viewing pleasure. Thanks Tim, you're amazing!

Sketch Pals

Once a month I get together with these wonderful ladies to sketch in San Diego's beautiful Balboa Park. From left to right is Kathy, Diane, Rachel and Sara. Since Sara is a fellow ukulele player I thought it would be fun to bring the chalkboard ukulele with me on this month's outing. Sara was quite upset that I was going to eraser her entry on the chalkboard ukulele. So, I decided to wait until she was gone to erase it.

Personally, I've found a somewhat perverse pleasure in saying, "Thanks for drawing on the ukulele, that was great!" and then erasing it right then and there. Diane, on the other hand, was totally with it and decided to draw some flowers on the uke for her artist trading card blog. Inspired by the Noah Scalin's skull-a-day blog she has decided to do an artist trading card everyday for a year! Check it out here http://atcaday.blogspot.com. And, if any of you are interested in sketching with us you can find out more at San Diego Sketch Crawlers over at Yahoo Groups. On a related note, Jane LaFazio, who started the SD Sketch Crawler group, recently asked my wife if if the chalkboard ukulele was playable or just a chalkboard. Well, it is playable. But, it's not all that in tune due to it's budget construction. More later!

Ukulele Virtuoso James Hill

While at the San Diego Ukulele Festival Mike DaSilva was nice enough to introduce me to the talented James Hill. Hailing from Langley, British Columbia, Canada (check out the maple leaves on the ukulele) Ukulele James began playing the uke as a school boy. It was mandatory in many Canadian schools. How cool is that? As a teenager he honed his skills as a member of the Langley Ukulele Ensemble. He then went on to co-author the book Ukulele in the Classroom with J. Chalmers Doan, the very teacher that pioneered the use of the ukulele to teach music to Canadian school children. But that's just the back story. His real talent is his playing and composing. Rafe Mair of Vancouver's 600Am has called him "one of the world's top composer for the ukulele and probably the best player on the planet." His YouTube videos have had over 150,000 views. He's constantly in demand for for concerts and music festivals. If you know about the ukulele then you know about James Hill. If you need to know more you can find it at his website www.ukulelejames.com and you can see his custom tenor ukulele over at DaSilva Ukuleles. And, as James like to say, "Uku-Lel-Eh!"

Ukulele Luthier Michael DaSilva

While at the San Diego Ukulele Festival I reintroduced myself to Berkeley ukulele maker Mike DaSilva. I met Mike several years ago at another uke fest here in town. Mike took the time to sketch a nice beach scene complete with palm trees and hammock. Unfortunately, I took the photos in the bright sun and most of the detail isn't visible. Sorry Mike. Have you heard about DaSilva Ukuleles? His ukuleles are amazing works of art and craftsmanship. I had a chance to strum a few jazz chords on his prototype archtop ukulele. Absolutely fantastic! Every instrument he builds is top of the line. His ukuleles range from traditional Hawaiian and mainland models to whimsical and artistic to innovative bamboo and carbon fiber ukuleles. And he's a big supporter of the ukulele scene in the Bay Area. His ukulele workshop hosts concerts and ukulele lessons. In addition to being one of the most creative ukulele makers, Mike is also an all around nice guy. He was very helpful in arranging a couple of guest artists for the chalkboard ukulele. Thanks Mike. Please take a little time and check out the amazing DaSilva Ukuleles at http://www.ukemaker.com/