Aussie Uke Corner

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AUSSIE UKE CORNER

Ukulele Land 3 - the biggest uke event in Oz - was held on September 23 in Newtown, a trendy inner-city suburb of Sydney.

For the first time, it was an all-day affair with dealers' stalls and workshops held alongside one of Sydney's oldest cemeteries, where the first governor of the city and many other prominent people are buried. They must've enjoyed the music 'cos we didn't hear any complaints!

The first workshop was conducted by Tamariki Purapura, a Sydney-based group of Cook Islanders. It wasn't so much a workshop as a fantastic two-hour performance. The style of playing reminded me a lot of Hawaiian playing. I guess all Polynesian cultures are still similar in many ways.

Next up was the loosely titled "strumming" workshop, which was my responsibility. I started with what I call the "slap strum", which consists of slapping all four strings with the palm of the right hand (assuming you're right-handed) in a downward motion, then bringing up the thumb on its own. I find it works well for surfie stuff such as The Beach Boys. I also taught a simple picking pattern and a roll stroke. There was a good turnout - around 30 people - and they all seemed to have fun, which is the most important thing.

The big concert that night featured 20 performers from around the country. As we had to be out of the hall by a certain time, we only had seven minutes each. I went for three songs - After You've Gone, Big Rock Candy Mountain and silly George Formby number Our Sergeant Major.

It was easily the most diverse group of talent ever seen at Ukulele Land. Tyrone Shoelaces (great name!) from Brisbane made a strong impression with his unique brand of performance art. He did four or five songs on his uke whilst showing slides of dog shows and Aussie suburbia from the 1960s! It was as strange as it sounds, but in a funny way it worked. Onya, Tyrone!

As always, the success of the event was down do its creator, tireless uke campaigner and artist Rose Turtle Ertler.

She did an amazing job attracting media interest and now more and more news organisations seem to be jumping on the uke bandwagon. In fact, a TV crew from a well-respected program called The 7:30 Report will be at the Balmain Ukulele Klub in Sydney tomorrow night to shoot footage for a piece they're doing on the resurgence of the ukulele in Australia.

It's an exciting time to be a down-under strummer!

Mahalo,

Cameron

 

Calendar Of Events

St George and Sutherland Community of Ukulele Musicians (SSCUM)

Originally formed by keen students who attended the local community college's ukulele course facilitated by Cameron Murray (himself a semi-regular member), SSCUM got its name in a mock gauntlet-throwing-down gesture to MUK, the Melbourne Ukulele Kollective. Between 15 and 20 regular SSCUMbags meet on the first Sunday of the month at the Como School Of Arts, Navarra Crescent, Como, Sydney, from 2pm till 4pm. Casual membership is $5 per visit or $40 annually. This covers hall hire and includes a learner's folder of uke material. SSCUM endeavours to cater to all levels of playing ability. Contact Don at Sink_ers@hotmail.com for more info.

Balmain Ukulele Klub (BUK)

A not-for-profit, just-for-the-fun-of-it community club that meets monthly every "teen" Monday at the Gladstone Park Bowling Club, opposite Balmain Hospital, Sydney, from 6pm till 8.30pm. Contact: john@ukuleleclub.net

Melbourne Ukulele Kollective (MUK)

Formed in 2004 by the fantastic Dino Divo (offstage known as Dean Denham), MUK meets every Wednesday at a pub called Father Flannagans, Collingwood, cnr Smith St and Alexander Parade from 5pm till about 8:30pm. Got to http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/m-u-k/ for more info.

Oz Uke Players

Cameron Murray: ukuleleman36@hotmail.com

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