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  • [PLAYING MUSIC]

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Thank you.

  • Thank you.

  • This next song that I'd like to perform for you is-- you

  • know, one of the cool things about playing the ukulele is

  • that you have a very limited range.

  • And you have just basically four strings to work with.

  • And I kind of talked about this the last time I was here.

  • I said that you only have four strings.

  • And sometimes, it can appear to be very limiting.

  • Because you think, oh, on the ukulele, I

  • only have four strings.

  • But on the guitar, a guitar has six strings and you can

  • get a much fuller sound and a bigger sound.

  • And you always want more and more and more and more.

  • So I wrote this song recently.

  • Because I've been trying to compose more.

  • And I always try to come up with a concept or an idea,

  • whenever I'm writing a new piece.

  • So this idea, though, came about by accident.

  • See, I was changing my ukulele strings one day.

  • And I put the first string on.

  • [PLUCKS STRING]

  • And then I put the second string on.

  • [PLUCKS STRING]

  • And then, I was going to put the third string on, but I

  • couldn't find that string.

  • So I was like, where did I put my third string?

  • So I grabbed the fourth string.

  • I put the fourth string on.

  • [PLUCKS STRING]

  • And instead of rushing off to look for another third string,

  • I thought to myself, wouldn't it be cool to write a song

  • with just three strings?

  • So this is a song called "Missing Three."

  • And it's a piece that just uses three strings.

  • That's it.

  • And I thought it was kind of cool.

  • Because on the ukulele, you always want more.

  • You always think you need more strings.

  • You need a greater range.

  • So this is a song called "Missing Three" that kind of

  • proves that you don't always need more.

  • Sometimes less truly is more.

  • And if you know what you're going for, if you know what

  • you want to say or what you're trying to communicate, then

  • sometimes you can just do it with three

  • strings, rather than four.

  • So here's a song called "Missing Three."

  • [MUSIC - JAKE SHIMABUKURO, "MISSING THREE"]

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Thank you very much.

  • Thank you.

  • A song entitled "Missing Three."

  • A couple other things happened to me since the

  • last time I was here.

  • Shortly after I was here at Google, I got married.

  • So that was pretty cool.

  • And seven weeks ago, my wife and I had our first baby.

  • I know, I'm a dad.

  • That's kind of a scary thought, right?

  • But it's the most amazing thing.

  • Because I'm kind of at that age where a lot of my friends

  • have children.

  • And a lot of them, they're on their second child already.

  • But I remember when they first had their baby, they would

  • always send me photos.

  • Or they on their phones, they'd show me pictures.

  • And then I'm just like, oh yeah, cute.

  • But on the inside I'm like, I don't want to see this.

  • Why are you showing me this?

  • But it's amazing.

  • It's so different when it's your own child.

  • When it's your own child, you're just like, oh my god.

  • Every little thing that they do, it's the cutest, most

  • adorable thing.

  • And it's so funny because now, I'll

  • send pictures to everyone.

  • But it's really the most amazing thing.

  • And so this next song, I wrote it actually--

  • maybe when my wife was about six months pregnant.

  • I wrote this song for the baby.

  • And it's a song I call "Gentlemandolin." And like I

  • was explaining before, that when I write a piece, I always

  • like to have some concept, something that is different

  • from anything else that I've done before in the past.

  • And the way this song came about was, I love the sound of

  • the mandolin.

  • The mandolin is actually tuned like a violin.

  • So it has a wide range.

  • It has over a three-octave range, whereas the ukulele

  • only has a two-octave range.

  • So you can get these beautiful, lush chords on the

  • mandolin that are very difficult

  • to get on the ukulele.

  • So I came across this chord voicing that to me, in my

  • mind, kind of mimics the voicing of a mandolin player.

  • And it sounds like this.

  • It's a really far stretch like this, but you get

  • this kind of sound.

  • [STRUMMING CHORDS]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: It doesn't sound like a ukulele.

  • It sounds more like a mandolin.

  • So I wrote this song.

  • And I used that idea for this tune for my son.

  • And I call it "Gentlemandolin." And the

  • title came about because I was thinking that I hope one day

  • when my son grows up, he'll grow up to be a fine

  • gentleman--

  • dolin.

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Here we go.

  • All right, it's cheesy.

  • I know.

  • All right.

  • Here we go.

  • [MUSIC - JAKE SHIMABUKURO, "GENTLEMANDOLIN"]

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Thank you very much.

  • Man.

  • I get my inspiration from a lot of things.

  • I'm sure it's the same for all of you.

  • All of you here, you're all artists.

  • And you're always trying to think of the next thing and

  • what's going to be that next big idea.

  • And it's funny because sometimes I get a lot of my

  • inspiration from the most unusual things.

  • I just did a short interview out here for that video.

  • I think it's called "My Favorite

  • Things." What's it's called?

  • AUDIENCE: Yes.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: "My Favorite Things." So one of the things

  • that I talked about was one of my favorite performances ever

  • was a performance of Bill Cosby.

  • Bill Cosby, a long time ago, he did this HBO special, this

  • stand-up comedy special, called "Bill Cosby, Himself."

  • And it was the most--

  • I think till this day, of all the comedians out there, this

  • performance is still like the bible of stand-up comedy.

  • And if you haven't seen it, you really

  • should check it out.

  • You guys have it in your archive.

  • So you should definitely check it out.

  • But if you can get the actual DVD of the entire performance,

  • it is truly amazing.

  • It's almost two hours long.

  • And Bill Cosby sits in a chair.

  • Not even a high chair, a regular--

  • like a chair that you're sitting in.

  • And he's just sitting in that chair, holding a microphone,

  • and telling these stories.

  • And everyone is just at the edge of their seats, just

  • dying, laughing, so entertained.

  • And I realized-- because see, for me, that was very

  • significant.

  • Because when I first started out playing the ukulele, I was

  • always playing with a singer.

  • There was always a singer.

