I saw Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele last night at Schubas, and reviewed the show for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Dent May stakes new claim for the humble ukulele
November 11, 2009
BY JEFF ELBEL
The ukulele may never receive the shot of cool that Elvis Presley gave it in 1961 with “Blue Hawaii,” but new ukulele-centric releases by veteran artists including Tiny Tim and The Cars’ Greg Hawkes give a hint of a renaissance. Indie-pop crooner Dent May is arguably the first artist in four decades to break out while staking his sound to the compact four-stringed instrument.
May was discovered while playing music as a student at the University of Mississippi. Much of the material he brought to a lean but devoted crowd Tuesday night at Schubas focused on campus life, on the brink of the real world. “College Town Boy” described a listless graduate unable to move on. May assured listeners that the story behind “God Loves You, Michael Chang,” during which a campus rival proves to be a sore loser at tennis, was true.
Touring under the name Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele, May was joined by sideman Robert Chisolm, a capable foil providing guitar, percussion and harmonies. The sparse accompaniment and May’s upbeat, somewhat goofy earnestness win comparisons to troubadour Jonathan Richman. The similarity was clearest during the buoyant “You Can’t Force a Dance Party,” a song statement to which May concluded, “but for you, I’ll try.” Many faithful fans did their best to help.
The great axiom of the ukulele is that practitioners spend half their time tuning up, and the other half playing out of tune. The quip proved true during the lovelorn “Girls on the Square,” during which May’s cowboy-painted Fluke uke clashed badly with Chisolm’s guitar. A cover of the Four Preps’ “26 Miles (Santa Catalina)” was also rickety, though elevated by a festive singalong of the “romance, romance” chorus.
The lack of a rhythm section meant that the percolating Beach Boys bass heard on May’s album “The Good Feeling Music of Dent May” was absent from “Love Song 2009,” but Chisolm led the crowd in the rousing Turtles-like “ba ba ba” coda. May became the anti-Morrissey during “Oh Paris,” joining the former Smiths frontman’s velvet tone to a very un-Moz-like sentiment of self-affirmation. “I finally know that I belong here in this world,” May sang passionately.
May used the smallish crowd to his advantage, making easy banter and drawing people in. Following “Michael Chang,” one listener was overhead remarking, “That was OK.” “Thanks man, we consider that high praise,” May jibed. “We strive for mediocrity at best.” The approach wasn’t without a hitch, however. “Anybody here from Mississippi?” May asked before launching “Pierce Avenue,” another song about college life in Oxford. After a moment’s awkward silence, May compensated by responding, “No? Y’all should come visit.”
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In this newsblast:
* Chicago area Ping shows this week!
* Cornerstone 2009 recap + voting request for 2010
* FREE Ping album, etc.
* Ping “working crew” embroidered patch
* Jeff’s other music (featuring Harrison St. Ukulele Players)
* Thanks!
Hi, all. I hope everyone’s enjoying what’s left of summer. Godspeed if you’re heading back to school, or sending someone out to catch the bus in the mornings. There are Ping sets happening near Chicago soon, and we’d love to play some new music for you. We’re taking the Ping music to the bars, the churches and streets (one of each, anyhow) during September!
John and Michelle Thompson will play a special acoustic set of new Wayside material, followed by a fully-amped reunion set with Wayside veterans (including me [Jeff Elbel] on bass).
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Saturday, September 12, 2009
Art on Harrison [street fair]
Harrison Street between S. Lombard Ave. and Highland Ave.
This year’s Cornerstone Festival was a great time for Ping. We were on the schedule twice with the expanded line-up, played new songs, and had a blast with everyone who came to join us!
We’ve got multi-track audio from our Gallery Stage set, and a few friends filmed the show on Mini-DV. Expect a few nice YouTube clips this fall. If YOU were there, and filmed the set, please get in touch. I’d love to have another camera angle (particularly one with a view of the entire stage) to work with.
There’s a new slideshow of photos from Cornerstone at Ping’s website:
Here’s a list of alumni, old and new, who played with Ping this year: John Bretzlaff: guitar, Kim Bretzlaff: vocal, Mike Choby: organ, Dave Dampier: percussion, Jeff Elbel: vocal/gtr, Matt Gadeken: violin, Maron Gaffron: vocal, Harry Gore: guitar, Stacey Krejci: bass, Andrew Oliver: drums.
Ping needs your VOTE! The polls are now open for Cornerstone Festival 2010. For a small-time band like ours, your input makes a huge difference. Please visit the poll online and choose these entries along with your other favorites:
“Jeff Elbel + Ping” (listed alphabetically under “J”)
“Andrew Oliver” (Ping’s drummer, who’s also one of my favorite songwriters)
In 2004, Rev Hillstrom of Creation Station Media released Ping’s “Engine of Destruction” album via his Bootleg Live series. Recorded in 2003 on the Cornerstone Festival’s Gallery Stage, the CD was released as a limited run and quickly went out of print.
In June 2009, Rev graciously returned ownership of the Engine of Destruction album to Ping. We’d like to extend big thanks to Rev, and to everyone who purchased the CD back in 2004.
For a limited time, Ping is offering a high bandwidth (320 kbps) version of the Engine of Destruction live set as a free download. This show featured debut performances of three tracks from The Eleventh Hour Storybook studio album, in addition to material that has rarely been performed since. Download it here:
Rather than making another t-shirt, Ping introduced an embroidered patch this year. I’ve never had a cooler band trinket. They look great, wear like iron, and automatically make you part of the crew: Lift heavy things for fun! Heck, sing lead vocal! I’ve got a patch over the pocket of my red Dickies 1574 work shirt, and another on my green shirt. You can see them in the slideshow mentioned above.
