Lil Rev's 2026 Brand New Kanile'a KST 5 Super Tenor Unboxing

Hello Friends,

Here's the unboxing video for my new KST 5 Super Tenor made by Kanile'a Ukulele's of Hawaii.

I describe this instrument as the Rolls Royce of 5 strings the world over and would liken it to a hot rod ukulele that is capable of delivering stellar tone, ease of playability, great action, astounding aesthetics, punchiness without being too bright and a warmth that comes from a larger body and longer scale (19') and the tonal traits that are inherent in a curly/quilted maple body. I describe the sound as being a cross between a small baritone and a bright tenor, in other words, this instrument is a chameleon that can change colors on the drop of a dime, depending on what kind of race you are asking it to run. 

The added bonus comes when you play it regularly and it begins to open up even more than when it first arrived at your doorstep and brought its first smile to your face. 

It has been many years now that i have been playing a Kanile'a 5 string KST5 and i've grown very used to having both the high and low G strings paired together to give me extra grit, punch and character when i'm both strumming as well as when i want to lean into the instrument melodically and i don't want to miss out on utilizing a single inch of the instruments potential. 

This instrument can handle big stages and festivals to small intimate spaces equally well. It has alot of character in the mid-range. It is super solid and stable in the 1st position and just sparkles and becomes brilliant as one moves and plays up the neck both chord-wise and melodically. 

The larger body with its smoothed off, rounded ebony edges make this a joy to hold and even more delicious to hold and play. The days of sharp edges may be coming to an end with these kind of armrests, bevels and binding. I love it! 

The Pohaku stain on the curly/quilted maple makes this instrument stand out in the crowd and commands attention for both its innate beauty as well as the sonic imprint that it etches on your soul when you hear this thing! 

The frets are smooth and i do alot of sliding and syncopated strumming so ease of movement is very important to me and this instrument doesn't disappoint at all. Its better than butter baby! 

All and all i am very happy with this build and can't wait to get it out there and give it alot of play time where it really matters at clinics and concerts across the USA. 

My new KST-5 (serial #: 29683) is characterized by the following specs:

Size: Super Tenor 19'

Strings: 5

Front./Back/Sides: Curly Quilted Maple

Bracing: TRU-R

Sound Hole: Traditional

Side Sound Port: Oval 

Rosette: .125' Ebony

Binding: Ebony

Headstock: Cobra Slotted 

Position Markers: WMOP

Headplate: Ebony

Stain: Pohaku Stain Full Body

Finish: Gloss/Silk

Tuners: Gotoh Stealth 

Nut and Saddle: Black Tusq

Pickup: Active w/Vol. Control

Strings; Kani X Worth 5

Case: Padded w/Kanile'a Logo

If any of you have any questions about this instrument, i 'd be more than happy to talk to you.

Just reach out to me via messenger or email me thru my website! 

Please take a moment as well to visit the Kanile'a website at: www.Kanileaukulele.com 

Rev Circa 2023 W. KST 5 Western Red Cedar Top and Koa Back n Sides

Til We Meet Again! 

Happy Strumming Everyone! 

Lil Rev 

An Interview with Ukulele Hunt's Al Wood

                          Interview & Spotlight On Uke Hunt W/Al Wood  

 The following post is part feature and part interview, that I did with Al Wood of the Ukulele Blog: Uke Hunt.

I have been a huge fan of Al's work with the blog for years now and feel that his effort to shine a spotlight on the ukulele, is worthy of any and all accolades, that one could muster.  

Al's work transcribing intros, solos, riffs, songs, posting uke news, and highlighting noteworthy you tube videos, makes his blog a real one-stop shop for both the aspiring ukulele student, as well as the real players, who want to brush up on an old riff or perhaps find out what's up and coming in the Uke world.

In addition to his work running the blog, Al has written a number of instructional e-books which are all available on his site http://UkuleleHunt.com as well as the print book: Ukulele For Dummies.

In an era when it's become very hard to maintain a physical print magazine, http://UkuleleHunt.com offers us all a glimpse of what a great blog can and should be. 

Ukulele Songstress Victoria Vox agrees with me when she recently said: "Apart from Al having the best ukulele site name ever, he's been around sharing his love of ukulele and promoting artists for as long as I can remember. The website is really a great resource for all things ukulele...and one could get lost for hours, or days!" 

Fellow Ukulele Crooner Danielle Ate The Sandwich adds: "Its always an honor to be mentioned on Uke Hunt, Al has mucho personal style and has some of the most interesting cover song choices on his You Tube channel." 

At the end of the day...those of us who ply our trade writing songs and hoping for a little recognition along the way, its guys like Al who's life work, helps others to discover something beautiful and for this we are grateful! 

So let's find out how Uke Hunt first got started...

Al says: "I started the blog in May of 2007 in the spirit of "Be The change you want to see in the world." He goes on to say "there wasn't much ukulele information online at the time and that he kinda got swept along when things were just starting to build steam." 

Prior to the blog, Al was doing a lot of guitar tabs for the Ultimate Guitar site and said that "it was natural to move into doing ukulele tabs, which in turn, led to creating my own site." (Folks reading this blog post today, should note, that the ukulele world was only just developing online back in 2007 and it's a very different landscape out there today. )Wood says, "At the time, there were only a couple of people doing tabs like Dominator and Pascal Fricke. Once I started my own site, it quickly grew into one of the bigger ukulele resources on the net." 