  • And then I would be in the back playing--

  • [PLAYING CHORDS]

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: I would be the backing guy.

  • So I'd be in the back, just kind of playing.

  • And then when they're done singing, then I'd take a

  • little solo.

  • [PLAYING MELODY]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: And then back to--

  • [STRUMMING CHORDS]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: --and then they're singing again.

  • So that was kind of my job.

  • And the reason for that is because I

  • am a terrible singer.

  • I can't sing to save my life.

  • So after a while, when I stopped working with singers,

  • I thought--

  • I had this little band in high school.

  • And when we broke up, I thought, oh, no, that's the

  • end for me.

  • Because what am I going to do?

  • I can't sing.

  • I'm just going to play my ukulele?

  • I remember being so intimidated by standing up in

  • front of an audience just with my ukulele and playing.

  • In fact, some of my early performances, I would go on

  • stage and just be like, (MUMBLING) uh, oh, this song

  • is called "Sunshine of Your Love."

  • [MUSIC - "SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE"]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: And I would start playing.

  • But I was so afraid.

  • Because I just thought, oh, the ukulele by itself, it just

  • sounds so empty.

  • And it doesn't have that full sound that I'm used to hearing

  • when I go and listen to a concert.

  • I want that big, big sound, right?

  • But I couldn't get that with this instrument.

  • But when I saw "Bill Cosby, Himself," when I saw him-- and

  • I saw a man just come up on stage in front of thousands of

  • people, sit in a chair with a microphone.

  • And he could just connect with every single

  • person in the room.

  • And I was watching this on television.

  • And I still felt like I was there.

  • I felt like every story he was telling, he was looking right

  • at me and telling this.

  • Like I was sitting down in his living room and he was just

  • sharing this amazing story with me.

  • And I was so inspired by that.

  • Because then I realized, you know what?

  • The instrument that we hold is just an illusion.

  • Guitar players-- like if you watch Jimi Hendrix, yeah, he's

  • playing the guitar.

  • But the guitar is just an illusion.

  • His artistry, his music, he's communicating--

  • it's his whole--

  • before you even hear his guitar,

  • you're hearing his spirit.

  • He's communicating this thing.

  • Like one of the things that I believe is all the music that

  • you play and you hear happens.

  • It's created and happens before it even gets to your

  • instrument.

  • Before I play that chord, I need to create

  • it inside of me.

  • I need to feel it and just create it first.

  • And then, then I can play that chord.

  • Or before I bend that note--

  • [PLAYING MUSIC, GUITAR-SOLO STYLE]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: --I need to create it inside of me, before

  • it even gets to the instrument.

  • So I used to watch him.

  • And I used to watch him all the time.

  • I watched that performance over and over.

  • And he's just so natural.

  • And the title of that tour was "Bill Cosby, Himself." And I

  • realized that that's all you got to be.

  • It doesn't matter if you're talking to one

  • person or 1,000 people.

  • The more you're comfortable with who you are, if you can

  • just get up in front of-- and not be afraid

  • to make fun of yourself.

  • And not to have expectations of the audience, I

  • think, is a big key.

  • And that's the cool thing about being a ukulele player,

  • is that audiences have such low expectations of me anyway.

  • So if I don't have any expectations of my audience, I

  • can simply get up on stage and just do my thing.

  • And I don't have to worry about anything.

  • If someone laughs, if they stay, then that's all a bonus.

  • So I was telling that story because I was trying to relate

  • that to a song.

  • Yeah, yeah, so.

  • What song was I going to play now?

  • I don't remember.

  • But anyway, that's kind of where a lot of my

  • inspiration came from.

  • It's not so much about playing the ukulele.

  • But it's just about communicating with people.

  • And that's what all of you do.

  • Through Google, through YouTube, you're providing a

  • vehicle for people to communicate from one side of

  • our planet all the way to the other side.

  • And it makes the planet seem so much smaller.

  • It makes our world seem so much smaller.

  • And I think that's a great thing.

  • Because I grew up in Hawaii, where we

  • live on a small island.

  • And everyone's so community-minded.

  • We're always thinking about the other person.

  • And we all see how we're related and what I do affects

  • this other person.

  • What that person does affects the other person.

  • And I think it's such a great way to look at the world now,

  • is that we are all connected.

  • We're all connected.

  • And I think through music and through what you do, I think

  • it's the perfect example.

  • Because to me, music is not just a universal language, but

  • it's the language of the universe.

  • And you're helping to spread that language

  • all across the world.

  • And it's a beautiful thing.

  • So I'm going to play one more song here.

  • And they've asked me to try to play more original stuff just

  • because of copyright issues and all of that.

  • But I did want to play this one piece because this is the

  • reason I'm here.

  • And this is what started it all for me.

  • And it was a simple four-minute video clip that

  • happened to show up on the internet one day.

  • And it was for a television show that I had done in New

  • York called "Ukulele Disco."

  • And I think I told this story the last time.

  • But since then, I've made some changes to the song.

  • So I thought I'd play it again.

  • But this is George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently

  • Weeps."

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: And it's probably my favorite song to

  • play on the ukulele.

  • And I can't play this enough.

  • This is just so much fun.

  • But it's amazing, talking about how to express yourself

  • through the instrument.

  • It's not just about the notes that you're playing or the

  • chords that you're playing.

  • But it's everything.

  • It's just all the sounds that you can create.

  • [PLAYING MUSIC]

  • [MUSIC - "WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS"]

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Thank you very much.

  • Thank you.

  • Whew, thank you.

  • Thank you very much.

  • Thank you.

  • Thank you very much.

  • MALE SPEAKER: That was awesome.

  • And I just wanted you to know that was just

  • such a famous version.

  • That was how I was introduced to your music.

  • And I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk a little

  • bit about George Harrison.

  • I know that he was an ambassador of the ukulele.

  • George was famous for riding around in a car full of them

  • and passing them out and wanting to literally get

  • together and play with everyone he went.

  • If you want to talk a little bit about that?

