This Is Book’s Music

In honor of the 60th anniversary of New Zealand’s first official pop single, The Wellington International ‘Ukulele Orchestra has released a blue vinyl 7″ single, featuring the song that makes the honor possible, Ruru Karaitiana‘s “Blue Smoke” (thus the blue vinyl). The song is b/w “That’s Amore”. The picture sleeve features artwork by Stephen Templer. The record was pressed at United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tennessee so the quality is top notch.

The record can be purchased at their live shows, or by e-mailing them directly at ukemerch@gmail.com.

Rap legend Jesse Dangerously brought this Canadian music festival to my attention, and thus I pass it along to you.

‘Ukepop is a festival within a festival, as this is the 2nd annual ‘Ukulele Bizarro in Montreal, Quebec on June 6th. Along with performances from a wide range of ‘ukulele centered artists, there will be a documentary film called Mighty ‘Uke about the instruments subtle but bold revival, and an ‘ukulele play-along hosted by festival presenter Krista Muir.

Krista’s Ukulele Afternoon: “As The World Falls Down”

KristaMuir | MySpace Music Videos

To find out more information about ‘Ukepop, click the poster above for a bigger version of the poster itself.

The word that stood out in the album credits was ‘ukulele. I get overprotective, I become a representative and ambassador of a Hawaiian musical instrument that has been ridiculed for the foolishness Hollywood turned it into. In the last few years, there have been musicians who have taken to the ‘ukulele and rather than keep it in its novelty status, they will learn about it, play it, and incorporated into their music, often times making it a progressive extension of its original intention. Cuddle Magic are a band that merge diverse pop and rock with slight folk touches, and that comes with the use of not only the ‘ukulele (as played by vocalist Ben Davis), but the banjo, clarinet, vibraphone, cello, and other types of unique percussion and stringed instruments.

Picture (FYO) could be 2010′s most fascinating pop album of the year, but chances are this will not even be mentioned with celebrity pop albums, and I don’t mean actors or actresses, but pop is generally celebrated one way, and anyone doing something different has to be tagged “other than”. It’s indie pop, alternative pop, but it’s still very much pop. In fact, I could see Shakira singing in “Expectations”, but I don’t particularly want to hear her frog voice in a song so simply, sweet, and innocent as this. The songs are about life, interaction, relationships, and more, but they are quite poetic without sounding like they’re solely meant to be heard at a poetry slam. It’s well written music of the Todd Rundgren/Smashing Pumpkins/Pink Floyd variety, in fact think of Pink Floyd’s more quieter moments (“Wots…Uh The Deal”, “Fearless”, “If”) and you’ll start to hear more of Cuddle Magic’s… well, magic, but their folk influences come clear in their own quieter moments. I can see this band going very far with what they do, I am sure fans will be willing to join them for the the ride.

(Picture will be fully developed on February 9, 2010.)

The album cover for Exterminating Angel (Corleone) is an illustration of a demented being, perhaps the exterminating angel itself, eating the flesh of someone who is hanging from a tree (click thumbnail for bigger version of cover). It’s creepy, some may call it disgusting, maybe something that would be perfect on a death metal album. But Alec K. Redfearn & The Seizures use accordions, ‘ukulele, drums, bass, and vocals to create a somewhat folksy/rootsy feel to their indie rock, but this indie rock doesn’t have any guitars. The heaviness comes from the accordion and ‘ukulele, which might come off as a novelty at first but when you listen to their music, they reveal that they are as complex and heavy as King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Smashing Pumpkins, and Mr. Bungle, bringing together an ironic thrash mixed in with eclectic pop tendencies. Lyrics such as “Rubber fists and candlesticks adorn the narrow halls/cipher scratched into the wood and lipstick on the walls/a naked smile on your lips, a hunger red and deep/broken teeth and metal tongues to sing us all to sleep” (from”Elzebet”) would have fit perfectly on Master Of Reality, and the way the song unfolds itself while revealing new dimensions at the same time could easily turn this into a prog rock staple if placed into the right hands.

A part of me feels these songs would work in the hands of others, which would make Redfearn a musical prodigy of sorts, but hearing them in this form, as they were intended, makes these songs even more beautiful. Maybe the decay of the album cover is meant to represent what the music will do to the mind of the listener. If so, I have a lot of cleaning up to do right now.

