I guess Ive always had this vision from the
time I was a kid. You know, I would watch rock bands, people
like Van Halen, or you know, guitar players like Yngwie Malmsteen. And you know, youd see these guys, theyre
playing their instruments, and theyre like running all across the stage, and jumping
into the audience, stage-diving, and just yelling and screaming. And I always thought to myself, Why cant an
ukulele concert be like that? From a young age, he has pushed the boundaries
of this tine, four-stringed instrument. Ukulele master, Jake Shimabukuro, next on
Long Story Short. Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is Hawaiis
first weekly television program produced and broadcast in high definition. Aloha mai kakou. Im Leslie Wilcox. In his relatively young career, Jake Shimabukuro
has already redefined the ukulele as a musical instrument. His unique blend of traditional Hawaiian music,
jazz, classical, funk, and rock has captivated audiences worldwide. Hes performed on national television programs
like Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Late Night with Conan OBrien, and even for Queen Elizabeth
II of England. His star burns brighter than ever with sold
out concerts and a number one album. But how did the humble boy from Kaimuki become
an international sensation? Well, tell me about your family. Both my parents, you know, theyre really great
people. I mean, they were excellent role models, I
think, for both, you know, myó You described both of them as easygoing, carefree. Yeah; yeah, very easygoing, very carefree. Especially my mom. My mom is very carefree. You know, my parents, you know, they divorced
when I was quite young, so it was just my younger brother and myself. I usually dont think of single moms with two
kids as carefree. Yeah; no. Yeah, my mom, shes, I think, a very special
person. You know, cause she had a very hard life growing
up. She really did whatever she had to do. I mean, made every sacrifice she could, you
know, to make sure that my brother and I, you know, got the things that we needed or
wanted, and Ö Did she work more than one job? Yeah; she worked several jobs, and a lot of
the work that she did was, you know, late at night. Shed work in the bars, too, for extra money. And so, sometimes, she wouldnt come home til
after 2:00 a.m. So, youd come home from school, nobody would
be home, and then she wouldnt be home until your were sleeping. Yeah; m-hm. So, it was just, you know, me and my brother. But shed always have food for us, you know,
waiting for us in the icebox. Whenever we would come home, wed open up the
fridge and wed see like, shoyu chicken, or shed make her curry or something. And your brother, how much younger is he? Hes five years, five years younger. Bruce is five years younger? M-hm; yeah. And I take it you were close. You had each other for company in the afternoons
and evenings. Yeah; we were best friends. But of course, growing up, you know, because
I was the older brother, I always made sure that he ate, and would do his homework and
go to sleep. And he accepted that? Yeah; m-hm. Yeah. Yeah, we just did whatever we had to do to
help each other out, you know, because I think thats how our family always operated. You know, it was like, we always just understood
that we were a team, you know, and we all had to do our part. Even when youre away, youre still a team. Yeah; no, exactly. Yeah. What about your dad? How did the dynamic work when your parents
split up, and you lived with your mom? How did that work out with your dad? I think both my parents had a difficult time
with it. But I think they both knew that it was for
the best. And there were times when wed stay with our
mom, and then there were times when wed stay with our dad, and it was always pleasant. It didnt matter, you know, who we were with. And the thing that I always respected about
both of my parents is that, you know, now looking back, is that they never, ever, even
after the divorce, even when they were separated, they never said anything bad about the other
person. Jake Shimabukuro studied under several ukulele
instructors over the years, but his very first teacher was his mom, Carol. At the age of four, he started playing traditional
Hawaiian music with his mothers Kamaka ukulele, and later began lessons at Roy Sakuma Ukulele
Studios. Jake says that playing the ukulele also helped
him cope with his parents divorce. My first ukulele teacher after my mom was
a girl named Tami Akiyama. Shes now Tami Omuro. But she was an instructor for Roy Sakumas
ukulele school, and I think I studied with her for about five or six years. And she always made music fun for me, and
she made me want to go home and play, and practice. Not necessarily try to Ö she wouldnt put
any pressure on me, you know, to learn something. But she always inspired me and encouraged
me to just play all the time. And you played for hours sometimes, right? Yeah. Just hours, and hours. I loved it. I remember just coming home from school, I
would rush home from school just so I could, you know, play my ukulele. My mom wouldnt let me take my ukulele to school,
because she had a Kamaka, and back then, Kamakas wereóI mean, til this day, theyre stillóyou
know, I mean, its Ö Theyre heirlooms. Yeah; exactly. Right. I still have, you know, the one that my mom
taught me on, the ukulele that she had when she was a teenager. So, you were conscious you were parted from
