Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - August 22, 2017

Aloha kakou,

Pehea'oe? Maika'i au! I hope your adventure watching the eclipse yesterday was fun. I was inside eating a cheeseburger when it all went down. I was hoping it would go really dark here during the event, but it didn't. I guess I should have driven to Idaho Falls.  Hopefully the rest of these dog days or summer will be as fun as yesterday. How about we keep it going with a jam?

This weeks kanikapila will be at JJ's House!

When: Tuesday August 22, 2017 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 2002 A 26 Ave NW

How Much: FREE

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter - December 27, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Pehea'oe? How are you? I hope you had a fabulous Christmas! I had a blast and my son got the t-shirt! 

I am running short on time and news items this week so I will be very short and sweet! 

Tonight's Kanikapila 

This weeks jam will be at the House of Yates.

When: Tuesday December 27, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 425 18A Street NW

HowMuch: FREE

Why: Because we can and we should!

See you tonight kakou! 

- Pirate Jim

Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter - December 6, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Aloha everyone! Pehea'oe? How are you? I am very excited today even though it's -21C outside. In just under 48 hours I will be boarding a Delta Canadair RJ 700 airplane with my mother to take us to Honolulu to compete in the 2016 Honolulu Marathon. Today's picture was from my first marathon last last year. I am excited and nervous about the race but looking forward my 2nd marathon. I did compete in a 1/2 marathon back in May, but this time it's the full 26 miles again. I have been training all year and I hope I can beat my personal best. 

 Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - December 6, 2016

This weeks kanikapila will be at the Lister House

When: Tuesday December 6, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 355 Schubert Pl NW

How Much: Now FREE

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim Rebrands

In 2009 I decided to put my performance career on the back burner and opened Bignote Music with my buddies Rodger and Hermann.... In 2014 we shut down Bignote Music officially and I restructured my part of the shop to focus on ukuleles only and with only an online store. This week I am evolving once again. I am returning to my artisticly focused life and making my store secondary. Pirate Jim's Ukulele Shack will still be around but will not be my focus. My website will change to Pirate Jim's artist website with the ukulele shack as my store that will not only sell ukuleles and accessories but also my music and Pirate Jim swag! Look for these website changes to start happening this weekend. As you may have noticed my FB page is already relflecting this change. I am also officially working on demos for 2 future Pirate Jim CD's..... Stay Tuned!!!

Go Mom Go!  Go Pirate Jim Go! 

Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter - November 29, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Pehea'oe? How are you? Welcome to another fine Aloha Tuesday! It's been a tough beginning to the week for me. I was unable to attend the jam last week because of the tech run of Dance Montage 2016 and I sure feel like I was missing something all week. Dance Montage was a huge hit, but I still missed jamming with you all. The biggest bummer I am dealing with today is the Grey Cup loss my beloved Stampeders suffered on Sunday. It was a fabulous comeback but not enough to win in overtime. Perhaps they need to jam like I do tonight. 

 Tonight's Kanikapila 

Tonight we will meet at my Shack! 

 When: Tuesday November 29, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

HowMuch: FREE

Why: Because we can and we should!

I don't have any other news items for you today, but here are some photos from Dance Montage 2016

Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter - November 22, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Pehea'oe? How are you? Maika'i? Good? Well I'm on top of the world this week because my beloved Calgary Stampeders won the Western Final and punched their ticket to the Grey Cup (Canada's version of the Superbowl for all my non-CFL watching ohana). Go Stamps Go! 

Tonight's Kanikapila 

Unfortunately Stanis and I can not make the jam this week, but do not fear! The jam will be lead tonight by my good friend and long time club member Barb Yates. I will be running through my piece in Dance Montage 2016 at the tech rehearsal tonight, but I will be thinking about you all and strumming from the University Theatre. It's a tech rehearsal so I may be out long after you finish jamming. :(

This weeks jam will be at the House of Yates.

When: Tuesday November 22, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 425 18A Street NW

How Much: FREE

Why: Because we can and we should!

 Pirate Jim LIVE in Dance Montage 2016

Dance Montage 2016 is taking place at the University of Calgary Theatre at the U of C campus. There are a bunch of different dance pieces all created by different choreographers in the show and our piece is the Hawaiian themed one. We have 14 or so dancers and me! I have taught them all 2 oli chants and we perform two hula's back to back. I am very excited to show you our work.

Tickets are still available : http://scpa.ucalgary.ca/events/dance-montage-2

Show Dates: Thursday November 24, 2016 - 8pm

                        Friday November 25, 2016 - 8pm

                        Saturday November 26, 2016 - 2pm & 8pm

All performances are at the Unversity Theatre!

https://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=UTF-8&hl=en-ca&client=safari&um=1&ie=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=ca&entry=s&sa=X&ftid=0x53716f09038b6ced:0xee054351484850bc&gmm=CgIgAQ%3D%3D

Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter - October 25, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Pehea'oe? How are you? Happy Aloha Tuesday! 