In a nice tip of the hat, Dominic Pieranunzio of Dominator Tabs, told me that Al was a really good player and that his work was "very accurate." Its always nice to get accolades from your peers and Dom like Al was one of the first people to put tabs up on the internet making him somewhat of a trailblazer like Al. 

( Dom's tabs can be found here now: https://liveukulele.com/tabs/dominator/ )

Ukulele Guru Craig Chee points out "early in my career, I received many emails from fans who found me via Uke Hunt. Chee says, "I'll forever be grateful to Al for all of the energy he put into helping to connect the international ukulele community."  

                                                        

Al Wood of The Blog Uke Hunt Doing Rhapsody in Blue

Wood says "the frenzy has waned since those earlier days, as much of the internet has been gobbled up by social media sites trying to maximize profits and realizing there's a lot of money to be squeezed out of the ukulele." "In the early days, the online ukulele world was small enough that you could keep track of it. I knew or at least knew of, most of the people involved in it. But the number of ukulele players online now is impossible to keep track of." Wood says his biggest motivation is "wanting to help people achieve a goal in their ability to play a certain tune and feel proud of themselves." 

I asked Al about his process of transcribing tunes and arranging songs...

Here's Al's Response: 

"The process varying wildly from song to song. But usually starts with listening to a song, picking out the chords, and melody and getting a general sense of how I'm gonna approach the song."

"The two main tools I use are Guitar Pro and The Capo App."

"The Capo App lets you slow down the music and change the key. Which I find invaluable when you're trying to arrange on Uke." 

"Its a fun puzzle reducing a whole song down to the point where it can be played on a ukulele and with the re-entrant string, there are so many options for any particular line that it never gets dull to me." 

Fountain of Uke: Do you have any favorite songwriters? 

Al: "On the songwriter side of things, Zoe Bestel (http://zoebestel.co.uk), her last album Transience was beautiful. She collaborated with Tobias Elof." 

Fountain of Uke: After writing the book: Ukulele For Dummies, what has the response been and are you thinking of doing any other hard copy or e-books? 

Al: "Ukulele For Dummies was such a huge undertaking I felt spent afterwards. There wasn't a whole lot I felt I'd left uncovered after that. The one thing I'd like to write is a book on arranging for the ukulele. But I have a hard time conceiving how I'd go about structuring that." 

Fountain of Uke: What's your desert island Uke and album? 

Al: "Definitely a Fluke for the ukulele. You'd need something sturdy and plastic to survive and the shape would make for a good paddle if you attempted to raft your way out. As for the album: Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I never get tired of that album. I think it's a masterpiece. Its also got heavy involvement from Bon Iver. I think those two are the greatest musicians of the 21st century so far." 

Fountain of Uke: Of All of the ditties that you've tabbed out, which one has become an ear worm that won't go away and why do you like to play it?

Al: Craig Robertson's Staten Island Slide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU2PWjL5tVQ

"It's my go to tune for warming up. Its the perfect ukulele tune. It uses so many of the tricks that work well on the ukulele and evokes the jazz age uke boom so well." 

Fountain of Uke: Any advice for the beginning ukulele player? 

Al: "Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent. If you make a mistake, you're often likely to make the same mistake again the next time you play. But if you can plant the muscle memory for playing something in your head by playing things slowly and without mistakes, you can gradually increase the tempo and play it cleanly." 

Fountain of Uke wishes to thank Al for his time and for all of the incredible ukulele mojo that he's put out for all of us to enjoy and mull. We believe Al deserves a lot more credit for his contribution to the ukulele world online and thus this blog post. If you agree, please share this post and let your ukulele friends know about Al's work and URL. 

If you'd like to support Al's work going forward he has a Patreon account at: http://www.patreon.com/ukulelehunt

Here's an encore of Al Wood doing a Kanye West Cover called: All of The Lights/Violent Crimes 

We hope you enjoyed this feature/interview! 

Musically, 

Lil Rev 

www.lilrev.com 

Join Lil Rev For New Year's Eve 12/31

Lil Rev will be presenting a special virtual New Years Eve show on Zoom. 

Door Prizes including 2 pieces of original Art Work that depict Lil Rev in earlier era's of his musical career as well as CDs, and his big announcement for student of the year award. 

Lil Rev will perform on ukulele, mountain dulcimer, harmonica, guitar, mandolin, tenor and banjo. 

Special Guest: TBA

Register: $20.00 www.lilrev.com/calendar

Hope to see you! 

 

Howdy Friends,

I'm really excited To announce my winter schedule of classes for Mead Library of Sheboygan, WI.

I have been partnering with Mead for many years and when the pandemic began, all of my in-person classes moved online to their FB Live Stream. 

For awhile I was doing Monday and Thursday nights, then it moved to Monday night only once a week. 

These days I am doing three days in a row, usually about the middle of each month. 

Every month I offer a variety of classes that cover technique, repertoire, style, and more! 

I realize that many of you may not be on FB. 

Often the classes are uploaded to You Tube, so you can search and find some of them there if you cannot make the "Live" sessions. 

The classes are free, though I do solicit for tips via the virtual tip jar on the homepage of my website www.lilrev.com 

The classes all begin at 6:30pm CT and go from 45 minutes to 1 hour in length.