Only 500 vinyl LP’s and 1000 CD’s are being pressed for this album, I would recommend buying doubles so you can keep one and give one as a gift to friends. It’s that good.

When David Kamakahi recorded Shine, he obviously had no idea that one of the artists he covered would end up passing away. The artist is Michael Jackson, and before MJ died, I had viewed Kamakahi’s cover of “Man In The Mirror” as being simply a respectful cover version done in a pop fashion, Hawaiian style. I still say that, but now one is able to listen to the song from a different perspective.

Shine is an album that shows Kamahaki’s talent and lineage, for he is of course the son of legendary musician Dennis Kamakahi. Shine is an album that shows how well this man plays and how comfortable he is on his instrument of choice, the ‘ukulele, but also takes on the instrument his father is known for, the 6-string acoustic guitar. These days, the one ‘ukulele player that gets the most attention is Jake Shimabukuro, which has allowed him to take Hawai’i around the world while at the same time making a decent amount of money along the way. Kamakahi wants that same level of success too, so it’s no surprise that his album balances Hawaiian music and a few carefully selected pop songs. On the pop side, he covers Sting‘s “Fields Of Gold”, John Cafferty‘s “Boardwalk Angel”, and James Taylor‘s “Your Smiling Face”. The latter is an all-too-familiar song that still sounds welcoming, and anyone who can’t stand the earworm Taylor has made will find it a bit refreshing to hear through Kamahaki.

On the Hawaiian side, you’ll hear updated takes of Kalapana‘s “Nightbird”, Country Comfort‘s “Waimanalo Blues”, and a John Almeida standard, “‘A’oia”. I love the fluidity of his playing, this is not someone who plays just because the world discovered Israel Kamakawiwo’ole doing it, this is someone who has music in his blood and you hear it. His playing here is not as complex as Shimabukuro but not as laid back as Herb Ohta Jr., although one can easily hear him trying out some easy listening/MOR-styled sounds and being a success at it. The Hawaiian songs will definitely work at home, while the pop songs will make it possible for people to hear him on smooth jazz, NPR, and other adult contemporary stations that cater to these smooth sounds. It would be nice to be here on the mainland and hear “Nightbird” in a supermarket, but I’ll take this CD so I can “tell her (to) wait for me”.

It’s not just David who is on this disc, but father Dennis too, along with one of my favorite drummers right now, Abe Lagrimas Jr.. If you love Hawaiian music with a contemporary pop touch without the Jawaiian-isms, Shine is perfect for your listening adventures. I would love to hear Kamakahi get more adventurous in his playing,but perhaps that’s a signal for me to spruce up my playing so I can record my own album. Another day, another time, right?

Yours Truly Presents: BANDITOS Episode 1 with Dent May & His Magnificent Ukelele from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

So what happens when a young man who has a love for old pop and the ‘ukulele goes into a restaurant, and unknown to everyone starts singing and playing? This is what happened when Dent May wwalked into Taqueria Cancun in San Francisco and… well, you’ll have to take a look in this first installment of a new video series called Banditos.

In the past when I’ve done Thrift Store Adventures I would talk about my love of the stepchild of music formats, the 8-track tape. Over the years I found myself documenting some of the 8-tracks that I would find from Hawai’i, or more specifically artists from Hawai’i who released albums in the 70′s on the cherished format. I did it to let people know that Hawaiian music was something that was on the 8-track format too, and it’s a way to honor a dead format while taking a look at a music, culture, and language that is very much alive. It’s also a way to show respect to my Hawaiian side, as some of these albums were personal favorites when I was growing up and discovering my music and culture.

If you find any Hawaiian 8-track tapes, contact me through my MySpace page. I will take any 8-track donations, although if you are able to make a scan of the tape itself, let me know and I will credit you in each post.

