Enter the dragon
Joe Nguyen, staff writer
Aug. 15, 2006
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His artistry with the ukulele has taken the stringed instrument to new heights. He has given it an electric sound using a variety of distortion and effect pedals. But since these attachments weren’t made specifically for the ukulele, it took a lot of experimentation.

“In the beginning, talk about feedback city,” he said. “It was just a lot of patience, and a lot of money spent on buying different kinds of equipment, which I still do for this day.”

He said he writes lyrics for some of his songs, but because of his lack of singing ability he just plays the melody.

“Believe me, it’s because I can’t [sing],” he said with a laugh. “If I could, I would.”

His next album, Gently Weeps, will be his first solo ukulele album. His previous endeavors have included accompaniments by a variety of instruments. The CD is slated to be released on Sept. 19.

“I wanted to just focus on doing a strictly solo album because a lot of times when I tour, I just play by myself anyways,” he said.

“I believe if you have a passion, you got to do it because that’s the only thing that’s going to make you happy,” he said. “Paychecks are nice, but in the long run it’s not going to fulfill you.”

Jake Shimabukuro will be performing in Steamboat Springs Friday, Aug. 18. For more information go to http://www.stringsinthemountains.com/.

For more on Jake Shimabukuro
Check out his website at http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/