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Yeah, George Harrison was one of my heroes.

  • He just adored this instrument.

  • He had 100 times more ukuleles than I have.

  • But the cool thing--

  • though I never got to meet him.

  • I wish I did.

  • I met his wife, Olivia Harrison, a few times.

  • She actually came to a couple of my shows.

  • And that was pretty amazing, being able to speak with her

  • and talk with her.

  • And she kept telling me, oh, I wish George was still alive

  • today because he just loved this instrument so much.

  • And he really believed that this instrument had so much

  • potential to reach beyond.

  • To me--

  • and I can't say exactly-- but I think George Harrison

  • probably felt the same way.

  • I think that the ukulele is very special.

  • It's different from other instruments because people

  • aren't afraid of this instrument.

  • They're not intimidated by it.

  • Because a lot of people don't even think of it as a real

  • instrument.

  • They think it's a toy, right?

  • And I embrace that.

  • I love that.

  • Because I think every instrument should--

  • people should feel like that about every instrument.

  • The piano-- oh, the piano, I can do--

  • oh, yeah, yeah-- or the violin or whatever it is.

  • Because if you're afraid of an instrument, then you're never

  • going to want to pick it up.

  • You'll be too intimidated.

  • Or in your mind, you think it's too hard.

  • But with the ukulele--

  • I mean, my grandmother just started playing the ukulele.

  • And now, she's jamming with her girlfriends.

  • And they're singing, you are my sunshine, my only sun--

  • they're singing songs like that.

  • But like I said earlier, I believe that music is not just

  • the universal language, but it's the

  • language of the universe.

  • And there's something amazing that happens when you have the

  • ability to speak that language.

  • When you can pick up an instrument and just do this--

  • [STRUMS CHORDS]

  • and you know that I can do this, it just

  • makes you feel so good.

  • I tell you, it's like an entire yoga

  • session in one strum.

  • I mean, you can play one chord over and over and over.

  • And there's just something about that.

  • It just brings you back to center.

  • It zeroes you out.

  • And George Harrison loved that about this instrument.

  • He loved turning people onto it.

  • And loved showing people how easy it is to play.

  • Because you get that instant gratification.

  • The moment you pick it up, you can just take one finger and

  • just put it right there, and be like, wow.

  • [STRUMMING CHORDS - "MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB"]

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Like, oh my gosh.

  • If I had to do that on a trumpet, it would take me like

  • two months before I could even get a decent sound.

  • Or a violin, it takes you two months before you can even

  • hold the bow without cramping.

  • So it's that instant gratification.

  • And I think that when people pick it up for the first time

  • and they play it, they're like, wow, I can do this.

  • I can make music.

  • And to me, that's the joy that music should bring.

  • That joy, everyone should feel that joy when they're playing

  • the piano for the first time, when they're playing the

  • violin for the first time.

  • When they're playing the saxophone for the first time,

  • when they're playing the guitar for the first time.

  • If everyone could feel that joy, I think there would be a

  • lot more people playing instruments.

  • AUDIENCE: Well, I had a question for you, Jake.

  • I was at the screening of the documentary.

  • Congratulations on that.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Oh, thank you very much.

  • AUDIENCE: That was pretty amazing.

  • One thing that really came through in the documentary is

  • how much of a family affair your music is.

  • And so I wanted to see if you could tell us a little bit

  • more about that.

  • And maybe let us know if that Shimabukuro family concert at

  • that screening is going to be available later.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Oh, well, the documentary that Cliff's

  • talking about is, I just recently did my first

  • full-length documentary with PBS.

  • And we've been shooting it for a little over two years now.

  • And we just wrapped it up last week Wednesday.

  • And it's going to be premiering at

  • some of the film festivals.

  • And it's also going to broadcast on PBS national TV

  • sometime early next year.

  • So I'm very excited about this.

  • Because it was pretty amazing just for me to kind of sit--

  • and I don't like to see myself on television or anything.

  • But just being able to sit there and see the last like 30

  • years of my life just kind of go by.

  • And it really took me back to why I fell in love with this

  • instrument, how I got into it.

  • I started playing at the age of four.

  • And I got into it because my mom played.

  • She played.

  • And the first thing she taught me was my C chord.

  • And I would just do this all day.

  • And I loved it.

  • I did that every day.

  • I'd come home from school, pick up my

  • ukulele, and just play.

  • And my mom loved it.

  • My family, they love music.

  • And I also have a younger brother who plays, too.

  • And when we were kids, that's what we'd do together.

  • We'd always play the ukulele together.

  • My brother was really good at sports.

  • And I mean, he was very well rounded.

  • Like for me, the only thing I could do was play the ukulele.

  • Like till this day, I can't dribble and do a layup.

  • I mean, I'm horrible.

  • But there was something about music that I could just sit

  • down for hours at a time and just play and discover new

  • chords and new sounds.

  • So that really kept our family together.

  • My dad played a little bit of guitar.

  • But they weren't professional musicians or anything.

  • But there was always music playing in the house.

  • So I think in the documentary, it kind of

  • talks about my parents.

  • They divorced and all that.

  • And so music kind of became my--

  • because my mom was my first teacher.

  • And she would spend a lot of time, when I was a kid,

  • teaching me.

  • So I think once my parents got the divorce and my mom had to

  • work all the time--

  • my brother and I, we're five years apart.

  • So I would always stay home.

  • And I would always have to watch him.

  • I always felt like he was more like my son than my brother.

  • And so I think playing the ukulele for me was--

  • in my mind, now looking back at everything--

  • was kind of like that was me trying to make up for those

  • lost times of spending with my mom or my family.

  • It kind of took me back.

  • So I guess that's where my passion, I guess, comes from

  • for this instrument.

  • And even though I'm away from home a lot of times, having

  • the ukulele with me and being able to play and share all of

  • these things, I think I always feel like I'm

  • right back with them.

  • Thank you.

  • AUDIENCE: I was just wondering if you had any plans or

  • expectations on teaching your baby the ukulele.

