Howlin' Hobbit dot com

Pop over to my private blog and check out my ukulele and vocal cover of Hugh Laurie’s The Sophisticated Song.

My new recording, Standards Issue–consisting of a baker’s dozen jazz Standards performed on ukulele and vocals–is available now on a limited basis. It’s ready for immediate download in either FLAC or 320kbps mp3 format or you can order a physical CD. And you can stream the whole thing as well. If you’re on my mailing list you can pop into the fans only area and check out the whole thing. If not, subscribe now and I’ll personally email you the fans only area password.

Within the next couple days I’m hoping to have the physical CDs out with me when I’m busking or otherwise performing publicly.

The CD is $10 (plus shipping if you’re not buying it from me at a show) and the downloads, which are solely available in the fans only area, are pay what you want.

Feel free to send me feedback on the recording too!

I just finished songs 5 and 6 for my upcoming CD—the first of two CDs this year, I fondly hope—and I’m giving some serious thought to trying to get one more tune on the proverbial “digital tape” tonight.

I’m pretty tired so may bag that “one more tune” plan, but there is a chicken in the oven, so I have to stay awake anyways. hmmmm…

I’m using three of my ukuleles on this recording. On a couple of the tunes I’m playing T.R. (my Ohana sopranino) and the rest are split half-and-half between Scarface (the Ohana cedar-faced soprano that’s my main busking uke) and Little Kahuna (my Glyph soprano). So far there’s one done with T.R., two with Scarface and three with Kahuna.

Thanks to all the folk that have been signing up for my mailing list. I hope you are enjoying the mp3 of the first cut from this upcoming CD. I haven’t heard anything back from anyone though… you like it? It sucks? Write me at fanletters@howlinhobbit.com and tell me what you think of it, or just leave a comment here.

I’m also considering putting up another “preview” track in the fans only area. You wanna hear it? Just let me know…

Some of you perceptive folk may have noticed a new link in the sidebar here that says, “Enter Fans Only Area” (hint: right under the “Contact Howlin’ Hobbit” link). Some of you may have even tried it, only to discover that you need a password. You may be asking, “What’s the dealio here, Hobbit?” So I’ll tell you…

The Fans Only Area will contain special stuff, like recordings, videos, special merchandise offers or discounts, etc. that are either not available to the general public or are, at the very least, available first in the fans area (before being “released into the wild”). And yes, there’s something there already.

“So,” you could be asking right about now, “how come I can’t get in there even though I’m a genuine Howlin’ Hobbit Fan-Type-Person™?”

The answer is simple. I had to have some sort of delineation between “nice folks who check me out sometimes” and “true blue Howlin’ Hobbit Fan-Type-Persons™” and I chose “folks on my mailing list” for it. In fine, if you’re receiving the Hobbit Howls newsletter you’re “on the list” already.

Since I have just sent out the February issue of the Howls, there are already people who possess the password and are happily—I hope!—downloading the first of the treats behind the password wall, because it’s in the Howls that I announce the password. (It changes periodically, as does the content behind the wall.)

But do not for to panic. I have made a Solemn Vow™ to personally email the current password to anyone who signs up to receive the Howls. They don’t even have to wait until the next issue of the Howls comes out. How’s that for service, eh?

So if you want to get in on all the goodies, go on and sign up for my mailing list. You’re not going to get spammed. My writing style is gosh darn amusing. You get treats. Since it comes on 100% recycled electrons, it’s even good for the environment.

Whatcha waiting for?

This one is for you sopranino players, especially if you’ve tuned it up to F tuning (CFAD) though it can be used to learn the tune with any instrument—even… gasp!… guitars—by simply ignoring the fingerings I’ve given in favor of the appropriate ones for your instrument and tuning.

The song is Teddy Bears Picnic, nearly 100 years old now and still popular enough that my video of the tune is approaching 12,000 views. I usually only make songsheets for my own tunes, but this one is well and truly into the Public Domain and is one I really enjoy, so I thought I’d share it with you.

The story behind the songsheet is in the songsheet itself, so I won’t repeat it here. You can download it by right clicking its title (above) and saving it to your computer. Or you can visit my free ukulele songsheets page to download it and a number of other tunes.

Let me know what you think of it in the comments!

Enjoy…