Happy Uke Day 2024! Here’s a special interview with the amazing James Hill…

Enjoy!

Cameron

Cool, kind and talented – that’s how I’d describe Lucy LaForge.

The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has made waves in the music industry with her indie band project Lucy & La Mer. She’s been featured in the LA Times and HuffPost and has performed at LA Fashion Week, as well as for the Mayor of LA. She’s also worked with major uke brands Kala and Fender.

Away from music, Lucy is known for her mental health and LGBTQ+ advocacy and she presented a powerful TEDx talk in 2022 on the limits of binary thinking and how self-awareness can free us from the boxes we form around our identity. You can watch the talk below.

It was lovely to chat with Lucy, so please have a listen!

Cameron

listentolucy.com

Erin Harrington, aka Miss Elm, is a singer-songwriter and music educator from Brisbane, Australia. We met at a festival a few years ago and I was immediately impressed with her passion and enthusiasm for the ukulele and its potential.

Erin and I had a great conversation about her musical journey and ambitions and I’m sure you’ll also enjoy it!

Cameron

misselm.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/misselmmusic

facebook.com/misselmmusic

theukulelerockers.com

As it says on her website, Brittni and her ukulele are a brilliant match: Both are humble in nature, small in size, and very powerful with proper delivery.

We first met in Hawaii in the mid-2000s and I was blown away by her passion and creativity. A multi award-winning instrumentalist, she’s always pushing the envelope musically and is on the verge of releasing her sixth album.

Brittni and I had a really fun chat and I hope you enjoy it!

Cameron

brittnipaiva.com

When I first met Andrew in Los Angeles, he was just starting to make waves on the uke scene, but it was obvious he’d become one of the best performers around. He had a glint in his eye and the skills to back it up. Fast-forward a few years and Andrew has three fantastic albums to his name, as well as a brand-new online ukulele academy. We had a great chat about his musical journey so far and he gave me some valuable tips for players of all levels. Enjoy!

andrewmolinaukulele.com

American singer-songwriter Tom Freund is a fairly recent convert to the uke, but he’s making up for lost time. As soon as I heard his single Happy Uke, I thought it’d be fun to have a chat with him about it, and I was right!

Over the years, Tom has collaborated with Ben Harper, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, KT Tunstall, Dave Matthews, Diana Krall and many others. He’s also done a lot of work on TV shows such as One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, Parenthood, Las Vegas and Pete The Cat, and he performed with Graham Parker in the 2012 Judd Apatow comedy This Is 40.

Happy listening!

Cameron

tomfreund.com

Daniel Ho & Cameron Murray at the 2019 NAMM Show in Los Angeles

Born in Hawaii and based in California, Daniel Ho is a one-man industry. The talented singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, composer and audio engineer has won six Grammy Awards and shows no signs of slowing down…even during a global pandemic!

In our wide-ranging chat, Daniel talks about the future of the music industry, gives us an insight into co-designing Romero Creations instruments, and tells us exactly what the ukulele means to him. And you won’t want to miss his fantastic tips for players and songwriters.

Enjoy!

Cameron

danielho.com

Daniel on Apple Music

Daniel’s uke course at Musician’s Creativity Lab

For Episode 10 of the podcast, it’s my great pleasure to bring you an interview with the incredible Janet Klein. Since 1998, the charming uke-playing chanteuse and her hot band The Parlor Boys have been recording and performing rare and forgotten musical gems from the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s. 

During lockdown, she’s been presenting her “Hit Of The Week” Parlor Party, an online hootenanny that features interviews with fascinating artists and historians, as well as plenty of fabulous music. 

I hope you enjoy our chat!

Cameron

janetklein.com

janetklein.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/janetkleinandherparlorboys

kleinette.com

AMERICAN uke star Victoria Vox put out her first solo album in 2006 and in 2018 released her 10th, the fantastic Colorful Heart. More recently, she’s been performing with her husband Jack Maher as one half of Jack & The Vox, and the couple has been presenting fun online concerts from their home in California during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

It was a real pleasure to catch up with Victoria for this episode and I hope you enjoy it!

Cameron

VictoriaVox.com

Patreon.com/victoriavox

Instagram.com/victoriavox

twitter.com/victoriavox

Facebook.com/victoriavoxlovesyou

YouTube.com/victoriavox

WILLIAM Preston Robertson (above left) is the writer and co-director of 2003 documentary Rock That Uke. Narrated by Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter, the quirky film looks at the punk rock ukulele scene that emerged in America in the 1990s and includes interviews with local punk luminaries, such as Carmaig DeForest, as well as our Issue 7 cover girl Janet Klein.

RTU was heavily criticised at the time of its release, but to me – and many others around the world – it was nothing short of a revelation. When I finally met Bill in Sydney, Australia, I knew right away that we’d be friends. It was a great pleasure to reconnect with him for this episode. Happy listening!

Rock That Uke is available on DVD exclusively here:
kamuke.com/store/Rock-That-Uke-DVD

*This episode of Ukulele Stories was recorded before the COVID-19 crisis.