 | 1. Gee Whiz It's Christmas 2. Blue Christmas 3. Merry Christmas Baby 4. Merry Christmas Broken Hearts 5. Holidays Ain't The Same (Without You) 6. Mele Kalikimaka 7. When The River Meets The Sea |
I think a lot of us probably had that moment in high school or college where you're kicking back with a small group of friends and somebody says, "Hey, we should start a band". Then, the next day, you realize what a stupid idea it was...especially since none of you play an instrument. Best I can say is that I did do the lead vocals on an a capella version of "Sh-Boom" at our college Gong Show (and we were gonged in record time). Of course, the story goes a little differently when the friends in question are actually in the music industry.
So Jon Hornyak, sound engineer Matt Ross-Sprang, and Jason Freeman are kicking back at Sun Studios one day (yes, that Sun Studios) and Jason suggests they ought to put together a ukulele band. Except, being in the music business already, they didn't dismiss the idea the next day. Instead, they recruited singer-songwriter Mark Edward Stuart, Logan Hanna, and the young but extremely talented Kyndle McMahan. The group all had their regular things going on, but their little ukulele band was a nice escape, something fun to do on the side. They played some house concerts and coffee houses and, the next thing you know, they're opening for Jake Shimabukuro (who is pretty much the hottest thing going in uke). After that, the record companies came calling. And, in 2016, the Memphis Ukulele Band released their eponymous debut album. On November 16, they'll release their follow-up, a Christmas EP entitled "Holidays Ain't The Same".
I know you've heard a ton of Indie artists playing Indie Uke tunes. But this is Memphis, y'all. If you're going to make it as a ukulele band in Memphis, you'd better be bringing a little bit of Blues and some hot buttered Soul. And MUB do exactly that. "Holidays Ain't The Same" includes covers of Carla Thomas and Charles Brown, as well as a pair of originals--"Merry Christmas Broken Hearts" and "Holidays Ain't The Same (Without You)". Their sound is known as "Ukulele Soul". While you can't really get the feel of that from "Mele Kalikimaka" (which, c'mon, you're a uke band doing a Christmas album; that's sort of required), you can from the video below--The Memphis Ukulele Band's take on Ann People's "(You Keep Me) Hangin' On".
So Jon Hornyak, sound engineer Matt Ross-Sprang, and Jason Freeman are kicking back at Sun Studios one day (yes, that Sun Studios) and Jason suggests they ought to put together a ukulele band. Except, being in the music business already, they didn't dismiss the idea the next day. Instead, they recruited singer-songwriter Mark Edward Stuart, Logan Hanna, and the young but extremely talented Kyndle McMahan. The group all had their regular things going on, but their little ukulele band was a nice escape, something fun to do on the side. They played some house concerts and coffee houses and, the next thing you know, they're opening for Jake Shimabukuro (who is pretty much the hottest thing going in uke). After that, the record companies came calling. And, in 2016, the Memphis Ukulele Band released their eponymous debut album. On November 16, they'll release their follow-up, a Christmas EP entitled "Holidays Ain't The Same".
I know you've heard a ton of Indie artists playing Indie Uke tunes. But this is Memphis, y'all. If you're going to make it as a ukulele band in Memphis, you'd better be bringing a little bit of Blues and some hot buttered Soul. And MUB do exactly that. "Holidays Ain't The Same" includes covers of Carla Thomas and Charles Brown, as well as a pair of originals--"Merry Christmas Broken Hearts" and "Holidays Ain't The Same (Without You)". Their sound is known as "Ukulele Soul". While you can't really get the feel of that from "Mele Kalikimaka" (which, c'mon, you're a uke band doing a Christmas album; that's sort of required), you can from the video below--The Memphis Ukulele Band's take on Ann People's "(You Keep Me) Hangin' On".
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