The Ukulele Cowboy Society isn’t your standard duo. You most likely won’t see them play at Kobo or Ace of Cups, but rather galleries, restaurants, and once in a cemetery where they plugged in inside a mausoleum. Their passion for music is evident and undeniable. Members Jesse Chandler and Michael Kaplan not only answered my questions, but educated me on all things ukulele.
The couple owns over 100 ukuleles and around 80 of them are proudly and gorgeously displayed in a room in their home. Ukuleles seem to be popular in the “hipster,” indie crowd. Even Zooey Deschanel helped raise the ukulele’s popularity by playing it on her show as well as in her band. There is cute novelty to the instrument. But, the Ukulele Cowboy Society will remain when the indie crowd moves on.
Playing together for roughly four years, they are steadily working to improve their live show by adding projections of Jesse’s artwork to the background. Each piece of artwork will correlate with the song they choose to play. They play music from era’s long gone, a far back as the 20’s. They cite Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Gershwin as major influences in their music. And it also happens to be the music they enjoy outside of playing. Jesse also said she’s a big fan of The Beatles in any formation.
Why the ukulele? Michael says he likes “the idea that there was an instrument that people could afford.”
Both Jesse and Michael earned master’s degrees on film, as well as taught in varies universities across the country, including University of Cincinnati, Syracuse University, among others.
Here is a music video of their song, “After You’ve Gone.”
They even just released their first CD, “Phantom Heart”, featuring 2 original (delightful) songs by Jesse.
Tonight, from 7:30-9:30, at the Jung Haus Gallery, Jesse will showcase some of her artwork as well as perform with Michael in The Ukulele Cowboy Society. There will be refreshments, but canned-good donations are encouraged, as they will benefit The Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Start your weekend off the right way, with original music, an opportunity to give to The Mid-Ohio Food Bank, and creative people. “Some people have saints as ornaments on their car, I would have a ukulele.”
More information can be found on their Facebook page or their website.
Photography by Anne Evans.