Typically, I average 25-50 students from all over the world. 

I hope you can join us one of these night! 

Musically, 

Lil Rev

Summer Virtual Uke Classes W/Lil Rev @ Mead Library

Howdy Ukulele Pals, 

I'm looking forward to a great summer of learning and study with my ukulele students from all over the world! 

We meet most mondays at 6:30pm CT on Mead Library's Facebook Live Stream {Sheboygan, WI}.

Lil Rev teaches multi-level style. Meaning, everything he teaches is geared towards a variety learning levels. 

The classes are free and open to the public.  

Tips are most appreciated via lilrev's virtual tip jar at: www.lilrev.com 

Each week we present a different subject relating to the ukulele including: Tunes, Techniques, Traditions, History, and occasionally a special guest. 

We are offering a worldclass schedule of uke classes! 

Hope you'll join us!  

Thanks,

Lil Rev

www.lilrev.com 

                                                        Lil Rev @ Las Cruces Uke Fest 

                                                                Photo Credit: Craig Chee 

Ukulele For All Book Review

Educational Book Review By: Lil Rev

Ukulele For All - Beginning Method For Group of Individual Study 

Ukulele for All, is a 57 page method book written by Jenny Peters and her sister Rebecca Bogart. 

The book was published by Kjos Music Company {KJOS} in 2017, to meet the growing demand for curriculum, that is classroom friendly for kids of all ages.   

What makes this book so special is that author Jenny Peters has been a general music and orchestra teacher in the public schools for many years and her sister Rebecca is a classically trained pianist with a wealth of music theory and performance in her background. 

Jenny leads local ukulele classes for groups and kids in the Chicago area and their many song books like: 21 Songs in 6 Days, Easy Songs, and 21 Easy Songs For Christmas are all Amazon favorites. 

Because there are so many ukulele books on the market, its important to note that these kind of credentials serve to remind us that the authors have a real connection to the ukulele and are intimately involved in community music education. 

The book teaches, tuning, instrument identification, practice tips, basic strumming, and melody playing in both tab and standard music notation.

I particularly like that the authors included finger number positions so that the student knows what finger he or she should use to fret a given note. 

Especially important in this age of visuals, is an interactive video supplement to the book, so you can follow with video to firm up the songs. 

As an author of many ukulele books and as someone who teaches ukulele to private students for over 30 years, I have learned that its always best to have both tab and standard notation. 

If you really want to encourage music reading, you can always cover up the tab line, but the reality is, most kids today are going online to learn the songs they want to learn via chords and lead sheets. This book supplements that inevitable process by teaching ukulele pedagogy so that student can then use this as a springboard into whatever most interests them musically. I say this because there are a number of method books on the market that do not include tab and unsuspecting online purchasers need to be aware of this when looking for a good book. 

Another great feature of this book is the wealth of world music, i.e. songs that are derived from a wide variety of cultural traditions including Germany, Israel, America, Mexico, Korea, Scotland, France, and Morocco. 

The book is nicely rounded out with blues studies, holiday songs and fingerpicking. 

As a former grade school music teacher myself and former college music history lecturer, I give this book an A grade. It's a nice starting point for teaching ukulele privately or in the classroom. 

This book could then be supplemented with any of the authors easy strum books like: 21 Songs in 6 Days

https://www.amazon.com/21-Songs-Days-Ukulele-Beginning/dp/1502760274/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jenny+Peters&qid=1609784516&sr=8-1

Check out author Jenny Peters in acton playing this cool tune from the book called: Lonely Blues

                                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGm65Dy72GE

The Book can be purchased at www.kjos.com or Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/KG1S-Ukulele-Student-Jenny-Peters/dp/0849774004/ref=sr_1_3?crid=26Z5BBBP3YP7H&dchild=1&keywords=ukulele+for+all+book&qid=1609785967&sprefix=Ukulele+For+All+%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-3

Reviewed by-Lil Rev 1/4/21 

Slide Ukulele & Online Learning

{Preview: This is a double-post about both online learning during the pandemic and Slide Ukulele!}

The pandemic brought about a flurry of interest in online studies. 

If you were a ukulele teacher, with an established online curriculum, already up and running pre-covid it was cause to holler hallelujah! 

If you weren't, like me, then you'd better come up with some cool classes and quick! {I'll let you be the judge}. In fact, 2020 will go down as the year I created more content than any other year in my 30 year career as a ukulele player, entertainer and instructor. {Thus my Intro To Slide Ukulele Class on 12/8 via Mead Library FB Live}

Most of my time, I've spent creating physical books, and touring the ukulele superhighway teaching in-person workshops at ukulele clubs and festivals all over North America. So the Covid crisis felt not only like a sucker punch {which I can take} but ultimately, many of us got caught with our pants down, not having an online school, course, or package to market, as folks began looking for places to study while quarantining. So we all jumped on FB live! Then Zoom. 

The reality is, I love to teach! In fact, I live to teach, so these things really matter to me alongside the fact that I happen to make my living from teaching. 

As for an online Lil Rev Ukulele School, that is about to become a reality in 2021. Stay tuned! 

Back to the story...

