Ukulele Stories

Jim Beloff was at the vanguard of the Third Wave of Uke. He and his wife Liz founded Flea Market Music in 1992 and the company has helped countless people around the world discover the magic of the instrument. Here, we chat about those heady early days, Jim's brushes with famous uke fans such as George Harrison and Bette Midler, and his brilliant new album mid-century modern. Enjoy! Cameron Flea Market Music

I've known Seattle-based uke pro Matt Dahlberg for about 15 years, so it was great to finally catch up with him for a chat! He gave me three great tips for beginners, as well as one of the best definitions of success I've ever heard... Hope you enjoy it! Cameron https://mattukulele.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/mattdahlberg https://www.patreon.com/cw/mattukulele

In L. Frank Baum’s classic 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Tin Woodman decides, “I shall take the heart. For brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.” Fast-forward 125 years and Christopher Davis-Shannon, aka The Tin Man, is using the ukulele to spread happiness. In this engaging conversation, Christopher shares insights from his musical journey, chats about the creation of the fantastic Magic Ukulele Club, and offers practical tips for effective practice. The discussion highlights the joy of collaboration and learning in music. Enjoy! Cameron Murray Magic Ukulele Club

Aloha! Bit of a blast from the past this month… In 2002, I travelled to Honolulu with my brother Alastair to attend the 32nd Annual Ukulele Festival Hawaii. While I was there, I had the opportunity to interview the great Roy Sakuma, the man who invented the festival in 1972. We had a wide-ranging chat that included an amazing Lyle Ritz story, as well as some neat playing from Roy! Please excuse the audio quality – the conversation was digitised from a microcassette. Hope you enjoy it! Cameron Murray aka Kamuke

In this episode, we delve into the inspiring teaching philosophy of Canadian maestro Peter Luongo, whose innovative methods have impacted thousands of students and shaped the Langley Ukulele Ensemble into a global sensation. Peter is one of the most enthusiastic and passionate people I know, and I think you’ll really enjoy our wide-ranging conversation. Happy listening, Cameron Murray langleyukes.com

My first encounter with Peter Luongo is etched in my memory...

In this episode, Sam reveals how a guitar student’s curiosity sparked her own exploration of the ukulele and its enormous musical potential. She went on to become the first person in the world to do a PhD on the uke and is now one of the leading lights on the classical scene, both at home in the UK and internationally. We also chat about Sam’s love of the Madeiran machete, ukulele techniques she recommends to players of all levels, and some surprising Aussie connections! Happy listening, Cameron Murray samanthamuir.com iloveclassicalukulele.com

Meet Sam Muir, the first person in the world to do a PhD on the ukulele!

To most people, the ukulele is simply an easy-to-play social instrument. But to Shawn Yacavone, it’s much more important than that. To him, it’s a powerful cultural icon and a vital link to the Kingdom of Hawaii. Shawn spends a lot of time finding and acquiring historic and significant instruments, with a view to one day opening a ukulele museum and research library. “My contribution is in the area of repatriating – bringing the instruments back to Hawaii, restoring them, and then sharing the sound,” he explains. We had a fantastic chat and I highly recommend you stick around until the end for a very special surprise! Happy listening, Cameron Murray

Modestly dubbed the “King of the Ukulele”, Ralph Shaw is one of the originals – a pre-internet star who honed his craft in front of dubious, bemused audiences in the early 1990s. I became aware of Ralph in 2003 through The Complete Ukulele Course, the first instructional DVD I ever bought. We finally met in Australia in 2012 and we’ve been mates ever since. We had a brilliant chat about the old days, Ralph’s excellent newsletter and series of books, and how to deal with stage fright. We also talked about what prompted him to move back to England after many successful years in Canada. Enjoy! And please tell your friends about Ukulele Stories… Sign up for Ralph’s free Ukulele Entertainer newsletter!

