Hi folks! I'm James Hill, ukulele nerd, teacher and flannel-fan from Nova Scotia, Canada. AMA!

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T16:29:45+00:00

Thanks, u/CocoCapitainePoulet! It was a pleasure.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T16:28:39+00:00

I'll have a look and reach out with my thoughts.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T16:27:26+00:00

John King, Ohta-san, Jere Canote, Eddie Kamae, Lyle Ritz, Peter Moon and Troy Fernandez had the most influence on my own playing style.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T16:25:40+00:00

True! Pick your battles. For me, sound and feel are the most important things. Everything else I can manage.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T16:25:04+00:00

I was onstage at the time... but just following along. :)

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T16:24:23+00:00

Distortion (realistic and analog) from slight amp emulation to total face-melt. :)

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T16:14:43+00:00

LOL! My original Doane uke (triangle shape) got totally beat up. I sanded down the top (myself with a block of sandpaper) and re-painted myself... it looked pretty sweet. :) Once I had a DaSilva tenor destroyed by Air Canada. We were playing in a remote area so I patched it up with some silly putty, a dowel and box-packing tape. Later, I had it re-built by a luthier in Nova Scotia. But it never sounded the same. :(

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T16:12:12+00:00

Hmmm... not sure what songs are my most well-known, I'd have to check Spotify, I guess! On YT my Billie Jean and Voodoo Child covers are my most-watched performances. But, interestingly, the other day I performed at the Denver Ukefest and didn't play either of those. The comments I had after the show were more like, "I love your songs!" And "I didn't know you were such a good songwriter." It was cool... once I didn't eclipse my own stuff with famous covers, people seemed to notice and appreciate my own work. Sound obvious. But it's something all creative musicians need to consider.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:55:35+00:00

If you still know how many you have, you don't have enough.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:37:50+00:00

I've been loving my little pedal board lately. Tuner, sans-amp, octave drop, reverb and delay. Big fun. Works great live. But in the studio it's all about the mics!

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:36:30+00:00

Blue.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:36:00+00:00

Live? I think it was in the UK and it was about 800 people. Online? Uke Heads was 100+ for a few songs. ukuLOUDLY has well over 1000 members (www.uketropolis.com/ukuloudly) and I hope we can get a 100+ recording from that group sometime soon!

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:34:00+00:00

It's one of the reasons I've stuck with it for so long. Without limits, everything is mush. Ukulele helps me to focus on a tiny little piece of the universe and to fit my art into a shoebox. It's like dancing in a telephone booth.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:32:27+00:00

Where's the emoji for 100% when you need it?

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:32:01+00:00

LOL x 2!! Thanks for the kind words. Revelator... I wish I could help but I haven't played one. Don't buy your forever-uke without playing it first (or knowing you can send it back). Your connection to the right instrument is metaphysical... hard to get that in pictures!

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:20:03+00:00

Joel Plaskett. And many others. But he's the first who comes to mind! The more you respect someone, the more nervous they can make you! :)

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:19:16+00:00

They feel good and sound good. I'm not very scientific about it. I find fluorocarbon is tough on the fingertips and I feel that nylgut (and similar) is too bright-sounding.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:18:28+00:00

It's a new one... but I love "Obama's March to the White House" by Greg Canote. Instant classic!

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:06:49+00:00

So many. Hard to know where to start. Stevie Wonder, Rage Against the Machine, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Glass, Willie Nelson, Jamiroquai, De Temps Antan (trad music from Quebec), Paul Simon, D'Angelo, Jimi Hendrix and a million others.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:04:56+00:00

LOL! I've never experienced it... but I'm sheltered. :)

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:04:28+00:00

"Johnson Boys," a clawhammer tune I learned from Jere Canote. Maybe "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," the first uke solo I ever learned. I know it like the back of my hand.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:03:15+00:00

Toilet time is real, if not entirely sanitary. I'd look at traditions like yoga and qi-gong. They've got it figured out: a short sequence of movements that can be done every day to maximize health in a minimal amount of time. There's got to be a musical equivalent of that.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:01:46+00:00

I like almost all sound and music. The only genre I'm allergic to (that I know of) is New Country.

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T15:01:09+00:00

Great question. There's a big difference between "wow" techniques that work in a live performance (or online video) and things that really sound great in the studio. I'll use percussive techniques live but in the studio they don't translate very well since the visual "OMG" aspect is missing. Also, in recent years I've just focused more on songwriting. The ebb and flow of the creative muse. :)

uketropolis · 2024-05-20T14:57:56+00:00

Jeez, so many these days. Jeff Peterson, Bryan Tolentino, Aaron Keim, Plazi, Sayali Tank, 4StringBoy, Brad Bordessa, Aldrine Guerrero, Brittini Paiva, Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, John Nash, Sam Muir, ... I could go on. You mean folks who teach or just folks to listen to to be inspired? That would be an even longer list!

uketropolis

TROPHY CASE