Blue Hawaii

We took a 40-minute music cruise to Hawaii this week with the good folks at Christ Church Episcopal. We knew ahead of time that they were using a Hawaiian theme for their luncheon, so we pulled out every Hawaii-related song we had in our big book.

They decorated the tables with colorful arrangements.

They fed us delicious chicken kabobs.

They even decorated us!

When our time was over and our musical "ship" had docked, everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the voyage. This was our fourth time playing for this group and one lady afterwards told us, "There is no way I'd ever miss one of your programs." And another said, "I'll guarantee you that everyone leaves here feeling better than when they came!" 

That's our goal. We want people to forgot their worries. Forget their aches and pains. And for about 45 minutes just have fun. And they did.

Blue Hawaii, from the Elvis Presley film of the same name, 1961

Time After Time

This was our fourth visit with the senior adults at Buncombe St. United Methodist Church. It's always good to be in places where we know we'll be comfortable and welcomed. We knew ahead of time how to set up in this space.

We had added several new songs to our set list to be sure the audience was not hearing the same things that they had heard before, being sure not to take out the favorites.

After the program the pastor said, "It is so much fun to see people who enjoy what they do. And it is evident that this group totally enjoys what they are doing." 

After the program we were invited to join them for lunch.

And we never turn down a good meal!

Time After Time, Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne, 1947

Some Enchanted Evening

One way we measure if a gig was a good one is by how many people hang around after the program to talk to us and by how long they are willing to wait their turn. By this measure, last night was a total success. The good people at Forestville Baptist Church really seemed to enjoy the evening.

We did have fun playing all the songs "from our courtin' days" as one lady put it. Her husband quickly chimed in, "And from our honeymoon days." Then he looked at her with a big grin. These songs trigger powerful memories.

One sweet lady came to tell us, "This was the best entertainment we've had...." and she paused and thought for a few seconds....."in YEARS!" We hear similar comments often. Now we will never win a prize for playing perfect music but we have learned a lot about how to entertain a crowd.

A couple came up with a different kind of question ---"What is the youngest age in your group?" 61 "Well, then what is the oldest?" mid-80s  So glad they didn't ask WHO was the oldest and youngest!

A man who, retired from 33 years of teaching music and years of experience playing in rock 'n roll bands, asked how he might join our group. Many of our current members came to us just this way. They saw us perform and decided they had to do this, too.

People continued to hang around as we packed up sound equipment, still chatting and just enjoying the fellowship. The last few followed us to the car and were still asking about how they could book us for other groups. Good thing we had printed out more brochures before this program.

And, perhaps the best measure of how much the huge crowd enjoyed us was when the gentleman in charge of programs asked, "Can we book you to come again?"




Some Enchanted Evening, Rogers & Hammerstein, from the musical South Pacific, 1949

I Remember It Well

The Yesterukes enjoyed another lunch together today. (Maybe we should be writing a "ukulele players like to eat" blog.) We do enjoy sharing a meal with our audiences.

Today's audience at Second Presbyterian Church was one of the best. While we played, we watched faces and saw the smiles. We watched the sly glance and a squeeze of the hand between husband and wife when we played "their song." We watched people sing along with us when it was one of their favorites. We've said it before--we're in the memory business as much as the music business. After today's program so many people stayed around to share their stories and their memories. That is the best part of the gig.

At the end of today's program--after a standing ovation--the program host thanked us "for bringing extreme joy" to those in attendance. What a wonderful thing we get to do!

I Remember It Well, Maurice Chevalier in the movie Gigi, 1958

Tuesday Afternoon

Today's program started in the morning but it was Tuesday afternoon by the time we were done. We were at Mauldin First Baptist church for their monthly senior adult luncheon.

It's always fun to watch the church members have such fun visiting as we are setting up for the event. It's probably more about the fellowship than about the program that gets these folks out each month.

We got a few minutes to catch our breath and settle in before our part of the program starts. We had fun today as we always do, singing familiar old songs. And the audience enjoyed it, too. So many wanted to talk a minute after everything was over, just to tell us what a good time they had.

And after the music came a wonderful lunch. 

We do enjoy good food!

It was a sweet day.

Tuesday Afternoon, Moody Blues, 1970

Memories Are Made Of This

We are in the music business. But more importantly, we are in the memory business. Our music is all from days gone by. There were such smiles and sparkling eyes as we played today for the senior adults at Convenant United Methodist Church.

After the program so many people came up to share a memory. The songs mean different things to different people. One widow said she wished her husband could have heard us; that he sang these songs all the time. Another told us that she sang every song with us--songs she knew from her teen years. One after another, they came to talk. "We used to...." "That reminded me of..."  And we were happy to listen.

Music is powerful. It's like a time machine. Music can zip us right back to our high school or college days. We think it's why folks enjoy us so much. They hear us and for about 45 minutes, they are young again.

That, and the fact that our music is really good. The best comment of the day was overheard as we were leaving. "No wonder you have to book them a year in advance!" We're glad she liked us.


Memories Are Made Of This, Dean Martin, 1956

Welcome To My World

When you want to surprise someone in a big way, you could invite an 18-piece ukulele band to play at the party. (No one expects to walk into a room to be greeted by a full-blown ukulele concert.)

The surprise party was for a well-known ukulele builder. This birthday was a significant one. By the Yesterukes standard, he's still a boy, but we were happy to welcome him to our world--the world that sometimes gets you a free cup of coffee or a discount at the store on certain days of the week.

It was a fun evening, complete with assorted birthday cakes, one decorated with a ukulele just for him. The birthday boy joined us for the final song of the evening. He can now consider himself an honorary Yesteruke. Happy Birthday, Russ! 

Welcome To My World, Jim Reeves, 1961