your ukulele, and youd rush home. Yeah, Id rush home, and take it out, and Id
strum the three chords that I knew. You know, the D7, G7, C chord. During his high school years, Jake Shimabukuro
described himself as a shy person, and not the outgoing performer that he is today. Instead of performing as a solo act, he would
often seek out musical groups to perform with in the Annual Brown Bags to Stardom talent
competition. I didnt think that Id have a future, you know,
playing the ukulele. So, early on, when I would perform and play
with people, I would always accompany singers. You know, I would find people who could sing,
and I would play with them. So, even throughout my high school years,
I always found other musicians and, you know, and I would gravitate toward musicians that
were amazing singers, or you know, were songwriters, and I would learn from them. I would try to figure out how I can accompany
them, or what I can do to contribute to the song. And you liked the idea of ensemble and team. You didnt see yourself as a solo act. Oh, yeah. I was deathly afraid to go up on stage by
myself and just perform. Probably, it wasnt until maybe Ö was it my
junior? Wait. Sophomore. Okay; anyway, my junior year, I entered. And what I did was, I Ö I was gonna play
a song, and I got so flustered, cause I was so nervous, and I just completely blanked
out. And there I was, standing on stage, and everyones
just quiet and watching. And Im like, Oh, what am I gonna do? So without thinking, I started just strumming,
and I started singing La Bamba. [CHUCKLE] And everyone just started yelling and screaming,
and laughing. Whatever, right? And I just started having fun with it. And it was the idea of La Bamba being such
an odd thing to play on an ukulele. Yeah; exactly. Right? And they were like, What is he doing? [CHUCKLE] And all my friends were just like, What is
he doing? [CHUCKLE] Cause Im a horrible singer. And I just started playing and singing. And then, Lanai Boy, I94 was sponsoring the
Brown Bags to Stardom. Okay; so he was the host radio guy. So, Lanai Boy was hosting. And I remember, he was looking at me from
the side, cause you only have three minutes to perform. And he was kinda looking at me and trying
to give me the cue; Hey, you gotta cut. And I looked at him, and I was like, No, Im
just gonna keep playing. [CHUCKLE] And I kept playing. And then, he came up on stage with his microphone,
and Im still playing. Cause I think it was after minutes already,
and he was just like, Okay, thats great, you know, give it up. But the crowd was loving it. And everyone was just laughing, dying laughing,
because I didnt want to get off the stage. And I started playing, and I kept going, and
kept going. And then, he started walking toward me, right? And then, I started kinda moving away from
him. [CHUCKLE] And everyone was just dying. But he still remembers that, you know. Lanai Boy still remembers that, and thats
probably the day I realized that I enjoy performing on stage for people. There was that chemistry with the audience. Yeah. [CHUCKLE] And you just went with it. I just went with it. Jake Shimabukuro first gained popularity in
1998 as a member of the local band, Pure Heart. The trio was made up of Lopaka Colon on percussion,
and Jon Yamasato on vocals and guitar. Their first of two albums won four Na Hoku
Hanohano Awards and was named one of the top fifty Hawaiian albums of all time by Honolulu
Magazine. And we were just out of high school, so we
were having a great time. I mean, we started out playing at coffee shops,
and we would do birthday parties, graduation parties. We did a lot of graduation parties. And why the name Pure Heart? It was a name that um, Jon dad Ö we were
driving in the car one day, and we were just thinking of names, and I think we were throwing
words around, and we thought, Oh, yeah, like, you know, cause the musics from the heart,
and you know. But were so young and innocent, you know,
so were pure. And then we thought, Oh, Pure Heart. And it just stuck. And it was a different sound, wasnt it? Did you try for a different sound, or was
that just reflecting who you all were? No; well, I think we all had different influences. You know, for me, and I think for Jon too,
you know, we were really into bands like Kapena and Peter Moon, and Kaau Krater Boys, and
guys like the Sons of Hawaii, you know, going back, and Hui Ohana. You know, those were the people that we listened
to a lot. As a member of Pure Heart, Jake Shimabukuros
early recordings were mainly covers of previously recorded songs. After the breakup of Pure Heart and Jakes
second band Colon, he branched out into a solo career and began to develop his identity. A dear friend of mine, Tracey Terada, who
later became my producer for a lot of my early recordings with a band called Pure Heart,
and a band called Colon, and then my first three solo records, he is an amazing ukulele
player, and he was my teacher for many years. I guess he was kind of the last formal instructor
that I had. But I learned so much from him, just about
the instrument, how to develop style in your playing. You know, not just about how to play, but
how to develop your own voice, your own signature, your own method, and how to cultivate that
and really build. Thats when youre also developing as a person,
too. So, that must have been an interesting subject,
developing your own identity. You know the expression, music is the universal