  • And if so, at what age you're planning on introducing it?

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Well, I have no expectations right now.

  • I mean, I want him to do whatever he wants to do.

  • But I definitely want him to have music.

  • And it's funny because on my new album, the song that I

  • wrote for him is called "Gentlemandolin." And it's the

  • third song on the album.

  • And it's funny because recently, while I was on tour,

  • my wife discovered that when he's crying, if she puts the

  • CD on, he immediately stops.

  • And she says, it's amazing.

  • So she said, she puts the CD on.

  • And as soon as she puts it on, the first song starts.

  • And she said he just kind of stops and he

  • just kind of listens.

  • And he becomes super mellow.

  • Then the second song comes on.

  • And it's actually a cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep,"

  • and he listens through that.

  • And then she said the third song comes on, which is the

  • song I wrote for him.

  • As soon as that song starts, he starts, [WAILING]

  • like starts crying.

  • She says it's unbelievable--

  • every single time.

  • She said, he just doesn't like that song.

  • So I don't know.

  • But anyways, so I probably won't be

  • teaching him that song.

  • Yeah, but I definitely want to get him into music.

  • Yeah, for sure.

  • Thank you.

  • Thank you very much.

  • MALE SPEAKER: You were talking a little earlier about just

  • kind of growing up with a ukulele and

  • playing it for so long.

  • But it's an instrument I've heard my entire life.

  • And I've never heard it played the way you do,

  • until you came along.

  • So what happened in your life when you were playing?

  • When did it start transpiring, you started learning new

  • things and started bringing things out of the instrument

  • that other people didn't see?

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: I think for me I started out playing all

  • traditional Hawaiian music.

  • But then I think there came a time, I think when I was just

  • in my early teenage years, when I saw my

  • first Van Halen concert.

  • And it wasn't so much that I wanted to play all those fancy

  • guitar riffs or anything like that.

  • But it was more about the energy.

  • When I see rock bands play, I admire their energy.

  • It's not necessarily I want to play that kind of music or I

  • want to play that song or anything.

  • But I want to play with that kind of energy.

  • And so whether I'm playing a Hawaiian tune or a jazz

  • standard or a classical piece or a pop tune, or even if I'm

  • covering a rock song, I want to play with that

  • energy all the time.

  • And it's not always the physical kind of energy or the

  • kind of energy that you can see visually, like just the

  • running and jumping on stage, jumping around and all that.

  • I mean, that's great too.

  • I like that, when I'm like--

  • [PLAYING MUSIC]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: I like to kind of move with the music.

  • But it's also the other kind of energy, the energy that

  • comes from within, that focus, that mental focus.

  • I'm always talking about like when I would do workshops.

  • And I would talk with kids and performers about when you're

  • playing your instrument, it doesn't matter what instrument

  • you're playing.

  • Like when I'm playing the ukulele and I'm going to play

  • a chord, it's not just the mechanics.

  • It's not just about my finger and my hand, my fingers

  • holding down the right strings and my hand just doing this.

  • It's not about that.

  • But there's so much that happens before

  • and after the stroke.

  • So there's a lot of preparation.

  • And I always kind of compare it to a pitcher.

  • You know, when you watch a really good baseball pitcher,

  • the windup--

  • I mean everything, the follow through, the focus, the

  • visualizing of how the ball is going to curve or drop.

  • All of that is so important.

  • Like even when you're playing the ukulele,

  • that's what I'm thinking.

  • Before even I even hit the strings--

  • you can't really tell, but my toes curl up in my shoes.

  • And I can feel all that energy in my ankles and the balls of

  • my feet, to my knees, to my hips.

  • Everything that comes down, up my back, through my shoulders.

  • And when I make contact with the string, it's all that

  • energy directed this way.

  • And it's not just the physical energy.

  • But it's all my mental focus, my thoughts.

  • Everything is going in that direction, going with the

  • music, playing with that kind of conviction, my spirit.

  • Everything that I have, that I have control of, I try to

  • bring that into every stroke, into every strum.

  • And it's not just the hard-hitting stuff.

  • It's the soft stuff, too.

  • It's like when you play--

  • [PLAYING MUSIC, DELICATELY]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: I want to just bring that--

  • bring every note out.

  • And it's still that follow-through, that same

  • conviction, that same energy that I would if I were playing

  • like a rock tune and a classical piece or a ballad.

  • It's a different kind of energy.

  • But it's still that same intensity, with that same

  • conviction, that you want to put into every little note,

  • every little movement.

  • Everything that you do needs to be somehow connected to the

  • music, whether it's just a simple tapping of the foot or

  • tapping of the toes.

  • Or if it's a little twitch in the face.

  • Like you watch guitar players sometimes and they do these

  • uncontrollable facial expressions.

  • They're just like--

  • and it's because all of that movement, everything that's

  • happening, is somehow connected with the sound or an

  • idea or a concept that they're trying to convey emotionally.

  • And I don't remember what the question was anymore.

  • But I hope I answered it.

  • MALE SPEAKER: Yeah.

  • You did answer it.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Oh, OK.

  • MALE SPEAKER: Right here.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you so much for playing for us today.

  • I have a question about if there's anything particular

  • about your instrument that you'd like to talk about.

  • How did you end up choosing this

  • particular ukulele to play?

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Oh, yeah.

  • Well, this is an instrument, a ukulele made by a family

  • called the Kamaka family.

  • And they're made right in Hawaii.

  • And they were the first family to start manufacturing

  • ukuleles in the world.

  • I think they're going on four generations of ukulele

  • makers right now.

  • And it's just a family business.

  • And they were the first Hawaiians to learn how to

  • build these instruments from the Portuguese immigrants that

  • came over to the Islands to work in the plantation fields.

  • So they were the ones who really started to build the

  • first ukuleles.

  • And it's quite extraordinary.

  • Because they've been building ukuleles for

  • almost 100 years now.

