Performances and Group Play, Make Music NY - Ukulele Mass Appeal, June 21

Come join in the fun this Friday for performances and group play with some great NY ukulele performers as part of Make Music NY - Mass Appeal. Each year, on the Summer Solstice (June 21), MMNY organizes music around the city, and we're helping out with a three-hour ukulele event, after work 5-8pm. 

The fun takes place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at the  William Sheridan Playground (map), which is near the Bedford L station. 

Come by to hear performers including Sweet Soubrette, Jamie Scandal, John and Ellen Monten, Mark Dutton and Jessica Delfino. There's also open-mic slots for those wishing to perform, as well as opportunities to play in group songs.

Organized by Rick Bruner and Emceed by Roger Greenawalt, host of the Complete Beatles for Ukulele.

RSVP on Facebook.

First UUkulele Strum Circle

Hi. Every other Sunday (more or less), I lead a ukulele strumming group at First Unitarian in Brooklyn. The group are mostly beginners, but more seasoned players are encouraged to come. Everyone is welcome to this group. Although the meetups are held in house of worship, we're just ukulele strummers, so no agenda. I'd love to open this to a broader group of players.

We meet up at 12:15 in the basement of the church, the "Undercroft," during the post-service coffee hour, and then we peel off to some space in the building by 12:30 or so. (If you come late, just ask around for the ukulele group.)

The address is 50 Monroe Pl, Brooklyn, NY. Here's a map.

We're meeting this Sunday, February 17. If you'd like to be on a regular mailing reminder list (as the schedule is a bit changable), email me at rickbruner at gmail.

Ukulele Starter Books

I am often asked to give people advice. So I figured it would be easier to write the advice once, here, and just send people links.

If you're just starting out, you definitely need a ukulele chord book. If found this one by Hal Leonard to be the most comprehensive.

• Hal Leonard Ukulele Chord Finder: Easy-to-Use Guide to Over 1,000 Ukulele Chords

Beyond that, if you want some tutorial books, these two look good to me (although, admittedly, I never used either closely), and I see that Amazon offers the three of them as a bundle for a discount (look at the product page for such a bundle deal on the sales page for the chord book, above):

• Hal Leonard Ukulele Method Book 1
• Easy Songs for Ukulele Supplementary Songbook to the Hal Leonard Ukulele Method

Another chord book I recommend, particularly, for intermediate players is this one, though it may be a bit hard to interpret for a beginner:

• Uncle Zac's Ultimate Chord Inversion Chart For Uke

Beyond that, I highly recommend most of the books from Jim Beloff's FleaMarketMusic.com site, a compendium of all things ukulele, especially song books:

• FleaMarketMusic.com books

Beatles Complete on Ukulele, Jan 14, Brooklyn Bowl

Join the fun for this annual tradition, the Roger Greenawalt's Beatles Complete on Ukulele, all day at the excellent venue, Brooklyn Bowl, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Come with your uke from 2-3pm and get in free! (Otherwise, it's a $10 cover.) Join the Uke Mob at 3pm (being filmed for broadcast on that evening's TV news) to sing "All Together Now" and "Why Don't We Do It in the Road."

Dozens of great indie regional bands are joining Roger to perform most or all of the Beatles's amazing canon of songs, all featuring at least one uke. It's an annual tradition and lots of fun at a great venue.

Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Street (at N. 10th)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Subway: Take the L train from Manhattan's 14th Street to the first Brooklyn stop, Bedford, and it's a short walk.
3pm to Midnight

Yours truly, Rick Bruner, will be performing with The Suaverinos at 5pm, doing "Dear Prudence" and "You're Gonna Lost That Girl."

The Suaverinos, Friday, Nov. 18, at The Uke Hut

The Suaverinos are back with a fresh, season-pleasing set of covers from the '40s, '60s, '70s and 2011. Hope you can join us.

This Friday at the Uke Hut, around the corner for the Empire State Building, downstairs from Maui Taco. An odd, but charming venue.

Friday, November 18

9pm (30-minute set; come for after-work drinks)

The Uke Hut (downstairs at Maui Taco)

330 5th Avenue (between 32nd & 33rd Street)

Also, mark your calendars in advance for the Suaverinos on December 13, 9pm, a Tuesday, at the PATH CAFE in the West Village, an hour set of new stuff, including a couple of holiday favorites.