The patches are 4.25” x 1.75”. They can be stitched on, or ironed on. They’re great for shirts, caps, backpacks, etc. See a close-up of the patch here:
If you find a good place to plant your patch, send a photo for Ping’s website!
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Jeff’s other music (featuring Harrison St. Ukulele Players)
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I’ve had a great time lately working with other musicians. Highlights:
* Played bass on national television via WGN with the Sharpe
World Music Ensemble. See video on Facebook:
http://tinyurl.com/krxos8
* Toured with soul-rock band Maron, playing Hammond organ,
Wurlitzer and guitars in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio
and Michigan
* Played lead guitar with North at The Ark in Ann Arbor, MI,
celebrating the release of their excellent “Drowning in Sky”
album. I arranged the “vocal orchestration” for their single
“I Miss Crashing.”
* Performed with members of Mumble in Detroit, and produced
recording sessions for their upcoming “Happy Living” album
* Performed with Beki Hemingway and Jonathan Rundman,
literally steps from my own home
* Mastered Green Choby’s beautiful “Carry Me Back Home” album
* Produced a recording for the Harrison St. Ukulele Players,
which has been played many times during DJ Terri Hemmert’s
“Breakfast with the Beatles” program on Chicago’s WXRT-FM.
* Joined the Harrison St. Ukulele Players at the Fest For
Beatles Fans, playing with a big group including Earl Slick
(David Bowie band), Greg Hawkes (the Cars), the Hudson
Brothers, and Glen Burtnik (Styx)
The Harrison St. Ukulele Players are a fun, community-oriented group who gather weekly at Eastgate Café in Oak Park, IL to play Tin Pan Alley tunes, Beatles songs, Hawaiian music, etc. The group has been invited to play at many local events and never fails to lift spirits. Upcoming:
Harrison St. Ukulele Players
Blockbuster release party event for The Beatles: Rock Band
When touring with New Wave pioneers the Cars, Greg Hawkes required a back-breaking number of beefy road cases to haul the synthesizers used to recreate the signature riffs of hits including "Shake It Up" and "Drive." These days, he often travels much lighter.
Hawkes' intricate "The Beatles Uke" CD features 15 Fab Four favorites rendered solely on the instrument many still associate with Tiny Tim's plinky "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." Hawkes, whose discography also includes Paul McCartney's "Flowers in the Dirt" LP, will perform Beatles and Cars favorites on ukulele at this weekend's Fest for Beatles Fans.
Musician Greg Hawkes, formerly of the Cars
Question:Are you a lifelong Beatle fan?
Greg Hawkes: My first concert was seeing the Beatles in 1964, when I was 11. It was September in Baltimore, Maryland. They started with "Roll Over Beethoven." I remember they did "Things We Said Today," and Ringo sang "Boys." They played "She Loves You," but they did not do "I Want to Hold Your Hand" [both were U.S. No. 1 singles].
Q:What sparked your interest in ukulele?
GH: It was a Valentine's Day gift from my wife. Once I started playing it, I was hooked. It's such a charming little instrument. After I'd been playing for just a couple of months, I found that George Harrison was a big uke fan and thought, "That's pretty neat!" And later, Paul started using it as a tribute to George in his shows, playing an arrangement of "Something."
Q:Do you have more ukuleles than keyboards now?
GH: Yeah, I'm afraid so. [Laughs] I've got over 30 of them. I've become friends with a guy who's got over 280, though, so I feel like a mere novice.
Q:Maybe your friend should join you in Chicago. Have you heard about the Guinness record attempt for largest ukulele ensemble scheduled during the fest?
GH: Yes. Apparently, there was a gathering in London [in June] where about 850 ukulele players got together. So, they've got their work cut out for them. But I'll be right up there; how could I not? Everybody should come out!
• The Fest for Beatles Fans, today through Sunday, Hyatt Regency O'Hare, 9300 Bryn Mawr. Tickets, $32-$47. Call (866) 843-3378; thefest.com.
Cy Curnin, "Solar Minimum," (S.A.R.L. cycurnin.com) *** (3 stars out of 4)
As singer for topical 80s rockers The Fixx, Cy Curnin has unleashed his share of brimstone with songs like the apocalyptic "Red Skies at Night." Curnin has always seemed an optimist at heart, nonetheless. This is, after all, the man who took a tumble and found himself "Saved by Zero."
Not so with Curnin's third album, an effective distillation of the spirit of the times. Weary of bailed-out corporate fat cats and those failing to heed nature's warnings, Curnin testifies like unheeded prophet Jeremiah during “In the Palm of Our Hands.” "Better Luck Next Time" closes with the dire summation, "... if there is a next time." ["Oh, my sweet life," Curnin asks wistfully elsewhere, "what have I done to you?"
If there's any sunshine among the shade, it's that these songs are wake-up calls rather than welcoming gestures into perdition. “Hold On” offers soulful comfort for dark moments. The atmospheric funk of “It Finds You” laments empty struggle, while anticipating serenity’s arrival in due time. ]
Though Fixx guitarist Jamie West-Oram is a welcome guest on songs such as the agitated “Bleed,” the album’s standouts sound positively un-Fixxed. "Silent Chains" is revelatory, a moonlit ballad underpinned by expressive piano. "Simply Complicated" mirrors the interaction between David Bowie and pianist Mike Garson on Bowie’s spacious and underrated "Bring Me the Disco King."
Curnin frequently stretches into shapes that would seem awkward within Fixx context. "The Other Side of the Story" finds Curnin's keening tenor dimmed to a dusky blend of Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen. A nakedly emotional spoken piece, “The Weight” will wrench the hearts of absentee fathers. Though uneven, these experiments are creatively bold.
- Jeff Elbel
This version is 278 words, as submitted. Text cut by my wise and powerful editor is in [bracketed italics].
