Hey UUers!

Just a quick update – if you’re in the Denver area, Aldrine will be at the Denver UkeFest all day THIS SATURDAY (May 19th)! The festival will be going on at the L2 Arts and Culture Center (1477 Columbine Street, Denver, CO 80206). Aldrine will be holding a live workshop on Ukulele Rhythms at 10:55am in the Main Concert Hall. Ukulele Underground will have a booth set up at the festival with UU Merch and free Ukulele Underground stickers, so be sure to stop by, hang out, and say hi!

Later that night, Aldrine and Aaron be playing at the UkeFest Concert (doors open at 6:45, concert starts at 7:30) along with performances by fellow ukulele players, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, The Hapa Hillbillies, Nellie McKay, Tina and Her Pony, and more!

Can’t wait to see you at the festival – be sure to bring your ukulele and jam with us!

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Hey UUers!

Summer has arrived and along with it some pretty sweet NEW stuff available just for you in the UU Merch Store! Brand new in the store:

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Mono Cases – They’re finally here! We’ve been trying to get these cases in the store for a very long time, and now they’re available for your ukulele protection pleasure. Don’t be fooled by their appearance – these are NOT gig bags. Built to military specs with side impact bracing, waterproof Sharkskin™ outer shells, and a soft yet shred-resistant inner lining, these cases are a very welcomed light weight (48 oz.) alternative to heavy & cumbersome hard cases, with the same protection for your dollar.

UU Tees in Royal Blue – For your summertime blues! For a limited time, we’re doing a run of Official UU Tees in Royal Blue. Get them while they’re available, cause they may not be around for long! (UU Tees are also still available in standard colors – Black, Brown, and Navy Blue)

Pro-Winder by Planet Waves – The ultimate all-in-one tool for stringing or re-stringing your ukulele! (See Aldrine’s video review). Combination string winder, clipper, stretcher, and bridge pin puller, this handy tool provides everything you need to quickly get your ukulele strings on and off with ease.

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PhD Un-Wound Low G Strings – Many of you have been searching high and low for unwound Low G strings (instead of the often used and usually unbalanced aluminum-wound Low Gs that many string brands offer). PhD strings, designed and optimized by uke player and UUer Jason Arimoto, provide you with a crystal clear balanced sound, with unwound Low Gs available in full string packs or just as single strings. Try them out today!

T2 Titanium Strings by D’Addario – The strings that Aldrine uses, available for you to pick up in concert and tenor sizes.

The UU Store is also restocked on hats and hoodies, so if you’ve been checking back to see if we have your size, everything should be restocked now.

Hope you’re having a great start to your summer! Keep your friends close and your ukulele even closer Keep strummin’!

Aloha,
-UU Staff

*Edit* Much MAHALO to everyone who was a good sport about this year’s UU April Fool’s Day prank! We did receive a lot of awesome emails and it was very cool to hear from all you loyal UUers. Hope your April Fool’s Day was fun, safe, and filled with uke. Keep strummin’!

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Aloha UU Members!

As many of you may remember, I used to use a Kamaka HF-3 Tenor ukulele, “Mika”, in almost all of the old Ukulele Underground videos. Today I’m giving you a chance to win her for yourself. Here’s the story:

We’ve been planning and building up to this for a long time. At the end of each of the episodes of Uke Lessons on Ukulele Underground, there is a blooper reel. If you wait until the very end, there’s always an extra blooper clip. In the background of each final clip, we’ve been hiding letters of the alphabet.

Today Uke Lesson 52 was released. That means there are 52 hidden letters in all of the Uke Lessons combined. Put them all together and you will form a very meaningful Secret Sentence.

Be the first to figure out the Secret Sentence and email it to:

UUGoodbyeMika@gmail.com

And you’ll win Mika. I’m actually really sad to see her go, but she deserves a good home. Only a true UU fan would be able to figure this one out, so at least I know that she’ll be in good hands.

Have fun and good luck :3
Aldrine

Aloha everyone, we’re very excited to bring you a new Master Class series this month featuring Eugene OR based ukulele artist Craig Chee!

This course is for the beginner ukulele player who is getting bored with just strumming and want to start experimenting with all other fun things the ukulele can do. You’ve seen some amazing ukulele artists do amazing things on their ukulele but worry that you could never play like. This course will help you see you can.

In this seminar he calls “Bridging the Gap”, Craig teaches you techniques that will help the beginner ukulele player build grow into a more advanced player. In this course you will learn left and right hand techniques that can be used in both solo performances and as a lead ukulele player. Most importantly he provides you with exercises to practice that will help you master these techniques and truly become a better ukulele player.

