Lil Rev's New CD Is Out!

The Fountain of Uke 10th Anniversary Album is now Available:

Dear friends, it has been a long time in coming. This project pulls together material from both The Fountain of Uke Vol. 1 & 2, including 12 remastered favorites and 9 brand new arrangements including 5 brand new originals and 4 covers.

Once again, in the spirit of those original F.O.U. albums, the ukulele is front and center, just good tunes, unique covers and rooted originals. If you are a fan of blues, tin-pan-alley, old time, novelty and originals you'll love this new collection.

The original Fountain of Uke albums are still available thru CD Baby as digital downloads (heck they even have a few hard copies on the shelf). My goal in 2013 is to streamline my vast catalog and digitize many of my older albums, so that when i hit the road to tour, i am only carrying the most current albums. This is, after all a digital era that we are living in and i have 13 albums that i have tried to keep in active print. It's alot to manage, not to mention shlepping all over the U.S.

I knew the time had come to simply retire the physical CDS and move them into the stratosphere that is digital download heaven. 

What i did with this album, is I sat down, pulled my favorite tracks off the two earlier fountain of uke CDS, then we remastered them to give em a fresh coat of paint, while also recording nine new tracks of originals and some choice covers. The result is nothing less than a magical collection of ukulele music that dares to stand up unadulterated and naked in its' beauty.

All too often the ukulele is buried in overproduction, instrumentation and sonic farfel. My goal with this project is very simple: to showcase the ukulele in its raw, au-natural state, just strong tunes, high power strumming, solid right hand technique, less is more picking and some really sweet harmony vocals by my wife Carol Alvarez to round things out.

Here is the link to the new album. It is available from both Elderly Instruments of Lansing, MI as well as CD Baby.

Here is a link to my last album: The Happiest Way To Be Sad: This is a collection of rocking-rooted originals performed with an ensemble of Milwaukee's finest blues, jazz, country and soul musicians.

Enjoy!

Lil Rev
www.lilrev.com

The Ukulele Nation Poetry Project

Folks often ask me how i came to write an entire book of poems relating to the ukulele, its history, players, legend and lore?

Here's the story...

Following my 2011 winter tour of the South & Western U.S., I returned to Milwaukee extremely hoarse and exhausted from one too many workshops and concerts (3 months of touring can do that to you if you aren't careful). My doctor took one look at my vocal cords and said, "man you gotta take a break!" Now!

I was advised to take at least a full month off and not to sing.

Since i had been singing and strumming since the age of 11, this was the first time that i had to actually restrain from doing that which has brought me so much joy over the years...making music!

In need of a creative outlet to channel my creativity, i turned to my old friend poetry and simply began to write. As the weeks whizzed past, i noticed a theme taking shape as i began to reflect on my career as a professional, touring ukulele instructor/performer.

The more i typed, the more i laughed, cried, sighed and shouted.

Almost 20 years has gone by since i first started traversing the international ukulele highway, i had met so many wonderful folks, from up and coming players to legends, hall of fame events, to living room concerts...all of this seemed to pour out of my pen and in two short months, i had written over 60 poems relating to the ukulele.


My wife Carol, suggested that i put them into some sort of book form and the rest is, as they say, history!


One of my fans, reminded me at a recent gig that i had written the worlds first ukulele poetry book!

I said...

I don't think i will receive any prestigious poetry awards for this accomplishment, but i will tell you that i am proud of the collection and that i had a god-awful amount of fun watching it take shape.

...or as authors often say, it was a labor of love. 

Jumping Jim Beloff has this to say about Ukulele Nation:  "A laugh a page!"


The e-book is available at  Amazon.com and is only $8.39. Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Ukulele-Nation-The-Poetry-ebook/dp/B006IGC1ZC

 The physical book is available from Elderly Instruments of Lansing, MI for $10.00

http://elderly.com/books/items/158-79.htm


A big thank you to Marge Eiseman and Will Branch for their editorial skills, Paul Olson for his graphics expertise and of course my wife Carol Alvarez for her undying support. This project would not have been possible without all of these tireless champions of my muse.

                                          Lil Rev's Poetry Book Ukulele Nation
The collection contains: essays ukulele jokes, humor, stories, photos, history and poems


Postscript: Since the release of this book, many ukulele club leaders have begun reading one from the book prior to each club meeting. The book has also been featured at numerous ukulele festivals and is often used by MC's at Uke Fest events.

101-Two Chord Tunes

(C) Lil Rev 2012

For years now, like a pack-rat, i have collected bits and pieces of
what one might call a loose conglomeration of tune-lists.

Occasionally, i would have an organizing fit and...
into my moleskin notebook they would go, filed away for who
knows what.

For some reason, as a teacher, i simply found it to be wise to keep a
 running list of 2 chord songs.

After years, months and days, i have finally decided it was time to
conclude my search for the holy grail of two chord songs. So, now I
give to you my fellow Ukulele enthusiast a running list of 101 two
chord songs.

By no means is this list complete. It is merely a starting point,
a springboard from which to launch.

There are 1000's of two chord songs out there!

These songs come from many different sources including books, hymnals,
random songbooks, live concerts, song circles, rise-up singing, Jerry Silverman's
Folksong Collections, Little Red Songbook, Pete Seeger's Song File, Folk Songs
Of North America (Lomax), Wayne Erbsen Collections, Norm Cohen's Long
Steel Rail, Child Ballad Collections, Don Edwards Collection and too many other
collections to note here.

The songs themselves are kids songs, spirituals, play songs, world music,
folk, blues, rock, country, honky-tonk and more.

They all have one thing in common....they are all songs ripe for the singing!

Since this list took me years to compile, what i ask of you the reader is  a
simple courtesy. Should you choose to use this list in any way. Please give
credit where credit is due! No, i did not write these tunes, i merely, compiled
them and in exchange for my hours of searching, i ask only that you credit my
blog: http://fountainofuke.blogspot.com, so that others might derive some
benefit from the many articles, interviews and essays contained herein.

The list below is random in its presentation and without regard to
alphabetizing or genre.

Please note: Some of these songs can be sung with an additional 3rd chord.
My written sources and recorded sources are merely variations. Ultimately,
these are all tunes that can be played with just 2 chords, or i would not have listed
them here. If you beg to differ, send your queries to: lilrev@lilrev.com

1) Caught Us Doing It (The Hokum Boys)
2) Big Chief Buffalo Nickel (Desert Blues) (Jimmie Rodgers)
3) Tulsa Time (Eric Clapton, Don Gibson)
4) Pistol Packing Mama
5) Ain't No Bugs On Me
6) Iko Iko
7) Don't Mess With My Toot Toot
8) Aunt Jemimah's Plaster
9) Drunken Sailor
10) Polly Wolly Doodle
11) Hey Lolly
12) The Newsboy Jimmy Brown
13) The Bum Song
14) The Thinest Man
15) Rueben's Train
16) Buffalo Gals
17) Shortening Bread
18) Old Milwaukee Runaround (from: Uke Town by Lil Rev)
19) Pick A Bale O' Cotton
20) Champaign Charlie
21) Tom Dooley
22) Water Bound
23) Handsome Molly
24) Stay All Night
25) Da Boatman Dance
26) Going Across The Sea
27) Jambalaya
28) Louis Sands & Jim McGhee
27)  Dixie Darling
28) Roving Gambler
29) Honky Tonking
30) John Henry
31) Tideo
32) When Your Troubles Are Like Mine
33) Jack O Diamonds
34) Waltz Across Texas
35) Little Maggie
36) My Horses Ain't Hungry
37) Memphis
38) Sinner Man
39) Tombstone
40) Rock Island Line
41) Baby Please Don't Go
42) Simple Gifts
43) Rye Whiskey
44) The Cuckoo
45) Skillet Good N Greasy
46) Chisolm Trail
47) Buffalo Skinners
49) Black Jack Davey
50) Joshua Fit Jericho
51) Willie Seton
52) Willie Moore
53) Bright Morning Stars
54) Pastures of Plenty
55) Single Girl, Married Girl
56) Little Birdie
57) Old Man At The Mill
58) Where The Soul of Man Never Dies
59) Down In The Valley
60) Down By The River
61) 900 Miles
62) I Ride An Old Paint
63) Dollar Down, Dollar A Week
64) Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
65) Billy Grimes The Rover
66) Likes Liker Better Than Me
67) Up In Wisconsin
68) Carry It On
69) Sierry Pet Er
70) Root Hog Or Die
71) Aunt Rhody
72) Bheir Me O
73) Sweet Potatoes
74) Surle Pont D' Augnon
75) Dayenu
76) Zum Gali
77) Wade In The Water
78) Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'
79) Gospel Ship
80) Buffalo Boy
81) Way Down The Old Plank Road
82) Alouette
83) Beans In My Ears
84) Bury Me Not
85) Green, Green Rocky Road
86) Down By The Bay
87) Everybody Loves A Saturday
88) The More We Get Together
89) Put Your Little Foot
90) Barbara Allen
91) Following The Cow Trail (Trail To Mexico)
92) Crow Black Chicken
93) I Have A Little Dreidl
94) Skip To My Lou
95) The Wheels On The Bus
96) Hot Corn
97) Sodeo
98) The Sow Took The Measles
99) He's Got The Whole World In His Hands
100) Billy Broke Locks
101) The Paw-Paw Patch

OK......So I lied....Here are a few more gems to add to your 101.....

102) Felix The Solider (Folk Songs of North America-Lomax)
103) Young Charlotte
104) I'ze The Bye (Who build the boat)(Canadian Folk Song)
105) Rattle Snake
106) I'm Troubled
107) Chickens There-A-Coming
108) Charles Guiteau
109) Muskrat, Oh Muskrat
110) The Boll Weevil Song
111) Clementine
112) Buddy Won't You Roll Down The Line (Uncle Dave Macon)
113) Season of the Witch (Donovan)
114) Dream Baby (Roy Orbison)
115) The Cowboy Song (Tom Hanks in Joe -vs- The Volcano) 
116) Shady Grove
117) Everyday People (Sly & Family Stone)
118) Mendocino *(Sir Douglas Quartet)
119) Can't Stop Uke'n (Lil Rev)
120) Sal'a Got A Meatskin
121) Walking Boss (Clarence Ashley)
122) Feeling Alright (Joe Cocker)
123) Chewing Gum
124) The Story The Crow Told Me
125) Hog Eye
126) Bringing In The Georgia Mail
127) Katy Daley
128) Take Me Back To Tulsa (Bob Wills)
129) Jubilee
130) Keep Your Lamp Trimmed & Burning
131) Can't You Hear Jerusalem Moan
132) See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
133) Paddy Works On The Railway
134) Ta Ra Ra Boom De ay
135) Joe Bowers
136) Love Somebody, Yes I Do (Jean Ritchie)
137) The Death of Cock Robin (Jean Ritchie)
138) Pretty Saro (Jean Ritchie)
139) I Wonder When I Shall Be Married (Jean Ritchie)
140) Cedar Swamp (J. Ritchie)
141) Hiram Hubbard (J. Ritchie)
142) Old King Cole (Jean Richie)
143) Skin & Bones (Jean Ritchie)
144) Old Betty Larkin (Jean Ritchie)
145) London Bridges (Kids Song)

146) Road To Nowhere (Talking Heads)
147) Pushing Too Hard (The Seeds)
149) Oye Como Va (Santana)
150) Baby I Need Your Loving (The Four Tops)
151) Paperback Writer (The Beatles)
152) Countdown (The Black Keys)
153) The Bottle Let Me Down (Merle Haggard)
154) Hey Gyp (Donovan)
155) Achy Breaky Heart (Billy Ray Cyrus)
156) Fire On The Mountain (Grateful Dead)
157) Anyone Else But You (The Moldy Peaches)
158) Feeling Alright (Dave Mason)
159) The Pepper Song (C) Lil Rev (On Frogwater CD Sparkle N Shine)
160) Rambling Man (Hank Williams






Whew! Now That's a List! That's all she wrote folks.

* The author wishes to thank the following folks for their help: Will Branch, Gene Nichols
Aaron Keim and Joe Hickerson.

Good luck,

Lil Rev
www.lilrev.com 
October 27th, 2012

Updated: 6-21-15 (1st day of Summer)

PS: If you would like to add to this list with tunes that i have unintentionally left out, please email me at: lilre@lilrev.com and i would be happy to add your additions. In turn, if there is a tune here that has been mistakenly included that you'd beg to differ about, please let me know.

This list is meant to be a resource to all. My sincere hope is that it will turn into a definitive listing of over 200 to 300 hundred 2 -Chord Tunes. Thanks for visiting fountainofuke.blogspot.com

I also hope to publish a book of 101 Two Chord Songs at some point soon.

PPS: Remember! This is just a list. The idea is that you the reader will track down these tunes via You Tube, Library, ITUNES, or some other source and then learn them. After all, its just two chords!

