What’s a Uke Head?

Sometimes our best experiences are the result of circumstances beyond our control. These can be situations of perceived hardship, lack of freedom, illness, and various other limitations. In and around spring of 2022, a couple of these circumstances merged into one big, beautiful, experience. That was the day the Uke Heads were born.

As we know, 2022 marked the second year of the Global Covid Pandemic. Most of us, and by “us” I mean ukulele players, were spending a considerable amount of time indoors. Fortunately, this resulted in a treasure trove of workshops and performances on Zoom calls. We found a way to use technology to connect with so many people around the world. It was and is a beautiful thing.

At the same time, and even before Covid, technology and streaming services were not providing sufficient levels of income to Musicians. This is still true today. During Covid it was even worse since live performances were not an option. This required some out-of-the-box thinking by musicians in order generate income. This is where “Mister out-of-the-box” thinker, James Hill enters the picture.

If you’ve been an ukulele player for any length of time you know James Hill. If not, then visit his ukulele learning empire at Uketropolis.com or his personal website. He is a visual artist, musician, performer, recording artist, educator, etc., etc., etc… He is half of the performing duo, Champagne Weather, with his wife, Anne Janelle. He is also not afraid of technology.

Personally, I can say that without his online learning program, “The Ukulele Way,” I would’ve never learned to play the ukulele. I was really close to quitting until I found that.

Back to the story…

James got the “crazy” idea at the time to use NFTs as a way to generate income as well as connect with his fans. According to DuckDuckGo (don’t judge), “NFT stands for non-fungible token. It’s a unique digital identifier recorded on a blockchain that certifies ownership and authenticity of a digital or physical asset.” Basically, it’s a type of crypto-currency… sort of…

Anyway, James created hundreds of graphic images of upside down ukulele bodies that looked like faces. He called them Uke Heads. I am sure you’ve seen them around. Here are a few examples.

He then sold them as NFTs in exchange for becoming a member of his Uke Heads Band. We would all be a part of his next album. I am not going to describe the actual technical and financial logistics of how NFTs work. It’s accurate to say that it was a fairly technical process that not all members could figure out, nor wanted to. NFTs need to be registered to a blockchain wallet with a unique number. There are different wallets to choose from. Needless to say, many members did not register their Uke Heads. It was OK. If you paid for a Uke Head you were in the band. Technically however, you did not own the artwork and could not sell them on the blockchain market, nor use them in commercial projects. I registered mine. More on that in another post.

So, through the power of the internet and Zoom conference calls, Uke Heads from all over the world met every month to rehearse songs that James wrote. These were ensemble arrangements. He included parts for every skill level as well as singing parts. We chose as many parts as we wanted to record on our own and then sent the recordings back to him. He would mix all the parts together, and share each mix with us during the next rehearsal call.

We collaborated on a private SLACK channel (and still do.) This turned out to be our exclusive social media group. This is where we got help with recording, shared our ukulele experiences, and of course, made great friendships. This is also where James would post announcements and updates about the album.

We also used SLACK to share stickers that we made of our Uke Heads, along with custom t-shirts and “SWAG” featuring our unique Uke Head images. This created a pen-pal network using snail mail to trade our stickers with one another worldwide.

I am sure you’ve seen some of them plastered on cases at Ukulele Festivals.

James also created a special Uke Head for each album that was awarded to us for the songs we actually participated in. He hired an animator to create a few music videos for some of the songs. Here’s the YouTube playlist.

The monthly meetings were also great learning experiences. James walked us through every part, suggesting ways to play them and answering our questions. He gave us guide tracks to practice with, along with a SoundSlice space to practice. We had deadlines and were committed to the project. Learning, fun, and joy, are the best words to describe what was happening.

The following year, and shortly after the worst of the pandemic was over, we, I mean, James finished mixing the album. It is a thing of beauty. It’s safe to say that we were pretty proud of our efforts. I think we all knew that we had participated in a once in a lifetime experience. I can’t think of any other recording artist that has ever accomplished creating a full 10-13 song album with over 165 of his fans.

The album was mastered by fellow Uke Head, Daniel Ward. He and his wife Heidi Swedberg are both wonderful ukulele players, teachers, and musicians. They are active on the Ukulele Festival circuit, so be sure to follow them. It’s well worth attending one of their workshops or concerts. Here is an excerpt of Daniel explaining his mastering process when we visited his studio for the launch party.

The album officially launched on February 15, 2023. Many of us also participated in helping market the album and it eventually got picked up by several streaming stations and nominated for awards. It is definitely a source of joy and pride for all of us. Give it a listen.

One of the many highlights of being a Uke Head was the launch party at Daniel and Heidi’s gorgeous home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Unfortunately, not every Uke Head could attend, but here is a sample of one of our practice sessions, live, and together for the first time.

After the launch, I think many of us just wanted more. It was difficult to let those good vibes drift away. Fortunately, James felt the same way and this year we are working on a second album called 12 Multitudes. James is writing music for each of the 12 frets on the ukulele fretboard. It’s entirely instrumental. James is limiting each piece to the open strings and the four notes on each fret. As of this writing we have completed four beautiful arrangements. This time around, he is posting our work in process on the Uke Heads website. It’s worth checking it out.

We are still trying to meet on a Zoom call every month but are allowing for life to interrupt if needed. 

It’s not too late to become a Uke Head, we still have 8 frets to go. Head on over to the Uke Heads website, buy yourself a Uke Head, and join the club. After this album is done, we are also hoping for a third… fingers crossed.

I could go on and on talking about the adventures of Uke Heads. You sort’ve have to be one to fully understand what a fulfilling experience it is. One of the songs on the first album is called “Hearts on Fire.” We’ve taken that up as a slogan of sorts to honor each other, because it’s true.

Semper Fi, Uke Heads!

UPDATE

Shortly after sharing this post, I was notified that one of our dear Uke Head friends had recently passed. Craig is featured prominently in the video above playing bass.

He always cheerfully attended our Zoom calls and I was honored to get to meet him in person at the launch of our album. He was an amazing musician and a wonderful human being.

He will be dearly missed.

Here is the link to his website with a note from his wife.