Posts Tagged ‘The Hukilau Song’
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You Never Know
0August 10, 2014 by admin
It was another hot one; I set up in the cool breeze on the path. After a while, a young Indian couple stopped near me. “Have you got time for a hula today?”
“I danced yesterday,” the woman said. “Don’t you remember me?”
“Mumbai,” I greeted her. “That was yesterday. What about today? Did you already hula in your hotel room this morning? Besides,” I went on, “he didn’t see you.”
They turned their backs and conducted a private discussion; I turned my attention to the people walking by. I started singing “Ukulele Lady” for my next number. Somewhere about the time the wiki-wakis wooed, Mumbai girl walked forward and grabbed a lei. I transitioned into “The Hukilau Song.” As she danced, she sang the words, “huki, huki, huki, huki, hukilau.” Her hula was much improved; maybe she had practiced in her hotel room.
A photographer spent some time setting up his shot. Unlike most folks who find me photogenic, he gave me a dollar. There was an egregious hula walkaway, and almost immediately afterward a videographer walkaway. Fact was, no one was paying any attention to me. Then Maggie the dog came by with her owner. Humans exchanged pleasantries. He told me how much he liked the accordionist, whom I could just hear over the hill near the fountain. Maggie took a seat.
“Sorry, Maggie,” I said, starting to pack up. I wasn’t going to spend my last 10 minutes in the park serenading a dog. I had better things to do.
Having done them, I boarded an M104 bus. I had to take my uke case off my back to sit down. “What is that, a violin?” the woman next to me asked. She was older than me, with a European accent.
I told her it was a ukulele. She asked me what kind of music I played, classical? In fact, what I play is classical uke music, but I didn’t want to get into those kind of distinctions, so I described my act with a few titles.
“I have a television show on cable,” she said. “And I’d love to have a guest who was over 20. My name is Martine.”
I gave her my card. You never know.
Category Uncategorized | Tags: The Hukilau Song, Ukulele Lady
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Overcast Wednesday
0August 7, 2014 by admin
Dark gray clouds obliterated the sun for long stretches, and a cooling breeze blew in from the north, over the lake. When the clouds rolled on, bathing center stage in noontime clarity, I put my hat back on until the next gray wave rolled in. I’m trying to work the hat into my routine; it’s not a good idea for me, or anyone, to stand in the summer sun for 90 minutes.
A couple of kids came by to hula, yielding $2 from one parent, $1 from another. “Can we do it again?” one squealed. “Why not?” I transitioned from “The Hukilau Song” to “My Little Grass Shack.” Together, the parents coughed up another $2, as if buying tickets for the carousel.
A woman of a certain age checked me out, as she and her friend headed toward the water to chat. After a few songs, they got up to leave. The woman walked past me and dropped her dollar in my case. “You’re great,” she said. “Thanks for what you do.”
Three young women stopped to hula. A man from Würzburg, now living in Woodstock with his American wife, said he liked my music. A bride and groom wandered by with their photographer, looking for the perfect backdrop. I, of course, burst into “The Hawaiian Wedding Song.” The couple continued to wander around the fountain, impervious to the music meant for them. There were lots of tween boys and girls with loose change, and the usual number of walkaways. A distinguished man with a gray beard and a neck-load of camera equipment managed to record the complete “I Wonder Where My Little Hula Girl Has Gone,” gave me a thumbs up, and returned to his family in the shade. Later, when I looked his way, he was gone.
Category Uncategorized | Tags: I Wonder Where My Little Hula Girl Has Gone, My Little Grass Shack, The Hawaiian Wedding Song, The Hukilau Song
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Another Hot One
0August 6, 2014 by admin
As I turn into the park I’m greeted by the usual mix of bicycle rickshaws, hot dog vendors, tour groups getting return bus instructions, button salesmen. A second crop of roses and cosmos are budding behind the benches. It’s another hot one; I don’t even think about center stage.
Four Chinese teenagers stopped to watch. One of them asked to play my uke. He worked out a few chords and they all started singing. It was a Russian tune, or so I was told by the New York couple who leaned lazily against the fence and proudly watched the Chinese kids totally take over my gig. The couple were hosts for a program called “Impact,” one goal of which is to explore the world in the spirit of spontaneity and creativity. “You’re perfect for our purposes,” the woman told me. Retrieving my uke, I didn’t let them leave without a hula.
The candy boys from Jersey City were out again today. One of them shook his fist, as if shaking dice, then rolled 76 cents into my case. For the rest of my set, whenever they walked by hawking candy bars, one or more would give me a high-five or fist-bump.
A Brazilian woman danced the hula, then walked away. This is not surprising behavior; there is no tradition of tipping street artists in Brazil. A more common walk-away are the people who assiduously avoid eye contact, then, as soon as they pass and can no longer see me, joyfully hula down the path, as if invisible.
Two kids did the hula. “Look, mom, look,” they called, but mom was leaning into her cellphone, her back turned. Dad took a picture, but, by the end of the first verse, all enthusiasm had evaported, so I brought the “The Hukilau Song” mercifully to an end. The parents turned and walked away, the kids running after them.
At the end of my set, I squatted to count out $7.76 in my case. Someone came running up to me. The girl who could not get her mother’s attention had managed to get a dollar for me. Aloha.
Category Uncategorized | Tags: The Hukilau Song
