Betsy and a Ukelele profile picture

Betsy and a Ukelele

About Me

Betsy and a Ukelele combine a lighthearted musical approach, dorm room inspiration, and tongue-in-cheek humor to create the toe-tapping, guffaw-inducing, world-peace-bringing sound featured on 2007's The Wind Down Woo and 2008's U is for Ukelele.
Betsy began ukelele after a finger injury in high schoolmade the guitar rather difficult for a few months. Once on the college scene at Denison University in central Ohio, inside jokes, road trips, and Sunday afternoons inspired many of the songs that are now on release and destined to melt the hearts of the world.
The Wind Down Woo features 13 tracks, opening with the boisterous, danceable “Orange Drink,” celebrating that favorite beverage from Sunday school, elementary class parties, and service trips. The album then entreaties individuals to avoid the “Awkward” situations that anyone on a college campus undoubtedly experiences on a regular basis. It’s not all goofy fun’n’games, though, with “Tuvalu” heartening long-distance couples and anyone who has a soul with its lilting tune and “awwww”-inspiring lyrics. “Fricken Love” expresses hope for losing weight on a new dieting approach you’ve probably never considered. “The Goodnight Song” may just be the lullaby of the 21st century. You will want that special someone to croon you to sleep with this tune until your dying day.
U is for Ukelele opens new territory while remaining true to the simple, heartfelt sound of The Wind Down Woo. U features 16 tracks, and most tracks tie back to three themes: quirky love tunes, like "Caffeinated Love" and "The Economics of Love"; cell phones, as with "The Ringtone Song," "Gimme a Call," and "Weekend Minutes"; and defending the honor of the uke, as with "Ukes, Not Nukes," and "Let's Get Some Things Straight."
With these and many other tunes in their repertoire, and new songs all the time, Betsy and a Ukelele regularly play at coffeeshops in the Columbus/Granville area and beyond. Betsy and a Ukelele combine their fan-favorite originals with improvisational compositions, and covers of awful pop tunes that have been waiting to be destroyed for a very long time. Whether you’re in a dorm room, an apartment, a coffee shop, or Madison Square Garden, Betsy and a Ukelele want to play for you.
Discography:

The Wind Down Woo (2007)

1. Orange Drink 2. Awkward 3. Tuvalu 4. Fricken Love 5. I Spooning 6. Fun Being Me 7. Angsty 8. Dance Party 9. Hector 10. Protein (Love & Chemistry 11. Hugs are Free 12. The Goodnight Song
U is for Ukelele (2008)
1. Caffeinated Love 2. Ukes Not Nukes 3. I Really Leave Voicemails Like This 4. The Economics of Love 5. Difficult Questions 6. I Heart My Cardiologist 7. Let’s Get Some Things Straight 8. The Ringtone Song 9. Teddy Bear 10. When in Doubt 11. Gimme a Call 12. IRLVLT Pt. 2 13. Weekend Minutes 14. There Will Be Days 15. … 16. Kokomotel
And lots of random singles you might be able to get your hands on, such as
- Slopey Slope - Maa Fee TP - I Thought I’d Write You a Christmas Song - Don’t Be That Girl - etc. etc.

Myspace Layouts at Pimp-My-Profile.com / Pink Plaid

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 13/03/2007
Band Members:

Influences: Let's see, as far as what actually influences my uke music: Sitting bored in class, friends saying 'Hey Betsy, write a song about this! Please?," improv jam sessions with many talented musician-friends. So pretty much, the stupid and amazing things that happen every. single. day. Hey, you can ignore it, or you can write goofy songs about it.
Fun uke musicians: Tiny Tim, and the Amos Lee song "Sweet Pea" (you heard it on that commercial), and people on my friends list. Uke players are amazing.
Music tastes in general: House of Heroes might be the best band making music today, Jars of Clay, Skillet, mewithoutYou, Piebald, He Is Legend, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughn, a lot of really untalented and unremarkable punk, singer songwriters such as Anais Mitchell and Steven Fiore, Five Iron Frenzy, Flyleaf, Mat Kearney, Relient K. Jazz, punk, hardcore, alt rock, acoustic, and just fun ridiculous music.
Other influences: Jesus, Shane Claiborne, Rob Bell, Donald Miller, Mom, Dad, brother, awesome friends, coffee, professors and teachers of good and bad varieties, chocolate, my guitar (I still love you!), denim jeans, public libraries, the Arabic language, Michel Foucault, and insomnia. Coffee's presence on this list should not be underestimated.

Sounds Like: Someone on one too many cups of coffee who ought to be writing a paper (which is true at most given moments), a college student who pays just enough attention in class to write love songs about chemistry and economics, an afternoon in a hammock on a beautiful Hawaiian beach.Is this supposed to be what other musicians I sound like? I wouldn't curse anyone by mentioning them.


Record Label: Unsigned

My Blog

Getting your ears on U is for Ukelele

So, I haven't had a whole lot of shows, and I won't have any shows for about 6 months, at least not in North America (traveling!)Therefore, I want to make sure that you all know how you can get your p...
Posted by on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:18:00 GMT

Betsy and a Ukelele on Series Two Compilation

That's right!  The following info is from myspace.com/seriestworecords.  Let me just point, before using the cut and paste function, that I'm track 1 of 205 tracks from artists in 13 states ...
Posted by on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:25:00 GMT

Oh, 2008, how lovely youve been

So, 2008 has been a fun year.  Including lots of amazing events such as (in rough chronological order):- Penning many of the songs toward a new album- Relay for Life - the best jam of all time.&n...
Posted by on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:18:00 GMT

U is for Ukelele is on release!

That's right.  It's out, and you can get it from my profile here in the next hour or two, or by talking to me.  The CD release party was a blast; I played all 4 quads in 2 hours, took a few ...
Posted by on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:57:00 GMT

New album!!

As many of you are aware, I have a new album recorded.  The music is complete, the track listing is set, and the artwork is printed.  I just have to press the albums!I'm really excited. REAL...
Posted by on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:03:00 GMT

I’M DONE!!! I have dominated the top 100!!

Here they are, with some final thoughts at the end.  Thanks for your support.R.E.M. - Out of TimeVery tongue in cheek again with "Radio Song" - I love that line "The world is collapsing around ou...
Posted by on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:07:00 GMT

Album notes 50-75

Plowing right along!  Hoping to be done this week.  I'm kind of getting burned out, to be perfectly honest.  Umm, here they are!Fleetwood Mac - RumoursI can feel the disco era coming.&n...
Posted by on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:08:00 GMT

Top 100 albums 25ish-50

So, I've been taking notes diligently, and I'm a bit behind on posting these - I'm currently on album 70.  That being said, it's all going rather quickly.  Reminders: these aren't album revi...
Posted by on Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:33:00 GMT

First 25-ish albums.

Think of this less as an album review and more of the random thoughts that come to me when I should be writing my paper.  I've shrunk it down to tiny font size so it's not nineteen pages long.&nb...
Posted by on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:13:00 GMT

Top 100

Brief reviews on my recent conquests from Time's top 100 All-Time Album list.  Not as many as I had hoped to listen to, but more on that below. Sinatra Swingin' Songs for LoversThe album fits the...
Posted by on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:53:00 GMT