Uke can do it

The ukulele isn’t the most respected instrument around: Some describe it as the guitar’s younger sibling you tolerate when it’s around. However, the ukulele has a rich cultural history, and one that extends to Chicago.

For the past 14 years, Lanialoha Lee has taught classes on the ukulele at the Old Town School Of Folk Music. During that time, she’s taught more than 1,500 students and helped make the uke class one of Old Town’s most popular. In 2008, one of her former students, Tony Bianchi, formed the Chicago Ukulele Cabaret—an open mic night for uke lovers—with his friend Mike Simons. The Cabaret’s popularity has grown since its first show in February 2008, leading Bianchi and Simons to launch the Great Midwest Ukefest in August 2010.

With such a strong uke community, it’s no wonder Chicago will host two uke-centric events this weekend. Jake Shimabukuro will perform at the Old Town School Of Folk Music on Nov. 6, and the Gene Siskel Film Center will host the Chicago première of a ukulele documentary, Mighty Uke, on Nov. 7 and 8. Before the uke-stravaganza begins, The A.V. Club spoke with a few key members of Chicago’s ukulele community to find out about the community’s history in the city, the uke’s current popularity, and tips on how to perform Young-Holt Unlimited’s “Soulful Strut” on the uke.

A brief history of the ukulele in Chicago

Lanialoha Lee: By the late ’60s, I had already found my way to the ukulele. This gentleman, his name is Pete Peterson, and his wife, June, [started] what I believe to be the first ukulele club…downtown Chicago is where I remember it being held, and it just grew from within the living room.

We kind of refer to those impromptu gatherings as a kanikapila, which is Hawaiian for jam. That was really the beginning of my own path, but I do think that is the first ukulele club that began in the late ’60s, and it continued for quite some years.

AVC: What inspired you to start the Chicago Ukulele Cabaret?

Mike Simons: I attended New York’s Ukulele Cabaret on a whim, and was blown away by the outpouring of eclectic creativity I witnessed that night. There were traditional players, full bands, and classical virtuosos. There was a male Britney Spears impersonator with a beatboxer. There was a lovesick ode to Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe—during which the performer had the audience pelt her with dirt and tomatoes. It was an inspired and off-the-wall display of talent, and I wanted in.

Tony Bianchi: Mike comes back from New York and says he saw this great show called the Ukulele Cabaret. He said he wanted to do one here. Forgetting that Mike actually does what he says, I said, “Hey, I know how to play the uke.” The next day he had scheduled the first show. That sounds random, but I think we immediately understood the incredible potential of getting a bunch of people together to play music in any way they want. We added some rules—we always have a theme—and it’s been incredible to watch performers grow as artists.

AVC: Are there any friendships that form over the uke at the Cabarets?

TB: Definitely. There are acts that have started for the sole purpose of they wanted to play at the cabaret, and now they either do other shows or are more solidified act. So, in a sense, yes.

For me, and I think Mike, even though it’s probably never spoken, I think that was really the ultimate goal, was to provide some venue to occasionally allow people who otherwise wouldn’t be playing music to play music. And maybe, some of them who have some talent, [let them] develop it and take that first step.

If that happened once, I think that would be totally worth it. The only woman, Heather Smith, has played a couple times and is excellent, and she [played] a show at Schubas. Aside from that, I don’t know if she’s played solo, doing a whole act on her own, or not. She could be going on that path. If we were a small part of that, that would be mission accomplished, for lack of a better word or phrase.

AVC: Can you gauge the uke’s popularity in Chicago today?

MS: Chicago has a varied and vibrant uke community, and it’s growing every day. People become inspired at the shows, as I was, by its simplicity, and realize that with a just a bit of practice, they can make something happen. It’s infectious!

TB: It sure seems to be going through a phase of popularity, much more so than when I picked it up 10-plus years ago. Maybe it’s a good instrument for the era of making music in front of your computer, i.e. YouTube? Certainly, in Chicago, credit has to go to the teachers—Lanialoha Lee and Michael Hammerman—at the Old Town, who must be personally responsible for hundreds of ukulele players by now.

Bonus Video: Bianchi joins The Heavy Boxes’ Evan Chung and Melanie Faetz to give pointers on playing Young-Holt Unlimited’s “Soulful Strut” on the uke.