language. And I remember thinking to myself Ö like,
I think that statement falls a little short. You know, I mean, I used to tell people that
I think that music is the language of the universe, and I think everyone is born with
the ability to speak that language. You know, because music is really just the
language of human emotion. Outside of Hawaii, the ukulele is often regarded
as a toy or a diminutive instrument. Many perceive the ukulele to be capable of
playing only traditional Hawaiian music. When Jake Shimabukuro performs, he pushes
the limits of what defines the ukulele by showing off a wide range of musical forms
from jazz to funk, to classical music, folk, and rock. Jake receives standing ovations from audiences
who are thrilled to hear his dynamic and unique style of music. I saw you performing in Washington, DC to
kind of a jaded group of entertainment executives, and they were told that this ukulele master
from Hawaii was coming out. And I saw them kinda look at their watches
like, Okay, and after that, we have lunch. And then, you came out, and you just killed,
you killed them. And I think they were on their feet, clapping
well before you were ready to finish. I mean, you just blew them away. Oh, wow. Do you like doing that? I mean, there was not a big buildup before
you came on, and an ukulele is an unprepossessing looking instrument. Right? You must see that a lot. Yeah; I always joke with people and I tell
them, One of the best things about being a touring ukulele player is that audiences all
over the world have such low expectations. And I think that, you know, I jokingly say
that, but it is true. Its so true. When you see someone come out with an ukulele,
you dont expect a lot of music to come out of that instrument. Especially when, you know, theres no singing
involved, theres no other backing instruments, its just four strings and two octaves. And I think peoples expectations of the kinda
music that comes out of the ukulele, most people, especially outside of Hawaii, will
think of Tiny Tims Tiptoe Through the Tulips. But you dont expect to hear a lot of Ö melody
or pop tunes, or rock tunes. You know. You think you know what youre gonna hear. Yeah. But then, when you play, we dont know what
were gonna hear. Which is kinda nice, you know, because it
has the same effect as going to a magic show, in a lot of ways. Right? Youre there, and he comes out, and like, Whats
he gonna do? What? Whats he doing? And then all of a sudden, all these birds
come flying out of his jacket or something, right? [CHUCKLE] But I think that element of surprise
is so powerful in any art form. What are some of the ways you bring complexity
and range to music using an ukulele? The one thing that I think I do different
from other ukulele players is, the energy that I like to play with. I guess Ive always had this vision from the
time I was a kid. You know, I would watch rock bands, people
like Van Halen, or you know, guitar players like Yngwie Malmsteen. And you know, youd see these guys, theyre
playing their instruments, and theyre like running all across the stage, and jumping
into the audience, stage-diving, and just yelling and screaming. And I always thought to myself, Why cant an
ukulele concert be like that? You know, I mean, after an ukulele performance,
I just want to be drenched, you know, like I just wrestled a bear. You know, so I try to incorporateóits basically
like all these little things. You know, you want to take a little bit of
everything and really showcase it on the instrument. Dynamics, I think, is probably one of the
most powerful aspects of music. And the ukulele has an extremely wide dynamic
range. For example? You know, like for example, if you think of
the trumpet. A trumpet is a pretty loud instrument, right,
and people think, Oh, yeah, you know, you can play really, really loud. But if you think about it, on the trumpet,
you cant play really soft. Before you can even get a tone, you need to
play at a certain volume, right? So, if this is zero and this is ten, the trumpets
dynamic range may be from here to here. Right? But the ukulele cant play nearly as loud as
a trumpet. But, you can play so much softer than a trumpet. I mean, like most string instruments, even
a guitar, you can bring it down to nothing. Jake Shimabukuros blossoming solo career took
him to Japan and across the U.S. mainland. A chance appearance on a small New York television
show and the rise of the Internet video service You Tube helped launch Jakes career to new
heights. Theres a local television show in New York
called Ukulele Disco, and they feature all these different ukulele players. So, since I was in town, I guess somehow,
they knew of me, so they contacted me and they said, Hey, you want to be on our show? I said, Yeah, sure, right. So, he took me to Central Park, and I sat
on this rock, and he just had a little handheld video camera. And he asked me a few questions, and I played
a song. And it just so happened I was working on an
arrangement of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, so I played that, and it aired on TV. And its just a small local station in New
York. And then, I came back home to Hawaii. So, this was about seven years ago. And about six or seven years ago, You Tube
had just started out. So, I was back home in Hawaii, and you know,
and just minding my own business. A few months later, I get some emails and