Ukulele Song Arrangement Resources

Browsing around looking for uke arrangements for a new uke group I'm working with at my Unitarian Universalist church (the First UUkulele Strum Circle), I have collected these various collections of uke arrangements. Please feel free to let me know about others I should add to this list.

• Taunton Ukulele Strummers Club Songbook: http://www.tusc.co.uk/songbook.html

• Santa Cruz Ukulele Club Songbook: http://www.mediafire.com/?nnkmzwg3z2j

• Doctor Uke: http://doctoruke.com/songs.html

• Alligator Boogaloo: http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/tabs.html

• Ukulele Underground: http://ukuleleunderground.com/

• Flea Market Music: http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/

• Uke Hunt: http://ukulelehunt.com/tab-chords/

• Richard G's Ukulele Songbook: http://www.scorpex.net/Uke/

• Ukeland: http://dominator.ukeland.com/index2.shtml

NY Ukulele Salon: June 18, The Living Room

The NY Ukulele Salon presents another evening showcasing great talent from NYC's rich trove of ukulele performers.


June 18, 2011
8:30pm to 10:30pm

At The Living Room's upstairs venue, Googie's Lounge
154 Ludlow Street

No cover charge. 1 drink per hour minimum and tip bucket for the performers.

8:30: The Whistlin' Wolves
A rollicking quartet with a down-home American sound, featuring two-time world champion whistler Emily Eagan, harmonica wizard Trip Henderson and Spiff Wiegand and Chris Q. Murphy ripping on various instruments, including no shortage of ukuleles.

9:00: Doctor Uke and Daughters
A Ukulele Salon favorite, the Rosokoff family, Jim, Sylvie and Jacq, regularly pack Googie's with fans for great reason, with gorgeous harmonies, creative arrangements and delightful song selections. Most of the arrangements the act performs are in the archive of more than 500 arrangements on www.doctoruke.com

9:30: Roger Greenawalt
Jolly Roget is a popular Williamsburg record producer, musician and organizer of Beatles Complete on Ukulele. His act will likely surprise you and may well feature guest talents from among his wide circle of musician friends.

"Oospie, I quit!" (Blond not included)

10:00: The Suaverinos
The Ukulele Salon house band, The Suaverinos, is a swinging ensemble covering the likes of Al Jolson, Nina Simone, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Kinks, Gnarls Barkley and Radiohead. Rush Kress and Rick Bruner on vocals and ukuleles, Elizabeth Walsh on vocals and bass, and introducing Melody Litwin on vocals, mandolin and washboard, and Inês Baptista on vocals and percussion.

NY Ukulele Salon: May 21, Saturday @ The Living Room

Join us every month for a showcase of NYC's amazing breadth of ukulele
talent at:

The Living Room's upstairs venue, Googie's Lounge
154 Ludlow Street @ Rivington St. in Manhattan's Lower East Side (map)

Saturday, May 21, 2011, 8:30 to 10:30pm

No cover. 1 drink minimum per set + tip bucket for the artists

8:30pm - Patsy Monteleone
A Salon favorite, Patsy is one of the foremost interpreters of the Great American Songbook on ukulele.

9:00pm - Ben Lerman
A rising star on the NY comedy circuit (not to be confused with blooper-king sportscaster Len Berman), Ben delivers hilarious originals or your money back. (Oh wait, this gig is free!)

9:30pm - The Suaverinos with Pedro da Silva
Ukulele Salon house band, The Suaverinos, are joined by the ripping professor or the strings Pedro da Silva for some swinging pop and jazz standards

10:00pm - Bliss Blood
Bliss Blood practically invented playing ukulele in NYC. Doing originals and classy covers like nobody's business.

RSVP via Facebook.

The Suaverinos at The Algonquin Seaport Theater

The Suaverinos -- Rick Bruner, Rush Kress, Maggie Kus and Elizabeth Walsh -- are a tight ensemble of ukuleles, bass and vocal harmonies that swing everything from Cole Porter, Al Jolson, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Thelonious Monk to The Kinks, Pink Floyd, OutKast and Radiohead.

Come see us at our first hour-long gig:

May 14, Saturday, 7pm

The Algonquin Seaport Theater
Pier 17: 89 South Street  NY NY 10038
(The theater is located on the 2nd floor inside the Seaport Mall)
(212) 349-7505
A short walk from the 2/3 train at Fulton

$10 Cover

RSVP on Facebook.