I have decided to streamline my announcements by starting up a weekly Aloha Tuesday Newsletter. I have a bunch of announcements to make and I was finding my old way of doing things very taxing and redundant, so comes the birth of Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter!

This Weeks Jam 

We are coming down to the the last few weeks of football. My son Avery and his team are in the playoffs and won their first round of the tournament this past Saturday beating the Hilltoppers 56-6. If they win this coming Saturday I believe there is a trip to Edmonton in the works to play in the provincials or something like that... regardless.... Go Cowboys! Go Avery Go! 

This means that we will be rotating our jam locations again starting next week, but tonight we'll be back at the Shack!

What: Pirate Jim's Kanikapila  

When: Tuesday October 25, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: Pirate Jim's Ukulele Shack - 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: $5.00 drop in, $50 yearly membership

Why: Because we can and we should

Dance Montage 2016 

As I have mentioned the last few weeks I have been working on a project at the University of Calgary called Dance Montage with my good friend and hula dancer Taraya Nahlani Middleton from Nahlani Productions. Back in September we auditioned over 30 dancers and selected 14 of them to share our love for Hawaiian music and hula. We have been working on the dances for two songs and two chant. We are very proud of our accomplishments and we can't wait to share this with you!

Dance Montage performance dates are:

Thursday November 24 at  8pm

Friday November 25 at 8pm

Saturday November 26 at 2pm and 8pm

The show is expected to be about 2hours in length, and you will see a variety of dance styles including Hula. Both Taraya and I will be performing in these shows. You have your choice of dates and times to come see us, and I hope you are able to make one of the performances.

Please visit the following link to purchase your tickets in advance -$15 for adults, $10 for students/seniors. You can always buy tickets at the door as well.

http://scpa.ucalgary.ca/events/dance-montage-2

Calgary Night Market

On the evening of Friday November 18, 2016 I will be performing with Aloha, eh! and the Nahlani Productions Dancers. 

What: Pirate Jim LIVE at the Calgary Night Market

When: Friday November 18, 2016 - 10:15-1:00pm

Where: Eau Claire Market (indoors) 

How Much?: FREE

Well kakou, that's all I can fit into this weeks newsletter. I look forward to seeing you all tonight at the jam or at one of my performances in November. I will be adding individual event listings for each performance to my events page within the next 24hrs. Until next week......... 

 Malama ko aloha 

- Pirate Jim

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - October 18, 2016

Aloha kākou! 

Pehea'oe? How are you? I hope you are all doing well. October is speeding past... Very soon we'll be talking about Christmas! Yikes! I have been working hard on a special project at the University of Calgary the last 5 weeks and I am excited to say things are going very well... I will post more details about Dance Montage later this week. 

Tonight we will meet at my shack in Tuscany!!! Can't wait to strum and sing again!

 When: Tuesday October 18, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - October 11, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Pehea'oe? How are you? I hope you enjoyed your turkey weekend (those of you who celebrate thanksgiving in October that is). I had a good balance of rest and fun with my ohana these past three days. Watching our kids grow up and play with cousins, uncles, grandpa's and grandma's rocks! The feelings and memories holidays create are magical sometimes. I think this can also be said about our ukulele Ohana too. Every Tuesday we sing, laugh and strum our four strings together weaving beautiful memories. I wanna start right now... Doh! Gotta go to work first!

This past weekend I also got to officiate in my first bantam football game. It was a very foggy and cold Saturday afternoon, but I had a blast! Wait till the people in charge find out there is a pirate our there wearing those zebra stripes! Arrrrrrrr!

This weeks jam will be at my Ukulele Shack!

When: Tuesday October 4, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - September 27, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Happy Aloha Tuesday! The last Tuesday of September has come upon us. Can you believe it? Only 2 months left in 2016. Let's start the journey to 2017 tonight with some good old ukulele stress relief! This past week has been full of ups and downs and I know I need some uke therapy myself. 

We will be meeting at my shack again this week so see you tonight at 7:30pm

 When: Tuesday September 27, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

HowMuch: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - September 20, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Pehea'oe? How are you? Happy Aloha Tuesday!!!  

Another week has past and the sun is rising later and later everyday. That means fall is officially here. For me, fall is a time of reflection and rememberance. There are many activities during the fall months that make me feel this way. My wedding anniversary, my dad's birthday, my kids going back to school and Thanksgiving Dinner! All those things are yet to come this year but I feel I am thinking about them earlier than normal. Yesterday I came across an interview with Crowded House on 60 Minutes Australia that totally jump started my journey down memory lane. I have included it below for your enjoyment also. Maybe we'll pull out some Crowded House tunes at tonight's Kanikaplia?

Once again we at my shack tonight... See you there! 

When: Tuesday September 13, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

HowMuch: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should! 

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - September 13, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Pehea'oe? Happy Aloha Tuesday!!! So far the sun is shining and burning off the morning chill. It is definately fall here in the city of Calgary. I hope your September is going well so far. 