In 2019, Bernadette Plazola was unemployed, her marriage had collapsed, and she was on the verge of homelessness. Fast-forward six years and her life has been completely transformed through the kindness and generosity of what she calls her “community”. Happily remarried with a beautiful daughter, she’s now one of the world’s most popular online uke tutors, with more than 640,000 YouTube subscribers and 208,000 Instagram followers. I hope you enjoy our chat! Cameron (aka Kamuke) YouTube Instagram Patreon

“My job is to put smiles on people’s hearts,” says Bryan Tolentino, one of Hawaii’s busiest and most sought-after musicians. In our wide-ranging conversation, we talk about putting feeling into your ukulele playing, how to be an effective accompanist, and what being Hawaiian personally means to Bryan. We had a lot of fun chatting and I hope you enjoy listening! Cameron (aka Kamuke) bryantolentino.com Instagram ‘Ukulele Friends Hawai’i Facebook Group

Matt Stead is a man of many talents. Not only is he a great uke teacher and player, he’s also the new director of the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain and various fringe events. And he’s a really nice guy too! Please have a listen and check out the links below… Mahalo! Cameron Matt Stead Ukulele Ukulele Festival of Great Britain

After 31 years touring the world with the incredible Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Will Grove-White is quite literally building a second career as a luthier. His Wonkylele (below left) perhaps best sums up his character – a little off-kilter but undeniably unique and interesting. Will and I had a lovely chat and discovered some odd parallels in our respective ukulele stories… Have a listen and enjoy! Cameron Website: willgrovewhite.com Music: Bandcamp

Happy Uke Day 2024! Here’s a special interview with the amazing James Hill… Enjoy! Cameron

Cool, kind and talented – that’s how I’d describe Lucy LaForge. The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has made waves in the music industry with her indie band project Lucy & La Mer. She’s been featured in the LA Times and HuffPost and has performed at LA Fashion Week, as well as for the Mayor of LA. She’s also worked with major uke brands Kala and Fender. Away from music, Lucy is known for her mental health and LGBTQ+ advocacy and she presented a powerful TEDx talk in 2022 on the limits of binary thinking and how self-awareness can free us from the boxes we form around our identity. You can watch the talk below. It was lovely to chat with Lucy, so please have a listen! Cameron listentolucy.com https://youtu.be/YM7YHDNvHy8

Erin Harrington, aka Miss Elm, is a singer-songwriter and music educator from Brisbane, Australia. We met at a festival a few years ago and I was immediately impressed with her passion and enthusiasm for the ukulele and its potential. Erin and I had a great conversation about her musical journey and ambitions and I’m sure you’ll also enjoy it! Cameron misselm.bandcamp.com instagram.com/misselmmusic facebook.com/misselmmusic theukulelerockers.com

As it says on her website, Brittni and her ukulele are a brilliant match: Both are humble in nature, small in size, and very powerful with proper delivery. We first met in Hawaii in the mid-2000s and I was blown away by her passion and creativity. A multi award-winning instrumentalist, she’s always pushing the envelope musically and is on the verge of releasing her sixth album. Brittni and I had a really fun chat and I hope you enjoy it! Cameron brittnipaiva.com

When I first met Andrew in Los Angeles, he was just starting to make waves on the uke scene, but it was obvious he’d become one of the best performers around. He had a glint in his eye and the skills to back it up. Fast-forward a few years and Andrew has three fantastic albums to his name, as well as a brand-new online ukulele academy. We had a great chat about his musical journey so far and he gave me some valuable tips for players of all levels. Enjoy! andrewmolinaukulele.com

American singer-songwriter Tom Freund is a fairly recent convert to the uke, but he’s making up for lost time. As soon as I heard his single Happy Uke, I thought it’d be fun to have a chat with him about it, and I was right! Over the years, Tom has collaborated with Ben Harper, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, KT Tunstall, Dave Matthews, Diana Krall and many others. He’s also done a lot of work on TV shows such as One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, Parenthood, Las Vegas and Pete The Cat, and he performed with Graham Parker in the 2012 Judd Apatow comedy This Is 40. Happy listening! Cameron tomfreund.com