I decided to start this section again after finding two 8-track tapes of interest, so I began what I like to call 8′s From The 808. What I look for are 8-track tapes manufactured in Hawai’i on such labels as Hula, Lehua, Poki, Panini, and many others, true “local” 8-track tapes. In the CD era, labels would often reissue these albums with brand new covers or revisions that were not quite what the artist or album cover designer intended. I also like to find specific Hawaiian albums that were released on major labels. It doesn’t have to be traditional Hawaiian, it can be Hawaiian rock and pop like Cecilio & Kapono on Columbia Records, or pop/soul artist Dick Jensen on Philadelphia International, or of course Don Ho, who released many albums on Reprise before taking the independent route. What I’m not looking for are Hawaiian 8-tracks made by Reader’s Digest or any Elvis Presley-related Hawai’i tapes.

Let’s begin.

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This is The Kahauanu Lake Trio, who released many albums on the Hula label. Lake is a Hawaiian music legend, bringing his style of music and ‘ukulele playing to the forefront when the music was at its peak in the 1950′s and 60′s, and through the many changes the music went through in the 1970′s. His style was “old style”, but some would say “old style is the best style”. It was a way to get the music and language across and he did it with style and grace. This particular album featured Hapa Haole Hulas, which means the songs are a mixture of Hawaiian and English lyrics, the equivalent of what some know as Spanglish (songs with a mixture of Spanish and English lyrics). Hapa haole lyrics made it possible for the tourists to understand what was going on, and for the music to travel around the world. The album features their versions of “Kaleilehua”, “One Paddle, Two Paddle”, and “Hula Breeze”.

Welcome to The Run-Off Groove #232. I am John Book, welcome.

This column is about music reviews, along with music-related books, DVD’s, etc. Each review will usually be followed by a graphic, when upon clicking you can make a purchase:
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The point of this is to make readers aware of some of the good music out there, music I hope to be able to pass along to you. With that said, all MP3′s here are “legal”, which means they are being passed on to you with permission from the artist and/or publicity firm. All of you that are tech savvy should know where to get all the free music anyway, but please make a purchase whenever possible, whether it’s from your favorite store or in many instances from the artist themselves. If your tax return is coming in, get to those bills first and foremost, but with a bit of extra change buy a few albums.

Also please consider clicking some of the links under the “Music and more” category to the right, which will help keep this website afloat.

Now, the column.

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Braille is back with a brand new album and for this one he’s teaming up with producer Symbolyc One. The end result is easily one of the best albums I’ve heard this year, and while I understand the year is only three months in, I will safely say this has become an album that will be in my Best Of 2009 list, and it’s all due to one song.

First off, the album. Cloud Nineteen (Hiphopismusic) is a progression of what Braille has done over the years, and the guy gets better and stronger with each release. Why this man is not getting as much press as someone like Jay-Z or 50 Cent, I don’t know. People want to believe in the street chemists, I understand that, but here is someone who is putting some good into music and yet he doesn’t bombard you with it. Braille is a Christian rapper and it seems to think that by saying that, there’s still a risk of fitting him into any kind of cliche you may have in your mind. Get rid of it. Also forget the fact that he’s a white MC, look at the photos and cover shots and that’s obvious, but what may not be obvious to newbies is how good he raps and writes. In “That’s My World” he talks about the negative elements in the world and in the music industry, claiming that despite all the downfalls, he hasn’t lost his passion. As he shows in “Skepticold” and “Fill It In” he’s not afraid to attack the mic with a vengeance. “Hardrock” has him talking about the hip-hop he grew up listening to while struggling to get his music into the hands and ears of everyone, over a funky groove with a bit of piano and distant hold samples. Symbolyc One has all of the grooves and beats in his pockets, he knows exactly how to cater to Braille’s every vocal move and to enhance him, just as Braille does to S1. Even if the beat is familiar and well-worn, he uses it in a way that makes you just want to nod your head in approval.

