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Dave Matthews and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder play ukuleles. Uke virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro plays mind-bending covers of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
But for Olympia ukulele power duo Kate Power and Steve Einhorn, it’s the instrument’s friendliness, not its hipness, that holds the most appeal.
“People smile at you when you have a ukulele in your bag,” said Power, who, with Einhorn, will perform and teach the traditional Hawaiian stringed instrument Monday at Traditions Cafe. “It’s very evocative of friendship and community.”
“I play a banjo, too,” she added. “There’s a big difference in how people treat me when I’m with a banjo than when I’m with a ukulele.”
Power and Einhorn, authors of “Ukalaliens Songbook,” promise to teach absolute beginners how to play the uke and sing along in just 60-90 minutes. It’s a feat they’ve performed across the country and one they’ll repeat monthly at Traditions.
They even bring along a supply of ukuleles that aspiring musicians can borrow for the evening.
“I like to use the phrase ‘ukes without borders,’ ” she said. “Within about 10 minutes, everybody is singing their first song and playing their first chords.”
Of course, that song will be something like “You Are My Sunshine.” But the instrument’s range is vast, as Shimabukuro has shown.
“In Hawaii, everyone grew up playing the ukulele,” Shimabukuro said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “It was just a very simple, relaxing instrument to play. Then when I was a teenager, I got turned on to some of the rock guys. I remember seeing some concert footage of a Van Halen show. ... I remember thinking to myself, ‘That’s what a ukulele concert should be like.’ ”
It’s the instrument’s simplicity and portability that are a big part of its charm, Power said.
“It’s as hands-on as any iPod or laptop,” she said. “It’s small enough that you can carry it with you whatever you’re doing.
“In our culture right now, it’s one of the few hands-on instruments that all the generations relate to.”
Power and Einhorn know their instruments. Guitars are their mainstays, and the concert will include instruments other than the ukes. They’ve played on National Public Radio’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Their experience teaching music, though, came during the 25 years they owned Portland’s Artichoke Music. They sold it four years ago.
“We had taught all kinds of people the first three chords on all kinds of instruments when they would come into the shop,” she said. “We realized that everything we knew about making music was transferable to that little instrument.”
And that little instrument, she believes, can have a big impact.
“It doesn’t matter what side of the road you’re on politically,” she said. “All kinds of people seem to be charmed by it. We think it’s a community harmonizing instrument.
“With people at computers and texting instead of looking at each other’s faces, there are a lot of things that have been lost in these last few years,” she added. “The uke is a wonderful antidote.”
Uke-a-Thon
What: Kate Power and Steve Einhorn, authors of “Ukalaliens Songbook,” will play a concert and teach beginners how to play. Also on the bill: The Quiet American.
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Traditions Café & World Folk Art, 300 Fifth Ave. S.W., Olympia
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 the day of the show, $10 for students and those with low incomes
More information: 360-705-2819, traditionsfairtrade.com
Also: The concert is a kick-off to Power and Einhorn’s uke lessons and sing-alongs the third Monday of each month at Traditions.
