Tag Archives: Stukulele

March 2019 – Back To Basics

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What a fun night. It was so great to have the crew from Evans Head along and a contingent from Lennox head. The simple songs, chords and keys attracted a lost of newbies (and kept a few of the regulars away… though they just may have been out of town… who knows.)

Jamie Pattugalin on drums, Roddy Coe on bass with special guests Chris Cook on guitar and fiddle and the wonderful Clelia Adams. A winning combo. Lot’s of fun had by all.

The songbook is available through patreon.
See the live streams here Set 1 | Set 2

Sept 2018 – 90S

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Final Songbook Updated 28.09.18 18:30pm get access here

Hello dear Patrons. Heartfelt thanks for your support in keeping this  monthly community event alive. Thanks to those of you came along to Club Mullum on the night and those of you who tuned in to our youtube channel for the live stream:  SET 1 | SET 2

This month was 90S UKE NIGHT… we had a great night.  Big thanks to Kate Gittins on wind and squeezebox, Evan Sun on Guitar, Jason Caspen on drums and Julian Smith on bass.

It was great to have local and international Country Music Queen – Clelia Adams back as special guest vocalist. Ever resilient and versatile, ‘Clel’ has been recovering after a major operation and was excited to be performing some some non-country repertoire with us.

Sadly the amazing musical artist of Irish descent Áine Tyrrell (pronounced ‘Onya’) couldn’t make it on the night due to being hospitalized with medical complications. We hear she is OK just needs time to take it easy and recover. We’ll have to try again when she is back in good health.

The final songbook of what we performed is attached below. Hear the tunes by the original artist in our Spotify Playlist

August 2018 – 80’s

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Thanks to everyone whom came to 80’s UKE NIGHT. There were a lot of regulars away, though many new faces and even some welcome little people. It was a great night. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself: SET 1 | SET 2

June 2018 – Fun Beginner Tunes

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What a great night we had. Lot’s of new faces including our special guest for the evening Chris Cook who was a huge hit on the night with his roots/ country stylings, vocally and on the fiddle, banjo and guitar. A truley lovely gem of a man and a great performer. He’ll welcome back any time. It was a stripped back simple affair, I made sure every song was going to be OK for the newbies. It’s a balancing act for sure though in the end I think the more advanced regulars weren’t bored and the newbies dug in and really enjoyed themselves. There was many magic moments. Thanks as always to Rod Coe On the Bass, Jason Caspen on the drums. Miss Amber was in fine voice, even with two screws lose… and a nail– from her operation earlier in the week, (don’t think the drugs had worn off by then…. her wit was pretty sharp as I recall). Thanks to Luis on sound, Ash on the door and everyone for coming and creating such a lovely event.

Photos by Niche Pictures – Lyn McCarthy here >

March 2018 – BLUES

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Some people in general can be a little uninspired by blues as a theme. I have to admit, it wasn’t until I started making blues songbooks and learning the songs that I really fell in love with the form. Once learned, anyone can easily join in with a blues Jam. The choice of songs in this book was more about finding actual songs that had been recorded back in the day on Ukulele. I discovered Hokum Blues was a good source of material. Here’s the Spotify Playlist if you’d like to listen to the tracks we performed.

Mullum Uke Club members worked on a little riff that was designed to unleash the power of the Hammer on, Pull off and slide. Here’s the video with charts and practice tracks for download. There is also the Cm pentatonic scale, otherwise know as the Blues scale as a pdf for you to practice.

It was so great to have another night with Kate Gittins on wind instruments and Dan Brown on Keys. Playing with amazing musicians and lovely people is what it is all about. Dan impressed us even further when he whipped out his pocket trumpet for ‘St. James Infirmary’. It was great to have Rex Carter back on drums and is always a joy to have Rod Coe on bass, keeping everything buoyant.

Each UKE NIGHT is a precious memory for me and lately more so that ever. Miss Amber sang beautifully and seemingly, no one cringed on the songs I lead, though the stand out memory for me will be when our guest Shelly Brown took the mic.

She began with Eva Cassidy’s version of ‘Wayfairing Stranger’. It was as though the roof had been ripped off and the stars where shining down upon us. Shelly belted that tune into the stratosphere. Shelly embodies the songs she sings and you are transported with her to somewhere else entirely. She stayed on stage with us for her next two songs then joined Miss Amber for some backing vocals. So great to have a humble, genuine, sweet – mind blowing singer at UKE NIGHT. We are blessed with talent in the Northern Rivers of NSW.