But if there is one song that I feel defines this album and Braille as an MC, it’s the track “It’s Nineteen”. The idea is that we as humans look towards feeling a good and reaching a metaphorical cloud 9, but if one wishes to go higher, maybe it’s cloud nineteen that will be more joyful. What hooked me immediately was the Southside Movement break, S1 sold me immediately with that right there. Then Braille drops his brand of knowledge:

Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters
Jews and gentiles, welcome to the picture
Mr. Braille is on the microphone and this is not a movie
But the poetry in motion will relax you like jacuzzi’s
Leave you uzis and hand grenades at home
The war is over, but we still haven’t recovered from the storm
Return to the normality but it’s hard when the
Formality was formally malice and greed
What makes the world go ’round, it’s rhetorical
But look at the historical data of human nature
It’s easy to wager on what’s minor and what’s major
Instead of feeding the poor, we buy another acre of land
Fighting over money, women, and pride
It’s a war going on, and it’s happening inside of our hearts
We get tired of the daily grind
We want to escape and find that place called cloud nine

Cloud nine… leave all your worries behind

Incredible way to open a song, but then it gets into one of the more deepest things I’ve heard in a hip-hop song in quite some time, and it happens in the the first line in the chorus:

In my meditation, I saw a manifestation of elevation

It’s a lyric that is life reaffirming, something that people will seek and make their own mantra, regardless of how you interpret it. For me, it’s getting out of that daily grind to find some sense of inner peace, in order to find something better than what exists, to look towards a much more optimistic experience, to 1-Up yourself. For Braille, it may signify that, as he says with vocalist Ragen Fykes, there is a place much higher, and everything that matters is provided there. It could suggest that you put value in what you have now, and if there is something better, we may never be able to experience it unless we look at the world and ourselves in a more positive light. A lot of times hip-hop is either about “me” or an exclusive “we” but it seems like it’s a more universal “all” and regardless of your belief system, you will find a way to look at the line above and make it mean something to you. In other words, it’s deep and it hit me, combine that with the great background vocals from Fykes and the beat from Symbolyc One and if there is a better song than “It’s Nineteen” in 2009, show it to me. It’s a song that could have easily ended the album too, but the fact that he starts it at a high level was perhaps his intention. The fact that it doesn’t dip into the nether regions right after is a true testament to their talents and skills as an MC and producer (I believe I read somewhere that while Braille is more than capable of producing his own tracks, he was able to have a bit more freedom when he had S1 handle the entire album).

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Panacea have come out with a new album, but the music is not exactly new.

The Re Route (Glow Like This) is a remixed version of their Scenic Route album and if you liked that, you will definitely enjoy this new interpretation. The vibe in the remixes seems to be “let’s flip flop between party cuts and traditional hip-hop”, but that’s due to the people doing the interpretation. It’s a nice way to mix it up, and for some it may make these songs better than the originals (if that’s possible).

I like Panacea a lot, along with the people doing the remixes, but I would almost prefer an EP of new material over something like this. It’s not bad at all, but that would be my preference.

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Regenerated Headpiece are back with a new one, and if they were comfortable with playing the fool before, there seems to be a concentrated effort to come off as less foolish. I think some may have overshadowed their serious tracks with the humor they shared, and now they’re twisting their formula a bit with The New Animal (Headsnack).

There’s still a geek factor in what they do, with loads of obscure reference that will make any Dennis Miller fan smile from ear to ear, but Sir Menelik this isn’t, it’s more about being purposely complex while making things easy to take in. Tracks like “Sandwiches”, “Mechanical Bull”, and “The Keynote Address” show this perfectly, while “Everybody Come On” is them teaching respect by telling people they need to offer it to get it.

I like the tone of this, although I miss the big amount of humor they shared the last time. If this is meant to represent grow, I’m all for it.

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Upon looking at the cover for La Tanya Hall‘s It’s About Time (Bridge), I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I expected it to be soul, and while one should never judge from the cover alone, I guess my expectations where that of someone with a silky tone. Instead, Hall is a jazz vocalist whose voice is rich in tone and tradition. The album is her debut, even though she and her voice are known throughout New York City.

It’s hard to believe this is her debut album, as it’s filled with the kind of singing one would expect from someone twice her age. One can only imagine what she will sound like in twenty years, as she covers a wide range of standards here, including “It’s All Right With Me”, “Summertime”, “The Nearness Of You”, “You Don’t Know What Love Is”, and “Skylark”.

It may be vocal jazz but she’s not just another random jazz singer, no dentist jazz here. She has the kind of talent that will give you chicken skin, and her vocal stylings are superb. Job well done.

