December 17 Jam

Mele Kalikimaka, everyone!

Thanks to all who participated in the performances this past weekend! We all had a great time, singing songs with our ukes at the Conservatory Pond retirement home and at the Fairmount Home.

This coming weekend, some of us will be performing at the Sunday market at the Memorial Centre. If you're interested in joining us, we're scheduled for 11:00am to noon.

But now to this Wednesday's jam, at 7:00pm. We'll keep things informal, skipping the workshop. I suppose some people may not have gotten tired of Christmas songs yet, so we'll still do some. All I ask is that we do Christmas songs that we haven't already done this month. I've arranged some more Christmas songs, downloadable here. If you have your own favorite songs, holiday related or not, please do bring along copies.

We jam in the Royal Tavern, 344 Princess Street. Parking is normally available on Princess Street. Or park in the lot at the back of the Royal, off Brock Street, just past the fire hall. Be sure to show your appreciation to the Royal by visiting the bar and purchasing a beverage or two. Don't forget that they also offer soft drinks, in addition to their assortment of beers and other alcoholic drinks.

Cheers! Hans

December 3 Ukulele Jam - It's Christmas, Man!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

As the snow begins to fall, we know it's time once again for Christmas music. And so the theme of the December 3rd jam is, well, you know what! There are two reasons for doing the Christmas theme early in the month: First, this month is a busy time for everyone, and many people will probably be too busy to attend the December 17th jam. Second, this gives us a chance to practice in advance of our Christmas performance schedule.

Yes, that's right. We have a couple of Christmas-time gigs, both on Saturday, December 13. The first is at 10:00am at the Conservatory Pond retirement home, and the second is 2:00pm at the Fairmount nursing home. At the last jam, there were about eight of us who expressed interest in participating. But of course, the more the merrier. If anyone else wants to join in, just let me know. Between the two events, we'll probably meet somewhere in the middle for lunch.

In preparation for this week's jam, 7:00pm on Wednesday, December 3, I've prepared some songs appropriate to the season, downloadable here. I'll probably prepare a few more songs for Wednesday. And if there are songs you like that aren't in that list, please feel free to bring them along.

One more thing: I still have the $50 gift certificate from KingstonFest. I'll bring it on Wednesday, and give it away at random to one of the participants in that event.

We jam in the Royal Tavern, 344 Princess Street. Parking is normally available on Princess Street. Or park in the lot at the back of the Royal, off Brock Street, just past the fire hall. Be sure to show your appreciation to the Royal by visiting the bar and purchasing a beverage or two. Don't forget that they also offer soft drinks, in addition to their assortment of beers and other alcoholic drinks.

Cheers! Hans

November 19 Ukulele Jam

Greetings!

As the snow returns to Kingston, we all need a pick-me-up. What can be better than a uke jam to pick up our spirits during the darkest days of the year.

The next jam is this Wednesday, November 19, at the Royal Tavern. We'll start at 7:00pm with a workshop, exploring the intricacies of a popular song of the mid-1960's, a song that helped popularize the Gibson Fuzzbox. 

We'll continue at 8:00pm with our usual open jam, where we'll play a variety of songs. If you like, you can solo your favorite songs, lead the group with your song choices, or just sit back and strum along with the group. I've prepared the following songs, conveniently packaged in one pdf:

• Easy Come Easy Go, Great Lakes Swimmers 2012 (video)
• Killing Me Softly, Lori Lieberman 1971 (video)
• Little Record Girl, Bahamas (Afie Jurvanen) 2014 (video)
• What Did You Learn In School Today, Tom Paxton 1962 (play along video)

I'll also bring along copies of some songs we've done before. Please feel free to bring along copies of songs you want to do too.

We jam in the Royal Tavern, 344 Princess Street. Parking is normally available on Princess Street. Or park in the lot at the back of the Royal, off Brock Street, just past the fire hall. Be sure to show your appreciation to the Royal by visiting the bar and purchasing a beverage or two. Don't forget that they also offer soft drinks, in addition to their assortment of beers and other alcoholic drinks.

Cheers! Hans

November 5 Ukulele Jam

Greetings, Kingston ukulele fans!

It's time for ukulele jam again! The next jam takes place this Wednesday, November 5, at the Royal Tavern. We'll begin with a workshop at 7:00pm, where we'll meet another variation on a strum pattern we've seem before. At 8:00pm, we'll have our usual open jam. I'll bring along a bunch of songs, conveniently packaged here in one PDF. Here are some of them:

• Year of the Cat, Al Stewart (play along video)
• You Gotta Walk That Lonesome Valley, Woody Guthrie (video)

I'll probably bring along one or two other songs too. And of course, please do bring along your favorite songs too.

In other news, Mary Whitney and John Barker are starting up ukulele classes again this fall. Classes begin on Monday, November 3, at the church hall of Seeleys Bay United Church, corner of Adelaide Street and Helen Street. Absolute newbies start at 7:00 p.m. All others are invited to come for 7:30 p.m. Classes are free. For more information, e-mail John at barkerjr1943@gmail.com.

Also, the next session of the Kingston Sing-along Society takes place this Friday, November 7. This is a great chance to have fun jamming with other instruments: Darwin on bass, Mara on cello, Paul on accordion, Mary on ukulele, Phyllis on guitar, and me on banjo uke. If you have a copy of Rise Up Singing, bring it along. But there should be a few extra copies on hand anyways. The singing starts at 7:30, at 206 Concession Street. Park at the back, and enter through the west side entrance.