  • And when I was a kid--

  • in Hawaii, everybody knows Kamaka Ukulele.

  • When I was growing up, my dream was

  • to have this ukulele.

  • They call this a tenor-size instrument.

  • It's a tenor, four-string Kamaka.

  • And it was my dream to have the instrument because in my

  • eyes, it was like the Excalibur of instruments.

  • But they're very expensive.

  • So when I was a kid, there was no way I could afford

  • something like this.

  • And so now that I get to play this instrument every day, I

  • just feel so honored.

  • Because there's just so much history and so much experience

  • and knowledge that goes into every single one of their

  • instruments.

  • So to actually be able to play and to use one, to travel

  • with, and to create music with, to write music with, I

  • just feel like all of that history comes with

  • everything that I do.

  • So yeah, that's what it is.

  • It's a Kamaka.

  • Yes?

  • AUDIENCE: Hi.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Hi.

  • AUDIENCE: It's always such an

  • inspiration to see you perform.

  • And two years ago, when I last saw you, I was so inspired

  • that I went and I brought an ukulele.

  • Because I used to play the Venezuelan four-string cautro.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Oh, yes, yes.

  • AUDIENCE: It's pretty much the same thing, right?

  • So I took it and I went to the guitar store.

  • I just went right from--

  • where you were, I went right to the guitar store.

  • I bought this little four-string

  • thing, took it home.

  • And there I am with my little three chords, you know,

  • chinka, chinka, chinka, chinka, chinka, chinka,

  • chinka, chinka.

  • Anyway, my then 13-year-old wanders up, like, hey, Mom,

  • what's that?

  • I never saw it again.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Wow.

  • AUDIENCE: She goes off to school every day with a

  • fiberglass ukulele slung across her back.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Nice.

  • AUDIENCE: So I just wanted to let you know that you had that

  • kind of impact.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Aw, thank you very much.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: That's beautiful.

  • One of the coolest things for me is seeing--

  • like when I tour now and do shows, we see a lot of kids,

  • young kids, come to the show now.

  • And they don't look like ukulele players.

  • They come with the ukulele players.

  • But they have their fingernails all painted black.

  • They have spiky hair, piercings.

  • And they just think the ukulele is the coolest thing.

  • They'll come up and they'll be like, oh, yeah, I used to play

  • heavy metal guitar.

  • And then I saw you play "Why My Guitar

  • Gently Weeps" on YouTube.

  • And I threw my guitar away and I bought a ukulele.

  • And this is all I play now.

  • And It's just the most incredible thing.

  • Because 10 years ago, or even I don't know--

  • maybe not even 10 years ago, it was always the opposite.

  • People would start on the ukulele.

  • And then after that, once they can play it pretty good, then

  • they want to put it away and move on to a guitar.

  • Because their goal is to play the guitar and to use a

  • ukulele as a stepping stool to get to the guitar.

  • But now it's really cool that people that have been playing

  • the guitar want to put their guitars away

  • and pick up the ukulele.

  • So it's great.

  • [? AUDIENCE: Guitar players ?] are [INAUDIBLE].

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Yes?

  • AUDIENCE: Thanks for the amazing performance.

  • So I just have a question--

  • have you ever thought about giving up becoming a musician

  • like that then?

  • When you were frustrated, and how you get over that.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Oh, no.

  • The thought never crossed my mind that I would ever want to

  • give up playing.

  • But to be honest, when I was a kid--

  • or even up until 10 years ago, 15 years ago, I had no idea

  • that I was going to be a touring musician or even or I

  • could do this all the time.

  • I knew that I would always play this instrument for the

  • rest of my life because it's my passion.

  • But I thought it would just be like coffee shops.

  • When l was just out of high school, I used to play at a

  • lot of weddings and graduation parties and birthday parties

  • and family functions.

  • But never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be doing

  • what I'm doing today.

  • So it never crossed my mind that I'm going to

  • ever give this up.

  • But as things started to evolve and a career started to

  • shape up for me, through the internet and all that, and now

  • I'm touring.

  • Like now, in this next two months, we're

  • touring through 40 cities.

  • And we got a whole tour bus now and a seven-man crew, with

  • a sound and lighting guy.

  • And I never imagined any of that.

  • It's just incredible.

  • When I was growing up, I thought I was going to be a

  • school teacher.

  • I thought I was going to go into education because I love

  • working with kids.

  • And then I thought, the ukulele is the perfect way to

  • connect with kids.

  • So I thought in my classes, in the lessons, I

  • could always use this.

  • So I would always have it.

  • But it's been real challenging.

  • There have been times, like when I first started touring,

  • there were a lot of challenges.

  • But you kind of get through them.

  • You work through them.

  • Like I say, when I first started performing, I couldn't

  • look at everyone and play.

  • I was so nervous.

  • I'd be so afraid to talk.

  • And it's hard.

  • But you love it.

  • You love it so much.

  • And you always want to figure out, how can

  • I improve on this?

  • How can I make this better?

  • Because I realized that I can practice all I want in my

  • room, just by myself.

  • But it doesn't give me that same satisfaction.

  • Because to me, again, music is all about communicating.

  • It's about making a connection with people.

  • And once I started learning how to connect with people

  • through this instrument, oh, my gosh, it was just a rush.

  • Now when I perform at a venue and there are moments where

  • I'd be playing.

  • And you'd get to a real sensitive part and you play

  • that one chord.

  • [STRUMS CHORD]

  • And you can just almost feel the entire audience just

  • breathing with you and just taking it all in and just

  • waiting for that last note to fade away.

  • And then even after you can't hear it anymore, it's just

  • silence, silence, silence, silence.

  • And then everyone starts clapping.

  • And it's those moments that it's such a rush.

  • Because you just feel like everyone is experiencing the

  • same thing.

  • And I guess the only way I can think about it's like for

  • surfers when they catch that perfect wave.

  • And they're just on that wave and just nothing else matters.

  • You're just on that wave.