New NYC Ukulele Event: Brooklyn Uke Nights

The Ukuladies present Brooklyn Uke Nights! Every 4th Thursday at the new Freddy's Bar in Brooklyn.

Uke Nights will bring together uke players of all ages, shapes and sizes for an open jam and song sharing session from 8-9pm. 9:30 will showcase a featured ukulele act until 11pm.

Thursday, May 26th will launch the series featuring The Ukuladies in a full evening of music and antics beginng at 8pm after a hiatus from playing to welcome some riteous "ukubabies" who have arrived on the scene. The following month, June, 23rd, we will officially begin Brooklyn Uke Nights and invite everyone interested to bring a song and lead sheets to share, try out a new tune you're working on, share tips on techniques, tell some jokes, etc. Featured act in June is Kellie Rae Powell! Following month, Thursday, July 28th features Robin Aigner!! Stay tuned for schedule updates.

Freddy's is located at 627 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (map).

Contact Katie Down for more information on coming to or participating in Uke Nights at glassmusicsound at gmail dot com or ukuladies at gmail dot com

Evanescent in Tribecca on Friday

A favorite of the NY uke scene, Evanescent (Bliss Blood and Al Street) is playing this Friday night, April 23. Read this rave review of their new album!

8:30pm

Cin-M-Art Space
43 Murray Street, bet W. Broadway & Church
New York, NY
$10.00 cover

NY Ukulele Salon: April 23, Saturday @ The Living Room

The NY Ukulele Salon is back at The Living Room again, upstairs at Googie's Lounge, for another great night of the best ukulele music New York City has to offer. As usual, the show runs from 8:30pm to 10:30pm on Saturday night, April 23, 154 Ludlow Street.

No cover. 1 drink minimum per set + tip bucket for the artists

Download the flyer and pass it out to all your friends and neighbors! :-)


8:30: J. Walter Hawkes, brilliant interpreter of jazz-age gems on uke,
voice and trombone.

9:00: Sarah King, charming, delicate renditions of pop and jazz standards

9:30: Lorinne Lampert, tunes old and new delivered with theatrical panache

10:00: Jessica Delfino, "a-million-hits-on-the-Internet famous"

NY Ukulele Salon: February 19, Saturday @ The Living Room

The NY Ukulele Salon is back at The Living Room again, upstairs at Googie's Lounge, for another great night of the best ukulele music New York City has to offer. As usual, the show runs from 8:30pm to 10:30pm on Saturday night, February 19, 154 Ludlow Street.

8:30pm: Makalina. A guiding light in the NY ukulele scene (organizer of the NY Ukulele Meetup, currently featured on posters in the NY subways for Meetup.com!), she a friend to us all and a great talent. She's "not far away."

9:00pm: Esther Ku. A semi-finalist on NBC's Last Comic Standing and a regular on the national comedy circuit, she puts her unusual brand of comedy to music delightfully on the uke. But don't let that adorable exterior fool you: this girl works blue!

9:30pm: Pedro Da Silva. Composer, assistant professor at NYU and virtuoso of stringed instruments, Pedro can really rip it up. A clip I made of him improvising at Ukulele Mansion is my most-viewed video on YouTube. This is his first time at Ukulele Salon, but we hope he'll be a regular.

10:00: The Suaverinos. We really need a web site, and a proper group picture! We are the house band of the Ukulele Salon, a swinging ensemble of ukes, piano, bass, horn (not this performance) and many voices. Lots of new material this show.

NY Ukers Sought for Uke Mob for Beatles Complete on Ukulele, January 15

Roger Greenwalt is calling on all NY uke players for the Uke Mob kickoff to the 3rd Annual Beatles Complete on Ukulele event, where Greenwalt and friends play through the entire cannon of the greatest band of the 20th Century on ukes for the whole weekend.


Many of you are probably familiar with this event from the epic PR it generates. Part of its hook, aside from The Beatles on ukuleles, is the inspirational fundraising, first for Warren Buffet, then last year for Yoko Ono, and this year for the worthy cause of Mark Zuckerberg, a man who needs all the friends he can get. Join the event "Friending Mark Zuckerberg" 

The Uke Mob, a great photo opp, kicks off the event with a huge play-along of a song or two.


5pm on Saturday, January 15
Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Avenue, (Williamsburg) Brooklyn, NY.

Free entry to anyone with a uke; otherwise, $10 cover.