The numbers were down on last months gathering due to some pretty heavy rain and some folk being away, though those who made it had a great time. The book on the whole was very playable and an encore was beckoned at the end of the evening which is always a good sign.

This will be the last book that I offer to everyone through the mailing list. From now on in order to receive the songbooks you will need to be a Patron on my Patreon page. In this way I can continue to put as in as much time and love into the UKE NIGHTS as I have for the last 7 years. Please do sign up and enjoy the benefits of the higher tiers of Patronage.

Nov 2017 – PUNK

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This was one the most fun nights I can remember. My theory is that the music you listen to when you are around 13 years old becomes ingrained in your psyche so much that nearly 40 years later you can recall what it felt like when you were their the first time. I had a ball playing these songs. Special guests Vesudha Harte loved singing the Ramones I Wanna Be Sedated and of course fooled everyone that she is French with Ca Plane Pour Mois. Jono Hillman cut the image a dirty punk very well with his renditions of the Saints’ Stranded and Know Your Product and and even went bare top for his Iggy Pop number.

John Campbell from Brisbane dropped in to play Harmonica on ‘Another Girl Another Planet’, Erina Leach sang Patty Smith’s Because The Night and nailed Frenzal Rhomb’s Never Had So Much Fun. Most agree though that Val Hodgson’s Oh Bondage Up Yours was the highlight of the night. For me the the best fun was seeing all the old punks come out of the wood works and… was I surprised to see Monday night regulars Jan and Lizzy in there above and beyond punk outfits. Great work from Sam Sanders on Guitar who only had a few days to get his parts down. Thanks to Al Brooker on bass and Jason Caspen on drums who kept the energy up. Luis on Sound and Ashara on the door. Thanks To Lyn McCarthy from nichpix for these great pics of the night. OI!

Oct 2017 – Gunfighter & Murder Ballads

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This was a really fabulous night… due to the roll up, the superb musicianship from Warren Earl and fantastic vocal performances from Ash Bell, Clelia Adams, Miss Amber (particularly Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang) and yours truly didn’t fare to badly neither, channeling Marty Robbins and mostly in key. The flow of the evening was wonderful, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. There was dark and scary moments which made the laughs more heartfelt. Wish you were there. Just a great bunch of tunes with compelling stories. Great sound from Luis, Thanks to Ashara on the door. Great bass and drums from Rod Coe and Jason Caspen (respectively).

Guests up from Adelaide said it would make a great event for the Adelaide Fringe. Sadly unless someone offered a huge budget it would be hard to replicate outside of Mullum. We are so spoiled for talent and the great auditorium we present the night in each month.

See the pics from Lyn McCarthy at Niche Pics and they’ll tell the story.

Sept 2017 – Ukelectica

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As I mentioned in the weekly mailers and on the night, I had literally run out of ideas for themes this month. There are plenty of themes that I could have chosen, though as these nights have turned into a labour of love, I have learned that I must be inspired to bring any kind of magic. Also I had limited time to produce a book so I went with some songs we have done in the past and improved the charts.

Each night’s set list relies on who I have as special guests… this month as Rod Coe was away I also needed to find a bass player. After producing the poster and the flimsy concept of Ukelectica… my cohort from Byron Reggae / Funk band Ragga Jump, young Max Foggon contacted me about being a performer. He was inspired by the image on the poster of the space girl as he has recently purchased a Vocoder with the view to performing a cover of Daft Punks ‘Something About Us’. Boom! Max became the star of the show as well as the bands bass player. I had also prior to that been contacted by Phil Frea – local freaky fella with a smooth deep voice about doing a few 40/50’s tunes. So Ukelectica it became… a bunch of eclectic songs for the uke – So Eclectic it was Out Of This World! (Yeah Right!)

We began with Iz’s version of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ with my newly acquired strum pattern, followed by a stirring version of Cow’s with Gun’s (where were you Coorabell kids!!!) and then Summer Time Blues before Miss Amber came out and lead with a really tough song to sing from Sia, Electric Bird and nailed it. Daughter Rose performed Adele’s ‘Send My Love To Your New Lover’ and then showed off her rapping skills with Iggy Azalea’s ‘Fancy’. That was way fun. We love Britney Spear’s ‘Baby One More Time’. Some of these songs are not great for Uke Players with limited technique I admit. It pays to come on Monday nights to learn some tricks. Phil Frea got up and somewhat tumbled through his tunes… he has had it tough and his mind is very active, though posses a rich and striking voice. Route 66 was a highlight.