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Mendi + Keith Obadike feel that we have moved far from spoken word. Simply put, American speech documented on record, CD and now in digital form, has documented people and time, and was was mere talk on a record has become a multi-billion dollar industry through rap music. Whether it’s with sound, improvisational experimentation, or over a rhythm, it shows the link between them all and on Crosstalk (Bridge) you get a chance to hear the chain link of dialogue, a steady stream of spoken consciousness.

The album features everything from experimental/avant-garde to jazz, funk, and even a small bit of hip-hop flavor (but not in the most obvious way). Vijay Iyer teams up with Mike Ladd for “Redemption Chant 2.0″ for the kind of underwater track Ladd is known for (would have been perfect as a collaboration with Sole of Anticon), while “Being Black” by DJ Spooky and Ursula Rucker is way too brief. This is a lady who gave her all in the incredicle “Circe” and here she’s limited to a song that’s a few seconds over a minute. What’s also incredible is Pamela Z‘s “Declaratives In First Person”, where her voice is altered digitally in as many ways as possible, stating that if an artist is silent, it is usually the art in question that becomes the only necessary statement to make.

There are many statements throughout Crosstalk, be it political, social, or otherwise. The “crosstalk” can be an exchange of ideas or simply expressing them to the listener so perhaps (s)he will continue it with others. The dialogue is one that will pull you in, whether it’s for you to expand on it, or within it. A very compelling album that I wish would get more attention than it will.

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There are many stories like the one found on a new compilation released by The Numero Group, called Local Customs: Downriver Revival. In this case it’s the story of Felton Williams, a man outside of Detroit who didn’t want to copy the Motown sound at all. Instead he wanted to create his own legacy, and did so by combining his love of music with recording and electronics. Williams created Double U Sound (the “double U” referring to the first letter of his last name) and it was indepedent from top to bottom. He recorded anyone who wanted a record, he didn’t have any musical guidelines. If it was gospel, he would find the best singers and bands. If it was someone who wanted to make sweet soul music, they would end up using his services. If someone wanted to break down with the funk, Williams was going to make sure every groove was captured on tape.

Local Customs: Downriver Revival is one story out of hundreds, if not thousands of young entrepreneurs who wanted to make and break it into the music business by being self contained. No one on this CD became a success, but what you do hear is a unique blend of musicians and singers united in the hopes of either becoming famous, or sharing their spirituality with anyone who was willing to listen. The album begins on a heavy gospel note to where you almost feel as if you’ve entered a Sunday service. Sometimes the vocals may be a bit off or the band not as tight as they could have been, maybe it was recording studio jitters, but they all eventually get it down. Things get interesting with track 7 and an “Untitled Jam” courtesy of Bobby Cook & The Explosions. This would have been one of those 45′s that Egon or Dante Carfagna dug up while on a hunting excursion, only for one of them to track down the source. Then you have an alternate take of “Foot Stomping” by The Organics that is so tight, it should have been a hot sample 18 years ago. The album goes in and out of different styles, and one doesn’t know whether to be impressed by the gospel recordings or just letting loose with the soul and funk. Williams, who often played on the recordings if asked, was more than capable of doing what the big city studio producers and engineered did, and this album looks at what could have been had there been someone to put him up to Detroit. Instead, it’s a solid document of a music scene outside of Detroit that doesn’t quite fit the Northern Soul tag, but should be praised just as much.

The CD comes with a DVD that I hopefully more labels will embrace, something that should have been done ten years ago. The DVD features a great 30 minute documentary film on Double U Sound and features a recent interview with Felton Williams, who still has much of the equipment he used in the 60′s and 70′s, along with various singers and musicians who are still living in or near Ecorse, Michigan. If that wasn’t enough, the DVD also features an interactive tape library:

The liner notes in the CD booklet features loads of scans of tape boxes that The Numero Group know we vinyl junkies eat up, but this time you’re now able to hear the material that lurk on those tapes, music that wasn’t used for the regular CD. We’re talking alternate takes, outtakes, run throughs, and forgotten moments on tape that bring you closer to the music and what Williams was trying to do with his studio and labels. The time and research done to put this together is what I’ve wanted to do my entire life, and to see this happen this way is mindblowing. People praise Stones Throw like crazy, and rightfully so, but The Numero Group have gone beyond what they and anyone has ever done. This is how compilations should be done.