  • Or when I'm on stage and I'm playing, it's like nothing

  • else matters.

  • I'm just having, really literally, having

  • the time of my life.

  • And so for me, it's--

  • yeah, there are challenges.

  • But a lot of it is just pressure that I put on myself.

  • I'm a bit of a perfectionist in some ways.

  • And I want to keep learning and keep

  • discovering new things.

  • So sometimes you go through these periods where you're

  • just at a plateau.

  • And you're like, when's that next idea going to come?

  • Or when's that next concept going to come?

  • But yeah, you find ways to--

  • but then when you find it, then it's like,

  • oh, my gosh, yes.

  • That's amazing.

  • And it carries you.

  • That inspiration, that excitement carries you through

  • the next one.

  • Thank you.

  • Yes?

  • AUDIENCE: Hi.

  • I guess I can't get enough of hearing about "While My Guitar

  • Gently Weeps," which was always one

  • of my favorite songs.

  • And it's the reason I know who you are.

  • Because a close friend of mine said, oh, you've got to listen

  • to this guy.

  • Here he is on YouTube.

  • His name's Jake something.

  • And your version of it just blew me away.

  • It was absolutely--

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Thank you.

  • AUDIENCE: --gorgeous.

  • And especially a song that I care so much about, to hear

  • someone else do it.

  • It was so beautiful it moved me to tears.

  • And I actually made it my ringtone--

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Oh, no way.

  • AUDIENCE: --like a week before you came to

  • Google the first time.

  • And then I saw you the first time and had a chance to talk

  • to you and ask you if you'd ever met George Harrison.

  • And I forgot to tell you that I'd actually just made it my

  • ringtone, even before you'd even come to Google, copyright

  • issues not withstanding.

  • But I just wanted to ask you, what made you put that song up

  • on YouTube?

  • Was that also one of your favorite songs?

  • Or was it just by chance?

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Well, you know, to be honest, till this

  • day, I don't know who put it up on YouTube.

  • And I said this the last time to you.

  • I'm just being totally honest and sincere because this was

  • seven years ago.

  • So I didn't know what YouTube was back then.

  • I'm not very internet savvy.

  • But I think YouTube just kind of started

  • around that time, too.

  • So it wasn't that famous yet.

  • Not too many people knew about it.

  • I was doing some email.

  • But I wasn't really active on the websites and

  • internet and all that.

  • So what happened was I just did this thing

  • for a local TV show.

  • And that's what they did the interview for.

  • They videotaped me doing that and then it aired on TV.

  • And it was just a small little local network,

  • and that was it.

  • And then I went back home to Hawaii.

  • And about two months later, I had a lot of

  • friends that were here--

  • in Hawaii, we call this the mainland--

  • so I had a lot of friends on the mainland going to school.

  • And they started calling me or sending me emails.

  • And they were like hey, there's this video clip that's

  • going around our campus of you playing.

  • And I was like, what are you talking about?

  • So they sent me the link.

  • And at that time, it was still that concept of emailing a

  • video or a video link to somebody was

  • kind of like, what?

  • You're going to email me a video?

  • What are you talking about?

  • Because it was just kind of starting out.

  • So they emailed me this link.

  • And I clicked on it.

  • And it took me right to the YouTube video.

  • And there it was.

  • And I just was like, I don't understand.

  • What am I looking at?

  • And already it had almost 2 million views already.

  • And I couldn't believe it.

  • And there wasn't a term for it back then.

  • There wasn't even such thing as a viral video yet.

  • We didn't even know what to call it.

  • It was just happening.

  • And it was shortly after that the numbers just started

  • growing and growing and growing.

  • And there were multiple videos.

  • So there was one that didn't even have my name.

  • It just said "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and it was that

  • same video.

  • Then there was one that was like, Crazy

  • Asian Ukulele Player.

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: So there were eight or

  • nine different videos.

  • And all of them had like over a million views.

  • But none of them had my name yet.

  • So it wasn't until, I think, a few months after that, that

  • finally there was a video that had my name on it.

  • It was Jake Shimabukuro, whatever.

  • And then that video just started growing and growing

  • and growing.

  • And so all the other ones just slowly disappeared.

  • I think there's still a couple other ones out there.

  • But the main one right now that was left--

  • I know when it first just had my name on it, it was like

  • something like 30,000 views.

  • And that was maybe four years ago or something.

  • But then that one, even from four years ago, that one grew

  • to over 10 million now.

  • And it's amazing how it's still just growing.

  • And so people are still discovering this video for the

  • first time.

  • So it's been quite extraordinary.

  • And that video changed my life.

  • I wish I knew who the first person was that put it on,

  • because, yeah--

  • AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE].

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Yeah, yeah, that's what I tell people.

  • I think George Harrison up there had something to do it.

  • But yeah, really, it changed my life.

  • And from that, I started getting calls from other

  • artists to come and open for them-- oh, take care--

  • to tour with them and open for them or record with them.

  • And it's been totally extraordinary.

  • So, thank you.

  • AUDIENCE: So now, Jake-- hey, Jake.

  • So now you know why it took so long for them to attach your

  • name to the video.

  • Because it took them that long to learn how to

  • spell your last name.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Yeah, I know.

  • No, it's so true, so true.

  • AUDIENCE: All right, so I have a quick question.

  • I'll give you a heads up, a little

  • bit of a set-up question.

  • But tell me a little bit about the work that you did with

  • Alan Parsons.

  • So obviously, he's a very well-known, Grammy-nominated

  • producer and engineer.

  • But you yourself, as a musician for a long time, have

  • worked with a lot of producers and engineers.

  • What made him different?

  • What did he do differently, like radically different than

  • the masses of audio engineers that are out there?

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Well, one of the coolest things about Alan,

  • I mean, from day one, just being in the recording studio

  • with him, was--

  • the first thing I noticed was the way he miked my ukulele,

  • the way he recorded my ukulele.

  • Every recording engineer I've ever worked with, there was

  • always at least one microphone in front of my instrument.

