Aloha! I’m back with Part 2 of my Hawaiian/Island-themed and I have a lovely collection of two books for your consideration: Hawaiian Favorites and Hawaiian Classics. Both books feature 8 songs each, standard notation and chord boxes (no TAB), and probably the best thing that can be offered for songs like these: Audio One of the biggest complaints I’ve run into … [Read more...]
Jumpin’ Jim’s Gone Hawaiian and Ukulele Island Review
Do you know what I love? Hawaii. And the ukulele. It’s strange that the ukulele has become a Hawaiian instrument, considering that it was a Portuguese instrument first, but it’s a happy incident in my mind. And I love Hawaiian music, too. There’s a calming magic to the yodel often associated with it. That’s why I ordered a bunch of Hawaiian-themed ukulele books … [Read more...]
Kala Parlor Guitar Review
Aloha! I know that I usually talk about ukuleles and ukulele instruction here, but I wanted to talk about guitars today. Specifically about what makes a good beginner guitar. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and came up with a list of what would make the PERFECT beginner guitar. See if you agree with me: 1) It needs to be affordable. This is pretty obvious, I … [Read more...]
Things I Like: June 2018
This is a roundup of a few things I’ve been enjoying this month: 1. Pete Thorn II - The new album from Pete Thorn. In addition to being a popular YouTube demo guy, Thorn is a world-traveling side-man, having played with everyone from Melissa Etheridge to Chris Cornell to Don Henley. This is his second collection of solo material, and it's an enjoyable listen for guitar … [Read more...]
The Charlie Brown Collection
By: Russ Aloha, everyone! Let’s talk books! Specifically, let’s talk biographies: One of the best (if not the best) biographies I’ve ever read is called Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaels. It’s a long one, I’ll warn you, but Michaels did a fantastic job giving the good, bad, and interesting of Schulz’s life instead of skewing toward any one direction and the result is a … [Read more...]