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What does Me Not Me (The Royal Potato Family) mean? For jazz musician Marco Benevento, it could mean that this album is a challenge for himself to do the kind of music that he’s always wanted to do but never tried. Granted, Benevento has never stayed in any particular place for too long, and on Me Not Me he takes his music on an electronic field trip, and it comes off a bit like what happened when Medeski, Martin & Wood did The Dropper. People liked what MMW did, but then they went deeper into the ugliness. That’s not saying this album is ugly, but if you are a Benevento fan who enjoys his work and the exploration of it, this is a holiday feast.

“Golden” sounds like it was hip-hop, funk, and electronic influenced, but it could easily come from the streets of Brazil with its slightly distorted bossa nova feel, and if it wasn’t for the loops, one might hear this as new age. “Now They’re Writing Music” sounds like Benevento decided to get into a bit of bent circuitry as it sounds like he’s taking a bunch of children’s toys, finding the right bleeps and bloops, and make it into a low-tech symphony, or the kind of sounds you’d expect to hear in a video game room circa 1982 with the bootleg Piranha and Moon Cresta games. “Mephisto” briefly wipes the cathodes away to play something with an earthy, bluesy feel, and for some reason it reminds me of Robert Lamm‘s playing, I’m not sure why. The intro to “Heartbeats” is something that would also sound perfect on a Bjork, right before the guitars and crunchy drums kick in and switches direction. Even with the many different colors and shades here, it still sounds like Benevento, and perhaps that’s the one constant thing that runs through the album, you still hear the identity within the shuffle.

It’s an album that doesn’t want to stay in one place, it’s too eager to look for something new, and that’s what Benevento does, takes his musical suitcase and goes around hoping to find a new place to sit for awhile. It may be him not him, but it’s still very much him.

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…AND NOW, THE HAWAIIAN MUSIC CORNER
John Valentine has been recording, performing, and teaching music for years, and plays a wide range of instrumentsl. For his new album Uke ‘N’ Surf 1 (Self released), he decided to be inspired by the beach and play the kind of music one would expect to hear there.

The music is very playful yet serene, and while some of the terms may be unknown outside of the surfing community (i.e. “Made The Drop”, “Goin’ To Eat It”, “Pull Inside Deep”, “Barreling”, and “Clean Tube Ride”), what you will hear is a musician who plays the ‘ukulele as you’ve never heard it before. Even if you grew up with Don Baduria, Herb Ohta, or more recently Jake Shimabukuro, you’re going to hear the kind of virtuosity that is his own. It’s music that’s laid back enough to be heard on planes, The Weather Channel, or the radio, as well as on some of the latest surf DVD’s. He has the same kind of flash in his style as Peter Moon does, and for Valentine he simply loves to play and it shows.

Israel Kamakawiwo’oloe woke the world up again to Hawaiian music and the ‘ukulele. Unfortunately, every other television commercials tries to lure people in with someone playing an ‘ukulele, and there’s one running right now where the strumming is completely hemajang. Pick up Uke ‘N’ Surf 1 and hear one of many ways to play the ‘ukulele properly.

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That’s it for this week’s Run-Off Groove. If you have any new music, DVD’s, books, or hot sauce, please contact me through my MySpace page and I’ll pass along my contact address. In the past I have generally frowned over receiving digital files, but I will accept them on a case by case basis. I still prefer hard copy as I want to hear the quality of the recording (which is important to me), but digital files are fine.

I apologize for the delay between the last column and this one, it has been somewhat busy but I made it through. Coming soon I’ll have reviews for new music by Quite Nyce & Raydar Ellis, Bill Wimmer, Eyran Katsenelenbogen, DJ Myxzlplix, The Wright Family, Steve Haines Quintet with Jimmy Cobb, Wand, Pomegranates, Joe Budden, Bob Albanese Trio with Ira Sullivan, Phil Woods, Jeniferever, Bob Rodriguez, Steve Elson, Illogic, Beth McDonaldBlue Sky 5 + 2, FrameworkBipolar, Youth Group, Leela James, Radam Schwartz, Seamus lake Quartet, Toubab Krewe, Danny Calvalho, Roger Davidson & Raul Jaurena, Dan Adler, Bethany Smith Staelens, Bill Horvitz & Robin Eschner, Sleeper, Dave Siebels, Kinetic Stereokids, Mary Jenson, Nebz Supreme, and perhaps even more.

