Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

[pzarquon]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

Jake is a wonderful, right-hearted musician. He's not just incredibly talented, and a natural collaborator, but he genuinely cares about music -- creating it, and sharing it.

Sure, he has a bigger fan base in Japan than in Hawaii... heck, there are more hula halau on the Mainland than here. I'm glad for any efforts to share a touch of the islands with the world. And even though he could probably just tour around Tokyo for a few weeks and make bank for a year, he still comes home, even plays for small groups like at his alma mater, Kaimuki High, and gives his time and talents to various charity and educational events.

If Jimmy Buffet and Jake Shimabukuro were coming to town in concert, I'd go for Jake. But for all the new ears that will hear Jake's unique `ukulele stylings, I'm glad for him and his pairing with Jimmy.

So I'll agree that Kimo's spiel was "funny", but the only thing "insightful" was that it shows once again that Kimo is hawaiithreads.com's resident curmudgeon.

I suppose it really isn't an official HawaiiThreads thread until Kimo's pissed all over it, but I sure wish sometimes we could have a friendly "attaboy" round without another "I'm cooler than thou" gripe. If you don't care for what's being discussed, start another thread and discuss something else.

[kimo55]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

well, no one is contesting that jake is a loverlee human and he's a philantropist to a degree anyone should admire, I was offering an answer for the original query which was; Maybe the reason he hasn't been brought up on H.T. is jake and his fast kine ukulele stuffs appearing with da great peckerhead, is not really some people's cup-o-tea, at least many of the people posting in the last month...

[pzarquon]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

Thanks to Aunty Maria of Mele.com for pointing out that Jimmy Buffett's site is offering streaming audio, so you can hear Jake playing with Jimmy at yesterday's concert in Pittsburgh at Jimmy Buffett's Radio Margaritaville.

If you're Kimo, this will sound like "mainland country western music." For everyone else, enjoy!

[LikaNui]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

I am happy to be tied to the epithet; "curmudgeon".

I knew you would be, brah!

[lurkah]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

That talented buggah Jake embodies da meaning of da word ukulele, or dancing flea, as he becomes the dancing flea himself bouncing all ovah da stage during his performances.

Tie dat buggah down to one chair and what do you have left? A very talented flea.

His high-powered performances are fun to watch today, but let's see how much gas he's got left in 20-30 years when he begins to look like a curmudgeon.

[pzarquon]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

I'm always worried about RSI. The speed with which that kid plucks and strums seems nearly supersonic. I'd hate to see the day when those complicated little muscles seize up!

[LikaNui]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

he becomes the dancing flea himself bouncing all ovah da stage during his performances.

One of the first times I saw him he was doing that, then all of a sudden he sat down in a chair and played a classical Bach cantata that had half the audience in tears. WOW.

And yesterday while listening to the live Jimmy Buffett concert broadcast I heard Jimmy introduce him and absolutely rave to the crowd about Jake's talent. Buffett said that he was really disappointed because he wanted to sign Jake to a contract but Jake already had a record label.
Then during intermission they were interviewing other members of Jimmy's Coral Reefer Band and other guest performers. One of them talked at length about the amazing rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" that Jake had opened each show with, and referred to him as "the Jimi Hendrix of ukulele". All the other musicians said that was a perfect description.
But the best thing to come out of all this was Jimmy and the others saying they had just never realized anyone could do everything Jake does with an ukulele. In the past they'd all written an uke off as just a toy, but thanks to Jake the uke is going to get a whole helluva lot of attention now.
Attaboy, Jake!!!

[kimo55]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

I suppose it really isn't an official HawaiiThreads thread until Kimo's pissed all over it,

Oh, I think that is just a wee bit caustically unfair, now.

[Palolo Joe]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

Not when you're making posts that call Buffett "the great peckerhead."

It would be pretty cool, I think, to see Jake do an album like Carlos Santana - get a bunch of different vocalists on the tracks, but base everything on his ukulele playing.

[pzarquon]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

What synchronicity! Jake was featured yesterday on National Public Radio's "The World." Click the link to hear the segment, and to read a transcript of his interview.

NPR: So how open are people to that sound from the ukulele, in that context, are there purists, who say you're not making the best use of this glorious instrument?

Jake Shimabukuro: People who are hearing about my music more recently they say things like that, but people back at home in Hawaii who've known me for a long time know that I started out with a traditional Hawaiian band and so in my past I've always done traditional Hawaiian music and because they know that I've always respected the instrument and where its come from.

[LikaNui]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

From Wayne Harada's column in today's Advertiser:

"The "Margaritaville" dude and the fastest 'ukulele strummer in Hawai'i have teamed up again for more concerts through August. Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, who first encountered local boy Jake Shimabukuro in a Waikiki Shell show, have reunited for 16 concerts that started last week in Phoenix and extend over the next few months, culminating in a two-night stand in Boston."

Attaboy, Jakester!
And the link to Buffett's schedule for his Party At The End Of The World tour is at http://www.margaritaville.com/tour_dates.php .

[LikaNui]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

Another Jake item.
In the nationally-syndicated "Parade" magazine that came with the newspaper on Sunday, May 28, there's the "Personality Parade" section on page 2:

Q: Conan O`Brien featured a young ukulele player who knocked my socks off. Who is he? -- Janet Graham, Boston, Mass.
A: That's Jake Shimabukuro, 29, of Hawaii. "I like going for extremes, from traditional Hawaiian music to using the ukulele like a rock guitar," says Jake. A huge star in Japan, he may soon be one here too. His latest CD is the rock-oriented "Dragon."

Attaboy, Jake!

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

Another Jake item.
In the nationally-syndicated "Parade" magazine that came with the newspaper on Sunday, May 28, there's the "Personality Parade" section on page 2:

Q: Conan O`Brien featured a young ukulele player who knocked my socks off. Who is he? -- Janet Graham, Boston, Mass.
A: That's Jake Shimabukuro, 29, of Hawaii. "I like going for extremes, from traditional Hawaiian music to using the ukulele like a rock guitar," says Jake. A huge star in Japan, he may soon be one here too. His latest CD is the rock-oriented "Dragon."

Attaboy, Jake!

Okay. I LOVE the way he plays, but am I the only one who wishes he would tone down his near-Tourette's-like gyrations just a wee bit? I find them distracting. Cringe-inducing. Great musician, agreed, but...

I agree Kimo that C&K music doesn't sound like it was made for a commercial,

Heh-heh. Guess you never saw the Kuakini Hospital commercial with the C&K "Friends" music running in the background....;-D

[LikaNui]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

Okay. I LOVE the way he plays, but am I the only one who wishes he would tone down his near-Tourette's-like gyrations just a wee bit? I find them distracting. Cringe-inducing.

Didn't hurt Joe Cocker any.

[kimo55]

Re: Aloha goes to Margaritaville!

well, that is an RN speaking.
Looks like Tourette's! quick. fix it!