Sept 11, 2014 Special Event - Raleigh Jam Goes to Gizmo Brewpub

Join the Raleigh Ukulele Jam for a special event at Gizmo Brew Works, a small craft brewery in our neighborhood, on Thursday, September 11.  Just bring your Ukulele and I will bring the music books.  We will meet there at 6:30 pm for jamming and some beer tasting for those who want to indulge. 

This is a great little place started by a few local young people.  It’s tucked in the back of a small industrial park, nothing fancy, just great beer and fun people.  Gizmo Brew Works is located in the Umstead industrial park off Glenwood near I-540, just a couple of miles from our Regular Uke Jam location.  Note that they serve beer, water, and sodas only, great stuff all brewed on-site…but no food. 

This is in part a first anniversary celebration for the Raleigh Jam, so there will be cake!  I have attached the link to their website and a map showing the location, close to I-540 off Glenwood, its easy to get there from anywhere in the triangle. 

http://gizmobrewworks.com/

At the last open mike, Jules and I did a couple of new songs (21st century), Home by JohnnySwim and Southern Girl by Amos Lee.  I got a couple of requests to post the music for these and bring them to a  future Jam so I am posting them here today..........Enjoy

Dave

The open mike last night was a lot of fun. We did not have a big crowd but we had a lot of great songs and the folks there really enjoyed the performances. We had some of the usual performers from the Jam, but also a couple of first time performers. Always great to see someone step up and take that risk to perform in front of a group.
I was lucky enough to get my favorite drummer to join me and J on a couple of new songs. Always working to drag the Jam into the 21st century, J found us a couple of very recent songs to do by Amos Lee and Johnnyswim . We also had several classics from the 60s and earlier Uke classics.
I think the next 5th Thursday Jam will occur in October, so start planning and practicing now.

Remember that next Thursday is the first Thursday of August, so we will be Jamming that night.             See you there.

David

NEXT JAM - OPEN MIKE - JULY 31st

Don't forget, this Thursday July 31st is Open Mike Night at the Raleigh Uke Jam. 

Come perform a couple of songs for the group, practice your stage techniques in front of a very friendly group, check off another one of those items on your bucket list...

"#42 - play ukulele song in front of an audience - check" √

We had a good turnout last time. We met some new friends and learned some new songs. Always something interesting coming out of these open mike nights.  

Looking forward to seeing all of you there.

Thanks

David

The open mike night on May 29th was great.  We had a bout a dozen performers and a number of guests who just listened and enjoyed.  The group included three new folks so it is good to see we continue to grow.  One of the big hits of the performances was Ivan doing "Ukuleles aren't allowed in Bluegrass".  We loved the song so much we added it to the notebook and I uploaded a copy here to the Blog so everyone could practice at home.  We also did several songs with Kazoo parts, thanks to Pete for passing out the kazoos, now everyone has one in their Uke Case.

I updated the Table of Contents here so you can see what songs are in the book we use.

At the first Jam in June we also had two new Uke players come to the Jam for the first time.  Great to have new folks coming in and seeing the ranks of Ukulele players expanding.  The next Jam is on Thursday June 19th.

Thanks - Dave

The next Jam is on TUESDAY May 13th.
We had to move the date because the church has some activities going on that week.  I will also post this on Facebook and I will try to remember
(someone should remind me) to send out an email the weekend before.

Remember that the Open mike night is scheduled for May 29th.

Wow , the Jam last night was great with the addition of two harmonica players (Vic and Peter)  to the mix.  I hope you guys can come back again, the blending of instruments was fun.
 
Thanks Vivian for linking up the Harmonica players with our Jam.  

Jack is bringing in the music for “I’m an Urban Spaceman “ to the next Jam.  Here is a link to see the United Kingdom Ukulele Orchestra perform this song.  I also posted the song here so you can try it out in advance.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y0WgkVCW4Y

 

I also posted the music for:

      All of Me , and

     Bye Bye Blackbird.

these are popular Uke songs and so I thought you might like to practice some at home.  

Thanks, See you next time at the Jam

 

the next meeting is Thursday night, May 1st.  We have some new songs to add to the books, so I hope to get some help from the early arrivers with inserting the new pages.

also, it looks like our second meeting in May will have to move to Wednesday night.  we will discuss that at the next meeting,.  the church has a big event going on May 15th and so will will need to shift our meeting back to Wednesday May 14th.

remember the Open Mike night scheduled for Thursday May 29th.
Plan to do a couple of songs on stage, and bask in the glory of the applause.

I added a new song to the list here, Counting the Hours by Pops Bayless.  We have been enjoying learning to play that one and so I thought you might like to have access to the music at home to practice on your own.

see you Thursday.

The latest Jam was another big success, with five new Jammers joining the group.  The last couple of Jams have been really great.  We have started to share tips and techniques, talking  a lot about finger picking and using different rhythms for songs.  And because we have a core group that has been playing together for a while now we really are starting to sound good on a few of our favorite songs, which is fun.  Of course its also fun when new people come in, telling storied about how they got into playing the uke.

Next meeting will be on Wednesday the 16th.  This is a one time change to Wednesday to accommodate activities at the church.  Thanks so much to the Church of the NAtivity for letting us use the space...Thanks

In May we will be returning to the regular schedule of 1st and 3rd Thursday.
ALSO - In May there is an extra Thursday (the 29st) so we are going to use that day to meet and have an open mike night.  This should be great fun, an excellent opportunity for singles or groups to perform in front of the guaranteed friendliest audience you can find.

