Chief Noda, as he was affectionately called, would be 64 years old on 29th March 2021. When he brought his Ubass for the Beatles’ Carpool Karaoke jam session on Thursday 12th July 2018, Chifuru Noda certainly wouldn’t have known that he’d not live to see his 64th, 63rd, or 62nd birthday. None of us knew any better at the time.
Join us to celebrate the music he loved so much. See the list of songs from Chief Noda’s Birthday Party Open Mic in Zoom.
Since lockdowns cascaded across Europe and America, I have been hosting an online, interactive song session called “Three Chord Thursdays.” Each Thursday, we ukulele enthusiasts (whether vocalists or instrumentalists) meet for an hour to share songs of a particular theme, category, or era. It’s entirely free to join by registering in advance for the login/password details. Volunteers submit their requests to perform in advance. We aim to fit up to 10 songs for the hour-long session in Zoom.
We welcome everybody everywhere in the world. Restated, that’s anybody anywhere in the world.
Continue reading “Three Chord Thursdays”What a great idea to travel down memory lane singing songs you wrote in the different locations of your home town! That’s exactly what Paul McCartney did in Liverpool recently. The 24-minute Youtube video moved me to tears as “Let It Be” did for James Corden, host of “The Late, Late Show” in London.
Continue reading “Corden & McCartney sing Beatles songs in Liverpool”
Another kind of holiday greeting is the gift of music. Denver-based singer and composer Melissa Axel and tuba player James Jacoby share their original tune “Sleigh Ride in Bora Bora” with the world. Download any of the 3 versions for free and pass it around. Support their fund raising campaign for their forthcoming debut album.
Here is an original Christmas tune written and performed by the multi-talented singer/songwriter Melissa Axel and her partner, James Jacoby, tuba player and augmented by their back-up band of vocals, violin, percussion, and more. There’s also an instrumental version and a karaoke version with lyrics.
Bora Bora is a tropical island in the South Pacific. I had googled it when I first moved to the small Dutch village of Bussum in January 2004. It was a symbol of escape from the short and dark winter days that lay ahead. The idea of flying to Tahiti — somewhere on the other side of the world — occupied my mind and fueled my daydreams.
For Denver-based composer Melissa Axel and her team, perhaps the idea of Bora Bora, such a contrast from the snow-capped Rocky Mountains and below-freezing weather conditions, also keeps them dreaming of the warmer days to come. Certainly, Robert and I are living their dream in Hawaii.
How does a sleigh operate without snow? Well, here’s the clue:
we’ll still find a way to have our Christmas
stringing leis on palm trees by the sea
tie this rope around the sleigh, help me hitch it to the boat
we don’t need no reindeer, and we sure don’t need no snow
we’ll turn this Bali Hai into a Bali Ho-Ho-Ho
it’s a sleigh ride in Bora Bora
Listening to this song put a smile to my face. Here we are — not quite in Bora Bora — but in the tropics nevertheless. Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian islands. It’s not a white Christmas but a blue one with perfect surfing conditions.
Axel and Jacoby’s gift of music is a free for all. Download it. Pass it on to your friends. Share it on facebook.
If you like their music, check out their fundraising campaign for their debut album.
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