Feelin' Groovy

Is is possible to have too much fun? Last night for about an hour our group of grandparent-aged ukulele players set aside thoughts of everyday aches and pains, of worries about ailing spouses and wrinkles, and the concerns of getting older to become entertainers. Yes, we are musicians, but we can also say we are entertainers.

"entertainer: to hold the attention of with something amusing or diverting"

From the first song we sang, smiles broke out across the fellowship hall. And the smiles continued to the very end of   our program. 

We were happy to bring some new songs—upbeat and snappy—to this audience of all ages. From the 2-year-old to those closer to 80, they all had fun. The mom of the 2-year-old said we kept her daughter's attention the whole time. 

The band was at their best last night. 

Bob, one of our soloists, is a member of this church—First Presbyterian Church of Laurens. We knew he had nailed his song when a lady at a table up front wiped a tear from her eye as he sang a favorite ballad.

When the evening was over, we enjoyed visiting with so many of the parishioners. Several asked how hard it is to learn to play ukulele. We know when they want to join the fun, we accomplished what we came to do—provide a few minutes of fun. A lot of fun.

 And yes, there was another good Southern dinner.

Feelin' Groovy, Simon & Garfunkel, 1966

The Second Time Around

Someone was kind enough to share photos from Tuesday's performance at Buncombe St. UMC, so here is a second look at the fun we had. And there is one more video from that morning. There is no doubt that we always have fun—possibly more fun than the audience!

The Second Time Around, Bing Crosby, 1960

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You

There are times when we get so busy that photos are few. So today, we'll share a video instead. (Thanks to pastor David, who had his first experience with a smart phone today as he videoed part of our program. If his day job doesn't work out, he might find work as a videographer.)

The folks at Buncombe St. United Methodist Church have already asked us back for next year. It's nice to be loved.



How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You, Marvin Gaye, 1965

Is It Me Is It You

When I was in Canada a couple of years ago visiting with another ukulele group, I commented that their group could be interchangeable with the Yesterukes. They are about the same age as our group, same number of members, and about the same mix of men and women. They play similar music. And they have blue shirts.

But I was still surprised when I arrived for a gig and saw this poster taped to the door. The church had made posters to advertise our performance. Except they had found and used a photo of SMUG—the ukulele group on Prince Edward Island, Canada. (Yes, I am in the photo with them.)

And no one ever noticed it wasn't us.



Is It Me Is It You, Lenny Kravitz, 1995

Fun, Fun, Fun

These hospitable people today let us head to dinner line immediately after our program this morning, while they finished their meeting. That was so nice of them.

The kind folks at Main St. United Methodist Church were one of our best audiences. And they fed us well. Everywhere we play feeds us well. (Best Lemon Bliss ice cream ever, btw)

For us, the visiting during lunch is as important as the program we've just played. Friendship. Fellowship. Time spent together is so appreciated and enjoyed.

And it's the same for the senior adults in the audience. 

Fellowship is fundamental to the group.

As we were packing up today, one church member asked that I take a minute and go with her to see the sanctuary. What a beautiful, holy place. I'm glad she asked.

You readers may get tired of reading this, but we Yesterukes never tire of hearing the comment, "I'll just have to tell you that you are without a doubt the very best program we've ever had." The last person to come up after the program to chat with us said those exact words.

Now, we know that we don't hit every chord perfectly. And sometimes we mix up the words in a spot or two. So why do we here that comment again and again? Well, the other comment we hear even more might be the explanation. So many people today (and at every gig) tell us, "You look like you are having so much fun!" And we are. 

That isn't a rehearsed or faked enthusiasm. One of our own members said today, "Every time we play, it's just as much fun as the first time. It just never gets old." There are better musicians out there, but the Yesterukes just might have the most fun. Combine that with choosing songs our audiences love, songs that bring back good memories. And maybe, yes—we might be the one of their favorite programs. We're glad it works.

Fun, Fun, Fun, Beach Boys, 1964

My Blue Heaven

Tonight some of us will gather to say goodbye to a man was a member of the Yesterukes, but not a regular member, though.  He never played a ukulele. He never went to a gig with us. But he did enjoy singing. He was a regular at our practices for years. He's the only one who wore his blue Yesteruke shirt every week.

It didn't take us long to learn that he wanted everything to be blue. Everything. Before I knew this, I handed him a red kazoo once. He brought it back the following week and said he couldn't play it. He could only play a blue one. He wanted the blue music stand and the blue notebook and the blue flowered lei. Guess it's good our official shirts just happened to be blue.

We have well over 200 songs in our "big notebook," some we've sung often and others we've only played through a couple of times. And out of those many, many songs and years of practices, there are only two that we can play without using music for the words and/or chords—Happy Birthday (because we are asked to play it often at gigs) and Yes Sir, That's My Baby.

For reasons we'll never understand, Yes Sir, That's My Baby was his special song—"special" as in we had to play it each and every week. He grinned like a kid on Christmas morning every single time we played it. After we realized this was going to be a permanent request, it became our "ending song" for every practice. So after years of playing and singing it each week, we play it very well. At our practice in a couple of days, we just might let it be our first song.

Today we ordered blue flowers for his memorial service. We're all betting that in his heaven, everything is blue.


My Blue Heaven, Gene Austin, 1928

At Last

After a six-week break over the holidays the Yesterukes were back together and ready to entertain.

And the Young at Heart members at Reedy Fork Baptist Church were ready to listen. They had such fun and after the program, so many said something like "I had not heard that song in years." Or, "I'd forgotten about that song--but when you started, I still knew all the words."

And again, we were well fed. There was so much food. This was the table AFTER everyone had been through the line. 

When we came to the end, the audience was generous with their applause and one man was waving his hand and saying something about ".....again." When the room quieted, he repeated his request. 

We are always prepared to do an encore even though it's rarely needed. We thought, "Here is our chance!" But when we could hear him, he pointed at Mary Ellen and asked, "Would that lady swoon again?" Our band members have the best time when we play and it shows. One of our front row regulars has a dramatic flair and often does a huge comic "swoon" during a romantic solo sung by one of our gentlemen. 

So swoon again, she did. She said it was much harder to swoon on demand! 

At Last, Glen Miller, 1941