A.B. Patterson & M. Cowan

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Today in Australia, we remember our proud military history through a national holiday, ANZAC Day. Up until 1974, Australia did not have its own National Anthem, instead using the British anthem “God Save the Queen / King”

Australians are a cheeky bunch, and adopted an “Unofficial Anthem” that was often sung by Australian Soldiers as they march. This song was “Waltzing Matilda”, a song by Marie Cowan using words by one of Australias greatest ever wordsmiths, A.B. “Banjo” Patterson.

"ANZAC Day 2006"

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ANZAC Day - 25 April - is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only fourteen years. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the allied navies. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

Today, Australians recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration for all of our ex-service men and women who have fought to protect Australia and its allies. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across the nation. Later in the day ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. At a time when Australia has just had its first casualty in Iraq, it is especially  a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.

"Get yourself a microphone"

I was going through some old data CDs this week, looking for some old documents. Along the way, I found some recordings that I made of myself on uke from a while ago.

It was really interesting to listen to them and then even play along with the recordings. They were not that long ago, but never the less, i could instantly tell that my playing had improved. When you pick up the ukulele nearly every day, as I do, its often hard to realise both where you have improved as well as where you could improve.

So, my newly learned advice , record yourself today and listen back next week, next month or next year. It doesn't need to be a multi track extravaganza, just a simple record of you and your uke.

"A frenetic guy in a red T-shirt, blue jeans and ball cap stole the show"

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Ocregister.com brings us a report today of Jake's outstanding performance on the latest stop of Jimmy Buffett's tour.

Is jake possible the hardest working ukulele player in the world, and for me, certainly the most active at opening the uninitiated's eyes to the possibilities of our favourite four stringer.

Read the article here --->

"Value for Money, All good Fun"

"If I only had a heart..."

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This week's feature product in the Australele General Store proves that you really do have Ukulele in you.

This could be my XRay from a recent  search for my heart or perhaps one of those weird "I slipped in the shower" type of stories. Either way, you will be the coolest dude or dudette at your next Ukulele jam in one of our "Ukulele X-Ray" t-shirts.

Check Out the store --->

"Folsom Prison Blues" by J.R. Cash

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Johhny Cash was never an inmate at Folsom Prison, but he did well and truly put it on the international music map. Whilst serving in the US Air Force in West Germany in the early 50s, Johnny was inspired by a movie, "Inside the walls of Folsom Prison" to write a truly classic song about two of Country Music's favourite topics - prisons and trains.

Johhny Cash went to Folsom Prison in 1968 to record an album, complete with cell door noises and good old fashioned yelling from the inmates.

The recent Johnny Cash biopic deals pretty well with both the writing of this song and also the performance inside those bluestone walls.

Get the Chart --->

Mike Longworth remembered: Vale

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Robert "The Founder" Wheeler in his latest column at Ukulele Noir brings us pictures of one of the late Mike Longworth's creations.

Mike was a a longtime Martin employee with a particular passion for outstanding inlay work designed and built many outstanding acoustic guitars and ukuleles. His knowledge and dedication to the Martin company resulted in many books.

The "For Mike a Uke"  is fashioned largely from material more commonly associated with kitchens than fine quality musical instruments. This one though has a strangely beautiful quality about it and is likely to be also very stain resistant.

Check it out ---> 

"Byron Bay - Not just hippies anymore"

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Byron Bay is a beautiful part of Australia on the east coast. With more than 30kms of perfect white sand beaches the ukulele would seem to be the perfect musical instrument. Well that's what a group of local ukulele enthusiasts think.

Byron Bay is a town with a fair bit of alternative cred, so I bet these guys manage to rip out some cool tunes.

Check out the Story here -->

"Ukulele: spread the word"

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I've been travelling this week, about 6000 kms in the air (boy are my arms tired!) and a couple of hundred on the ground. As usual, a ukulele came with me on the journey. During this time, I've had a fair bit of time to think and one of the things that came to mind was what the humble uke does for me.

On more than one occasion, a quick tune at the check-in desk has scored me an operational upgrade on a flight. At worst, I get to see a happy smile from someone that was probably having a pretty boring day. I go away knowing that my day is better for cheering someone else up.

I once found myself playing for a bus load of senior citizens at a rest stop on the highway between Sydney and Melbourne which was a huge buzz, particularly when most of them sang along to 5 foot 2.

In Darwin one time, I was sitting, strumming in a park. when a group of locals complete with didgeridoo sat down and we gave each other an impromptu concert as the sun set over the harbour.

My life has been pretty full and I have had lots of interesting experiences without a ukulele, but these ukulele related ones and many other similar ones make me realise just what ukulele means to me.

Ukulele and smiles constantly go together. Uke On.