Everyone realized that this would be a great time to build their skills while laying low and staying close to home. If ever you wanted to learn finger-style ukulele, improvisation, chord melody, basic skills, strumming or any other facet of study, one things for sure....2020 was the year to do it.

Pros have to keep on upping the ante as well! I chose to woodshed on slide ukulele! 

As an instructor and performer, I've always loved slide guitar. I grew up listening to Duane Allman, John Hammond Jr, Blind Willie Johnson, Bukkah White, Robert Johnson, Ry Cooder, Bob Brozman, Fred McDowell and many others.

Locally, I've spent the better part of 30 years backing some of the best slide players in WI while on harmonica. See pic below of me with my longtime music pal and friend John Nicholson. John and I co-wrote the book: Fiddle Tunes for Ukulele. John is one of my favorite living slide players and his slide influence has really inspired and informed my harp playing and now my own efforts to build a repertoire of slide tunes on the ukulele. 

So you see, it was only a matter of time before I decided to start playing slide on the ukulele. 

Quarantining means more time to watch videos, experiment and work up tunes. 

The person most responsible for my forays into Slide playing, is my wife Jenna, who bought me a National Steel Bodied Ukulele for my birthday this year. Once that happened, I was all over! 

What I'm Doing With The Slide: 

Mostly, I'm arranging pre-war blues stuff, but I'm also playing a lot of bluegrass and old time, with slide as a small added ingredient, or just enough slide to spice it up and make it interesting in a way that the ukulele world isn't likely to of heard all that much. I find that the slide can be used as a condiment would. Not to overpower a tune, but to help dress up the taste a tad. The difference in my approach is this...If I am playing blues, the slide leads the way, if I am playing old time or bluegrass I'm using the slide as an ornament in small doses. For example, there's a big difference between how I use the slide on, The Sky Is Crying by Elmore James, and how I use the slide on Columbus Stockade or Rolling In My Sweet Baby's Arms. All of this of course, is really evolving fast for me as I'm spending alot of time working on slide styles on the ukulele and am having a blast doing it! 

My favorite players are Paul Rishell, Fred McDowell, Jerry Douglas {dobro} Blind Lemon's Jack Knife Slide, Blind Willie Davis Gospel Blues, All of the preaching Bluesman who used slide, Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor, Lil Ed, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Charlie Patton, local music pal Peter Roller {who plays dobro and lap steel on most of my records, and too many others to list! 

Here's a cool 8 bar blues called Crow Jane Blues that's a good example of how I'm using the slide on the baritone ukulele. {I plan to record a national steel piece soon!}

I digress, as an aside, another thing I'm really digging is playing, clawhammer on the ukulele, usually I do this on the soprano, but lately I've been doing it on the baritone or my new Beansprout Banjo Baritone. Here's a cool example of me doing an old fiddle tune called: Old Molly Hare: 

Published Resources For Slide Ukulele Studies: 

At present, there isn't alot of instruction on slide ukulele; if you scour You Tube you'll find some, but not a whole lot relating to good bluesy ukulele slide. Fred Sokolow's Slide and Slack Key Book published by Hal Leonard, is a good starting point. The last 3 pages of Dave Rubin's, Hal Leonard Blues Ukulele Method Book is dedicated to slide ukulele, but more as a footnote and not a feature. 

Suffice it to say, someday,  I aim to produce an in-depth primer on slide ukulele that digs in really deep. Right now, I'm earning my slide stamps! 

Teaching Slide

For those who'd like to see what I'm doing with the slide, here's a virtual class I did on December 8th 2020 for Mead Library in Sheboygan. I taught this as an Intro To Slide Ukulele. Slide Class 2020

My pal Michael August, attended the class, and says my class on slide ukulele inspired him...I'm not buying it! I think its the other way around...Mike is tearing it up on the slide ukulele, and I cannot wait to jam with him when this pandemic is over! He's sounding really nice on the slide ukulele! 

Here's Michael's take on a tune I taught in my intro to slide class: Elmore James' The Sky is Crying. In my class, my goal was to teach absolute beginners how to find the I, IV, V chords and how to slide into the chords using, 8th note and triplet phrasings; as well as proper slide intonation. Michael took it to the next level with his use of fills, 12th & 14th fret slide embellishments, 7th chord exaggerations,  fretted turnarounds, runs and much more! Thus, I give Michael an A+ grade on his own rendition! Mike's advice to those, wanting to learn to play slide, is to focus on "learning how to mute and putting the right amount  pressure on the strings while fretting with the slide." 

Here's Mr. August doing Howling Wolf's Little Red Rooster

Great Job Michael! Keep it up and Please Post More! 

Tunings: I've been using C tuning alot on the soprano, which is GCEG. That means you only have to re-tune one string! In addition to C tuning, I've been using G tuning {GBDG}. Dig, there are many tunings, like D tuning, F tuning, Bb tuning, and a slew of others are a worth exploring to get to the keys you want to play in. You can also use tune to C for example and then put a capo on the 2nd fret and you're now in D or at the 4th fret, you'd be in E. I advocate having a couple Ukes and keep em in different tunings so you are more amp to learn the scales, positions, and chord shapes that are necessary to master those tunings. Remember, the bar or slide shapes are always gonna be the same in terms of I, IV, V and other open tuned chord positions. If you know how to transpose, then the shapes remain the same, while the keys change. For example in C tuning, the IV chord F, is bar {or slide} on the 5th fret. In G tuning the IV chord is C, and that's also bar or slide on the 5th fret and so on, as you change tunings. 

