Sunday, November 21, 2010

In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening







After we decided to play this holiday market, we kept an eye on the weather forecast for days.  It had been so nice and moderate for weeks.  But the weekend forecast kept looking colder and colder.  What were we thinking?  A bunch of old folks sitting outdoors in the cold for hours?   But we had agreed to play, so we bundled up, loaded our gear and set up by the fountain for a couple of hours of music.

The Hub City Thanksgiving Market turned out to be great fun.  The mood was festive.  The shoppers loved the music.  One man who stopped to listen who knew more about the songs we played than we did. He was an encyclopdia of trivia about our old songs.  And there was the college-age young woman who sat down to listen and then bought our CD so she could "listen to happy music at home." So many others gathered, all smiles, around the fountain to hear our ukuleles.

We did our best to keep warm.  We learned that you can cut the finger tips off a $1 pair of gloves and play right on.  We also discovered that the colder we got, the faster we played.  As the temperature dropped, we kept getting faster and faster--until we reached our limit.  We couldn't play any faster or stand the cold any longer!!!  It was time to call it a night and head home.  It was fun but we're glad our next gig is indoors!


In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening, Hoagy Carmichael & Johnny Mercer, 1951



Wednesday, November 17, 2010

It's My Party





We didn't know until we arrived that the event at Standing Springs Baptist Church was a birthday party for the men in the senior adult group.  And the Yesterukes were the special entertainment.  After a great supper, complete with cake and ice cream, we sang and played our songs from years gone, taking the audience on trip back in time.

After the program, a younger man who was attending with his father, came up to say, "You guys were good.  I mean, really good."  Seeing the slightly incredulous look on his face as he said that, the Yesterukes director responded, "Let me guess--we weren't exactly what you were expecting, were we?" (We get this a lot.)  He was funny as he continued.  "I actually kind of thought it was a joke announcement when they told us we were having a ukulele band."  But we are no joke!

And we had some fans who wanted to see us perform so badly that they decided to just come.  Our first party crashers!  Our public concerts are rare, so they just decided to come and hope it was okay.  It was fine and added to the excitement. And it delighted us that anyone wanted to see us that much.

We met so many new friends as we visited after the program.  Everyone was warm and friendly.  We felt like we had known them for a long time.  Pretty sure we'll be back here again.



It's My Party, Lesley Gore, 1963

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Friday, November 12, 2010

Here, There And Everywhere








"Did you see that lady with the gray hair?", one of the Yesterukes asked as we were packing up after the program.   We all laughed because at the places we play, nearly everyone has gray hair!  But she was commenting on one beautiful lady who looked much younger than the many years of her actual age.  We meet so many lovely people everywhere we go and Overbrook Baptist Church was no exception.


After our program we were invited to join these good folks for a wonderful lunch.  They asked that we not all sit together, but spread out among the tables so that they could get to know us better.  Southern hospitality at it's best!


They were most interested in how we started, how we operated and were eager to share their own stories about the songs we played.  "I'll be honest," one man commented.  "Some of those songs just brought tears to my eyes."  Another gentleman remarked, "That boy could really sing, couldn't he?" as a table of men talked about listening to Sixteen Tons.  We like it anytime someone calls us "boy" or "girl."  


Here, There And Everywhere, The Beatles, 1966




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