We have been working on a song by Pops Bayless lately.  It is a fun song to do, but a little tricky.  I have attached the link to a youtube video of him doing the song, this helps to learn the rhythm and flow of the song.    

Pops Bayless - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkxRBSS4h3I

And Finally - I have uploaded a Table of Contents for the Songbooks we are using.  So if you are wondering if we have a copy of a particular song you like, you can check the TOC and if not then bring it in to the Jam.

Ok - More information about the Uke Jam performance That Rick has been talking about at the meetings.  We will be performing at a Senior Citizens center, and interactive perfromacne and sing along.  Should be a lot of fun, and based on the date, Rick has chosen an Irish-St Patty's day theme.  So we can dress in green and sing a few Irish ballads. 
(Fun Fact - Note that the background photo on the blog is a shot of the Cliffs of Moher, Western coast of Ireland) 

If you are interested - Please email and say YES -

n.raleigh.uke.jam@gmail.com

 Then I will keep you in the loop on developments and details as we get closer - Like the address and maybe directions to the place.  Maybe we will develop a  set list for example and send out some songs.

This posting is also going to go on Facebook

Here are the basics:

Date - 3/8/14  
Time - 2:00PM (get there at 1:30) to 3:00PMish
Place - Gardens of Wakefield Plantation
             12800 Spruce Tree Way (off New Falls of Neuse Rd)
              Raleigh

Uniform -  St. Patties Day greenery (we are ukeing Irish style).    Dress casual, this will be a fun, interactive time (these folks love interaction).  We will perform some, sing-along some, talk some.  If you know any Irish jokes, or Irish trivia, bring them (I have a good one about the Blarney Stone).  We may be up front sometimes, walking around strumming sometimes.  Whatever works.  

We can try a few Irish songs at next uke jam (03-06-14)

Strumming Workshop (Keoni Lagunero) scheduled for the next Uke Jam 02/20/14

The Jam on last Thursday was a lot of fun.  We handed out the new North Raleigh Uke Jam t-shirts to everyone that ordered, so now we can all dress alike and spread the word about the Jam.  Also we had a tremendous turnout - 24 folks attended, including four brand new Uke-ers,  and we had a great time.  We had a couple of new songs brought in, including the Tennessee Waltz which was a lot of fun to play and sing.  We actually had so many folks that now we are worried about having enough space, especially for the next Jam on February 20th ...and that brings me to our next bit of news.

The big news for the next Jam:   here is a message written by Rick, he sent it out by email to everyone on the list.  I also had Juliet post it on the Facebook page.  Be sure to show up next time for this great event.  


"Aloha everyone, I am happy to announce that on Feb. 20th during our usual 3rd Thursday Uke Jam we are privileged to have Keoni Lagunero present a ukulele workshop covering strumming patterns as well as picking techniques, both of which will add variety to your ukulele playing enjoyment. He will also provide handouts and an optional CD recording that you can purchase and take home to practice. I have been lucky enough to be in a couple of his workshops and always come away with new things to incorporate in my uke playing "arsenal". 
Keoni is a wealth of ukulele experience and he loves to share his passion with others! 
In return, all he asks is a love donation to cover his time and gas (which we all know these days "ain't cheap"!) I hope you will be able to make this great workshop, I know you won't be disappointed! 

Tell your uke friends as well, we want a big turnout for this special occasion! -Rick"

Update on T-Shirts

The T-Shirts have been ordered.  They should be ready for the next Jam, which will be on Thursday February 6th, 2014.

The last Jam had a good turnout with four new "Jammers" in the mix.  I handed out flyers to everyone to distribute at their workplace, local gym etc.  I hope this will help advertise the Jam.  Of course the T-Shirts  will help with that too.  Once everyone starts wearing those all over town the word will spread.

We also will have a couple of opportunities to perform in public this Spring.  We were asked to participate in the Wake Forest Music in the Park series this year.   And also we are looking at a performance at one of the senior living facilities, also in Wake Forest.  This is the kind of thing that really spreads the word.   No additional details on either of these events yet.

I hope that all of the regulars, plus lots  of new folks, make it to the next Jam in February.

See you there.

Order your North Raleigh Ukulele Jam T-Shirts

We are starting a new year, and I am looking forward to playing a lot of Ukulele this year!  I hope that we can continue to grow the participation at the North Raleigh Uke Jam, which means spreading the word about our little group.  So…

Here is your opportunity to advertise your love of the Ukulele.  We have designed a T-Shirt for the Jam with our own logo.  We showed this to the attendees of the last Jam, but here is a photo.



The photo above is Stone Blue with Dark Brown graphics.  You can have any of the colors shown on the NCTees page (make sure you stay on this page with the G2000 product) but they will all have the same Dark Brown graphics.  I think most all of the lighter colored shirts, including White, will look great with this color.  If we order up to 11 of them, the cost is around $17 each.   If we order more than about 23 then the cost goes down to about $15 each.  Also, you can get long sleeves for $3 more added to the prices listed above

I have attached a link for the NCTees company website where you can see the colors available.

1) first you need to click on the link

http://www.nctees.com/catalogs/companycasuals.htm

2)Then enter "Gildan" in the search window on the right 

3) then click on the guy at the G2000 t-shirt, here is his picture, first column, third row

4) then you can see all of the colors available.


Pick a color, and a size, and bring your cash or check to the next Jam so we can collect up the orders.  The next Jam will be on 01/16/14.