We jam in the Royal Tavern, 344 Princess Street. Parking is normally available on Princess Street. Or park in the lot at the back of the Royal, off Brock Street, just past the fire hall. Be sure to show your appreciation to the Royal by visiting the bar and purchasing a beverage or two. Don't forget that they also offer soft drinks, in addition to their assortment of beers and other alcoholic drinks.

Cheers! Hans

October 15 Ukulele Jam

Greetings, ukulele fans!

I just got back from my second big turkey dinner of the weekend, so I'd better get this missive done before I fall asleep. I hope all of you had as good a Thanksgiving weekend!

First, a big thank you to those who participated in the KingstonFest event! Altogether, we had seven ukulele players serenading people in the St. Lawrence College cafeteria. 

But on to the next ukulele jam. We start at 7:00pm on Wednesday, October 15, with a workshop. After a short break, we'll resume at 8:00pm with our usual open jam. You'll have the opportunity to show off your uke skills, or lead the group with your favorite songs. Or just sit back and strum along with everyone else. With no other public performances in the foreseeable future, we're back to our usual routine. So far, I've prepared a few songs:

• Maxwell's Silver Hammer, The Beatles, 1969 (play along video)
• Take It Easy, The Eagles, 1972  (play along video)
• Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver, 1971 (play along video)

Before Wednesday, I should have a few more songs. As usual, please feel free to bring copies of your songs too.

We jam in the Royal Tavern, 344 Princess Street. Parking is normally available on Princess Street. Or park in the lot at the back of the Royal, off Brock Street, just past the fire hall. Be sure to show your appreciation to the Royal by visiting the bar and purchasing a beverage or two. Don't forget that they also offer soft drinks, in addition to their assortment of beers and other alcoholic drinks.

Cheers! Hans

October 1 Ukulele Jam

Greetings, ukulele fans!

Exactly four years ago today, nine ukulele players met for the first time at the Kingston School of Music. This was the beginning of the regular ukulele jams of the Kingston Ukulele Society. We've had our ups and downs (as described in my previous blog posting), but the jams continue, stronger than ever, thanks to you, the devoted ukulele players of Kingston! This Saturday, we resume doing performances with a 25 minute gig at the Sustainable Kingston KingstonFest, 11:30am, at St. Lawrence College.

But now it's time for the first ukulele jam of our fifth year, this Wednesday, October 1, at the Royal Tavern. We'll start with a workshop at 7:00pm. After the break, we'll resume at 8:00pm with our usual open jam. We'll continue to practice our proposed repertoire for KingstonFest, and narrow it down to six or seven songs. These songs should appeal to everyone, even if you cannot join us for the performance. (However, the more ukulele players we get for Saturday, the better!) As usual, you'll have your chance to show off the songs you're practicing, or lead the group in your favorite songs. If the latter, be sure to bring copies. Or if you like, you can just sit back and strum along.

Here are the PDF's for the proposed repertoire:

• KingstonFest Repertoire
• Ukulele Lady
• Happy

We jam in the Royal Tavern, 344 Princess Street. Parking is normally available on Princess Street. Or park in the lot at the back of the Royal, off Brock Street, just past the fire hall. Be sure to show your appreciation to the Royal by visiting the bar and purchasing a beverage or two. Don't forget that they also offer soft drinks, in addition to their assortment of beers and other alcoholic drinks.

Cheers! Hans

Four Years of Uke Jam in Kingston

In the winter of 2010, Sylvana and I decided to move from Toronto to my hometown, Kingston. I knew I'd miss a few things about Toronto, especially the weekly Corktown Ukulele Jam. I decided that if Kingston didn't already have a regular ukulele jam, it would certainly have one once I got settled there. An so on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, nine ukulele players met for the first time at the Kingston School of Music. A few weeks later, we came up with the name "Kingston Ukulele Society".

For the first few months, attendance averaged about six or seven people. But we always had a problem scrounging for chairs and music stands. By the spring, interest started to grow a bit, and we were able to meet at the RCHA Club, which at the time was a popular venue for music.

Unfortunately, over the summer, several of our regulars moved away. Furthermore, the RCHA moved us from Wednesday evening to Monday evening. Attendance fell, and we changed to a once a month schedule. By the summer of 2012, I was ready to pack it in.

But then one of our former regulars returned. I decided to continue, but only if we could find a new venue and return to Wednesday evenings. He recommended the Royal Tavern, which came as a bit of a shock considering that bar's reputation. Some of us checked out their "back room", and we agreed that it would be an improvement over the RCHA. We would have easy parking, either on Princess Street or at the back. And we wouldn't have to take an elevator.

What a difference that made! Attendance started to pick up again. By the spring of 2014, we were back to a twice monthly jam. And we introduced a beginner's workshop to start out the jam, which has also proven popular.

Interest in ukulele in the general area has also increased. There are now monthly jams in Sydenham and Napanee.

What's next for the Kingston Ukulele Society? During our first year, we did a couple of performances at the RCHA and one at the Mug and Truffle, which were well received. When attendance started to flag, during 2012, we stopped doing performances. While attendance picked up once we were at the Royal, monthly jams made it difficult to practice repertoire. However, in early October, we're back on stage with a 30 minute performance at the Sustainable Kingston KingstonFest.

My next goal is to put together a group of ukulele players from the ranks of regular jam attendees who are willing to commit to regular practice sessions in addition to the twice monthly jams, for the purpose of public performances. The primary goal of such a group would be to have fun making music while entertaining audiences. I'm not looking for great ukulele players, just players willing to make a commitment, and wanting to have fun.

Cheers! Hans