Diga Diga Doo in Karlsruhe, Germany

In august, I went on a bicycle tour between the Netherlands and northern Italy. The trip was mostly non-ukulele related, but did include an evening of ukulele tunes with friends in Karlsruhe, Germany:

Summer 2011 Tour Documentary

Spring Tour Documentary

It's been a long time, relatively, since the spring tour, but I've finally finished editing the video footage. The spring tour documentary includes 4 segments, which can be viewed here, or on youtube.

Part 1 includes an introduction to the tours values and some reflections on the music. Part 2 takes us to Spartanburg, SC for visits with Partners for Active Living and Snidely Sidewinder and the Unrepentant Uke Boys. In part 3, some fans name their favorite tunes and we learn about the Looking Glass Artists Collective, Urban Harvest Greensboro, the Monkey Bottom Collaborative and Lynchburg Grows. Part 4 features Friends of the Rappahannock, Phoenix Bikes and the Velocipede Bike Project as well as the truth about the mustache.

Two Ukuleles are Better than One

Ukulele performer and bicycle tourist, Aaron Lee is back on the road again - and with some company this time. Lee joins forces with fellow ukuleleist Tucker Louisos-Daniels for a short tour in Maine that they have dubbed the "Two Ukuleles are Better Than One Tour." The pair will be riding bicycles to transport themselves, and their gear, between shows.

Last year, Lee launched the "Ukulele by Bicycle Tour" and has been traveling between concerts by bicycle on and off for much of the past year, logging over 4000 miles and performing more than 80 shows, many of which are partnerships with community organizations that share the tour's values of community, local action and sustainability.

"I've been trying to get somebody to ride with me for a long time," said Lee, when asked if he ever gets lonely on the road.

Lee and Louisos-Daniels promise a fun mix of cover songs, including many that you would never expect to hear on a ukulele, and originals from Lee's album, "The Ukulele Project," in which each song creatively and intentionally includes the word ukulele. Audiences are guaranteed to leave the show with a smile on their face, a ukulele song in their head, and the knowledge that two ukuleles really are better than one.

Tuesday August 9 - Portland, ME
Mama's Crow Bar, 189 Congress Street
8pm

Wednesday August 10 - Waterville, ME
Mainely Beers and Brewhouse, 1 Post Office Square
8pm

Thursday August 11 - Norway, ME
Norway Farmers Market, Main St.
3-6 pm

Friday August 12 - Brunswick, ME
Second Friday Artwalk, Bank of America Plaza
5-8pm

Saturday August 13 - Portland, ME
South Portland Public Library
Children's Music Show
11am

Ukulele by Bicycle Tour Documentary: Spring 2011 Part 1

Check out this video, put together from the Spring 2011 leg of the Ukulele by Bicycle Tour.

twitter

I've given up on trying to write actual blog posts for this tour, my twitter feed might be your best bet:

Ukulele by Bicycle Summer 2011

In some very exciting news, I will be loading up the bicycle and hitting the road again in the coming summer months.  I am currently booking shows for tour segments in May and July/August. If you are involved in a community organization and would like to host a show, please check out the About section and the For Hosts/Venues section and get in touch. The following videos are also a great way to learn about the tour:

From Spartanburg, SC: If you'd like to skip the famous person gossip and head straight to my segmant, it starts at 5:25

Bicycle Transportation in South Carolina

I made some wonderful new friends while on tour in Spartanburg, SC in the fall.  Many of them are involved in Partners for Active Living, who promote bicycling, walking and other forms of activity as a way to make a healthier, more livable community.  Here is a blog post from Ned Barrett, Bicycle Commuter, Partner for Active Living, and Partner for Fun Ukulele Music:

http://nedbarrett.blogspot.com/2011/02/more-equitable-transportation-system.html

Where do you get the extra half-hour a day that the Centers for Disease Control recommend for adults to exercise?  What if you were active in your everyday life, walking to the store to get a gallon of milk, biking to the park with your kids, or walking to work two days a week? 

More than 88% of over a thousand Spartanburg County residents surveyed last year as a part of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan process responded that they would walk to work if conditions were safer for doing so.  More than 75% said they supported improving conditions for walking and biking, and 88% supported using public funds to do so.

Thanks Ned!

Happy Valentine's Day

A valentine's day video for all of the ukulele lovers out there.

Thanks to Connor, Amanda, Amanda and Otto. Thanks Lauren Abrami for helping with the lyrics.

Lynchburg Grows

Lynchburg Grows, an urban farm who partnered with me to put on an excellent fundraiser in Lynchburg, VA, has completed a conservation easement on their 6.8 acre property.  This assures that their farm is forever protected from development and is another great step forward for Lynchburg Grows.  The articles below feature a number of great quotes from city officials which demonstrate the support that the City of Lynchburg has for the local food movement and for a great community organization.  Executive Director Michael Van Ness also tells me that they have recently been selling food to the local school districts.  A big thanks to the folks at Lynchburg Grows for all of the work they are doing.

http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2010/dec/28/conservation-protection-place-lynchburg-grows-look-ar-739075/

http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2011/jan/04/bright-spot-heart-lynchburg-ar-750421/

On solo bicycle touring

A friend recently passed along "Catfish and Mandala" by Andrew X. Pham, the story of a solo bicycle tour in Vietnam.  It is a wonderfully well written account, and has more depth than your average travel diary, as the life story of a vietnamese american family comes out alongside brilliant, spot-on, descriptions of the art of the bicycle tour.  This paragraph is my favorite:

Touring solo on a bicycle, I discover, is an act of stupidity or an act of divine belief.  It is intense stretches of isolation punctuated with flashes of pure terror and indelible moments of friendship.  Mostly, it is dirty work particularly suitable for the stubborn masochist.  I was suckered into the adventure, the elegant simplicity of its execution, and, yes, even the glory of its agony.

