Uncle Elvis aka Mike Hind was here in Tampa this weekend with the Flea Bitten Dawgs finishing up a tour and man was it a finish!
I didn't get to catch his set when he was here for the Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway but was fortunate enough to get to jam with him that November weekend. I fell in love with his energy and go give spirit as I watched him laugh and jam with new players, sage players and National Acts, treating everyone the same.
This last weekend was no exception and I can only describe it as awesomeness to the Nth level! I got to catch the whole show, and it was my baptism of Uncle Elvis. Baptism of FIRE!!! LOL.
This "Elvis" got up after the Dawgs, and I swear, he played about 2 hours non stop! His originals were poignant, moving, and some were very direct! Haha. His covers were spot on! The energy coming off the stage was magnetic. The humorous innuendos were delivered with the precision of a comedic engineer. My face hurt about halfway through his show, just from laughing and smiling. My cheeks were numb by the end of the two hours! And after the show, we all jammed till the wee hours. That was then followed by a Sunday at Sam Ash for a three part workshop with Uncle Elvis going over Beginner Open Mic strategies! Even I, a professional performer for over 40 years took some notes, it was that good! And, he got 4 people up out of the workshop that had fear and sweaty fingers and got them to perform to rousing applause. Amazing. I don't know that anyone else could have convinced those souls to get up. He drew a performance out of each of them.
Now, let me warn you, at some of his shows, depending on the crowd (age and venu) his show/schtick can include comedic dissertation that quite frankly could be a little, well. . . ADULT. But, for most of his shows, the humor is tame and family oriented, so, just enjoy the tongue in cheek because, ha ha ha, in between the humor, he belts out tremendous high voltage vocals and whisper soft ballads that will make your heart weep!
Giving a little background on his Ukulele journey! You will find that it is not unlike most of our stories. This infectious little flea just gets under your skin and worms it's way right to your heart.
Here is a link to his fan page! LOL, created by his biggest fan, Himself, it is a place to stay in touch with Elvis and be on top of all his events! The Uncle Elvis Fan Club . And a link to his Facebook page, Mike Hind. Also, here is a link to his Tumblr site, Nice Things.
Lastly, here is a link to his youtube channel. He does a lot of tutorial vids and just many funny moments and shows. I hope you catch the Elvis bug and join in the fun with us fantazimatic ukulele enthusiasts and begin following this kind and spectacular human being who decided to make us all part of his show! Ever Yours, 30s Uke Girl aka Norine Mungo
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