Same thing for the V chord, in C tuning, the V chord is G which is bar or slide on the 7th fret. In G tuning, the V chord is D, which is bar or slide on the 7th fret. Point being, you only have to remember the fret number and how to transpose the chord names and you can easily change tunings without having to relearn I, IV, V chord shape names. That goes for the II chord and others in the circle of 5th's wheelhouse. 

When using the Baritone to play slide,  the options, for guitar inspired slide tunings open up exponentially.. 

The two tunings I've been using on the baritone are CFAC or DGBD as well as a Banjo Inspired C minor tuning: CGCEb which I use on alot of cool modal Appalachian stuff and my Jewish and Yiddish Repertoire. 

Here are some of the Main Tunings I use on the Baritone Ukulele: 

Open D tuning: DF#AD

Open G Tuning: DGBD

Open Gm Minor Tuning: DGBbD

Open A Tuning: EAC#E

Open E: EG#BE

Open C: CGCE

Open Em: EGBE

Strings as they relate to slide playing on the Ukulele: 

The big conundrum that you'll run into when you start on your slide journey, is that nylon strings and slide  don't really work well together. Wound strings are the way to go! The closer you can get to playing wound/steel/bronze strings is where you need to be. Why? Metals produce slide tone and nylon sucks butt! 

The problem with wound is that they fray and sometimes at the most undesirable times, like on stage! 

For Concert and Tenor Uke, Shoot for a wound G and C and then nylon on the E and A. 

For Baritone, go for a wound D and G string coupled with two nylon strings on the B and E strings.

        I like Aquila Brand Strings https://www.aquilausa.com  for my concert and tenor ukuleles. 

For baritone, I use wound Guadalupe Brand Strings: http://thegcs.co/shop  Super cool little family run business in L.A. 

Slides: My favorite slides are from Rocky Mountain Slide Company 

https://rockymountainslides.com

They will customize a slide to fit your finger! 

Bottom line, stay tuned folks, I'm woodshedding slide like madman in 2021 and when this damn pandemic is over, I'm gonna blow the roof off the joint with the some smokey slide, kosher BBQ! 

                                To Close, Dig This Deep Cut:  Son House's Death Letter Blues: 

Here's to more slide on the Ukulele ! 

Lil Rev 

www.lilrev.com

2020 Fades Into 2021

 Howdy Friends, 

As Christmas is upon us and I am looking back on the last 10 months of 2020, I am both humbled and toasted all at once! 

Humbled because of all of the support I have received from my students, fans, friends and family during what has been a very challenging year. Toasted, because of the sheer number of classes and private lessons that I did this year! Content creation this year was off the charts! 

Making ones living as a troubadour, has never been about mining music's monetary goldmine, but rather the love of craft and connection with ones students and fans. But who amongst the legion of professional musicians that I know, was actually ready for what happened around the 2nd week of March 2020? 

The gig economy crashed and while we all jumped onto FB live, it was fine for a month or two, before it became a mess o' madness. 

When Corona hit I lost a years salary in under 8 weeks, via cancelled gigs, classes, festivals, concerts, as well as royalties from book sales that crashed when brick and mortar music stores closed shop, curtailed hours or patrons put off in-store shopping trips. 

They say that when one door closes another opens...

Much to my surprise, Brass Bell Music of Milwaukee agreed to host a once a month class on their FB page and Mead Library of Sheboygan agreed to have me on Mondays.

To supplement these classes I took on a dozen private students and created a Zoom Webinar schedule for more in-depth, theme based classes like my Uke n The Blues Series {1920's, 30's and 50's} 

Here's a sample of what's to come {plus 6 more on my website!} You can register for these via www.lilrev.com Zoom links are sent out 3 to 4 days prior to the class. Most classes are $35.00 unless its a two part class. 

Now, back to Mead Library....

Pre-Corona, you could find me leading regular ukulele courses at the library as well as one off performances and our monthly ukulele club meeting. 

Mead has been a huge supporter of community education, makers space classes and my local music escapades. I am most grateful to them. A finer library, you won't find in all of the America's! 

So after 10 busy months of teaching ukulele, Mead has recently agreed to continue my Monday 6:30pm  CT Virtual Ukulele Classes Streaming Live on their FB page thru 2021 {or until its safe to return to the in-person classes at the library.} 

Here's the schedule for January 2021. The classes are free, though tips are appreciated. Music is posted for each class on The Sheboygan Ukulele Club Google Drive, which you can access on the home page of my website: www.lilrev.com  {scroll down and look for the brown tab that says Sheboygan Uke Club, click on it and look for the name and or date of class}. 

I love you like a ukulele!

I hope to see you online in 2021! 

Lil Rev

12 Essential Strums Virtual Class w/ Lil Rev

12 Essential Strums Class w/Lil Rev: 

Sponsored by The Tampa Bay Ukulele Society 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tampabayukes/

Learn to strum an authentic strum for each style that you encounter at club meetings and jams! 

Open to all levels! Learn a strum, practice with a song sample! 

Announcing a virtual Class w/ Uke Master Lil Rev this Friday July 10th 7pm Eastern Time https://www.facebook.com/events/613182655977171/. 

