Dominator Ukulele Tabs

Tonight I'm posting one from the Ka`au Crater Boys that features some killer licks from the master, Troy Fernandez. I hade completed this tab a number of weeks ago but was waiting to get Troy's approval to post it. He contacted me a couple of weeks ago and gave me the go ahead but with the Southern CA Ukulele Festival and the Wine Country Festival activities going on I haven't had time to get it posted until now.

This is a fun 3 chord jam that you can play with a friend and it's even better if you can sing it. I've provided my interpretation of the rhythm but feel free to chunk away with something that works for you.

Tab is located on the tabs page via the link at the top of the page.

The 2nd Annual Wine Country Ukulele Festival was wonderful experience and great success this year. The festival kicked off on Friday night at the Judd's Hill Hula Party which essentially was a meet and great with great food, outstanding musicians and of course, wine and great music.

Saturday was the big festival day at the Beringer Vineyards that was loaded with ukulele vendors, continuous performances on the Promenade stage and excellent workshops, food and of course, more wine.

The festival couldn't have ended on a better note for us. We participated in the Brunch at Miner Family Vineyards which was such a unique experience. A table for 22 inside the caves with incredible food and wine pairings and the music of James Hill and Kimo Hussey. This was a priceless experience to spend this time enjoying the wine, food and music. You just would have had to be there to get the full impact.

A HUGE Mahalo to Elaine de Man for all her efforts in pulling this amazing event together.

Here are some pictures from the weekend and some videos of my performance on Saturday at Beringer Vineyards on the Promenade stage.

The 8th Annual Southern California Ukulele Festival was held last weekend in Cerritos, California. The crowd may have been slightly smaller than years past but it was jammed packed with enthusiasm and ukulele awesomeness. The Friday night “Club Night” was definitely missed as well as the late night jamming at the Sheraton but all in all it was a wonderful festival.

This was the first year that the peeps from Ukulele Underground were in attendance. They had an open mic with numerous enthusiasts and performers to mesmerize the captive audience. Thanks to Ricdoug for providing the sound equipment.

Here are a few pics from the event. Next stop: Wine Country Ukulele Festival this weekend in the Napa Valley. See you there.

Aldrine with his new Kanile`a Tenor Ukulele by Joe Souza

Aldrine & Dominator at the UU booth

Dom jamming & UU booth

Dom with his spruce top tenor

Gerald Ross getting his sound check

Dominator & Ukulele Bartt

Bruddah Mark and Jeff manning their booth

The extent of the after concert jam at the Sheraton

Jamming with Ali Lexa and Derick Sebastion at the end of Ali's Jazz and Blues Improvisation workshop

Jin Kim sporting a nice Dominator Ukulele Tabs T

Jake’s new Live CD is outstanding. His live performances have always been better than his CDs and this is the best I’ve heard him yet. He just keeps getting better and better. One of the standouts on the CD is Piano Forte. I saw one of his Youtube videos where the arrangement is changed a bit. I spent part of my Easter Sunday recording an audio only version based off the Youtube video version.

Piano Forte - MP3

I haven’t had much time available lately for transcribing so I took a couple days off work this week and spent some time working on Here, There and Everywhere. This is a great song from the Beatles Revolver Album which was released on August 5th, 1966. I’ve had a number of requests for this one so I hope it helps those wanting to add this one to the arsenal.

Tabs are located on the tabs page via the link at the top of this page.

Tonight I strung up the spruce top tenor I made specifically to use during my performance at the upcoming Southern California Ukulele Festival (SCUF) in Cerritos on October 4th. Out of the gate the tone is a little brighter than I had expected but it sounds great and will definitely mature over time. Still need to do more work on the saddle as soon as the strings stabilize a bit more.

The spruce top and figured walnut were given to me by Pete Howlett, known as Ukulele Pete, from the Uke Talk forum. This is my first ukulele with a slotted headstock design and, overall, I’m pleased with it but I will adjust a couple of things on the next one to make it even better.

I purposely made the neck on the beefy side to see how it affects my carpal tunnel issues. I can always shave it down later but adding to it would be impossible.

Some of the specs:
Spruce top with paua abalone rosette with bwb inner and outer rings
Figured walnut back and sides
Curly maple binding top and back
Bwb fiber and maple top purfling
Mahogany bolt-on neck
17” scale joined to the body at the 14th fret
19 frets total
Ebony fingerboard with paua abalone combination side and fingerboard markers at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th frets
Ebony peghead overlay with paua abalone logo
Grover 18:1 Sta-Tite gold slotted peghead tuners
Ebony through body bridge
Corian nut and saddle
Worth CH strings
Misi-Acoustic Trio battery free pickup
Top finished in lacquer
Balance of instrument finished in hand rubbed oil and wax

The pics don’t really show it but I hurried the oil finish and up close it shows. I needed to get it strung up so I can spend the next week and a half playing it in and getting acquainted with it prior to SCUF. I spent some extra time on the lacquer top and though not perfect it is 100 times better than my first attempt on my number 002 mahogany tenor.