Thank you, and come back next week for #233.

There’s a guy from Jackson, Mississippi named Dent May and he presents himself as a lofty sort of fellow who plays the ‘ukulele. As a Hawaiian, I want to know if he’s true to the instrument or if he’s being a dork about for the sake of being a dork.

You see the photo above. Definitely not Ted Nugent or The Great Kat, maybe the kind of guy who would take his lady to a park with a blanket and picnic basket as he takes out the uke and plays a few tunes. But does that make him a dork, a novelty, a scam?

Hard to say, because it seems he knows who Serge Gainsbourg and Lee Hazlewood are, and that doesn’t come from watching old reruns of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father or Rockford Files, oh no, you have to work on this to become a dork.

Then I think: the reason why the ‘ukulele is considered cheesy is because of how people on the mainland turned it into a novelty. The instrument itself did not originate in Hawai’i (its roots come from Portuguese immigrants), but the ‘ukulele (which translates to “jumping flea”, which is why when you tune the strings and play it, it should play “My Dog Has Fleas”) is something that is cherished in the islands and thus is an instrument that has a rich legacy and history, especially through such musicians as Don Baduria, Herb “Ohta San” Ohta, Peter Moon, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, and more recently Jake Shimabukuro. So now here comes… Dent May?

Now let’s look further. May is someone who was in a synth-pop band and apparently recorded “recording erotically charged novelty tracks with friends on the side”. Novelty? Considering the fact that he had attended NYU’s film school (he didn’t finish), maybe he’s someone who wants to explore the world through sight and sound, and feels that the novelty factor (if it is that) is more about exploring the novelty and not so much the taking or mocking of a culture.

What happens? Well, May recorded a full-length album at home, a double-wide trailer in Taylor, Mississippi. It’s called The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent ‘Ukulele (Paw Tracks), and he’s about to head on the road in support of it. Here are the concert dates, leading him to this year’s SXSW before heading over to the United Kingdom for a few shows:

February 20 Vancouver, BC The Biltmore Cabaret *
February 21 Seattle, WA Neumos *
February 22 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge *
February 24 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s *
February 25 San Diego, CA Casbah *
February 26 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour *
February 27 Santa Barbara, CA SOho Restaurant and Music Club *
February 28 San Francisco, CA The Independent *
March 01 Eugene, OR John Henry’s *
March 02 Boise, ID Neurolux
March 05 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar
March 06 Chicago, IL Schubas
March 07 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room at The Crofoot
March 08 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
March 10 Ithaca, NY Castaways *
March 11 Toronto, ONT Lee’s Palace *
March 12 Montreal, QC Il Motore *
March 13 Providence, RI Club Hell *
March 14 Boston, MA Paradise *
March 15 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom *
March 18-21 Austin, TX SXSW
March 22 Bristol, UK The Trinity #
March 23 Nottingham, UK Rescue Rooms #
March 24 London, UK The Forum #
March 25 Leeds, UK TJs #
March 26 Liverpool, UK The Static Gallery #
March 27 Dublin, IE The Tripod #
March 28 Belfast, UK Stiff Kitten #

* = w/ A.C. Newman
# = w/ Animal Collective

Can dorks tour like that? Truth is once you hear his music, you may realize there’s a hidden Lenny Kravitz in there, with a hint of Dan Reed and Carrie Akre.

To make it more interesting, May is also recording some dance music under the nom de plume Dent Sweat. Something tells me this purveyor of the uke is a smart one, and isn’t one to be laughed at. Take a deep listen and discover the places he wants to take you.

FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD: “Dent” (3.08mb)

Congratulations are in order for Tia Carrere & Daniel Ho for winning the Best Hawaiian Music Album award for their collaboration album, Ikena (as reviewed in The Run-Off Groove #227.) The award was given out during the pre-broadcast ceremonies.

(The album can be ordered directly from Daniel Ho Creations.)