![]() “So, the idea is that by the end of the evening, everybody really has a deep understanding of that one single song,” he says. The group practices these components until everyone feels confident. As he goes through the components, an overhead projector shows the song charts on a screen so all can follow along. He finds techniques in the songs that can be applied to other songs and offers different types of strumming or picking for more advanced players. Guz, who retired from working for the City of Austin in IT project management and development four years ago, breaks down featured songs into their components: the chord progressions, the strum patterns, the lyrics, the vocals, and the vocal harmonies. There are other ukulele groups around Austin, including the Tuesday Ukuleles and groups in South Austin, Georgetown, and Pflugerville, but Guz and Richardson believe the format of their meetings sets them apart: Whereas other groups are oriented around playing songs one after the other, the society is organized more as a workshop. The evening finishes up with the closing song, “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson. He then edits and posts the video on the society’s YouTube channel. They practice the featured song a few more times, and when Guz feels they’re ready, he sets up cameras and records a performance-or two or three, depending on how well the group sounds. That’s followed by a break with an open-mic portion, where anyone can sign up and perform. After warming up to “Three Little Birds” (the same warmup song they’ve played since the first meeting in January 2011), Guz teaches the group the featured song. ![]() They’ve been meeting at the church gym ever since, and pastor Cynthia Kepler-Karrer is a regular. Within a few months, more started showing up and they had to move to a larger space. Three months later, they hosted the first Austin Ukulele Society meeting at a community room at Central Market on North Lamar Boulevard. “Jen and I looked at each other and we were like, ‘We gotta do this.’” “We were all invited to bring ukes and we watched the movie, and there was a big sing-along,” says Guz. Then, inspiration struck in October 2010 when they went to see The Mighty Uke, a documentary about the renaissance of the ukulele around the world. They became friends and would go see ukulele jams and play-alongs. They met in 2007 when she was looking for someone to teach her ukulele lessons and he was playing in the string ensemble Shorty Long with Pops Bayless. The society was founded by Jen Richardson and Bob Guz, two ukulele enthusiasts who yearned for something more than just a typical sing-along group. “I’m always trying to get people to come.” “This is the most fun night of my month,” says Tom McMinn, a cardiologist who first started attending meetings with his daughter about five years ago. ![]() While players of all ages and experience levels come to learn, improve their skills, and pick up a new song, they inevitably leave feeling revitalized and accomplished. Since January 2011, the society has hosted these monthly meetings to anyone interested in learning the ukulele (or “uke”), the four-string, guitar-like instrument most often associated with Hawaiian music. When it’s time for the group to warm up to Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” the ukulele players begin strumming and singing, “Don’t worry about a thing / ’cause every little thing is gonna be all right.” Slowly, as their playing grows stronger, the symphony of ukuleles and voices blends together and sounds so pretty, you actually feel like everything is going to be all right. Some greet each other and chat about this month’s featured song, Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold,” while others tune their instruments, filling the venue with dulcet notes that sound almost like a mix of harp strings and wind chimes. It’s evening on the second Thursday of August, and members of the Austin Ukulele Society settle into their seats inside the gym at Memorial United Methodist Church in Windsor Park.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |