Anacapa Ukulele Kanikapila

Anacapa Ukulele

1899 E. Main Street

Ventura CA 93001

When I was younger, roughly from the time I was about 14 or so until well into my 40's, I collected music. Records and then cd's numbered into the thousands. I knew used cd stores all over Los Angeles, and had favorites where I would drop a hundred bucks or so a few times a month.

Now though, all those cd's are boxed up in my garage, and the records never made it here but instead are in my mom's garage. Though I miss the tactile feeling of record shopping and cd shopping, I've adapted well to the internet age, and have found virtually every song that I've ever wanted in the digital format. I've mentioned that in a previous post (2/12/2010), so I won't go into it again. The bottom line is that I don't buy music very much anymore. I pretty much have everything I've ever wanted.

Some of my axes

So a few years ago, when my father-in-law started playing guitar again, and I along with him, I also started playing the ukulele. I know just enough music theory to move some of what I know about guitar onto the uke, which is tuned up a fourth from the guitar and has two less strings to worry about. I'd bang around on my guitar for a while, and then switch to ukulele when my fingers got tired. I had a cheap Santa Rosa that had a tuning machine go awry and my kids then lost the part that came off, then got a slightly better Lanikai LU-21. From there, it was on. Over the last two years, I bought several from both eBay and the Goodwill Auction site. It's a different type of music fix.

Now I own a vintage Regal soprano, which sounds great, an SS Maxwell soprano (most likely a Harmony brand) which sounded pretty good until I accidentally left it outside and the bridge popped off, a Harmony baritone, an island laser concert Fluke that I got off eBay last summer, the Oscar Schmidt OU 26T (see the 12/30/12 post) and now I have a Treeholipee coming, which I'm sure will make it's own post when I get it. 

I visited Anacapa Ukulele on a  recommendation from another local music place which is very friendly, Pulse Drumming, when I was on the hunt for the OU 26T last summer. That was before they moved from McGrath to the Main Street location, and I spoke to Brad the owner. He was great, gave me a bunch of stickers, and had me sign up on the mailing list. I went to one workshop, which was fun, and when they moved to Main Street, I'd walk in and dream about owning the ukes on the wall. 

I was in my dreaming mode when I walked in Friday, and the Laura, the girl working, invited me back for the Kanikapila. A Kanikapila is a ukulele jam session with all level of players, and Anacapa Ukes organizes some sort of meal after, today from Q and Q Hawaiian BBQ, and shaved ice. I was going to bbq burgers, so I bribed the family with shaved ice and brought the Fluke and the OU 26T to jam with.

Set up in the courtyard of the shop was a makeshift stage, and when we walked in a guy was playing his uke. And I mean playing, taking solos that were lead guitar like in quality in a way that I've never been able to figure out. We got our raffle tickets, and found a spot to sit under a tree. I pulled out my uke but felt outgunned when I looked around and saw the Kamaka's and Koalohoa's surrounding my Oscar Schmidtt, but I think I played better then some of them. 

The OU-26T

It was pretty fun, with Brad bringing different people up to play, and all the ukes in the courtyard following along. Anyone could sign up to lead a song. Volunteers would go up, go over the chords (usually only two or three), and then away the group would go. The one guy who could play-I'll get his name and add it later-was playing an electric cordless uke and adding lead lines all over, while Brad was sitting on and playing a cajon, the big wood box drum. The addition of those instruments made the jam sound pretty good. There was an older women who played "Stewball" (Stewball was a racehorse and I wish he were mine/he never drank water, he always drank wine), and another guy who played a couple of Hawaiian songs and had a good voice. Then there was the one chord wonder of "Alley Oop," which I was able to play.

After about an hour, lunch and snow cones were served-by this time I'd lost my girls but my son hung with me. I struck up a conversation with the two Kamakas and the couple who owned them. One was my dream uke, a Kamaka Liliua, a six string tenor that I first saw in a furniture store in Hilo that I really wanted to bring home with me then. They were interested in my Fluke, so we swapped for a brief moment, and then I offered them my son for the uke.

Unfortunately they didn't take him.

I walked about, talking to other people and enjoying a shaved ice. The inventory at Anacapa is small, but there's a pretty good turnover, so I see different instruments every time I'm in, and the staff is so nice that I always want to buy something but don't really need anything. I think I will finally buy one of their t-shirts that next time I'm in.

The raffle came next, and my son was rewarded for sticking around by winning a hand made lei, which he was pretty excited about. He even tried to play a few notes for the last jam, and then things wrapped up.

Two hours well spent on a Sunday. Anacapa Ukulele has two more Kanikapila's planned this summer, on the last Sundays of June and July, and now that my son kind of likes it, I'm sure that I'll make at least one of them.

June 30, 2013 Update

Today was another Kanikapila, and again, it's fun to get out and play ukulele. Only my son went with me this time-the girls have kind of a negative attitude, which brings everybody down, so I just let them be. 

I'm a competent player now, able to follow along with what's happening, and even understanding the patterns that are taking place. They jam Wednesday nights, and I might give it a try one Wednesday. 

July 29, 2013 Update

Yesterday was the last Kanikapila of the summer, and my persistence in attendance was rewarded by winning the drawing! A Kala KA-15S! It's a nice little starter uke, on par with my Lanikai, so since my son has come with me to everyone of these this summer, I gave it to him, and bought a chord chart from the store to go with it. I gave my son the key to all songwriting knowledge, "1, 4, 5", (meaning that if, say, the C was the 1 chord, F would be the 4 chord and G would be the 5. If he played those chords together, he should be able to make a song), which he wrote on the box.

I'm hoping he spends a little time with it and learns a song or two. We'll see.

Next summer I will lead a song! 

Many thanks to Brad and Anacapa Ukulele for putting me on the road to uke stardom.