UKULELE MIKE: Ukulele Mike

Ukulele Mike

Ukulele Mike

© 2006 Michael Conway (825105030826) (format: CD-R)

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dubbed "the little ukulele that could." "ukulele mike" does justice to classic tunes. check it out.

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"Michael Conway is the King of Ukulele," says Derek Sivers, the founder and former president of CD Baby.

His CD entitled “Ukulele Mike” is a first-class offering of both soothing renditions and flashy feats of ukulele virtuosity. It has caught the appreciation of many people worldwide and from some of the most unlikely places. “I love your album… listen to it all the time now,” says Sid Ganis, the president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (The Academy Awards). Mike received a personal card of appreciation from the president which also had an embossed Oscar statue on it. Mike would like to lend his ukulele talent to Hollywood cinema, a dream he’s had since childhood but is currently working on “making the rent”.

He has been compared to Jake Shimabukuro by one Hawaiian reviewer and the Fretted Instrument Guild of America simply states: “Every ukulele recording should be this enjoyable.” The offering is generous with eighteen; count them, eighteen classic hits from various musical genres offering something for everyone. Great Hollywood tunes, easy Country, upbeat Polka and cool Jazz to name but a few. Mike does a special tribute to the great Israel Kamakawiwo 'ole who recorded the beautiful medley Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World. Mike’s medley of Over the Rainbow/What The World Needs Now is a message of hope and a call to practice love and sanity and to transcend the “them and us” mentality. “We’re all in this together,” he says.

Who would have “thunk” it? A Reggae version of Crocodile Rock! “Ukulele Mike” is a huge Elton John fan though has never seen him perform live yet. I'll See You In My Dreams was George Harrison's favorite ukulele tune. Joe Brown’s performance of it closing the Concert For George really moved Mike. It’s on the CD with a tip of the hat.

“Ukulele Mike” has been chosen several times for the CKDU Radio Top 30 List at Dalhousie University and is being played on Seaside FM and on CBC Radio's Mainstreet and Weekend Mornings. Stan Carew with CBC’s Weekend Mornings has dubbed him “The Maritime’s Ukulele Player Extraordinaire.” He was one of a few artists selected to be showcased on the Sam the Record Man Indie Sampler for 2007, representing "Halifax's best and most promising artists."

He’s been told he sounds like Michael Buble and fellow musicians have told him that he’s a ukulele version of Django Reinhardt and Jimi Hendrix. Not bad. For “Ukulele Mike” it seems there may be “a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”




Have you ever seen Bach's Minuet in G Major played behind the head? A casual moment at a ukulele kitchen party:
Go to http://www.ukuleleceilidh.ca/3/miscellaneous4.htm




Biography

Mike Conway has been playing the ukulele since he was ten years old. He began ukulele lessons at school in his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada (the land of hockey great Sidney Crosby). Not only has Cole Harbour produced great hockey but great music too! If the hockey stick was a ukulele we might have another GQ magazine cover guy!

“Playing the ukulele brought me my fair share of teasing back then and if I had a nickel for every time I was called Tiny Tim (check this ukulele guy out too) or asked to play Tip Toes Thru The Tulips …I'd be as rich as Rockefeller,” he says.

He soon excelled on the ukulele, playing complicated solos, which sparked his music teacher at the time to showcase him as a soloist.

He was awarded trophies for music excellence and received numerous standing ovations including one at the World Music Conference at Acadia University. As a young adult he joined the Halifax Adult Ukulele Ensemble, directed by J. Chalmers Doane and toured throughout East Coast Canada, even welcoming visiting cruise ships to Halifax with ensemble and solo performances.

The group took two exciting trips to Hawaii, once in 1988 and the other in 1995. They performed at the University of Hawaii for a music conference, at the Kamehameha School, an important school for children of Hawaiian descent, designed to preserve Hawaiian culture. They entertained at the Aloha Tower (featured in the hit movie From Here To Eternity) and at shopping centres. Mike had a wonderful personal opportunity to jam with a Hawaiian band at the Rainbow Restaurant on the North Shore of Oahu (a surfer's paradise). He had just gotten in the door from his first amazing trip to Hawaii when the phone rang. It was a friend saying that Mike was just seen strumming his uke on the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw in New York with his group.
“A lot of neat things have happened thanks to my ukulele,” he says.

Mike has several television commercials to his credit, one with him actually saying the line "I want to play a symphony on my ukulele!" He did a television promo for the very first International Ukulele Ceilidh in Nova Scotia on CTV's Breakfast Television and supports the event by lending his talent to fundraisers and entertaining with other great ukulele performers at the popular ukulele festival.
He once had an opportunity to jam with the rock band Glass Tiger and after singing a duet of George Formby's Leaning on a Lamppost with lead singer Alan Frew, Alan said "My friend Paul would just love your ukulele playing Mike." When Mike asked who Paul was he said, "Paul McCartney."
“A lot of neat things” indeed Mike!

reviews

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  • Outstanding!!!
    author: David McCormack of The Manta Rays

    An entirely new perspective is given to 'Satin Doll', one of my favorites. So many of us 'guit-fiddlers' want to just blow the windows out when were solo-ing and often the idea of melody goes out the window too! But that's not the case here! Great renditions Mike! DMC

  • Excellent! A Must-Have for any ukulele enthusiast!
    author: Fred Pearson, Chairman, Ukulele Society of Great Britain

    These are 18 well-chosen tracks covering a variety of tastes and moods. The pace and techniques are of the highest standard. As a fan of Hawaiian music I particularly admired Aloha Oe which really brought the magic of those islands to life. George Formby's Lampost is also a winner.

  • it's really good !
    author: john kavanaugh

    it's really good ! swingy, clean, tasty -nice arrangements.

  • good listening CD
    author: Miik Miller

    I am a newby on the Uke -so I did enjoy the music, wanted to hear more of the strumming technique, since I have not learned the individual melody yet.

  • Mx favorit CD !
    author: Peter Rühle

    For an oldie like me ( 67 Years ) it is the music of my Youth. And for an Ukulele-player it is a "must have". It is my favorit CD. Let me know, when another CD from Ukulele Mike is to get.

  • Ukulele Mike is a collection of jazzy little medleys, old favourites and merry
    author: latenight halifax

    We had some time this evening to sit back and finally have a run through a new CD that a friend of mine has released. Michael Conway, a.k.a. Ukulele Mike is a local writer and musician who has just finished his first, self-titled collection of jazzy little medleys, old favourites and merry melodies on Ukulele. I'd heard a couple of the tracks over the phone when they were first laid down and he'd played "Smile" for me one time here at the apartment, but on guitar, so this time around, the finished copy still managed to surprise me with just how talented he really is. The CD has already gotten some great attention from local musicians and industry folk. It's also now available at local SAM the Record Man stores and HMV. Unfortunately, he's not got a website up yet so I can't link to him (although I've been harassing him to get one started.) Nonetheless, if you're taking a stroll downtown and looking for some light, cheery tunes to get you through the bleak winter, this will be the CD for you. Go pick it up. latenight halifax

  • Mike Conway's first CD is a MUST HAVE for all ukulele lovers
    author: Ukiesooze

    Mike is a genuine star and bright light in the world of contemporary ukesters. On Ukulele Mike, his first CD, he manages to combine traditional foot tapping tunes with virtuosity and a humble tenderness not often heard in current music. What's not to love about this one?

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