The N.R.U.O were back and in really fine form. All the tunes went down well, particularly Patsy’s Gypsy Swing. Pete’s Apache is a favourite and fun to strum and the Duo Harmonies of ‘Hey Sherrif’ always ht the mark as we segue-wayed into the stirring ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.  The Poster also influenced the choice for The Carpenters – Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft. Not an easy tune by any means though it really worked. The band handled the tempo changes with smooth ease. Top work Justin Bannister on Keys, Jason Caspen on Drums and Of course max Foggon on Bass.

I played bass for most of Max’s songs. I now appreciate any bass player who can sing as well… It’s not easy at all. Max Foggon is a quadruple threat… awesome bass player, fantastic uke player, wonderful singer and showman and… he can perform a very tuneful  mouth trumpet. Max lead a very entertaining set with a sweet version of Bill Withers ‘Just The Two Of Us’ and a flawless and atmospheric rendition of Daft Punk’s ‘Something About Us’. Disney’s ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ was a blast, taken home by a reggae version of ‘What A Wonderful World’… then after thank yous we all enjoyed ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ with the whole cast joining in apart from Rosie who had gone home to watch Netflix.

The numbers were down, perhaps because it was in the school holidays though everyone who was in attendance had a wonderful time even though there were more challenges in this months book than usual. Next month I will address that and make the book more playable to make up for it. Thanks to Luis on the sound and Deb on the door as well as the club for having us.

June 2017 – SOUL

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The 70th consecutive UKE NIGHT on Thursday 29 June was themed SOUL and was a true joy. Partly because of the great guests and musos in the band, partly because of the fantastic songs and partly because we had a great turnout and everyone was up for a bit of fun!!

Justin Bannister was back on keys with his excellent energy and optimism playing all the extra little horn lines and string parts. 13 year old Sam Sanders was as steady as a rock on soul guitar chops and pulled off a fantastic blues solo at the end of the set. Always consistent and fabulous Jason Caspen and Rod Coe – drums and bass and for his first ever jaunt, Peter Chown on Sax made one tight little combo.

Then the guests: First up ‘Man About Town’ Jono Hillman did a great job Sam ‘n Dave’s Hold On I’m Comin’ and his other 2 tunes. Brand new comer Soul Sister Number 1 – Shelly Brown raised eyebrows and put smiles on faces. She is a marvel, full of great soul chops and positive uplifting vibes. Of course Raku One O’Gaia (formerly known as Soulman) always brings it on home in a big big way. One of the more memorable nights we have had in a while. The numbers were good and there were more ukes in the audience than the previous few nights. Sharon Shostack who has filmed a few birthdays in the past won the SOUL poster and I was very chuffed for Ian Wickham who was beaming with delight when he won the lucky door prize.

Samb was there live streaming and a few folk tuned in – including Terry and Maddy from the NRUO all the way from Darwin. Thanks to Luis and Deb back on the door. Thanks for all who came along.

May 2017 Hawaiian Night

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This night was quite a production, augmented with grace and beauty by Hula Tomoka, Yuri and Kanami from the Gold Coast School of Hula Dance. These beautiful Hula Dancers are true joy to behold, breath taking! Aloha Baby – Stu, Paul Agar and Rod Coe provided the bulk of the music including some lush instrumentals. Jason Caspen provided the beat with Miss Amber leading a few tunes as well. The highlight was the Hula dance lesson with a line up of dancers having a great time. Also the best dressed was a lot of fun with the youngest male in the room scooping the Kahuna Massage for dad and Dorothy taking home the ladies prize for her colourful outfit.

Unbelievably, Bede Cooney won the poster… it’s a running gag that Bede wins all the time… he does!  The evening was streamed live on Facebook. Unfortunately there was a little hitch in posting to the Uke Mullum Facebook page, so apologies to those who tuned in. A work around was quickly put in place and the 2nd set was live. Thanks to Samb from Bay Stream who did and amazing job and thanks to those of you who tuned in. Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2

Also big thanks to Luis for sound and lights, he went many extra yards to make the show look great. Big Thanks also for Sista Mary who to care of the door.

It was lovely to see some familiar faces returning to Uke Night and great to see some folk from Yamba, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.