Larry, Jack, Arlene, Jen, Ken, Chris, Bill, Suzala and WendySue played songs with the theme of LAUGHTER.

An evening of playing with the ukulele club, even if we aren't playing especially well, is always fun. I have never gotten in my car at 9:45 and thought, "Thank God that's over." A so-so night of uke-ing is better than 95% of the days at my job hanging stop signs and parking restrictions.

Besides the actual playing, there's the camaraderie and banter. There's Bill, with a washboard slung around his neck, banging away with drum brushes on all manner of percussive devices and humming into a kazoo/toy sax (and wearing orange sunglasses.) Folks, you cannot get this level of entertainment sitting at home on your couch on a Friday night. There's the elusive and mysterious Suzala, group founder and Fearless Leader, quietly drinking in her creation while composing a sketch of Larry playing his baritone uke. (The payoff was at the end of the evening when she showed it to us. It was museum quality. Fantastic.)

There was all this, and playing, and singing. However, with only a few exceptions, we were exceptionally sloppy and awful this night. Looking over my notes, I see bad reviews on nearly every song. There was awful timing, some rushing the tempo, lots of us not really knowing how the song went, difficult chords, having trouble changing chords quickly, not paying attention to Ken's direction on Those Were the Days. I see notes like "horrible on the bridge," "could have sounded much better," "just so-so," "partly ok in verse," "slightly better but not much," and "not a bad ending but got lost in the middle."

When I was in high school, I didn't look good in a skirt, had all kinds of pom-pom troubles and therefore did not try out for the cheerleading squad. But I like to think of myself as a cheerleader for the L.I.U.S.C. We can do better, brother and sisters! Don't despair. We'll get 'em next time.

Now I think I'll just list the songs we did, omitting any negative opinions.

1. Gimme Dat Ding, The Pipkins, 1970 (Dan)

2. Wooly Bully, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, 1965 (Arlene)

This was the most together performance we've ever done of this song, and we've done it lots.

3. Annie's Song, John Denver, 1974 (Jen)

I never liked this song, and wouldn't you know it, we played through it like pros.

4. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter, Billy Williams, 1957 (Dan)

5. Crazy Words Crazy Tune, 1926 (Arlene)

6. Singing in the Bathtub, 1929 (Arlene)

"Singing in the bathtub

Sitting all alone

Tearing out a tonsil

Just like a baritone."

7. You Can't Rollerskate in A Buffalo Herd, Roger Miller, 1965 (Arlene)

8. Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens, Louis Jordan, 1947 (Bill)

9. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding, Elvis Costello, 1978 (Dan)

10. Those Were the Days, Mary Hopkin, 1968 (Larry)

11. Hello Muddah Hello Faddah, Alan Sherman, 1963 (WendySue)

12. Button Up Your Overcoat, Helen Kane, 1929 (WendySue)

"Keep away from bootleg hooch

When you're on a spree."

13. I Won't Grow Up, from Peter Pan, 1954 (WendySue)

14. Minnie the Moocher, Cab Calloway, 1932 (WendySue)

15. Popeye the Sailor Man, 1933 (WendySue)

16. Good Day Sunshine, Beatles, 1966 (John/absent)

For our next session, a number of suggestions were put forward, including: songs of the '90s, John Denver, Kenny Rogers, the Everly Brothers, songs from vaudeville, the songs we've played the best in the past. Arlene suggested the last one. I'm for trying that one day. It would require us to scan through the jam summaries to see what went well. The songs we played the best as a group should come first before the songs we merely like to hear on the radio.

Also, I do like the idea of an evening of songs by a particular artist or group, such as the Beatles or Buddy Holly. But do the Everly Brothers have 15 songs we all know? Does John Denver? I bet not. Maybe we could combine them into a Denver/Everlys night or a Cat Stevens/Rolling Stones night.

What we shall play next time are songs from the 1950s. This is an excellent topic with potential for lots of C Am F G7 numbers. I usually associate the fifties with doo-wop and the early, fast rock and roll. But there were singers like Patti Page, Doris Day, Andy Williams and Johnny Mathis, singing in a more traditional style, who had lots of Top 40 hits. I guess all of them are fair game.

-- Dan.