Music for the class is available on the TBUS site. https://www.facebook.com/groups/tampabayukes/ 

Hope you can join us! 

Lil Rev

www.lilrev.com 

Lil Rev's 2020 Florida WinterUke Tour

                                           Lil Rev announces "killer" Florida Uke Tour 2020

                           Lil Rev will be touring Florida in late January and into February 2020

                                       Classes and Concert info @ www.lilrev.com
             
                              -Lil Rev will make a stop at the Brown County Uke Fest in Nashville, IN
                              en route to his FL tour. He'll be vending and teaching harmonica
                                      1/25/2020     https://browncountyukefest.com/

                                      1/28/2020      Citrus Park, FL {Class and concert}
                                      1/31/2020      The Rhythm Inlet, Nokomis, FL
                                                             http://rhythminlet.com/
                                     
                                      2/1/2020 World Ukulele Day http://worldukeday.com/    Dunedin, FL
                                      2/3/2020 Valencia Lakes Heritage Club {concert} http://jhcvlw.org/
                                      2/4/2020 Penny Lane Music Emporium -Intro to Harmonica Class
                                      2/6/2020 Penny Lane Music Emporium- Triplets Made Easy Class
                                                      https://pennylaneemporium.com/
                                      2/8/2020 Florida State Fair www.floridastatefair.com/   Ukeapolooza
                                      2/12/2020 Boynton Uke Society - Workshop
                                      2/13/2020 Boynton Uke Society - Concert
                                              https://boyntondelrayukesociety.wordpress.com/
                                     
                                      2/15/2020  TBA ....and more shows being added.

                             Lil Rev's FL tour will offer a variety of ukulele and harmonica classes
                  as well as a host of concerts on uke, harmonica, tenor guitar, banjo, dulcimer and
                  more. check his website. www.lilrev.com  for more details.
                                            -

Ben Carr's New CD: A River's View of Sunrise

On Meeting Ben Carr...

When i first met Ben Carr a few years back, i was immediately impressed

with his style and humble demeanor. He had just finished a really cool set of 

instrumentals that ran the gamut from down-home fiddle tune-esq, to finger picking 

bluesy stuff as well as highly percussive-alternate tuned, groove based jams.

It was obvious to me that Ben had a very wide range of influences and the 

sincerity of his approach came off as very authentic at time when 10,000 guitar 

inspired posers are plying their trade on the ukulele. 

A Wee Bit About This Lad...

Ben grew up in the farm-laden, Philadelphia suburbs

blowing an alto-sax, which was soon supplanted by
bongos and a full drum set.

After stints in numerous east coast bands and a foray
into full-time music hood a la New Orleans, Ben
finally relocated to Southern Vermont where he currently resides with his family.

As a certified graduate of James Hill's Ukulele Initiative,

Ben is presently a full time ukulele instructor, recording

artist and performer. His commitment and love of music

finds him teaching both privately and in schools. 

To learn more about Ben Carr visit: www.bencarrmusic.com 

Let me digress for a moment here....

As Ben and i talked and got to know each
other a bit, i thought he'd be a great artist to
bring to Wisconsin for our Ukulele festival,
so he sent me home with some of his music
and that's when it really dawned on me that
more folks in the ukulele stratosphere need
to hear Ben Carr.

If the ukulele world is going to grow, prosper, inspire our youth and morph into a sustainable community, ukulele camps, festivals and clubs need to do more to inspire the next class of teachers and performers...and i count Ben amongst the best and brightest of this next class of players. My mission as director of the Milwaukee Ukulele Festival (now The Great Lakes Ukulele Festival) has always been to showcase as much "emerging talent" as we could get away with presenting and so i aim to make good on my word and bring Ben to WI.

A River's View of Sunrise CD Review:

I would describe Ben's new record as imaginative, and filled with all the emotion

of one's natural surroundings. This record is obviously inspired by Ben's natural 

world via his rural Vermont home. It has a deep sense of humanity, and the sheer variety 

of 10 tracks takes the listener on a rollicking ride of joy, self contemplation, and quiet 

determination. Ultimately... its a breath of fresh air! 

His style shines thru on this record, as Ben combines fluid finger picking,

harmonically vibrant themes, layered with chordal flourishes and ample single string

lead style playing. I couldn't help but wonder if Ben had spent any time listening to

the likes of guitar gods like John Fahey, Preston Reed or Micheal Hedges, as there's a

real maturity to his arrangements both rhythmically and melodically.

The CD opens with the tune Leap Frog, a super-uplifting,

toe-tapping fiddle tune inspired creation which Ben says started 

on the guitar and morphed into a tour de force picking piece 

a la the looper, used to great effect. Song For Teeny with gentle hints of broadway

reads like classic Carr again combining a nice mix of chordal and single string

arranging.

Hinting at Ben's ukulele roots and appreciation for tradition,

Galope is an old Manuel Cabral composition that Ben says

John King pointed him to. (All ukulele players would do well

to read, listen to and study the legacy of John King, whom i regard

as one of the greatest finger style/ Campanella players to ever walk 

the earth.)  

The records title track #4, is a River's View of Sunrise, 

an open A tuned piece, combines classic picking, delay, reverb infused 

pattern playingand Ben's signature use of harmonics. Sultry, sweet and superbly crafted 

music, proudly wearing the banner of Made in Vermont! 

