Congratulations SamIAm! You are the winner of the brand new Concert BugsGear Solid Body electric Ukulele! PM me your mailing info in the forum. – Rayan

Aldrine and Manny are back with another episode of Uke Got Mail! This time they answer the question “How do I figure out strumming patterns?” (to which the answer is “jump in”) and the age-old “To pick, or not to pick?” (regarding using or not using a pick). Check it out and let us know what you think! ukuleleunderground.com/forum Many Tanks!!

What a night. Around 200 people showed up to our final stop on our tour at Island Bazaar in Huntington Beach CA. They stopped letting people in at around 160 and thankfully let the late comers stay outside and watch. You may view the pictures from last night as they get posted here:

Island Bazaar UU Show

Last night was the icing on the cake to an amazing week. The three of us would just like to say, mahalo nui loa (Thank you VERY MUCH) to everyone who came out to one of our shows or events. Without you peeps the Ukulele Underground would be nothing and your support means the world to us. It was a pleasure meeting all of you and we are looking forward to seeing you all again very soon. This was an experience that we will never forget.

So I guess the only question left to ask is, where should the UU dudes stop on their next tour?

San Diego was ridiculous! So much love from this city. We’d like to thank everyone who came out to the Pacific Arts Dance Studio for the seminars and to Mo’s Island Grinds to watch Almost Islanders. We hart you all. Check out these threads to see pictures from both events.

Ukulele Seminars

Mo’s Island Grinds

We’re rolling into Orange County today for our last stop at Island Bazaar tonight at 7:00pm. If you live in the area, please come out and share our last night in California with us.

JULY 23 – 7:00pm – Island Bazaar – Live Performance and mini-seminar / Live Uke Got Mail Filming / Free stuff giveaways ($5 at the door)

The past few days have been amazing! The Bay Area was beyond good to us and we really want to thank the members and fans for coming out to DaSilva’s and The Hukilau and making these shows the most fun that we’ve had so far! Check out these threads for more pics and videos of the shows:

DaSilva’s
Hukilau

If you see Ame around, PLEASE be sure to thank her! She’s been uploading vids like madness, especially for you to see, so give her a hand! *Applause*

We just made it into San Diego, getting ready for the first ever Ukulele Underground Ukulele Seminars at the

Pacific Arts Dance Studio (Today, JULY 21st, $15 at the door)

6:00-7:30pm – Beginning Ukulele Seminar
8:00-9:30pm – Intermediate/Advanced Ukulele Seminar

Hope to see you there! We’ll also be here in the next few days:

San Diego
JULY 22 – 6:30pm – Mo’s Island Grinds - Live Performance with Almost Islanders

Orange County
JULY 23 – 7:00pm – Island Bazaar – Live Performance and mini-seminar / Live Uke Got Mail Filming / Free stuff giveaways ($5 at the door)

Northern California was more awesome than words … now we’re ready to check out what the UUers in Southern California have in store! Can’t wait to meet you all!!

Alohas,
-UU Staff

Yay! Today, as UKE MINUTES officially turns 21, we’ve created a mature-er, more advanced technique for you to drink in and master – TAPPING! You’ve seen the electric axe-slinging guitar heroes do it on their rock sabres … now YOU can do it, too, on your very own uke! Check out the video, and show us how you do – ukuleleunderground.com/forum.

*Also* This transmission comes to you live from CALIFORNIA, where last night we kicked off the first ever, UU TOUR. Check out the thread about our gig at Mike DaSilva’s last night (Ame put up some stuff HERE too). And if you can, please stop by at one (or all) of our shows, going down within the next few days:

Tour Schedule:
Bay Area
JULY 20 – 6:00pm – Hukilau San Francisco – Live Performance

San Diego
JULY 21 – 6:00pm – Pacific Arts Dance Studio – Beginner and Advanced Ukulele Seminars / Live Uke Got Mail Filming / Free stuff giveaways ($15 at the door)
JULY 22 – 6:30pm – Mo’s Island Grinds - Live Performance with Almost Islanders

Orange County
JULY 23 – 7:00pm – Island Bazaar – Live Performance and mini-seminar / Live Uke Got Mail Filming / Free stuff giveaways ($5 at the door)

Special thanks to everyone who came out last night! (And VERY especial big-ups to russbuss who has been ridiculously generous, letting us stay at his sha-weet pad in Oakland, in addition to feeding us, and worrying about our lost airline baggage). We are super-psyched to meet even more UUers in the days to come!

