Father and Son Ukesters Greg and Jonah Price

What does the UPS man do in his spare time? Well if you're Greg Price you make ukuleles. I first ran into Greg and his son Jonah while performing my magic show at Seaport Village. They were watching my show because Jonah is an aspiring magician. The fact that all three of us are ukulele players was just an added bonus. Seeing them again at the San Diego Ukulele Festival was a pleasant surprise. Greg is known for his cigar box ukuleles and for his gourd ukuleles. Cigar box ukes have been around for a long time. I've even built a few myself. But gourd ukuleles???!!! Greg is the only one I know of making 'em. And they sound wonderful! You can find out more about Greg's gourd ukuleles here and his cigar box ukuleles here. You're gonna love them!

Next up is Greg's talented son Jonah. Jonah and I share an interest in magic. In fact it was after watching my show that we first met. Then he saw my ukulele case sitting next to my show rig. What are the odds of meeting someone who shares your interest in both magic and ukes? Jonah was a member of the Magic Castle Junior Magicians. He is also one talented musician. Playing guitar and piano as well as the ukulele he's a triple threat. You can hear his music over at his YouTube channel here. And, if you're looking to add a little magic to your day you can see some of Jonah's magic at his YouTube channel here. Thanks Jonah and Greg for being part of the chalkboard ukulele experience. I'll see you on the streets!

Fred Shields Ukuleles

While strolling around the San Diego Ukulele Festival I heard a voice call out, "Hey, aren't you a magician?" It was none other than San Diego uke maker Fred Shields. Fred is a one-of-a-kind ukulele craftsman. In addition to the standard soprano, concert, and tenor models he also makes Tahitian, oval, triangle, teardrop, paddle, backpacker, and banjo models. His banjo model is all wood instead of having a skin head. It reminds me of the old Gretsch Camp Ukes. He's also the guy who made the custom ukulele Boone plays. You can find his ukes at my favorite guitar shop, Moze Guitars over in La Mesa. Do yourself a favor and head over to Fred's facebook page and see the interesting ukuleles he's made. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fred-Shields-Ukuleles. You just might end up asking him to make a custom one for you!

Tiki Oasis - Let's Tiki

Is there tiki in Wisconsin? There is if you know where to look! And the place to look is Let's Tiki. I had the pleasure of meeting Randy and Damon at the Zen Tiki Lounge podcast at Tiki Oasis. Damon, the guy on the right, is the tiki genius who runs letstiki.com. It's a great source for tiki information. You'll find tiki bars listed by state, province, and country. For the record, Florida leads the nation with 25, closely followed by California with 24. But Wisconsin has a very respectable 2, make that 3 if you count the one in Damon's basement. But wait there's more, you will also find "all of the latest tiki headlines in one place" and a bar-load of great cocktail recipes including the Milwaukee Mai Tai.

To make one fill your cocktail shaker with:

1 cup crushed ice

2 oz. Roaring Dan's Rum

1/2 oz.Cointreau

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

1/2 oz. Orgeat syrup

Shake well, until the outside of the shaker is frosted. Pour unstrained into a cocktail glass. By the way, Roaring Dan's Rum is made in Wisconsin by the Great Lakes Distillery. It is distilled from pure sugarcane molasses and Wisconsin maple syrup. Sounds yummy!

Tiki Oasis - Zen Tiki Lounge

I really enjoy listening to podcasts and one of my favorites is Zen Tiki Lounge. Sunshine and the Ladies of the Lounge spend an hour chatting and sipping cocktails for our listening pleasure. For the past two years I've been invited to be a part of the podcast live from Tiki Oasis. Sunshine, Kalani, and Starshine (from left to right) are wonderful hosts. Starshine redecorates his hotel room to look like a tiki bar, serves a couple of exotic cocktails of his own invention, plays a round or two of 'What's in Kalani's Bra' (which for the past two years my wife has won, um, not the bra but the contest) and generally makes us all feel very welcome. I'm honored to have all three host add a little something to the chalkboard ukulele. Check out the podcast here Zen Tiki Lounge. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

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.