Nate and Leah's Song is a heartfelt ode Ben wrote to accompany a 

requested Wedding March at a friends wedding. Other highlights include the playful

Sugar Shack a strum/picked tune with vocals and kazoo, as well as the delicately

picked Johannes Brahms classic Wiegenlied.

All in all, this is a fine collection for Ben's first full length, all-uke-album debut into
the ukulele world. I look forward to watching this fella grow and evolve as he carries
his songbag far and wide. To purchase this record visit
Ben's site at: http://bencarrmusic.com/shop/ 

Ben's Own Equipment Notes For The Record:

Effects used:

My pedal board set up for this album was a Boss compression/sustain, TC Electronics distortion, 

TC Electronics delay, Boss loop station. Then through an ART Tube Preamp.

Aside from the DI each uke was also captured with two different Blue Microphones. 

One was a Bluebird and unfortunately I don't recall the second. This second mic was also used for 

voice and kazoo.

Style notes:

Two tracks are in open A tuning - the title song and Leap Frog. The others were in C6 tuning, 

some with low G. My style on this album truly blends and blurs the lines with fingerpicking, looping, 

harmonic tapping, jazzy strumming, and beatboxing. To further confuse it I throw in a kazoo and vocal tune. 

Where to find Benn Carr online:

Videos:

Here's a newer version of an old song. 

https://youtu.be/Mbh3qS4FYdk

Here's a duo version of A Song For Teeny from a live show.

https://youtu.be/5vo_dEX_MiM

URLS: 

http://www.bencarrmusic.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ben-Carr-Music/193971753970214

http://www.reverbnation.com/rasbmusic 

                                         

                                Ben Carr's 2016 Release

The 50 Best Songs of Hawaii

Lets just be honest here.

All too often,  mainlanders who've taken up the
ukulele have little working knowledge of Hawaiian musical traditions.

I know this is a blanket statement and some of you might balk at just a generalization.

But....in my 20 years of riding the ukulele wave, traversing America's highways
and byways, upwards of 40,000 miles a year

Here's what i conclude....

There are many on the mainland who regularly visit Hawaii,
and many who are from Hawaii, as well as some who simply love Hawaiian music
and in doing their homework, have gone much deeper then Jake, Ohta and Iz.

But the sad reality is that unless you're a member of the Santa Cruz Ukulele or
some coastal area that attracts touring Hawaiian artists, chances are you're
scratching your head wondering where to begin, whence seeking out Hawaiian
music in all its breadth and glory.

That's why i am sharing this link to a fabulous list of 50 of the greatest Hawaiian songs
of all time.

Here's an awesome reference from Honolulu Magazine, to help you get started.

http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/June-2007/50-Greatest-Songs-of-Hawai-8217i/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc

I would urge you to read the article, but do your homework along the way.
That is, if you are unfamiliar with any of the songs mentioned, go to You Tube
and see if you can find some nice versions these.

Jake's Pedal Set Up

If any of you have ever wondered how Jake gets that amazing wall of sound out of
a single ukulele, the following video posted on REVERB.COM will be quite insightful.

The typical player will almost always have a reverb pedal and a delay, those two are a must.

However.....
Jake elaborates on his addition of a Tube Dreamer, Octave Pedal, Volume Pedal and
Looping effects.

His set-up no doubt is the result of 100's if not 1000's of hours of experimentation with
electronic pedals, in his quest for the perfect tone / sound. The most inventive players
all seem to have this obsessive drive in common when it comes to trying out
the greatest and latest gear.

Like his guitar playing contemporaries, the use of pedals helps him create a sonic
palette that is quite diverse in its range of dynamics from great big rich chords on the
octave pedal to volume manipulation on his Hilton Volume Pedal....there's a wide
variety of effects being used in his on stage shows to great success, especially
given the limitations of a small acoustic instrument with nylon strings and the ever
lurcking menace of feedback that can be inherent when plugging in
ukuleles.

I've personally built a style of early blues, ragtime, folk and old time
string-band based repertoire on resonators where good microphones and
their placement in relationship to your fretboard and sound hole are supreme.
But when i perform in my blues quartet for my Jews N Blues Show i
do plug in and have spent alot of time trying to figure out how to get a good
blues tube sound out of my wood bodied ukuleles. But this is a whole different
beast so we'll save it for another post.

Never the less, it interests me, to know what one of the most visible ukulele pros is
using to get the sound he gets.

There's no substitute for good technique and Jakes sound is based as much on
his agility, expertise, rhythmic pizzaz, wide variety of strums, picking patterns,
single string lead style, chordal melody playing and inventive arranging as
it is on effects pedals.

Bottom line....the effects pedals are the icing on the cake!

Check out this very informal and intimate patter on his pedal effects...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbiotIXpi1M


                        America's Hardest Working Uke Star- Jake Shimabukuro

Here's a link to Jakes Site: http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/home/ 

Hear some of Jakes Newest Record Streaming on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Nashville-Sessions-Jake-Shimabukuro/dp/B01JO9LT02/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1488227679&sr=8-2&keywords=jake+shimabukuro


Hope you enjoyed this blog post,

Lil Rev (C)(P) Fountain of Uke 
2-27-17
www.lilrev.com 

Dan Scanlan's New "Cool Hand" Soprano Uke

I've known Dan Scanlan for almost 20 years now....