After The Song Has Ended

© 2012 Lil Rev

The lower east side of Manhattan means many things, to many different people. For me it's the land of my ancestral dreams. It's a place where my people came to rest after many a brutal journey across land and sea.  Eager to leave Eastern Europe and it's antisemitism behind, we were tailors, shoemakers, garment factory workers (sweatshops). cantors, rabbi's, peddlers and business folk.

America was the new-found-land, full of hope, promise and despair.

It was a place where a corset salesman and a necktie salesman joined forces to become the top publicists of the day; a place where a composer could write about The Sweet Sunny South, having never been there; a place where the greatest composer of the day could play in only one piano key; a place where those who had musical schooling were often looked upon with disdain and suspicion.

…Yep! This was the place where American Popular music history came to be.  

It was the land of pick pockets, publishers, brawlers, gangsters, hucksters, singing waiters, arrangers, song-pluggers and salesman of every ilk. More than that, it was where we imagined who we were and who we could be as a nation. It was a place where the streets where paved with gold and Ellis Island was but one step closer to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It was a place where stealing ideas was as common as opening the door for a pretty girl or helping a little lady cross the street.

It has been said that the lower east side of Manhattan, which was home to writers, poets, factory workers and its whole immigrant mass, was also the place where we realized that not only were the streets not paved with gold, but we were expected to do the paving!

 It was brutal and beautiful all at once; or to quote the great folksinger Utah Phillips, “the melting pot was a place where the scum would rise to the top, while the working stiffs got scalded at the bottom.

It was also the place where inspiration was often hard won. How else could we have written about a tough Irishman (Throw Him Down, McCloskey!) or the dark end of the street (The Bowery), with such bittersweet candor?

It was a place where we changed the game plan that had been laid out before us by genteel publishers who believed that music instruction and classical scores where the only ones deserving of copy.

It was a place where a tear-jerker about broken hearts at the ball (After the Ball) could go on to become the top grossing sheet music of all time.

Amidst all of this comedy, there was quite a bit of tragedy (The Triangle Fire).

Day to day life was one filled with bed-bugs, hunger, low-wages, gangsters, racial violence, crowded living quarters (Tenements), flu, virus, unsanitary living conditions and horrid working conditions.

This was our life…and from this we made a living! But Oy! Such a Business!

How else could we have imagined that there was an Apple Tree in Central Park (In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree) or A Georgia Camp Meeting out on the corner of 28^th street!

Let me put it another way…

My grandma often said that her matzah ball soup tasted so much better than everyone else, because she mixed the laughter with the tears.

Does this explain why our best singers (Jolson, Cantor, Tucker, Brice) wore their hearts on their sleeves and a tear in their voice?

Make no mistake! We are all a product of this domain and much of it has become public! 

Somewhere inside us all, there is that old familiar, haunted smile. It’s the one we wear with a toothless grin and a blackened eye, as we race across the finish line.

It’s the one we all deserve, most covet and few retain; it’s the stuff of legends and those lucky devils whom we remember…long after the song has ended. 

-Lil Rev 
October 2012

The Hal Leonard Baritone Ukulele Method Book #1

Announcing a new book from Lil Rev! The Hal Leonard Baritone Ukulele Method Book!

This summer saw the release of my 6th publication thru Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation titled: The Hal Leonard Baritone Ukulele Method Book #1. This book is geared towards the beginning baritone ukulele player who wants to learn the basics including: tab & note reading, right hand strokes, basic chords, licks, tricks, and a solid repertoire of blues, bluegrass, folk and rock oriented songs. This book fills a much needed void in the ukulele world by providing a well thought out methodology for the intro level student. It also makes a good starting point for kids or adults who aren't quite ready for the guitar, but whom, are looking for a place to begin with an instrument.

While i do push the beginner with certain chord forms (a little bit of hard work on chords goes a long ways for the intro level player who really longs to jam with others), this book provides a wealth of exercises for the student who wants to learn melody playing and some basic right hand techniques. 
Once a student has practiced and feels confident, he or she can then join a uke club, play with others, go to a song circle, figure out other tunes off You Tube or  go to a bluegrass jam...another words, the sky is the limit and this is empowering!

I tell you this, because it underlies my approach to writing this book.

Again, this book is for the intro level player who wants to learn some basic chord work as well as intro level melody playing. 

I am hoping Hal Leonard will want to do an Intermediate Baritone Book #2 in the years ahead, but only time will tell.

