Uku The Mighty – Small Instruments, Big Sound

Uku The Mighty – Small Instruments, Big Sound
Uku the mighty is a ukulele based AcoustiPop trio from the western Washington. The world has plenty of guitar based bands. It’s time for a new sound to emerge on as a proverbial blip on the collective radar screens of America.

Blending the sounds that they’ve picked up from the popular to the obscure and mixing in the sounds that only they can hear in their heads, UKU The Mighty has a harmonic alchemy and rhythmic gumbo that has power and intrigue.

John Moen has been playing with himself for some time and has been delighted to rejoin his lifelong friends Greg, Bret and Andy in Uku The Mighty. John is a renaissance man (meaning that he was born between 1400 and 1600 CE.) He plays ukulele, guitar, bass, cello, didjeridoo and whatever strikes his fancy (and his fancy has been stricken many times!) John has circumnavigated the world of music many times over. Launching his career by leading campfire sing-a-longs, not to mention ultimately leading the camp itself, he went on to head such pivotal groups as Beau Vine & The Battle Cattle, Phallus Dill, The Bronto Burgerz and Steve Jimmy, virtually pre-defining the Post-Groove Quasi-Retro Beat sound of the early to mid-90's. Sidetracked for years due to his decaffeinated coffee addiction, he is now clean and ready to hit the charts 'til they plead for mercy!

Greg Vik, and I mean Greg Vik, has been plunking the uke ever since Arthur Godfrey signed off. Having thoroughly immersed himself in the teachings and philosophic traditions of Mel Bay, he played banjo uke in his first band, The Musical Mescaleros, when he was 8 years old. After they “played in Peoria,” Greg has trod an eclectic, sometimes ugly path, playing ukulele, violin, banjo, guitar, and how. In the mid-80's, he toured with such bands as Skip & The Par Pars, The Chris Larralde Project, The Venutian Blondz, and The G.I. Trotz. (You may also remember him from his forgettable fully-clothed appearance in filmmaker Arne Moen's 1984 cult epic, "Thor of the Jungle.”) Nowadays, Greg’s a corporate “suit” and splits his personal time between Down Under and Up Over, if you know what I mean. And I think you do.

Dr. Bret Smith is a certifiable professor of music. No, seriously, he’s got like this massive degree from a big college and stuff. It’s a PhD (pronounced “fud”, as in “he’s totally fud”) or something like that. He can chaw tobacco and play concert cello like a big dog! He is beyond satisfactory at bass, which he frequently plays in Uku The Mighty. He also kicks butt and takes no prisoners when it comes to playing ukulele, guitar, mandolin, violin, viola, lap steel, banjo and anything else that has strings (purses and hearts, too?). Besides all that, he’s a noted author and authority….just google “Bret P Smith” if you dare—see bio at http://www.cwu.edu/~music/musiced/bpsmith.html. Let’s just say Uku the Mighty was completely illegitimate before he signed on. He’s a MWM who enjoys good conversation, candlelit dinners, and romantic strolls on the beach, but only when he can shoot rats with his 12-gauge.

Review from Uke Farm Radio Blog: "I recently received a copy of Uku the Mighty from John Moen. This is a great recording! I have added it to the UkeFarm playlist. The tunes are mostly originals, with a few covers included, Every Breath You Take and You Are My Sunshine. Kims Waltz is stunningly beautiful. John Moen, Greg Vik, Dr. Bret Smith, and Andy Etue have created my new favorite uke CD."