Jake Meets Mini-Jake

Jake Shimabukuro visited the Twin Cities for what I believe is his fifth concert here tonight at The Cedar.  I've been to the first three, and this time, I decided to go to his concert with a specific mission:  to introduce him to Mini-Jake!

Perhaps it's a bit lame, but I thought since I designed my Glyph mezzo-soprano after Jake's ukulele, it would be pretty cool to show it to him and to get some of his mojo on this uke.  As you can see from the picture here, the mission has been accomplished.

As per his usual routine at his concerts, he greeted fans at a table afterwards to sign autographs, take pictures, and just chat a little bit.  I've always thought this is such a cool thing for him to do and it's good to see that he is still doing it after what must have been countless performances.  I got in line after the concert to try to get an autograph on my "Peace Love Ukulele" tab book and to get a picture of him holding Mini-Jake.  He graciously signed my tab book and when I showed him my Glyph, he said "cool", and started playing it a bit.  He commented that it was a nice uke and noted that the fretboard is pretty wide.  I had always assumed that his uke had a wide fretboard since he's plays a lot of fingerstyle, but he said my 1.5" nut feels wider than his.  That was actually pretty interesting to know, and I guess I should practice more on my ukes with 1-3/8" nuts to be more like Jake.  LOL!  He also noted that the Glyph had the same Gilbert tuners as his and asked me who built it.  I told him it was a guy named Dave Means from Maryland and that it was on the waitlist for 3 years.  He seemed surprised at that wait time.

Anyway, after taking a couple of pictures with me while holding the Glyph, he thanked me for coming to the show and I was on my way.  Having met him 3 times (the last time I didn't have time to stop by his greeting table), I still get the feeling that he's a genuinely nice guy and I just wish him continued success in his ukulele playing career.

Oh yeah, there was a concert in there somewhere too.  LOL!  This time he seems to play more different songs than the last three times I went to his concert.  Some of the songs I've never heard in person are Hawaii 5-O, Less Cowbell-More Ukulele, and a couple of covers of Adele and Journey songs.  It was enjoyable as usual and I always enjoy checking out his ukulele playing technique.

So now my Mini-Jake (I forgot to tell him that's what I named it! Doh!) has been touched by the master, I shall soon become a ukulele hero myself!...or not....

Jake signing my tab book.

Picture with Jake after the concert.