In the meantime, hope you all enjoy this new publication from yours truly!

The book sells online for $10.99 and comes with an audio CD


Here is a link to Hal Leonard's Online Catalog: 

http://www.halleonard.com/product/viewproduct.do?itemid=696564&lid=0&keywords=baritone ukulele&subsiteid=1&

-Lil Rev
www.lilrev.com

The 4th Annual Milwaukee Ukulele Festival

The 4th annual Milwaukee Ukulele Festival will take place on Saturday October 20th in Elm Grove, WI from 9am to 10:30pm. Now in its 4th year, we are excited to play host to a fine array of both regional and national acts including: The Uke Crazy Kids Club of Longfellow Middle School, The Fabulous Heftones, Ukulele Bartt, Del Rey, Pops Bayless, Lil Rev, Jon Prown, The Cheez Land Uke Band (Joe Sexton and Mike B.), Dave Thornton, Will Branch, Peter Roller, Barry Sholder and many more!

Doors open at 9am and classes begin in earnest at 10am and continue off an on throughout most of the day. Then there is a dinner time Blues concert from 5pm to 6pm with Lil Rev and The Brew City Two (w/special guests The Milwaukee Ukulele Club) followed by our big evening concert with all of our featured acts.

The Ukulele Festival environment offers a ton of opportunity to learn, network, purchase, have fun and enjoy all things ukulele. No where, will you get more ukulele in one day than by attending a ukulele festival like ours. This is what we call bang for the buck!

Why Milwaukee? What makes our festival heads and tails above the rest? Well for starters, Milwaukee is a really great place to visit in the fall, there are tons of great tourist stops including Brewery tours, The Milwaukee Art Museum, The Harley Davidson Museum, 100's of stellar restaurants, and so much more to do and see while you are here. Not only that, our venue...The Sunset Community Playhouse is a really sweet little find, offering us a well maintained space in which to convene, learn, and celebrate the uke. Once you are here, you can also consider making a trek to our state capitol of Madison, WI or 90 miles to the southeast is Chicago, IL!

Is it well run?
Our volunteers are all top notch and we run a really well oiled machine. So if you appreciate a great agenda, a strong team, and a really classy space, then perhaps you should be booking your flight or making plans to come to Milwaukee, WI on October 20th.

This year our theme is: Performance and Repertoire Building. So many of the classes will be focused on this. Also, we offer a wide array of class levels for both the beginning student as well as the more advanced player.

In addition to the wide array of ukulele based classes...

We will also be running a class open to anyone who wants to try out a UBASS (Ukulele size Bass) made by Kala Brand Ukulele Company. http://www.kalabrand.com/instrumentsU-bass.html 
Even if you aren't a bass player, these little basses can be a heck of alot of fun to hold plunk around on. However, if one is an experienced bass player, you will appreciate its compact size and the ramifications of such a wonderful new addition to the Kala line. 

Looking for a Uke? The Uke Fest is the place to try out a new ukulele with almost a dozen different vendors including: Brass Bell Music, Hatfield Guitars, Micheal Gregory, Kyle B., Mainland Ukuleles, Mason Guitars, Boat-Paddle Ukuleles, Lil Rev, and many more.

Oh! Let's not forget, that none of this would be possible without the truly profession team of volunteers from The Milwaukee Ukulele Club, who always pull together to create a world class event each year. As the director, i am always humbled by their grace, presence and Midwestern work ethic.

Here are the pertinent websites for the festival and online ticket purchases:

http://www.sunsetplayhouse.com/events/
http://mufest.com
www.milwaukeeukuleleclub.com

We hope to see you there!

Ukefully, 

Lil Rev- Festival Director
www.lilrev.com

Super Cool Right Hand Techniques Workshop-June 2nd @ Cascio Interstate Music

On Saturday June 2nd 2012  Cascio Interstate Music (13819 W. National Ave
New Berlin, WI, United States 53151) will sponsor my Super Cool Right Hand Techniques Workshop. Learn rolls, triple strums, fan stroke, tremolo, palm muting, vibrato techniques, slides, zig-zag strokes, and other vaudeville tricks. This is a open to all levels and free of charge. A rare opportunity indeed! The class will begin at 2pm and run until 3:30pm followed by a CD & Book signing as well as a live demo/concert. Hand outs will be provided and there will be some extra ukuleles available for those who may need them. See you there! -Lil Rev