UkeStuff Podcast

Melanie Doane is quietly one of the most influential people in the world of the ukulele. Daughter of J. Chalmers Doane (the educator who introduced a systematic ukulele program that spread throughout Canada), Melanie has had a rich career as a actress in musicals, as a Juno award winning musician in the pop scene, and … Continue reading Episode 41 – A Visit with Melanie Doane →

In this episode, host Chris Russell visits with music educator and YouTube creator, David Gray. David is a primary music educator in the United Kingdom who has been creating wonderful resources on YouTube, and also is an associate of Octopus Ukulele. In this podcast, Chris and David talk about many issues, such as the differences … Continue reading Episode 40 – A Visit with David Gray →

Host Chris Russell has the opportunity to visit with Aaron and Nicole Keim from The Quiet American (their performing group) and Beansprout Musical Instruments (Their instrument company). Aaron and Nicole were raised in Wisconsin, slowly landed in the world of folk music, and then professionally located in Colorado and Oregon as they established an instrument … Continue reading Episode 39 – A Visit with Aaron and Nicole Keim (The Quiet American and Beansprout Musical Instruments) →

In this podcast, host Chris Russell visits with Mike McQueen, the owner of The Uke Republic in Austell, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta). The discussion covers a wide range of topics, including the history of The Uke Republic, some perspective from the sales side of the industry, and a lot of Mike’s entertaining personality and … Continue reading Episode 38 – A Visit with Mike McQueen (The Uke Republic) →

In this episode of the UkeStuff Podcast, we visit with Pete McCarty, the world’s greatest ukulele song leader. Pete lives in Memphis, Tennessee, and helped to found the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob. Pete has led song/jam sessions throughout the world, including at MUFM events in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Hawaii, and in the … Continue reading Episode 37 – A Visit with Pete McCarty →

In this episode of the UkeStuff Podcast, host Chris Russell visits with Daniel Ho for the second of two podcasts, and the focus is more on education topics. Daniel is an ‘ukulele virtuoso, slack key guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, singer-songwriter, producer, audio engineer, and record company owner. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner, twelve-time … Continue reading Episode 36 – Daniel Ho (Part 2 – Education Issues) →

In this episode of the UkeStuff Podcast, host Chris Russell visits with Daniel Ho for the first of two podcasts. Daniel is an ‘ukulele virtuoso, slack key guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, singer-songwriter, producer, audio engineer, and record company owner. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner, twelve-time Grammy Award nominee, six-time Taiwanese Golden Melody Award … Continue reading Episode 35 – Daniel Ho (Part 1) →

Today was a day where I ended up discussing left handed ukulele playing as a teacher twice. First, at the Georgia Music Educators Association, and the later on Facebook. So I am clear, I allow my left handed students (in 5th grade at the point) to decide if they want to play right handed, left … Continue reading Episode 34 – Best Practice with Left Handed Ukulele Players →

In this episode of the UkeStuff Podcast, host Chris Russell visits with one of the main catalysts for the current “Third Wave” of the ukulele, Jim Beloff. Jim has created 36 music books, three other books on ukulele, twelve audio recordings, five DVDs, two classical works for ukulele, one of the oldest and most respected … Continue reading Episode 33 – UKEtopia! A visit with Jim Beloff – Part 2 →

In this episode of the UkeStuff Podcast, host Chris Russell visits with one of the main catalysts for the current “Third Wave” of the ukulele, Jim Beloff. Jim has created 36 music books, three other books on ukulele, twelve audio recordings, five DVDs, two classical works for ukulele, one of the oldest and most respected … Continue reading Episode 33 – UKEtopia! A visit with Jim Beloff – Part 2 →