I have had the pleasure of working alongside him in Nova Scotia at the Ceilidh,

as well as at countless festivals across the U.S. 

In a sea of posers, I have long championed Dan as the "real deal," and he's why...

his heart is so undeniably rooted in all things ukulele and he's paid his toll after decades 

of championing the ukulele (and long before it was cool).

He is unassuming, down to earth, salt of the earth, a consummate ukulele historian, 

and a strong player with a unique style all his own. 

Its these things and more, that keep me interested in what my pal Dan is up to ukulele-wise.

Recently, he has begun promoting a new line of ukulele's with his signature "Cool Hand Uke" model. 

What follows is a short interview with him. 

1-Tell us about your ukulele responsibilities these days? What are you involved with in terms of clubs, festivals, teaching, etc.

I continue to direct and teach Cool Hand Uke’s Strum Bums Ukulele Extravaganza Rescue and Relief Band. We have met weekly since 1999 and perform publicly 60 to 90 gigs each year—assisted living, convalescent and retirement homes, schools, county fairs and various community fund-raisers. We received a standing ovation at the New York Ukulele Festival, served as the “house band” at the Santa Cruz CA Festival, and have performed at the Honolulu International Ukulele Festival twice. 

My 75-lesson ukulele course Play Uke Now at udemy.com has more than 1600 students from 67 countries. Three iBooks on the ukulele, including ukulele history, are on Apple’s iTunes.

For the past ten years I have toured from California to Nova Scotia and back giving workshops and performances bi-annually. This year would have been a tour year but the anchor gig where I emcee, the Liverpool Nova Scotia International Ukulele Ceilidh, is not hosting American players this year due to the current exchange rate and the unpredictable border situation.

I am currently developing a two-set, one-man show of primarily original tunes on ukulele, rajão, braguinha, baritone, harmonica and baglama to take on the road later this year.

2-What's so endearing about the ukulele to you after all these years?

The friendliness of the ukulele continues to give me the strength to express my political, social and justice concerns without alienating those who don’t share my stunning insight. As a tool to access my heart, spleen and neurotransmitters it has elevated my highs and softened the hard bumps in my life. The ukulele is multi-cultural both in the annals of history and in the current day. The ukulele is the cynosure of the most effective peace movement on the planet today. What’s not to hold dear?

3-What's a quote-able Dan Scanlan saying as it pertains to the ukulele .....impart some wisdom

Quote from my website:

WHY UKULELE?

The ukulele can be

Cradled like a baby,

Sing like a bird and

Is small enough to

Emanate large and

Absorb and expand

The subtle emotion

The player Feels.

It's here now

And there then.

The final quote from The Mighty Uke Movie trailer:

There’s a lot of music in the ukulele—a lot of music!

4- Why Cool Hand Ukulele Soprano Ukuleles? How Much? Where to Get em' ? Why would someone want one of these over the slew of other instruments now available? 

I’ve dreamed of offering a signature ukulele for decades. Many of the early players gave their names to ukuleles—Wendall Hall, Roy Smeck, Bobby Henshaw, May Singhi Breen, Arthur Godfrey. It is a thread of ukulele culture. As a one time radio host I shared that experience, too, with Hall, Breen and Godfrey. Being able to offer my own ukulele was akin to offering my own songs, performances, lessons and recordings. And any uke I offered would have to be the original ukulele, now called a soprano, sound good, be sturdy, play well and be beautiful. At one time I fantasized making ukuleles, but that thought vanished when I found this one. 

After investigating 100s of ukuleles I came across one that had it all—beautiful, great sustain and volume, comfortable playability, exceptional intonation. In short a true ukulele I could be proud to give my name. I had hoped to be able to offer my ukulele for under $200, but shipping costs and refinements made that impossible. I am however happy to be able to offer it for $320, substantially less than other ukuleles in its class. They are available at my website www.coolhanduke.com, and at several music stores, including Wonderwall Emporium in Chicago Heights IL. 

The Cool Hand Uke is precision crafted on state of the art computer controlled machinery of spruce, rosewood and mahagony. The spruce top is strengthened by fanned “flying arch” braces that straddle the bridge plate, allowing the majority of the top to reverberate stronger and longer. Rather than a large sound hole in the center that is often muffled by the player’s hand, a smaller hole and pearlescent rosette is located at the top of the small bout. A larger hole is located on the upper side of the large bout so the player can hear clearly. Fret location dots on the top and sides of the rosewood fretboard help the player identify where to play. The tuners enclose smooth action gears for easy tuning. The nut and saddle are bone, and the top is bound in rosewood and shell. Aquila strings are used. I play and verify the integrity of each instrument before it is shipped. I commissioned 40 of them. Each is numbered  on the back of the peghead (I play Number 1 every day). Although I own many high-end ukuleles, this is the one that has become my favorite and that responds best to my styles of playing, whether heavy percussion or soft tickling.

                                                           

                                        Dan Scanlan's New Cool Hand Uke Soprano Model 

{Please Note: this is not a paid ad for this instrument, it is merely a flag to let folks know that this product is out and on the market. Lil Rev has not played one of these instruments and its merits are based on the opinion of Dan Scanlan}