Mele Kalikimaka!

There was music--but no ukuleles. Today was a time for enjoying each other's company. A time to sit down and share a meal with people who have become family. Yes, our ukulele family. 

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Dreaming

Although the blog has been on a "rest," the Yesterukes have been busy. There was plenty of Christmas music to practice. There were new techniques to  learn. Here is a quick recap of the last six weeks:

We enjoyed hosting the world famous Jim D'Ville 

for his "Play Ukulele By Ear" workshop.

It was good to have many other ukulele players join us for this.

Our first holiday program was at the 

SC Presbyterian Community in Clinton.

They were such a great audience, 

singing along on all the songs.

We enjoyed another terrific covered dish dinner 

right before we played for the senior adults at 

Washington Baptist Church in Greer.

And our final program for 2014 

was for a huge audience 

when we played for families of 

the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints .

We are taking a break for several weeks to enjoy

the holidays and spend time with our families.

Merry Christmas from the Yesterukes!

And we wish all of you a Happy New Year.

See you back here in 2015.

Christmas Dreaming, Frank Sinatra, 1947

They Say It's Wonderful

Tuning up

Delicious dinner

Huge audience

We've played at Edwards Road Baptist Church before several times. The audience gets bigger each time we go. When the evening was over, so many came up to tell us the program was "wonderful!" We love to hear that. Others said "excellent" and "exciting." And the last gentleman told me that our music brought back so many memories. Our songs were ones that they all knew. That's what we want to hear. When we can see nearly everyone singing along, we know we've done our job. 

They Say It's Wonderful, Frank Sinatra, 1946

Memories Are Made Of This

Today's gig involved no huge covered dish dinner. There was no standing ovation. It was a very small audience. But we played our hearts out at The Haven, a memory care facility.

These are the gigs that are a little harder for us. The audience reacts very little. You have to trust that somewhere down deep the music resonates. And, then it happens.

We see a flicker of a smile. A head raises. A finger taps a rhythm. And there was the one sweet lady who sang every song along with us. The person who was there visiting with her told us that she couldn't tell you the day of the week, or what she ate for lunch. But the music she remembered.

Let's all hope that we are so full of songs that we will never forget them should we forget other things. And we hope that someone might come bring the music to us if we find ourselves on the audience side of the room.

Memories Are Made Of This, Dean Martin, 1956

Hello, Goodbye

We had planned a little pre-practice party 

to say goodbye to one who is leaving us

to move to another state.

She was our very first member. 

Without her, there would be no Yesterukes.

Of course, there was cake.

The surprise was that we got to say hello 

to one who has been away for quite a while.

We've missed her.

We allowed extra time for visiting.

The cake was delicious.

It was great when former members stopped by.

Maybe a tall tale or two was told.

Our newer members had a chance to get to know those 

who have been in the band a long time.

Then we got down to business...

...and played the songs in our new set list.

The next gigs are going to be good ones!

Yes, we take our music seriously and work hard to make it good. But what makes this band a success is the community it has created. These people have come from so many places and so many backgrounds, brought together by the music. But they have found family here. That is why is we do what we do.

Hello, Goodbye, Beatles 1967

After You've Gone

You'll have to take my word for it. The Yesterukes did indeed play a great program for the senior adults at Buncombe St. United Methodist Church yesterday. I just forgot to make a photo until everyone had moved on to the dining area for lunch. 

We have played for this group so many times that no one could remember how many programs we have done there. And they still tell us we are their most favorite entertainment. We think they are pretty special, too.

After You've Gone, Layton & Creamer, 1918

You've Made Me So Very Happy

 

Almost everyone in the band was in attendance for our first gig of the season. It was good to be back and the audience could feel the enthusiasm. 

Over 100 people filled the ballroom. The residents at the Cascades Verdae sang along with us as we played through our set list. We could see them stretching and moving around to watch the band members. They wanted to see who the whistler was, to see who was "cracking the whip," and to watch all the fun that was going within the band.

When it was all over, the residents couldn't wait to come up and tell us that spending an hour with us had made them very happy. That's what we try to do—make people happy. We succeeded this time.

You've Made Me So Very Happy, Blood, Sweat & Tears, 1969

At Last

After a long summer break (seemed like forever,) the Yesterukes are back together again. The first practices after summer are always filled with as much visiting as playing. These folks miss being together. But the music is still our focus. And it sounded good.

Our calendar for the coming season is filling up quickly. People are always shocked to find out that we book our engagements  9-12 months in advance. We are as surprised as they are. But groups love us. What we bring to these groups and clubs is great music, an upbeat program and a sense of joy. It's infectious. We leave behind happy people. They often leave humming a favorite tune. What a pleasure it is for us to make them smile.

Watch here for updates on our upcoming gigs as we enter our eighth year. Who would have ever thought we would still be here making music together!

At Last, Etta James, 1960

In The Summertime

When last night's program ended and the host for the Golden Age group thanked us for coming, he said, "Let me say that you are better than anything they have at the Peace Center!" For those of you not from around here, the Peace Center is our wonderful performing arts center that brings in entertainment such as Phantom Of The Opera, Evita, Harry Connick, Jr., Wicked, Martina McBride, Itzhak Perlman, Vince Gill, the Joffrey Ballet... And the list goes on and on. 

Now, we know we are not in the category with the professionals (the Peace Center surely hasn't called us,) but it was nice to hear him say that. We love that he felt so strongly about the music we played for the senior adults at Apalache Baptist Church.

This church is one of the most beautiful places we get to visit.

A beautiful church with some of the best cooks ever. We enjoyed the meal as much as they enjoyed the music. It's an arrangement that works for us all!

What a great way to wrap up the season! This is the time of year that we take a much needed break to enjoy the summer.  

We will see you back here in the fall. 

In the meantime, you can still find us on Facebook. 

In The Summertime, Mungo Jerry, 1970

With A Little Help From My Friends

While the Yesterukes leader (and writer of this blog) is away on extended grandmother duties, this blog will be short and simple as band members contribute photos and comments from each gig.

A first time visit to First Baptist Church Greenwood 

was a good one.

One of our band members said, "It was a thrill to see 

their faces when we started Sweet Georgia Brown."

When people hear us for the first time, they are 

always surprised by the quality of the music.

All of the hours of rehearsal paid off. 

Changes in our regular routine are bound to happen,

but the show went on without a hitch!

With A Little Help From My Friends, The Beatles, 1967