Greetings, citizens —

I’m still mending. The COVID/Paxlovid rebound isn’t severe but it’s tenacious. I still (knock on AAA koa) should be good for our January 19 jam. I can’t wait to see you all again.

Before the jam, think about the songs you consider familiar and right for our lunch date with the New Hope Keenagers February 14 at New Hope Baptist Church. The set will last about 30 minutes. Bonnie has wisely suggested we open with “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and close with “On the Road Again.” What six or eight other songs would you like to play? Even if you’ll not be there, help us build a set list.

I have thoughts and preferences, of course, but let’s see what the hive mind thinks. We’ll also need a head count so the Keenagers will know how many lunches to provide for us. We can work that out between now and our Groundhog Day (that’s right!) jam at the church.

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Now you know two of our next three jam dates. In between, we’ll be at Pelagic January 31.

Also, I’ll have some exciting news about Make Music Day, June 21, to share soon.

Say hello to my little friend

I got an early birthday present! We found a great deal on the secondary market for an Ohana taropatch (8-string concert scale) mahogany ukulele with hard case. The “taropatch fiddle” was one of the ukulele variations that Martin created about 100 years ago. It has a bigger sound than the standard/soprano, with an extra jangle from the extra strings. As the linked article says, the taropatch never caught on, but the larger body did. Hence the birth of the concert ukulele. Its larger-bodied, longer-scale siblings followed.

The original owner of this one bought it from Mims Ukes and it’s barely been played. Ironically, Mim (who is awesome) will be performing, teaching, and selling merch at the Blue Ridge Ukulele Festival in Morganton in May. I had thought about asking her to bring a new one of these to Morganton so I could buy it then. I got a head start on things. …

You’ll see and hear it at the next jam!

Kid in Candy Store Rick

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