The full 8 part course is available now on UU+. Watch it here now!

http://ukuleleunderground.com/namm

We also have previous years coverage there as well but if you only want to watch the new videos, here is Day 1 and Day 2. Day 3 coming tomorrow.

Hey UUers!

In August we held the UU “Ambassadors of Ukulele” Give-Away Contest where we asked you to email in the ways they would use a brand new KoAloha Tenor Ukulele and a full year membership to UU+ to spread the joy of ukulele. 500 emails later and after over two months of deliberation, we finally chose our winner! (Check out the video above to find out who!)

Thank you so much to everyone who entered – there were so many great entries and we had the hardest time choosing, but don’t fret – there will be more UU ukulele give-aways coming up soon. Also a gigantic MAHALO to the awesome folks over at KoAloha who donated the KTM-00 Tenor KoAloha for the winner.

Hope you have an awesome Saturday! Keep strumming and spreading the ukulele love!

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Hey UUers!

The Holidays have arrived! Get your early shopping done for your favorite uke player over at the UU Store. There you can buy the newest Ukulele Underground T-Shirt design – the UU REBEL YOUTH TEE! It’s available in regular AND kids sizes, so pick one up for the uke player in your family!

All of the regular UU T-shirt and UU Zip Hoodies have been restocked, along with tuners and DVDs, so have fun browsing & stocking up on your ukulele-related gifts and knick-knacks at the UU Store!

Keep strummin’ and Happy Holidays!

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Download I’m a Dreamer

Hey UUers!

Summer 2011 – why must you be over?! Catch the fleeting rays of Summertime with the Limited Edition Ukulele Underground “End Of Summertime Tee” (multi-color on Silver)! Each one is hand screened using a unique inking process which makes each shirt one of a kind – check out the video for more info and to see the process. Only 55 of these silver tees were printed, so be sure to pick yours up while summer’s still here!

Also, BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL on the Kamoa E-Series Pineapple, Soprano, and Tenor ukuleles! Right now you can pick up the Kamoa Mahogany Pineapple ukulele for $99 (regular $118) and the Kamoa Mahogany Tenor for $159 (regular $199) + shipping. We’re also offering the popular Kamoa Mahogany Soprano for the regular low price of $118 with FREE SHIPPING! Swing by the UU Store and see what you want to bring back to campus …

And finally, we want to officially welcome on board our new UU Store Manager and head of product shipments, Kahai Furugen! He’s a really awesome worker, just graduated from high school, and he needs some practice shipping out UU merch to all you crazy uke-playing kids. So be sure to grab something from the UU Store & help us put him to work!

Hope you’re having a relaxing weekend! Bring along that uke of yours and create the perfect soundtrack to your life.

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Hey UUers!

In just a few weeks, UU and Aldrine will be heading to Oregon & Washington to play shows, teach ukulele workshops, & meet up and jam with YOU! So if you’re going to be in the area, be sure to come out, bring your uke, and jam with UU!

Tour Dates:
Oct. 7-8 (Fri/Sat) – EUGENE, OR. UKEtoberfest! Aldrine will be around all day on both days, playing and holding workshops during the festival, so find us and hang out! Buy your tickets at http://uketoberfest.com/ Location MAP

- Oct. 11 (Tue) – BEND, OR. The Sound Garden! Aldrine will be teaching a workshop (6pm) and playing a live concert (7:30pm) at the Sound Garden Studio in Bend. Location MAP

Oct. 14 (Fri) – SEATTLE, WA. Dusty Strings! Aldrine will be doing two workshops at the Dusty Strings Store / Music School. Beginner Workshop 1-3pm, Intermediate/Advanced Workshop 3:30-5:30pm. Both workshops will be followed by a mini jam*! Check out http://dustystrings.com/ for more info! Location MAP
*Aldrine will be playing songs and jamming with everyone who attends the workshop after the lesson is finished!

Oct. 16 (Sun) – TACOMA, WA. Ukulele Ohana! Aldrine will doing a workshop at Queen’s Closet in Lakewood from 3:45-5pm ($15) Location MAP. (9614 40th Ave. Lakewood, WA 98499) Then we’ll all be heading over to the Lakewood Elks Club Lodge for a Live Performance at 7pm ($18) Location MAP (6313 75th Street West, Tacoma, WA 98499)

Oct. 17 (Mon) – TACOMA, WA. Monday Ukulele Ohana Meetup! Aldrine will be hanging out with the Monday Ukulele Ohana for their regular meetup at Queen’s Closet (5:30pm)! Location MAP (9614 40th Ave. Lakewood, WA 98499)

We’re beyond excited to meet up with all you uke players in Washington & Oregon! Spread the word, practice those songs, and shine up your axes – UU is coming to the Pacific Northwest to rock with you!

Aloha,
-UU Staff