“My job is to put smiles on people’s hearts,” says Bryan Tolentino, one of Hawaii’s busiest and most sought-after musicians.
In our wide-ranging conversation, we talk about putting feeling into your ukulele playing, how to be an effective accompanist, and what being Hawaiian personally means to Bryan.
We had a lot of fun chatting and I hope you enjoy listening!
Cameron (aka Kamuke)
‘Ukulele Friends Hawai’i Facebook Group
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Matt Stead is a man of many talents. Not only is he a great uke teacher and player, he’s also the new director of the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain and various fringe events. And he’s a really nice guy too!
Please have a listen and check out the links below…
Mahalo!
Cameron
Ukulele Festival of Great Britain
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After 31 years touring the world with the incredible Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Will Grove-White is quite literally building a second career as a luthier. His Wonkylele (below left) perhaps best sums up his character – a little off-kilter but undeniably unique and interesting. Will and I had a lovely chat and discovered some odd parallels in our respective ukulele stories…
Have a listen and enjoy!
Cameron
Website: willgrovewhite.com
Music: Bandcamp
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Happy Uke Day 2024! Here’s a special interview with the amazing James Hill…
Enjoy!
Cameron
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Cool, kind and talented – that’s how I’d describe Lucy LaForge.
The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has made waves in the music industry with her indie band project Lucy & La Mer. She’s been featured in the LA Times and HuffPost and has performed at LA Fashion Week, as well as for the Mayor of LA. She’s also worked with major uke brands Kala and Fender.
Away from music, Lucy is known for her mental health and LGBTQ+ advocacy and she presented a powerful TEDx talk in 2022 on the limits of binary thinking and how self-awareness can free us from the boxes we form around our identity. You can watch the talk below.
It was lovely to chat with Lucy, so please have a listen!
Cameron
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Erin Harrington, aka Miss Elm, is a singer-songwriter and music educator from Brisbane, Australia. We met at a festival a few years ago and I was immediately impressed with her passion and enthusiasm for the ukulele and its potential.
Erin and I had a great conversation about her musical journey and ambitions and I’m sure you’ll also enjoy it!
Cameron
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As it says on her website, Brittni and her ukulele are a brilliant match: Both are humble in nature, small in size, and very powerful with proper delivery.
We first met in Hawaii in the mid-2000s and I was blown away by her passion and creativity. A multi award-winning instrumentalist, she’s always pushing the envelope musically and is on the verge of releasing her sixth album.
Brittni and I had a really fun chat and I hope you enjoy it!
Cameron
brittnipaiva.com
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When I first met Andrew in Los Angeles, he was just starting to make waves on the uke scene, but it was obvious he’d become one of the best performers around. He had a glint in his eye and the skills to back it up. Fast-forward a few years and Andrew has three fantastic albums to his name, as well as a brand-new online ukulele academy. We had a great chat about his musical journey so far and he gave me some valuable tips for players of all levels. Enjoy!
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American singer-songwriter Tom Freund is a fairly recent convert to the uke, but he’s making up for lost time. As soon as I heard his single Happy Uke, I thought it’d be fun to have a chat with him about it, and I was right!
Over the years, Tom has collaborated with Ben Harper, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, KT Tunstall, Dave Matthews, Diana Krall and many others. He’s also done a lot of work on TV shows such as One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, Parenthood, Las Vegas and Pete The Cat, and he performed with Graham Parker in the 2012 Judd Apatow comedy This Is 40.
Happy listening!
Cameron
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Daniel Ho & Cameron Murray at the 2019 NAMM Show in Los Angeles
Born in Hawaii and based in California, Daniel Ho is a one-man industry. The talented singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, composer and audio engineer has won six Grammy Awards and shows no signs of slowing down…even during a global pandemic!
In our wide-ranging chat, Daniel talks about the future of the music industry, gives us an insight into co-designing Romero Creations instruments, and tells us exactly what the ukulele means to him. And you won’t want to miss his fantastic tips for players and songwriters.
Enjoy!
Cameron
Daniel’s uke course at Musician’s Creativity Lab
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