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Well, I just want to tell you that you got to reserve these dates .... April 18th and 19th for the Maitland Spring Festival of the Arts. It is held each year at beautiful Lake Lily in Maitland, Florida. This year's event features 170 fine artists and craftspeople, great food and beverage stations, and, TADA, drum roll... me. Yup, I am going to be there with my ukulele to sing and dance and entertain the young ones (and the young at heart). I will be doing songs from my cds, and of course, the wonderful, traditional songs that kids know and love. Join me, 'cause we are gonna' have lots of fun. For directions go to http://www.maitlandchamber.com/events/art.htm and stop by and say hello. Love,
Greetings, Whoever said "good things come in small packages" must have been a uke player. Surely it is the greatest surprise that so much sheer joy and delightful sound could come from such a small but nobel instrument. To that end, meet HoneyBell, my new soprano ukulele. Doug Montgomery and Bill Fels are the owners of the Guitar Factory in Orlando, Florida, and HoneyBell is their line of soprano, concert and taropatch ukuleles. The atmosphere of their shop is downright homey until you notice the walls are covered with signed photos from famous musicians, each expressing gratitude and delight with their new instrument. Then it occurs to you that you are in some mighty fine company. Yesterday I went and picked up my new HoneyBell . It is beautifully crafted of mahogany and is ... well ... sweet as honey to listen to, look at and play. Doug was on hand to greet me, He is a renown luthier who has total enthusiasm for each instrument he builds. He showed me all his models, both ukes and guitars. One thing that particularly interested me were his woods. Among the rare and traditional varieties, were woods he salvaged from felled trees after Hurricane Charley whipped through Central Florida some years ago, I saw a guitar made of Dogwood. It was gorgeous. As a Floridian, it was restorative to my heart to see such beauty resulting from that devastating storm. You can learn more about Doug and Bill at www.guitarfactory.us . By the way, the reason that ukulele players tend to accumulate so many instruments is because each one sounds different. HoneyBell and I are in the process of getting to know each other. What fun! Stay tuned ... love, Madeline
Hi Everyone,
Seattle area is home to Waverly Park, a centerpiece of community gathering. A wide two lane path (one lane for feet, one for wheeled devices) borders a beautiful lake - and on this sunny Saturday afternoon it seemed like all of Seattle was there... Moms, Dads, kids, lovers, old folks, teens in groups, Ipoded and oblvious-to-everyone-else music listeners, runners, walkers, skaters, bike riders, scooterers, strollers, and dog walkers ... all rejoicing in the bright and temperate winter day. What truly captivated me, however, were the street musicians ... every couple of hundred feet, some guitar player, or singer, or saxaphone player, or folk duet, was set up on the grass, performing their hearts out. Open instrument cases, with small stacks of dollars, testified to the crowd's appreciation. One musician, however, was particularly delightful. He played a drum, came equipped with an array of percussive instruments and was willing to share them with anyone. His takers were mostly children. I guess us adults are just a little inhibited, huh? I heard one cowbell playing child call out to his parents, "Look! I'm playing real music." Over at the swing set, a little girl and her mother were chanting in unison "Swinging, Swinging...." in perfect time to the drum beat. On the plane ride home I had time to think about it. Music really is all around us, and in us, and it is so easy to set it free. A little encouragement goes a long way. I guess this thought will manifest itself in a song - and I will let you when it does. Musically yours, Madeline |
I'm just back from a couple of days in Seattle and I am happy to report that the state of Street Music there is fine and dandy.