The Ukulele Podcast

Merry Christmas! I got to catch up with my oldest and tallest friend in the ukulele world, Peter Brooke-Turner of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain recently, and we put the world to rights having a good old natter about: The weather Near-death experiences Life - what does it all mean?! Singing Ave Maria with Poppy in the garden Touring the States Where are the next generation of stars coming...

This week on The Ukulele Podcast, I'm delighted to be joined by Nicky Campbell! Nicky has a brand new ukulele album out right now, Through It All - 13 Songs About Love, which I highly recommend! We covered everything from: * Starting as a jingle writer for local radio * Songwriting techniques * Playing music with his daughters * Choosing a ukulele for life * Coming up with the perfect lyric * Ukul...

G'Day mates! This week we're heading down under to chat with the awesome Stukulele from Uke Mullum! We chat about loads of different topics, including: Fatherhood Becoming a professional musician at the age of 16 Touring the country Gigging alongside BLUEY'S DAD! Headlining a gig over Nirvana Taking James Hill's teacher training class Switching from drums to the ukulele Writing and performing with...

This week I chat with the brilliant Katie Denure of One Music School! We chat about loads of different topics, including: Why she did NOT want to go into YouTube originally Religion Meeting her husband Being a black belt in kung fu! The difficulty of teaching your own children Bluey! When did she start playing music? Moving from guitar to ukulele Performing at the LA Festival Writing her own songs...

Ukulele Tales returns for season 3 with a very special LIVE episode. Recorded at the recent Allegheny Ukulele Soiree in Altoona, PA, our special guest is the amazing MIM from Mim's Ukes ! We chat about everything from how she got her start in the ukulele world, where her name comes from, embarrassing herself in front of celebrities at NaMM, combining Dungeons and Dragons with MCing ukulele nights....

This week I chat with musician, friend, and former neighbour: the beautiful Tom Goss! We had a lot of catching up to do, and cover a lot of ground, including: His New Album - “Remember What It Feels Like” Emerging from the pandemic and how that effected his creativity Traveling the world as a musician  Using humour to move beyond fear Fake people in L.A. Why straight people have kids Staying...

This week I chat with the awesome British musician, Marc Gallagher about: Memorising songs easily - he has over 700 learnt off by heart! His numerous collabs Perfect Pitch - how he found out he had it, how he puts it to good use, and why it's a blessing and a curse How many different instruments he plays Attending GNUF as a teenage sound engineer and stealing the show at an open mic set Being prou...

This week I'm speaking to half of one of the top up-and-coming acts on the UK ukulele scene: Uke Dad! If you have any thoughts, comments or guest suggestions for the show please send me a message to UkeTeacher@GrabYourUke.com --- Ukulele Tales is sponsored by Kala Brand Music ! For a 10% discount on anything on the Kala website, just click on my special link! --- Check out my Patreon page to help...

This week we're talking to the UKE HEADS, the ukulele enthusiasts just like you and me who actually played on the new James Hill album of the same name! We discuss: What the Uke Heads project is How did people hear about it? Difficulties of recording at home The Uke Heads community and what it’s meant to everyone What it means to play on a James Hill album NFTs Celebrating the release of the album...

This week I'm speaking to Marlowe! We discuss: Getting over her childhood fear of singing in public Wanting to get your music just right before releasing it Collabing and working with others including Brittni Paiva Growing up in a musical family How long it took her to fall in love with the ukulele (and why it wasn’t straight away!) Who her ukulele influences and idols were Some amazing stories ab...

Merry Christmas! This week I'm chatting with James Hill and Anne Janelle about their terrific new festive album, The Midnight Clear . We also discuss: What it's like to write and record an album with your significant other The importance of Christmas music in today's increasingly fragmented society The lengthy incubation period for so many creative projects Has 2023 been a good year for them Plans...

Ukulele Tales has been nominated for Best Ukulele Podcast in the 2023 Anarchy In The Ukulele Awards! VOTE HERE! Today I'm chatting with Sammy Turton, aka 4stringboy about all sorts of things including: Writing and recording his first album, Vejr (meaning "Weather") How he and his wife ended up living in Copenhagen thanks to Brexit Performing live versus performing to a backing track The origins of...

This week I'm chatting with Will Grove-White, formerly of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Will joined the Ukes when he was just a teenager and spent well over half of his life with the band - so why did he decide to step away? We also discuss: Life after the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Why he decided to make his own ukuleles Writing music for hit TV shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm a...

