Yikes, it’s a Ukulele Bizarro Festival and Indyish is in it! + the story of my purple Fluke

Oy / oh noes! / hip hip Horray! It’s 1 week until the Ukulele Bizarro, featuring a small sprightly herd of ladies weiding that jumping flea… and one of them is me! First full gig eva! Yipes!

Ever since I fell in love with a small purple Mahalo at Steve’s Music down in Old Montreal, the uke has been a sweet, swelling highlight of my existence. Uke people are mad, and joyful, and more explicitly community-building then any arts community I’ve met yet! How community building are they? Let me tell you a story.

I had been posting pretty bad cover songs up on a previously-annonymous youtube account for about a week before a TOTAL INTERNET STRANGER sent me an odd note:

…
hey there
you can really rock that mahalo but i think it’s tme for an upgrade don’t you? would you like a purple fluke? free of charge of course and i can assure you i am not some crazy stalker. if you do a youtube search on my name you’ll see i do this a lot.

let me know and keep up the great videos

2 weeks later the purple Fluke arrived!

I think the reason this stranger (who makes amazing, hilarious uke cover videos of his own, but who asked me not to reveal his identity so he can avoid the bombardment of requests) picked me to receive the uke bounty was not just due to my clear natural exuberance for the flea (ha!) but was instead about how much interaction I had with my commenters. I think he recognized and wanted to support some who could be a fellow uke community builder (I’m chatty like that, turns out in some contexts it’s a good thing! My high school teachers would be so glad =). Anyway, 3 months later I’m playing in, and co-presenting, a Ukuladies Festival with one of my indie heros, Lederhosen Lucil! Goes to show, play the uke with love and the Ukeverse sends love back atcha!

ps- Lucil (Krista) and I will be recording a segment with CTV today about the Ukulele Bizarro! Bizzare, no? But also, bitchin.

Lederhosen Lucil and Indyish.com present…
FIRST MONTREAL “UKULELE BIZARRO FESTIVAL”
Thursday, May 21st
Doors 8:30pm Show at 9:00pm
Il Motore – 179 Jean Talon Ouest
$5-8 PWYC at the door

After seeing the “London Ukulele Orchestra,” performing at a New York Ukulele Cabaret and connecting with uke players from around the world, Krista discovered Montreal has a wealth of indie and closet uke players. What better way to bring them together than under the roof of Il Motore in a Ukulele Festival complete with raffle, door prizes, indie general store, snacks and DJ Oahu! And what better way to celebrate the stereotypically kitsch but ultimately joyful and rich instrument than with an animated MC like Lederhosen Lucil!

Krista Muir fell for the low and resonant baritone uke (Joni Mitchell’s first instrument and a favorite of George Harrison) in 2005 and has since written two albums of songs inspired by it (“Leave Alight” – 2007 and “Accidental Railway” 2009). The jumping flea (pronounced “oo-koo-lay-lay”) has been enjoying a global revival and on Thursday, May 21st Lederhosen Lucil will come out of the pantry to join forces with local indie web and interactive group indyish.com to host the first ever Montreal “Ukulele Bizarro” Festival. 5 solo acts will perform mini sets including late addition “Nive” (Nuuk, Greenland) whom Krista met at the SXSW Festival in Austin this past March.

Kitsch and cult dress code is encouraged. Magnum PI look-a-likes will compete for a special “Ukulele Bizarro” commemorative prize. It’s going to be a quirky, beautiful and fun-filled evening of ukulele love!

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FEATURED ACTS FOR MONTREAL’S “UKULELE BIZARRO”:

Krista Muir – Bike-rider, costume designer, composer, creator of Lederhosen Lucil and baritone ukulele aficionado.
http://www.myspace.com/kristallmuir / http://www.lederhosenlucil.com
Meb – Teacher, musicologist and ukulele player with a voice like Laetitia Sadier.
http://www.myspace.com/mebmusique
Miss Dynamite – Journalist, mind reader and mysterious ukulele player rumored to be the lead singer of Montreal’s super group “The Mongrels.”
http://www.myspace.com/mongrelsmtl
Nive – Greenlander, snow walker, cowboy boots connoisseur and ukulele strum specialist who recently worked with legendary John Parish. http://www.myspace.com/nivenielsen
Risa Dickens – Co-founder of indyish.com and purple fluke ukulele enthusiast.
http://www.indyish.com