XOXO,
-UU Staff

Hey Gang! Have you ever wanted to get that nice, clean, single-strum sound out of your ukulele? How about those super-delicious reggae / ska / bossa-nova strums to keep the time? Well this is the UKE MINUTES episode just for you! Here, Aldrine Guerrero breaks down the simple “Pinky Mute” technique that can help clean up those dirty extended-ringing strums (along with a little rhythm, to boot!). So, hold on to your hats, ’cause here comes the PINKY MUTE!!

Also don’t forget, the Aldrine and the Staff will be riding through your Californian town (starting in 5 DAYS!) for the UU CALIFORNIA TOUR, so please come down to the shows and represent the Underground! We’re looking forward to meeting you all! Don’t live in California?? No fear – we will have footage from the tour online for your viewing pleasure during the next few weeks! So stay tuned!

Hearts Bleeding,
-UU Staff

Heavens to Betsy, how time flies! The UU crew will be making their first trip to the mainland and be in California from the 18-23. We will be hitting up the Bay Area, San Diego, and Orange County. We’ll have our UU merch, and Aldrine’s CDs for sale and also be giving away stuff at selected shows. We may even film some live ‘Uke Got Mails’. So if you live in these areas, please block out your schedules and come down to hang out. We’re looking forward to meeting you!

Tour Schedule:
Bay Area
July 18 – 8:00pm – Mike Dasilva’s - Live Performance / Live Uke Got Mail Filming / free stuff giveaways ($20 at the door)
July 20 – 6:00pm – Hukilau San Francisco – Live Performance

San Diego
July 21 – 6:00pm – Pacific Arts Dance Studio – Beginner and Advanced Ukulele Seminars / Live Uke Got Mail Filming / Free stuff giveaways ($15 at the door)
July 22 – 6:30pm – Mo’s Island Grinds - Live Performance with Almost Islanders

Orange County
July 23 – 7:00pm – Island Bazaar – Live Performance and mini-seminar / Live Uke Got Mail Filming / Free stuff giveaways ($5 at the door)

See you there!

What’s going on Ukulele Underground!? Hope everyone is enjoying the awesome summertime weather – soaking in the sun and spending that extra time jammin’ with friends. In this episode of UKE MINUTES, we’ve got some super-cool picking techniques for you to try out while you’re chillin’ in the summer heat. Here, Aldrine breaks down for you the “Pull-Off” and the “Hammer-Pull Combination.”

“Pull-offs” are basically the reverse of “Hammer-ons” (For a review of the hammer on technique, check out UKE MINUTES 10 – Hammer Ons). To do a pull-off, put the pointer finger of your left hand on a fret. While holding that fret, put another finger (middle or ring) on a higher fret. Pluck the string, then pull off the second finger to reveal the note your pointer finger is holding. Rinse and repeat.

The “Hammer-Pull Combo” is a technique that combines both the hammer-on and pull off techniques together. Hold a fret with your pointer finger, hammer on to another note with your middle (or ring or pinky) finger, then pull-off again to reveal the pointer finger note.

When reading tabs, hammer-ons are denoted with the letter ‘h’ and pull-offs are denoted with the letter ‘p’.

Alright, have fun with these, and as always, let us know what you think! www.UkuleleUnderground.com/forum !

Love,
-UU Staff

Hey Undergroundlings! UB40 and Pure Heart will have nothing on you after this easy-to-learn (though it might take a little practice) episode of UKE LESSONS! Check out “Bring Me Your Cup”, let us know if you like it, and show us what you got on the Forums!

Also, don’t forget to check out the tracks on Aldrine’s NEW CD (see post below) and if you like it, pick it up so you can jam along to it or bump it hard from the sound system of your automobile. Thanks much – we heart you more than air!

-UU Staff