calls from friends, cause lot of my friends were on the mainland and they were going to
school, and all that. So they called me up and they said, Hey, people
have been sending me this video of you performing, you know, playing in Central Park. So I was like, What are you talking about? So they forwarded the email to me, and there
was this link, and I clicked on, and there I was. I thought, Hey, thats the thing I did for,
you know, that Ukulele Disco show. I was like, How did it get on this site? And yeah, in a matter of weeks, millions,
and millions, and millions of views. Millions, and millions, and millions of downloads,
and I couldnt believe it. I started getting calls from other bands and
artists, and venues, people saying like, Hey, we want you to come play at our venue, or
we want you to come open for our band, or you know, record with us on our next record. And it was just incredible. I mean, since that video hit, Ive been able
to collaborate with people like Yo-Yo Ma, Jimmy Buffett, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones,
John Hiatt, Cyndi Lauper, Bette Midler. In fact, couple years ago, I went with Bette
Midler to England, and we performed for Queen Elizabeth. You know, I mean, it all just stemmed from,
you know, this You Tube. Even with all of his success and international
popularity, Jake Shimabukuro remains humble and grounded. To Jake, his family is the most important
part of his life. He remains close with both of his parents
and his younger brother Bruce, who is also an accomplished ukulele performer and instructor. A few months before this conversation took
place in 2013, Jake and his wife Kelly had their first child. You got married and had a baby, but how did
your relationship with your now wife start? Oh, gosh. Yeah. I know; I cant believe Im married, have a
baby. Its awesome. And a great career. Its really incredible. I met my wife Ö it was actually my stepsister
Lisa who set me up on a blind date with her. We scheduled a Ö I dont know if it was a
lunch or a dinner. But right around that time, you know, she
was in a residency program, cause shes an OBGYN. And the day that we were supposed to go out,
I got sick. So, I called her and I had to cancel our plans. I said, Oh, yeah, you mind if we do this another
time? So she said, Oh, yeah, sure, just call. Did you reschedule on the spot? Well, you know, we didnt set any date, but
I basically just said that, Oh, yeah, maybe when Im feeling better, you know, we can try
to schedule something again. So she said, Okay. So [CHUCKLE] right around that time, I started
touring, and I got really busy, and she was in the residency program. So, three years lateró Three years later. I called her up out of the blue and I said,
Oh, hey, its Jake. [CHUCKLE] Im feeling better now. Yeah. [CHUCKLE] I was wondering if, you know, you
wanted to go out again. No, but yeah, she was very sweet, and I think
she kinda laughed about it. But she was like, Yeah, sure, sure, we can
get together and you know, go out. And so, I took her out for Thai food, and
we went a little place called Chiang Mai on King Street. Kinda near where you grew up, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we had a three-hour dinner that night. First sight attraction, or Ö Oh, yeah. Or did it grow? I mean, as soon as she walked through the
door, like, I Ö I mean, I dont know if she believes it or not, but I knew that this was
the girl I want to marry. Really? Yeah. I knew from that first date. And now, we have healthy, you know, baby boy. Hes about five months. Whats his name? Chase. And hes just the greatest joy of our lives. I mean, hes just amazing, the cutest thing. But of course, every parent thinks that of
their child, Im sure. What are you most grateful for in your life? Oh Ö the thing Im most grateful for is just
my family. You know, and that extends to, of course,
my parents, grandparents, and just my uncles and aunties. Ive been very, very fortunate. I mean, every stage in my life, and even in
my career, you know, Ive always, always had just good, solid people to guide me, and to
help me and support me. And so, Im most grateful for that. Ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro continues
to push the boundaries of music with his dexterous and dynamic performances. His unique talent has taken the four-stringed,
two-octave instrument far beyond Hawaiis shores. When we spoke in 2013, Jake was on a break
from a thirty-plus-city tour across Japan and the U.S. mainland. In 2012, he released a new album, Grand Ukulele,
in which he teamed up with legendary producer Alan Parsons, best known for Pink Floyds Dark
Side of the Moon and the Beatles Abbey Road. Jake says that teaming up with The Alan Parsons
was an opportunity he just couldnt pass up. Mahalo to Jake Shimabukuro for sharing his
story with us, and mahalo to you for joining us. For PBS Hawaii and Long Story Short, Im Leslie
Wilcox. A hui hou. For audio and written transcripts of this
program, and all episodes of Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox, visit pbshawaii.org. It has the same effect as going to a magic
show, in a lot of ways. Right? Youre there, and he comes out, and like, Whats
he gonna do? What? Whats he doing? And then all of a sudden, all these birds
come flying out of his jacket or something, right? [CHUCKLE] But I think that element of surprise
is so powerful in any art form. [END]
Jake Shimabukuro Page 10 of 11
