Or Course There Are Ukelin Players Out There!
By Nancy Lee
(of The Greater Binghamton Ukelin Orchestra)
This article reprinted by permission of Autoharp Quarterly,
from the October 1989 issue, Volume Two, Number One.
In reponse to your July article on Ukelins: Of course there are Ukelin players out there! Have you never heard of "The Greater Binghamton Ukelin Orchestra?" (We someday expect to have a "Lesser Binghamton Junior Ukelin Orchestra" if enough interest is shown).
Our group of four has performed once. We played during the open set of the monthly Cranberry Coffeehouse this March. We played "The Rose of Tralee" and "Softly and Tenderly" (although some in the audience would disagree.) Afterward a friend approached with tears in his eyes. (Of joy? Of pain?) He said, "That was so lovely. If only you knew more than one tune."
Ukelins typically bring that kind of reaction. Their original strings are corroded and have a unique sound you must hear sometime in you life. You have all those strings, and with more than one player, the probability of a few constantly slipping out of tune is pretty high! Your audience will moan and groan appreciatively.
About ten years ago, John Kleske, (Cranberry Coffeehouse and Cranberry Dulcimer Gathering founder), and John Thomson, (Seneca Moon String Band), prowled Clinton Street junk shops looking for instruments. They soon owned Ukelins. John Kleske claims to own the largest collection of Ukelins in the area. As a result, word went up and down Clinton Street that there was a demand for Ukelins.
Over the years, John or John would occasionally play a Ukelin at the Cranberry. Debbie McClatchey has also performed here many times and she always Ukes us. About three years ago, John, John, and Johanna Goff (of the group "Innisfree") and I met to rehears. At first, we spent all our time tuning. We were a ragged sounding group. Our rehearsal always with, "Do you think we're ready for this month's coffeehouse?" "Nahh. Let's aim for next month's."
Time passed. Winter came. Rehearsals stopped. Spring came. Rehearsals started.
Finally, this spring we began to rehearse in earnest. (That's in Johnson City.) One night an elderly couple came down by our open door. The man was heard to say, "Somebody in there is playing some terrible fiddle." We knew we were almost ready.
John Tomson designed a high green banner with our logo, a set of ear muffs. We found the particular bilious green tee-shirts we were seeking and silkscreened them. It was time.
And then came the middle set of the March Cranberry Coffeehouse. We walked up front with our backs to the audience and removed our outer shirts, turning around and revealing our uniforms. Alda Kleske, John's wife and non-supporter of his Ukelin habit (through love), pulled a string and down rolled the banner behind us. She put on her ear muffs. About then the audience noticed her tee-shirt and its symbol, the International No Ukelins Sign.
We were a smash, even though we only knew "one" song. Who knows what the future may bring?