Today I'm really excited to be chatting to BBC star Nick Cope, of Nick Cope's Popcast fame! (And so is Percy!) We discuss: Making the transition from indie pop star to kid’s tv presenter The secret of writing a good song for the whole family to enjoy Perfoming for young children Getting his show on the BBC Growing up with a famous dad How he got started playing music Not being able to remember the...

We're back! After an extended summer break, Ukulele Tales returns with an exclusive interview with the world-renowned Cynthia Lin. We discuss: Her ambition to perform in a Broadway Musical Her new album Touring Europe with her band U3 Finding your people Burnout! Why Cynthia was ready to step away from YouTube The hundred days of ukulele project Getting creepy comments online The Zone of Genius Hi...

A week in the life of 'The Ukulele Teacher'. I visit a ukulele festival in Bristol, head to London to see Will Grove-White's homemade ukuleles and take in a show in the West End with Cynthia Lin! --- I'd love to hear from you! Please let me know what you think of the show or who you'd like to hear as a guest on future episodes: UkeTeacher@GrabYourUke.com --- Ukulele Tales is sponsored by Kala Bran...

This week is part two of my conversation with the amazing Danielle Ate The Sandwich. If you haven't heard part one yet, go back and check it out! This week we delve back into the origin story of Danielle Ate The Sandwich - primarily, how she landed on her chosen moniker, and why she didn't think she was cool enough for to be called Danielle Ate The Pizza. We also talk a bit about how we first met...

This week is part one of my conversation with one of the OG's of the YouTube ukulele scene - Danielle Anderson, aka Danielle Ate The Sandwich!, Next week we'll talk all about her origin story - how she got the name Danielle Ate The Sandwich, as well as her transition into the world of comedy. But today we focus on songwriting - particularly her 24 Album songwriting challenge, and the difficulties...

This week we're in conversation with Michela Consiglio, the founder of Ukulele Safari! Michela shares how the Ukulele Community saved her life, and inspired her to combine her passion for the ukulele with her job as a safari guide - to create Ukulele Safari! She also gives her unique perspective on the world, talks about her idea for a ukulele board game, how she put her neighbours' children throu...

This week I'm speaking to teacher, performer, and all-round ukulele great, Peter Luongo! You may have seen Peter in the 2006 documentary The Mighty Uke, or you may have seen him performing as part of the Legacy Ukulele Ensemble. Or perhaps you know him best as James Hill's ukulele teacher. Either way, the man is an absolute dynamo, and I was privileged to manage to get him to sit still(ish!) for a...

This week I'm speaking to the brains behind the excellent All For Uke website/YouTube channel: Kevin Presbrey. Kevin has been a recording artist - both as part of a band, and solo - since the early 2000s, and his music has appeared in hit TV shows on MTV, VH1 and more. He's also shared a stage with the Doobie Brothers and members of the band Train, as well as writing some terrific songs in the cou...

You may have seen Anne Reburn and her clones in some terrific YouTube cover videos on her channel (Mr. Sandman, with over 9 MILLION views is perhaps the most famous one!), but she also writes and records her own music, produces and directs her own videos, and has done voiceover work for a Netflix animated series. She was also one of the first musicians that I met when I was living in the U.S.A. an...

This week journeyman musician Phil Doleman stopped by on the way to a folk music festival for lunch and a chat! We talk about: Being a ukulele YouTube OG Playing on Top of the Pops Performing at Downton Abbey Why he's "not an Ed Sheeran guy" Why he took his music down from Spotify The importance of keeping old music alive His comedy double-act The Re-Entrants Getting over stage fright  And lo...

In 2016 Ron Telpner received a cancer diagnosis and was told he had just months to live. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he decided to learn how to play the ukulele, posting a new song to Instagram every single day to chart his progress. Now seven years later, Ron is alive and kicking, and he credits the uke with helping him outlive his diagnosis. This is a must-listen episode, as Ron is ful...

This week I'm chatting with Davide and Claudia - collectively known as Italian musical duo "Daudia", who I met up with at NaMM 2023. We talk about: What’s the ukulele scene like in Italy? Appearing on the X Factor What’s Simon Cowell really like? Why didn’t they stay in England after X factor? Did social media make them or break them? How success on YouTube brought them fame around the world, incl...