The whole event is on both Saturday (6pm to Midnight) and Sunday (2pm to 8pm). Uke Mob participants are requested to show up at 5pm to learn the song and get organized for the kickoff at 6pm.

Nelly McKay is going to be there and possibly some other indie uke headliners.

Roger is also looking for folks who want to sing a song. He's got a list of available songs. If interested, you can email him directly at jollyroget at gmail dot com. Roger's been sick, so let's wish him well for 2011 with a big turnout.

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you many happy hours strumming and/or listening to ukuleles in 2011!

Bliss Blood and Al Street Are "Evanescent" this Monday at Googie's

Last-minute gig alert:

Bliss Blood, everyone's favorite NY uke scenester, and jazz guitarist Al Street together are Evanescent, at The Living Room's upstairs venue and regular home of the NY Ukulele Salon these days, Googie's Lounge, this Monday night.

Monday, Jan 3
9:30 to 10:15pm
Googie's Lounge
154 Ludlow Street, between Stanton and Rivington.

Their act is great, and they helped me help the Googie's booking agent with a quick fill-in, so show them some love.

NY Ukulele Salon: Dec 18 at The Living Room

Back at Googie's Lounge, upstairs from The Living Room: The NY Ukulele Salon has another great lineup next Saturday, December 18: 8:30 to 10:30:

8:30: The Edukated Fleas. Great ukulele swing from Wendy Matthews and Greg Doyle.

9:00: Jon Braman. Singer songwriter, "Father of ukulele hip-hop." Sounds like it would be terrible, but he's awesome!

9:30: T.A.B.U. Stands for something like "The All Boroughs Ukuleles," which is incongruous, because they're best known for Polynesian melodies and hulu dancers.

10:00: The Suaverinos. By now an eight-person ensemble of swing: ukes, piano, flugelhorn, block flute, bass, singers, and then some. The Uke Salon's house band, as it were. Much new material.

Get there early to hear the rocking rhythms of friend of NY Uke Salon Declan Zimmerman.

Announcing NY Uke Chat email forum

Hey, if you feel like chatting with other NY ukers about arrangements, technique, gigs, favorite UkeTube performances, etc., sign up for the new email discussion forum NY Uke Chat that I created with Google Groups.

Concert, Nov 19: The Ukuladies, The Suaverinos, Dr. Uke & Daughs, Bliss Blood, Jontom

Googie's loves the NY Ukulele Salon. We have another great night of performances on November 19, 8:00 to 10:30:

Googie's Lounge (upstairs from The Living Room)

154 Ludlow St. (NYC's Lower East Side) - Map

8:00: The Suaverinos: jazz standards done in style. Rick Bruner and Rush Kress on ukes and vocals, Maggie Kus on vocals, Sean O'Neal on piano, Bill McCloskey on flugelhorn, and Elizabeth Walsh on bass. 

8:30: The Ukuladies: delightful, multi-talented, always full of fun and surprises. Fraternal twins Genevieve and Jimmy Lu, with Aunt Mary Louise, and Cousin Bunnie on ukes, close harmonies, glockenspiel, flute, washboard, tap dancing and more. 

9:00: Doctor Uke and Daughters: Gorgeous close family harmonies with great arrangements and lots of chutzpah. Jim, Sylvie and Jacq Rosokoff.

9:30: Bliss Blood: the high priestess of the NYC uke scene, solo, doing blues, originals and covers, one would guess.

10:00: Jontom: visiting Italian uke artist and teacher. 

Ukulele Salon at Googie's, Friday, October 8th

We are please to announce our newest Ukulele Salon:

What: Good music loving crafted on ukuleles and other instruments


When: Friday, October 8, from 8:30 to 10:30PM


Where: Googie's Lounge, upstairs from The Living Room, 154 Ludlow St.

Who: Four Acts:

8:30: The War Ponies: Gio Gaynor and Diana Aluto doing rock covers on acoustic uke
9:00: The King Crow Duo: Subway buskers Sarah King and Joe Crow do sweet songs of yesteryear on uke and banjo
9:30: The Ether Frolic Mob: Daughter and father Zoe and Peter Stampel (and friends?), he of The Fugs and Holy Modal Rounders fame, are originals
10:00: The Suaverinos: Anna Gerard, Rush Kress, Rick Bruner and Elizabeth Walsh doing standards in style

No cover, but 1 drink minimum per hour, plus tip bucket. Bring your friends for a fun, cheap night out.

RSVP on Facebook here.