Uke Song (via JC Penney Intercom Mic)

All right! Two recordings online in two days. Different microphones yielding different results, but nonetheless fun for me.

Today I loaned out my AKG C1000S to my pal Deependra (a fine musician) for some overdubbing he is conducting this week, and found myself wanting to produce another platinum-selling, top-of-the-charts hit for online perusal. What to record with? The only viable option at this time was an old J.C. Penny intercom microphone I picked up a few years back at some junkstore for just a nickel (a nickel?? SHH - that's right). Sorry, I have nary a model number to provide to any techophiles out there, I scrapped the base containing all of that info after my buddy Kieran re-wired it. He hoped to create a gritty sounding harp mic, but alas and alack, he created a crisp and clean little bullet, which I used for this recording.

As with yesterday's post, I recorded the uke first, and overdubbed the vocals. However I did not have the optimum buffer settings plugged in and received some snaps, crackles and pops in the vocal track. Oh well, good to have some filters to play around with to help alleviate, or at least disguise it somewhat. A little distortion here, some resonance added there, and "Al-la Peanut Butter Sandwiches"...! Good enough for me. For now. I will probably play around more later and re-record the vocals, though I am pretty happy with the scat solo - it is easier to do the mess-around vocally when you are not madly whackin' at your ukulele.

Lyrics:

I recall the morning at the reunion hotel
We were up and yawning
Some coffee could help
Descending the stairs came
a Guy with a Uke
"Nice Uke" - You observed
(he did not rebuke)

he said:
"A larger guitar once
had a home in my hands
Til I found this honey
in the the Hawaiian Islands
Compact design and
only four strings
the Ukulele Goddess has got me singing:

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
Once you get one
oh oh oh"

I thought not much of it
in fact it all left my mind
when on Maui
in Hawaii
what does lucky-I find
with a case and a chord chart
(The tuner I've got)
I decided to get it
and give it a shot

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
once you get one you will never go

Practice time increases abilities grow
I'm knocking off socks like so much so-and-so
A larger guitar Is not a place I wanna go
I don’t acknowledge knowledge
But there’s one thing I know:

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
once you get one you never go back

Music and Lyrics Copyright 2009 Mark Allen Johnson