Bob "DuhDog" Rainey plays his Tony Graziano Custom Baritone Ukulele

Bob is my friend from the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz. Here he's giving a baritone ukulele a little picking over slack-key style. Tony Graziano is a Santa Cruz luthier that has made ukuleles for players around the world. Last month, Bob had a Vega baritone ukulele that I got a chance to strum at the November club meeting. He has always got something to share and an enthusiasm for the ukulele and outrageous jokes.

Humble Uker || Strumming "Arthur Godfrey" Vega Baritone

I was at the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz yesterday for a club meeting. Bob Rainey is a person I seek out because he always has a new or used instrument to share. He had this Arthur Godfrey model Vega Baritone Ukulele that he bought on eBay really cheap!

photo credit: Ryan Guetersloh

This uke was a bit rough when he received it and Bob sanded and refinished it. Some previous owner must have cut and reset the neck which is noticeable at close inspection and creates a minor angle where the neck meets the body. Bob also strung the uke with Worth Clear Low-G UNWOUND strings. I just had to test it out using Howie's intro for Nirvana's Come As You Are.

I am not able to state whether I think these unwound strings are ideal. That slight angle in the neck would give me some G-string "slap" whenever I gave it a good pluck. Worth makes a clear set and a brown set. Ron Hale did some research and found them for sale at the Elderly Instuments site.

Ledward Ka'apana || Borrows Maddog's Uke

Here's another one of my diversions that could easily be posted over on Humble Uker Ramblings but I have shared Ledward there before and I am mesmerized by his skill. Ledward is a joy to listen to. E Ku'u Morning Dew is one of may Hawaiian favorites and my father, Stanley W. used to play Blue, Blue, My World is Blue on the Hammond Organ. 14:22 of Ledward's mastery is a treat. The borrowed uke belongs to Bob Rainey who is my friend over at the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz. Hearing the volume on this one makes me want to get an amp hook up on Bari.

"YT comments... Before a concert at Don Quixote's in Felton California, Bob (Maddog) Rainey showed Led his new carbon fiber Blackbird 'ukulele. Led was favorably impressed with the sound and decided to play it during the concert. I joined three individual song clips together to show how much Led enjoyed playing it. I tried focusing on the headstock at the end of each song, not trying to show the Blackbird logo, but to show the white cat's head that Maddog added to his 'ukulele, in honor of his cat "Bratwurst". Ya gotta love Maddog!!"

Ledward's music reminds me of Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor's story telling about Lake Wobegone. Garrison would tell a nice little story and get you completely off track and then "poof" some how you're right back were you started.