As soon as the strings are settled and I intonate the saddle I will get a sound sample put together.

Well folks, I know I haven’t been doing much transcribing lately because I’ve had other activities and priorities to deal with. I’ve been spending most of my spare time, which is really hard to come by right now, in the work shop building some ukuleles. Tonight I’m posting some pics of a soprano that I’ve just completed for Howlin’ Hobbit. I started this ukulele approximately 17 months ago. Unfortunately things like the day job caused many months of inactivity in the shop. Fortunately, Hobbit was not in any hurry and not once during the process did he ask when the uke would be finished. God bless that man . I plan to ship it in the next few days or so and hope to get a sound clip recorded before doing so. Too late to do it now and the noise level in the house is currently not conducive for recording. We had water damage to the laminate floor in the kitchen the other day and Serv Pro has the de-humidifier and blowers running big-time. But that's a whole different and very unsettling story. Here's a few pics.

EDIT: Here is a quick Sound Sample

Some specs:
Western red cedar top
Figured cherry back and sides
Mahogany bolt-on neck
Ebony fingerboard and bridge
Peghead© geared tuners
Aquila Concert gauge strings
Ebony peghead overlay with MOP logo
MOP side/fingerboard markers at the 5th, 7th and 10th frets
Top finish is lacquer
Balance of instrument finished in Tru-oil and wax

I'm also working on a tenor that I hope to have completed in time to play during my performance at the Southern California Ukulele Festival (SCUF) at Cerritos coming up in a few weeks. I'll post pics and a sound clip with it when it's completed.

I finally received the raw footage of my performance at the 15th Annual Ukulele Festival held this past April in Hayward, California. Here are the two songs I used to open and close the show. This was my first real, official, ukulele gig and a real good experience.

If all goes well I will be performing this year at the 7th Annual Southern California Ukulele Festival held on October 4th in Cerritos, California.

Blue Roses Falling

The Star Spangled Banner

I just got back a few days ago from visiting family in Michigan and Ohio. While I was there I also attended my 35 year High School Reunion. It was a great time and, as you can see from the pics, some of my classmates were in prime form as they did “the gator” on the dance floor.

When I attended the 30 year reunion I sat in with the band for a couple of tunes. The committee booked the same band and I was extended an invitation to play with them this year. They sent me a song list and there were a fair number of songs on the list that I currently do with my classic rock band, Rockslide. I brought my Stratocaster with me and had a blast playing with the band. Another classmate, Doug Cross, from Oakland, CA also joined the band with his saxophone.

Here's a pic showing Doug enjoying the company of several of the ladies that were getting loose and having a great time.

During the times I wasn’t on stage with the band I made a point to discuss my passion for the ukulele. The only reference for about 99% of the people there was that of Tiny Tim or Arthur Godfrey. I was asked if I was going to play Tiptoe Through the Tulips. I told them I was going to play some Led Zeppelin. Of course, I was told “you can’t play Led Zeppelin on the ukulele”. I politely told them to make sure they didn’t leave early.

When the band was finished with their last song the sound guy quickly plugged my Glyph into a direct box and set some levels in the PA. I played Going to California and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. The reception was overwhelming and I think most of them were very surprised to hear all of the music that was coming from such an unassuming 4 string instrument. My only regret is that I didn’t have a video camera to capture the moment. Here are a couple of pics. One from the back of the room where you can see everyone up front checking it out and the other showing how focused they were watching me play.

It was such a blast. Doug and I were invited to an after party where we played a few more tunes on ukulele with sax.

The 15th Annual Ukulele Festival of Northern California was yesterday in Hayward California. It was a beautiful day for a ukulele festival and as usual it seemed a good time was had by all. I got to meet up with some old friends and also got to meet a few new friends that are part of the Ukulele Underground (UU). UU is a relatively new website dedicated to promoting the Aloha spirit which seems to go hand in hand with this incredible addictive instrument we know as the ukulele. If you haven’t already done so, stop over to UU, become a registered member, and look around. You will find video lessons, tablature, within the forum as well as links to outside sources such as Dominator Ukulele Tabs and Ukulele Hunt, as well as helpful tips from the forum members. There are plenty of exciting things such as ukulele giveaways and online open mics that members can participate in.

The most memorable part of the day for me is that it was my first time as a performer at any Ukulele Festival. It was definitely an experience to go through the process of moving between the stations as you work your way to the main stage. I was fairly relaxed by the time I hit the stage as I opened with Jake’s Blue Roses Falling. Then I got a little tense as I worked my way through my arrangement of George Harrison’s Something. It was just a short ten minute slot so I needed a short one to finish with and I chose the Star Spangled Banner. I left the stage feeling like I did a decent job of controlling my nerves and getting through the set. I wasn’t able to capture any video on my own but I should be receiving the footage in the next few days or so. I’ll post some videos once I have the DVD in hand. In the meantime, here are a few pics from the show.