With that, I am thinking of taking the Ukulele by Bicycle Tour back on the road in the summer of 2011.  While I would probably do it alone (and bask in the glory of the agony), I am also accepting applications for the position of "tour manager" whose job it would be to ride along with me and be there to share my excitement at the price of bananas at Food Lion or a record breaking time between Rutherforton and Boiling Springs, NC.

TV Segment from Spartanburg, SC

If you'd like to skip the famous person gossip and head straight to my segmant, it starts at 5:25

Merry Christmas

Photos

Check out these photos from the Spartanburg show.  Great photos!

http://midgetontheedge.com/?p=678

SC/Georgia Photos

Some photos and stories from the last few weeks:

York, SC.  Some of these historic men include: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Thomas Sumter, General Daniel Morgan and SC Author/Historian William Gilmore Simms.  And now Ukulele Performer/Bicyclist Aaron Lee.

I always enjoy riding past a farm that advertises grass fed beef and free range eggs.  Food has been a big theme of this trip and it's nice to see the source of what is probably some really good grass fed beef.  Mmmm.

Our Community Farm Project, a Multicultural Sustainable Urban farm run by Refugees from Burundi through Refugee Family Services.  In late November the farm is still producing hot peppers and other produce, but getting ready for winter.  It was great to get to take a look at the farm and then ride over to an amazing show put on by RFS and the Southeast Ukers at Fellini's Pizza.

I love public transportation and bicycles and in Atlanta, I was able to use a combination of the bicycle and the metro to be everywhere I needed to be for the weekend.  Public transportation and bicycle infrastructure have a ways to go in Atlanta, but they both work.  My challenge to Atlantans is to use the bicycle as transport -- by getting out there on your bike, you are promoting bicycle awareness among drivers.  Eventually the infrastructure will come.

Tropicana Orange Juice makes it's way north from Florida.   A great example of food in transit.  This trip has taught me to pay more attention to where my food comes from and how it gets from the source to the consumer. 

Cafe Campesino in Americus, GA.  This fair trade coffee roaster and cafe hosted the final show of the tour along with the Fuller Center for Housing.

Other things South (and North) Carolina

I have had a great time at all of my most recent tour stops, great people, great shows, great community.  I mention Spartanburg and Greenville in posts below, but here are some other stories from the last week or so.

On Saturday, I had two shows scheduled, one from 10-12 AM and one at 2 pm.  Naturally they were approximately 21.7 miles apart, which is a doable ride in 2 hours, assuming everything goes right.  I wrapped things up a bit early at the KidSenses Childrens Museum in Rutherfordton, NC and started riding towards Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs.  I told myself I would not check the time, but just keep riding.  I rolled in at 1:20 pm, in plenty of time, and a ride of 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Not bad.  At Gardner-Webb, I played for Hopefest 2010, which was billed under the title "Bringing People Together for Something Good"-- A perfect fit for my tour.  I had a lot of fun playing and I really enjoyed some conversations with students.  I also had the opportunity to paint a ukulele on a block of wood, which I left behind.

Last night I played in a black-lit clothing store in a show sponsored by the Clemson Students for Environmental Action, who have recently changed their "A" from Awareness to Action.  Being aware isn't good enough any more, it's time to act.  I have been very impressed with the passion and the knowledge that these students have for environmental and sustainable issues.  There is a lot going on at Clemson, including, but not limited to, a new wind turbine testing facility and a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030.

The Essence of the Ukulele

I was fortunate enough to share the stage with Snidely Sidewinder and the Unrepentant Uke Boys, a band who, as I mentioned to the packed house at the Coffee Bar, has captured the essence of the Ukulele.  The group started early this year, featuring members of varied musical experience, from absolute beginner to composition professor, but they all went through the process of learning the ukulele together.  The point of this group is not to be the most musically amazing thing you've ever seen, but to be an act, an experience, something bigger than the music.

The Snidely Sidewinder show has become immensely popular in Spartanburg, SC because it is fun and accessible to everybody.  Who doesn't get into a show where you are encouraged to wear a fake mustache?

Not only is Snidely Sidewinder Spartanburg's finest all-ukulele band, but they are the Hub City's most bike friendly band, as they bike commute to many of their gigs around town.  Check them out if you get the chance!

Building Partnerships

While playing in Spartanburg, SC, a show hosted by hub-bub.com and Partners for Active Living at the Coffee Bar, I noted to the audience that so much great work seemed to be going on in Spartanburg because different groups were working together.  After the show, one of the partners for active living and baritone ukulele player, Ned, echoed my thoughts, saying "that's why we've been so successful".  Looking back on my tour, this has certainly been a theme.  The organizations that have community support and are working with various other community factions, including business, government and other organizations, are the ones that have provided me with the most memorable experiences.

Today, on a tour of downtown Greenville, SC, Ed, of the Greenville Organic Foods Organization, pointed out the downtown recycling collectors, which are a collaboration between the art community, local businesses and the government.  Each collector features the work of a local artist and an advertisement of a local business.  The collectors are paid for by the advertisement, local businesses and artists get some exposure and recycling becomes easy and fun.  Win win win.  I am looking forward to playing in Greenville tonight.

Article in Americus Times Recorder

Article from the Spartanburg Herald-Journal

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20101111/ARTICLES/11111006