'Ukulele players tune up for (Rhode) Island celebration

By Chris Oliver
Advertiser Staff Writer

So, which island is hot-wired for an 'ukulele expo in August?

The museum is the love child of 'ukulele enthusiasts Tom Walsh, Paul Sypher and Dave Wasser. The trio met while attending a Hawai'i steel-guitar convention in the early 1990s.

"We all were interested in playing the 'ukulele," said Walsh, "but also found the history of the instrument fascinating. We wanted to start an organization to help preserve the instrument's rich heritage."

The Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum came into being in Duxbury, Mass., in 1996, and sponsored its first event the same year: the Ukulele Expo in Montague, Mass.

Enter Nuni Sawyer, 'ukulele enthusiast and great-granddaughter of Manuel Nunes, Portuguese immigrant to Hawai'i in 1879 and one of the first 'ukulele builders in the Islands. Manuel Nunes' handcrafted instruments bore the label "M. Nunes, Inventor of the Ukulele and Taro Patch Fiddles in Honolulu, 1879."

For Tom Walsh, a chord struck from 'ukulele heaven. The couple married and forged a historical Hawaiian link to the museum. (Dave Wasser was born in Hawai'i but grew up on the Mainland.)

This year's expo promises to be a cool event: rare and vintage 'ukulele, workshops, open-mike performances, film and video screenings, sales of new and used instruments, Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and a Saturday-night concert of top 'uke artists — the Rumble Pups, Ukes of Hazzard, Shorty Long, Ham and Legs, the Mai Tai Serenaders and Hawai'i's 'ukalady Michelle Kiba among them.

University of Hawai'i professor and chairman of graduate studies in music Byron Yasui will give two workshops and perform at the induction ceremony at this, his fourth expo. "It's great to go that far and perform for strangers who've now become friends," Yasui said. "Also, I get to meet lots of 'ukulele makers and try out their new instruments."

Another big draw will be the appearance of the largest 'ukulele ever built. Standing more than 20 feet tall, the instrument is a "soprano" rope-bound model with a distinctive Hawaiian body style and wooden friction tuning pegs.

"If the uke's size were a true reflection of its grand history and almost universal influence, this is how big it would be," said Sypher, the museum's executive director and builder of the giant uke.

The Expo will screen the provocative documentary "Rock That Uke" (www.rockthatuke.com) and there'll be a Friday-night coffeehouse performance/jam by local and regional 'uke artists.

Inductees to the 'Ukulele Hall of Fame include Ernest Ka'ai, Manuel Nunes, Roy Smeck, May Singhi Breen, Cliff Edwards, Samuel Kamaka, Arthur Godfrey and Hall of Fame hero King Kalakaua.

"King David Kalakaua was chosen as our first inductee because ... his love of the 'ukulele was perhaps the most important factor in establishing the instrument in Hawaiian music and culture," Walsh said.

Stay tuned.