Notes on playing the banjo uke (and the regular ukulele), as well as some of my favorite songs and videos, but mostly, you'll find information here on my particular obsession - the many models of banjo ukulele offered by Stromberg-Voisinet in the 1920's to 1931.

Monday, January 22, 2018

What The Heck IS This?

Greetings, friends -

It's been a long while.  If you're still out there, here's a couple of bits of news...

The Buck and a Quarter Quartet is performing four shows in February in Manhattan and all over Brooklyn, including Pete's Candy Store, Red Room, SISTERS Bklyn and Jalopy Theatre and School of Music.  We'll have some great guests at these venues; to find out who (you'll know when we know), then just follow our schedule on our website or via Facebook, or sign up for our mailing list here if you'd like to get two emails a month from me.

It's kind of pointless to describe music, but we are often asked what kind of music we play. "What IS this exactly?" we're asked at nearly every show these days, mostly in a positive, curious way.

We haven't really got an answer, so I turn to you.  How would you describe this kind of music? What category is it in?  None of the answers we give - i.e. traditional jazz, hot jazz, vintage pop, etc. seem to satisfy our questioners.

Here are a few recent videos to get you thinking...

That's our friend, the amazing Kat Edmonson, singing "Deed I Do".

"When I Take My Sugar to Tea," one of our signature numbers.  I get to play uke on this one; I say "sorry" on this to the poor couples dancing off camera...

John Gill plays this lovely old chestnut..."Someday Sweetheart".

Our own bass player Brian Nalepka puts forward the idea that we're a skiffle band that plays tunes a skiffle band wouldn't normally play.  That seems logical, but I'm still interested in your take.  Please, let me know in the comment section.

Until my next post, keep on strummin'!