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Thread: And now ... The Loons!

  1. #1
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default And Now ... The Loons!

    I've been playing in a duo for three years, intermittently. My partner is a lot younger than me and still has a lot of wanderlust in her sou;. But when we play together, magic happens. She is a natural talent, learning mostly on her own, intent on being true to her spirit and inspiration without affecting it through the influence of training. Reminds me a lot of me and how I learned.

    We've done a lot of busking and quite a few regular gigs. Both these ventures entailed playing mostly covers. Our repertoire includes swing tunes, Sixties songs, and a few more recent numbers. We much prefer playing our original songs - a hard row to hoe but much more satisfying, personally. The combination of mandolin and ukulele creates a trebly setting that may seem unusual at first, but produces an airy, dreamy quality that can be haunting and, we hope, enjoyable and memorable.

    Here is a video from The 8th Annual Key West Musicians Festival Sept 22, 2018. Just as we were arriving the skies opened and rain poured for an unusually long time, nearly twenty minutes. But as they say, it wouldn't be a festival if it weren't for the rain.

    This is one of Luna's lovely original songs, "Evergreen." It reminds me somehow of Led Zeppelin's acoustic songs, evoking fairies and wood sprites and the like. It often takes her a little bit to settle into a tempo for her ukulele and key for her voice, but she gets there. Worth the bit of patience. Enjoy!



    We have several audio clips up at soundcloud, videos at my youtube channel, both and more at our booking page, and naturally, facebook. I hope you like what you hear and see.
    Last edited by journeybear; Nov-02-2018 at 3:23am. Reason: the usual
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    ''.........but produces an airy, dreamy quality that can be haunting and, we hope, enjoyable and memorable.''

    indeed it is airy and dreamy, ...a VERY interesting sound ...just lovely ..some wonderful finger-picking on the uke and some equally creative mando accompaniment in the turnaround . very engaging vocal ideas ....

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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    SANTA CATALINA is sooo sweet . I love the water lapping in the recording and again , the combination of the Uke and mando is such a beautiful surprise . ...and Luna's timeless vocal is the icing on the whole musical cake , IMHO .....really enjoyed this , Loons .

  6. #4
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    Thanks! We were having a bit of silly fun. We hope that translates to the audience. Well, it did for you!

    Yes, her fingerpicking is an unusual approach to playing ukulele. It's somehow a stronger accompaniment than strumming, and gives me a bit more freedom to devise my parts to complement her.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

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    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    We've entered our song "Evergreen" in NPR's Tiny Desk Contest. You can see it here

    Or go here and pop Zee Loons into the search field

    It's pretty exciting to see your entry on the interweb like that. Then you start scrolling down through all the recent entries, page after page from just today, and give up on having the patience to scroll past them all to get to yours from three days ago, being suitably humbled by the vast number of entries, grasping how difficult it is to stand out from the multitudes ...

    Well, wish us luck anyway!

    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

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    Plinkity,Plinkity Hillsdale Leroy's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    Nice!
    Because mine has eight, does that make it twice as cool as a ukulele?

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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    I wish you luck. And thanks for posting this, as I was unaware of the tiny desk contest despite being a big tiny desk concert fan.

    Now that I am aware of the contest, the YouTube is recommending me TDC videos. All I can say is, wow, there is tough competition.

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    bon vivant jaycat's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    Well I now have a new earworm. I guess that's as good a compliment as any.
    "The paths of experimentation twist and turn through mountains of miscalculations, and often lose themselves in error and darkness!"
    --Leslie Daniel, "The Brain That Wouldn't Die."

    Some tunes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa1...SV2qtug/videos

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    MandolaViola bratsche's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    Wow, after watching a few of your videos, I am impressed, Journeybear. You have a very nice combination going there. Hope you don't mind if I share them with the Ukulele Underground forum - I think they'd enjoy The Loons a lot, too!

    bratsche
    "There are two refuges from the miseries of life: music and cats." - Albert Schweitzer

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    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    Of course I don't mind! Please share. Luna has a unique, imaginative, intriguing approach to playing ukulele. There are three or four different rhythms in this song, not counting the three in the intro. It's a little challenging sometimes to find the right accompaniment. When we mesh, it's magical.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  16. #11
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    Here are this year's entries for the Tiny Desk Contest. The first is her song with The Loons, the second is my entry, with her help.



    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  17. #12
    mandolin slinger Steve Ostrander's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    Oh, Norman! The Loons!
    Living’ in the Mitten

  18. #13
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: And now ... The Loons!

    Indeed. It's quite clear we're a couple of loons.

    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

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