  • A lot of times if they record in stereo, they would have one

  • here and then one here.

  • Because that's how they record guitars, in stereo like that.

  • I've done mid-side miking where you have one mic in the

  • middle, like kind of a stereo spread.

  • And then you have one across the top.

  • I've been in situations where they would surround me with

  • microphones, put microphones all over me, or put two

  • microphones right here and then put two in the back of

  • the room or behind me.

  • But this was the first time that someone told me, OK, just

  • stand right here.

  • He got one microphone.

  • He put it here under the neck of my ukulele.

  • And he put another one right here, above my right shoulder.

  • And I was like, are you sure this is going to work?

  • And so he's like, yeah, yeah, just play, and I'll make some

  • adjustments.

  • So I started playing.

  • And he just kind of tweaked it a little bit, just moved, but

  • kept it right there.

  • And then he kind of tweaked this one like that.

  • And then he's like, all right, yeah, just play something.

  • So I just started--

  • I punched into a song.

  • And I played it.

  • And then he said, OK, come in and tell me if

  • you like the sound.

  • So I walked into the control room.

  • He played it back.

  • And I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

  • It was the sound of my instrument the way that I

  • always hear it, the way that I hear it.

  • Because I've always just accepted that every time I

  • record, my studio sound, what I can get on a record, is just

  • different from my live sound or what I hear when I'm

  • practicing.

  • But it was the first time I walked into that room and he

  • played it back.

  • And I was stunned because I was like, oh, my gosh.

  • I feel like I'm playing my instrument right now.

  • That's how it felt.

  • And so I asked him about that.

  • I said, Alan, what made you decide to record the

  • ukulele this way?

  • And he said he wanted to record it in stereo.

  • So he wanted it at least two microphones, so he could get a

  • right and a left channel.

  • But what he said was when he records guitars that way, you

  • usually put one here and then one up here,

  • because a guitar is longer.

  • So you can get a wider stereo spread that way.

  • But he thought that because the ukulele is shorter, if you

  • were to put one mic here at the body and one mic here at

  • the neck, because the ukulele is so tiny, the mics are going

  • to pick up pretty much the same sound.

  • So you're not going to get that much of a stereo

  • difference.

  • The right and the left are going to sound very similar.

  • So he thought he could get a wider stereo spread if he put

  • one mic down here to pick up closer to the first string,

  • and one mic up here, which would pick up closer to the

  • fourth string.

  • And that way he can keep the mics further apart, yet they'd

  • be the same distance to the instrument.

  • It sounds simple, but it was just the most brilliant thing

  • that I had ever heard.

  • And I was like, wow, so when you listen to the album,

  • you're thinking--

  • this great stereo spread that you're hearing, I mean, it's

  • like you're in the middle of the instrument.

  • But it's not so much right and left, but

  • it's more up and down.

  • So it's like he took that up and down sound and just

  • flipped it over so you get your right and your left.

  • And so that, for me, was like, wow.

  • That was amazing.

  • And then other things-- like because Alan comes from that

  • old school way of recording, he wanted to

  • do everything live.

  • So we have a 29-piece orchestra on a

  • few of these tracks.

  • And everything was recorded live.

  • There are absolutely no overdubs.

  • So we went into this huge studio.

  • We had the 29-piece orchestra there.

  • And then I was in the same room with the orchestra.

  • The only thing that divided me from the

  • orchestra was a glass door.

  • And we all watched the same conductor up there.

  • And we all played.

  • And there's something amazing that happens when you do that,

  • when you play live.

  • Because all the musicians are listening to each other and

  • playing off of each other.

  • So there are a lot of spontaneous things that just

  • happen, that wouldn't have happened if we just played all

  • our parts separately.

  • Because we would have just been reading the music and

  • just played our parts.

  • But because we were playing it together, it's that whole

  • synergy effect.

  • We're all creating something together.

  • We're all in the room together, making this.

  • And it was really beautiful.

  • That song "Missing Three" that I played for you, it's a

  • three-string song.

  • I was so proud of it because I was like, oh, you only play it

  • with three strings.

  • And I sent that.

  • That was the first demo that I'd sent to Alan.

  • And he listened to it.

  • I didn't tell him the story yet.

  • I just sent him the song.

  • And he listened to it.

  • And he was like, oh, gosh, that's beautiful.

  • And he told me, I can just hear an entire string section

  • playing with you on that.

  • And so it was ironic.

  • Because it's a song that I wrote it with just three

  • strings, but now there's a 29-piece orchestra.

  • So there's over 100 strings on the song now.

  • But still, he was very careful about making sure that the

  • ukulele was here and everything else

  • played around it.

  • He didn't want anything to bury the ukulele.

  • And it was just amazing working with him.

  • He mixed the entire record in two days.

  • He would just get up there.

  • And you know, all the faders, and he just--

  • whst, whst, whst.

  • And in like 20 seconds, he'd have a perfect mix of a

  • 29-piece orchestra with me.

  • And he would just sit back and listen.

  • He would go, maybe the horns need to come down a little bit

  • right here.

  • And then he would turn around and be

  • like, what do you think?

  • I was just like, it all sounds great.

  • Yeah, let's go.

  • It was really inspiring working with him.

  • MALE SPEAKER: I think this is our last question.

  • AUDIENCE: It is.

  • And so I was wondering-- in each of your albums, your

  • style changes, your style evolves.

  • So what about "Grand Ukulele" are you most proud of in the

  • evolution of your style?

  • And where do you see it going in the future?

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: There were a lot of things on this record,

  • like just really subtle things.

  • Like I was talking about, always just looking for that

  • one thing to make it different.

  • There were songs on this album where I utilized techniques

  • that I never used before.

  • For example, there's this one song called "Music Box," where

  • I do this thing where I keep my thumb alternating between

  • the third and fourth string.

  • And then I play the entire song or entire melody on the

  • first string.

