Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro chatted with Digital Journal about his concert tonight at The Paramount in Huntington on Long Island.
Huntington
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Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro chatted with Digital Journal about his concert tonight at The Paramount in Huntington on Long Island.
« I am looking forward to it. For the first time, I am bringing a trio with me. The last time that I played The Paramount, I performed solo, » he said. « I have Nolan Verner from Nashville, Tennessee, who is a great bass player, and Dave Preston from Denver, Colorado, who is a great electric guitar player. We will be rocking the trio set, which will be a lot of fun. »
He continued, « I want everybody to have a good time tonight. I want them to walk out after the show smiling. The best thing about being a ukulele player is that audiences from all over the world have such low expectations about the ukulele, and when they walk away, they feel good about it. We have a brand new album The Greatest Day coming out on August 31, so we will be doing a lot of new songs from that album. »
Shimabukuro shared that he is a big fan of The Beatles, and he enjoys performing « While My Guitar Gently Weeps, » which was penned by George Harrison. « I am a huge Beatles fan, but I have felt the biggest connection with George Harrison. He had such a passion for music, » he said.
On his songwriting inspirations, Shimabukuro said, « Just everyday life. I have been very fortunate. »
Digital transformation of the music business
On the impact of technology on the music industry, Shimabukuro said, « I think technology is great. It makes the music so accessible to people. I think that it’s a great way for new artists to get discovered. I discover new music these days on iTunes and some of these other platforms. It is fascinating, and I am very grateful. Technology is a very powerful tool. It is just fantastic. »
Regarding his use of technology in his daily routine, Shimabukuro said, « I use my phone to record Voice Memos. Back in the day, I would call my answering machine at my house, and I would sing the melody into the answering machine, so when I would go home, I would get it recorded. Now, I make videos of myself playing, as a reference. That has been so handy. If you have an idea for a song, you can actually record it in your laptop, and the sound is quite decent. These days, technology gives us so many opportunities. »
Shimabukuro complimented teen ukulele player and songstress Grace VanderWaal . « I think Grace is fantastic. It is so great to see so many artists utilizing the ukulele in their music. Grace is amazing and she writes wonderful songs. She has such a unique voice. Seeing her just by herself playing the ukulele and singing is so powerful, and it makes such an impact, » he said. « I think it is so great to hear the ukulele being used in all these different styles of music. Just to hear it in pop music now is awesome. It is a great time for the ukulele. »
The Greatest Day by Jake Shimabukuro will be officially released on August 31. It is available for pre-order on iTunes.
To learn more about Jake Shimabukuro and his touring schedule, check out his official homepage .