  • [MUSIC - JAKE SHIMABUKURO, "MUSIC BOX"]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: But there's this one section in the song

  • where I play that melody harmonically.

  • So while I'm keeping this going, [ALTERNATING NOTES]

  • I play this melody.

  • [PLAYING MELODY]

  • I'm going to play it for you here.

  • Just listen.

  • [MUSIC - "MUSIC BOX"]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: That section right there for me was like, I

  • had never done anything like that before.

  • So I thought that was cool.

  • There's another place-- and you'll never notice it unless

  • I talk about it.

  • But I did a version of "Fields of Gold." And there's this one

  • section in there where I take the melody--

  • [MUSIC - "FIELDS OF GOLD"]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: (SINGING ALONG) Da, da, da, dah, dah.

  • So there's this one section where I play that harmonically

  • as well, again.

  • But what I do is I utilize this technique where instead

  • just playing the harmonics by itself, I would fret a string

  • to almost mimic a bass note.

  • So I have this over the F chord.

  • What I'm doing is I'm holding the F root.

  • But as I play that F root, I'm also going to use my other

  • fingers to play the harmonics of the other strings

  • together, like this.

  • So I can get this kind of harmony, which is something

  • you don't hear.

  • Like ukulele players wouldn't know, how do you get that F

  • Major 7 sound with harmonics?

  • So when I play that part, it's like--

  • [MUSIC - "FIELDS OF GOLD"]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: See.

  • So for me that was another--

  • I'd never done anything, this kind of stuff.

  • [PLAYING MUSIC]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: That kind of sound, it's very--

  • Jaco Pastorius, one of my favorite bass players, would

  • do things like that where he would kind of

  • roll the bass around.

  • And he would fret these amazing harmonics and just get

  • these incredible--

  • [PLAYING MUSIC]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: I don't if you can hear that.

  • [PLAYING MUSIC]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: So hear that?

  • [PLAYING MUSIC]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: So the flat 7 there, you would never

  • usually hear that on the ukulele.

  • But you are able to--

  • [PLAYING MUSIC]

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Yeah, yeah, so, yeah.

  • So those kinds of things, that's the kind of stuff that

  • really keeps me going.

  • And most people won't hear it or won't notice it.

  • But for me it's like, oh yeah, that makes the entire

  • arrangement for me, or the entire song.

  • I had a great time working on this record.

  • I really feel like Alan really pushed me in the studio.

  • And so it was great.

  • Because that's what you want from a producer, who knows how

  • to push, but not overpush, where you get discouraged.

  • And it was such a great experience.

  • He brought in just some amazing musicians, like Kip

  • Winger, from the band Winger.

  • He did some of the orchestral arrangements.

  • We had Simon Phillips, one of my favorite

  • drummers, from Toto.

  • He played on the record.

  • Randy Tico, a phenomenal bass player.

  • It was just really inspiring for me.

  • Because Alan--

  • he's worked with everyone from the Beatles to--

  • even with his Alan Parsons Project and all that, Pink

  • Floyd, his vision is so grand.

  • He has so much experience.

  • For me, a lot of times, my vision only

  • comes with what I can--

  • I only see what I can do with the ukulele.

  • But I don't think beyond that.

  • Whereas Alan Parsons comes from that school where he's

  • worked with so many orchestras.

  • He's worked with so many arrangers.

  • He's worked with so many rhythm sections.

  • And he's recorded so many different kinds of

  • instruments.

  • And he knows all about microphones and preamps.

  • And he knows how to get this kind of sound.

  • Or if I'm trying to express something, he knows the best

  • way to capture that so that it translates when you listen to

  • it on a record.

  • If I'm going for that real sensitive touch, he knows how

  • to pick it up with a mic and using the right microphone

  • with the right preamp and placing it in the right spot,

  • so that we can get that sound.

  • Or even if I'm playing with the orchestra, how to EQ the

  • strings or how to EQ the horns or the woodwinds so that the

  • frequencies don't overpower the ukulele and the ukulele

  • can still be over.

  • Because a lot of times, it's not just a volume issue.

  • But it's a panning issue, like where you place it in the mix,

  • in the stereo mix.

  • And then also how you EQ it, so that you EQ it just in a

  • way so that it--

  • I don't really understand all this kind of stuff.

  • But I have very limited understanding.

  • I mean, it's a whole science.

  • And it's amazing.

  • His ears are just incredible.

  • We'd be mixing the song.

  • We'd be recording something.

  • And he'd be in the room.

  • And then we'll be listening on the playback.

  • And we'd be just listening.

  • And like, oh, yeah, OK, that sounded all right.

  • And we're listening.

  • And then the phone would ring.

  • And Alan would be like, oh, OK, well, I

  • got to get the phone.

  • And so he'll kind of step out.

  • And he'll be on the phone outside of the studio.

  • All of a sudden, he'll come running back in.

  • What was that?

  • What was that?

  • Go back, go back, go back like 20 seconds.

  • It's amazing.

  • He just hears everything.

  • And it was just extraordinary to work with

  • him and to see someone--

  • because when he's in the studio, he's just like a

  • little kid.

  • He loves it.

  • He's so passionate about recording.

  • And so to work with someone like

  • that was really inspiring.

  • Because for me, I'm passionate about this.

  • And then to work with him, who's passionate about doing

  • all the other stuff, I think it was a great collaboration.

  • And it was one of the greatest recording

  • experiences of my life.

  • MALE SPEAKER: Well, great.

  • Thanks so much for coming here.

  • And we look forward to picking up the conversation when you

  • come back here.

  • JAKE SHIMABUKURO: Yeah, oh, thanks.

  • Great.

  • Thank you very much, everybody.

  • Thank you.

  • [MUSIC - JAKE SHIMABUKURO, "WHILE MY

  • GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS"]

[PLAYING MUSIC]

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Jake Shimabukuro: "Grand Ukulele", Musicians at Google. (Jake Shimabukuro: "Grand Ukulele", Musicians at Google)

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    Olivia 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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