This past Saturday my hula dancer (Taraya), and I had the overwhelming opportunity to introduce hula to 30 dance students at the University of Calgary. We were holding auditions for a hula dance piece we are going to perform in something called Dance Montage 2016 (I will post more information on performance dates later this week).  After years of trying to drag people in Calgary kicking and screaming to our hula workshops it was such a refreshing sight to see 30 trained dancers coming into the studio to explore an unkown dance tradition called Hula! We even got them to chant (oli) a little! It gave me chicken skin. My next plan is to turn some of these new hula dancers into ukulele players too! As a side note... I performed in Dance Montage  many years ago with my friends Taylor and Wade. It was a dance piece about a school dance full of nerds and geeks, before nerds and geeks were cool. I played a Michael Jackson impersonator and was not able to properly dance with others. I just kept doing my Michael Jackson moves while the girl nerds got frustrated. It was a lot of fun!!! 

It is still football season for our family so the Kanikapila will be at my shack again tonight.  

 When: Tuesday September 13, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - August 30, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Pehea'oe? How are you? Happy Aloha Tuesday! It's also the very last Tuesday of August and some would say summer. The kiddies go back to school next week, the leaves are turning yellow and I can feel the slight fall chill in the air as the sun sets these days.... Well no worries.... Our ukuleles will turn our frowns upside down and into loving smiles when we start strumming together tonight! It's Aaron's official birthday tomorrow (my youngest son), so expect him to be dressed and ready to entertain you all between songs.

This weeks jam will be at my Ukulele Shack!

When: Tuesday August 30, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's - Kanikapila August 23, 2016

Aloha Kakou!

Happy Aloha Tuesday! It may be windy and stormy out there today, but it will be warm and comfy inside my ukulele shack tonight when our fingers start strumming on those 4 string treasures of ours. The leaves are starting to turn yellow around my neighbourhood so that means fall is just around the corner. Let's celebrate the last few days of summer together tonight! I'm thinking it's girly drink time... (non-alcoholic for those driving of course)

I have chosen to shrink my carbon footprint by trading in my car for an electric bike. It's totally battery powered and can recharge using it's solar power plant. It trickle charges when I have it parked in the sun too! So now I can strap my uke to my back and hit the road! If only I could bring it with me when I travel to Hawaii next time.... See you tonight folks! 

When: Tuesday August 23, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - August 16, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

Peheae'oe? How are you? Happy Aloha Tuesday!!!  

What a crazy weekend I had. On Saturday night I was performing at two different places at the same time. I'm not sure how we pulled it off, but somehow we did. Thank you Norm, Sean, Taraya and the Nahanli dancers for keeping me on my toes.

Due to football season the weekly jams will be at my ukulele shack over the next few weeks. I apologize to all of you that live down south, but I promise we will return to your neck of the woods as soon as possible. 

 What: Pirate Jim's Kanikapila

When: Tuesday August 16, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership, $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - August 9, 2016

Aloha kākou! 

Happy Aloha Tuesday! I love Tuesdays!!

When I was a kid I loved Tuesday because of the cheap $2.50 movies.... (Even though I didn't usually go to movies on Tuesday nights back then). As letter carrier for Canada Post I love Tuesday because the mail volume is usually much lighter than Monday. HOWEVER the BEST thing about Tuesday night is getting together with you to Kanikapila the evening away!

This is going to be a crazy week for me! I will be posting additional announcements tonight with further details, but this Friday and Saturday night I am performing at Taste of Calgary, for a surprise birthday lu'au and training to become a football official for local league games. Who knows.... In a few years you may see Pirate Jim on TV officiating a CFL game!!! I am very excited!!! 

Due to family scheduling and work constraints I have to move the Kanikapila to my ukulele shack tonight. So....

 What: Pirate Jim's Kanikapila

When: Tuesday August 9, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership, $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - July 19, 2016

Aloha Kakou!

Pehea'oe? How are you? Things are fantastic here at my ukulele shack. We are settling in at the new shack nicely and I am so excited that it is Tuesday again. Unfortunately our meditation and massage guru has become ill so we are using our back up venue for the jam tonight. This weeks jam will be at the Lister house

When: Tuesday July 19, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 355 Schubert PL NW 

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we shoul!

See you tonight!

- Pirate Jim

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - June 21, 2016

Aloha Kakou! 

It's June 21! We made it to summer! Woot! Woot! School is almost done for the year, the days are the longest they will be all year, it's warm and the CFL season officially starts this week! Now all we need is our ukuleles and we can sing till the sun don't shine no more! We also found our new ukulele shack and we start moving this coming weekend.

Singing is my favourite thing to do in life. I sometimes even get paid money to do it! What? Really? Get outta here! Yup! I can also do it in Hawaiian! The Hawaiian word for sing is hīmeni. Add a ka in front (which means "to"), and you have ka hīmeni. Aloha e hīmeni!

This week we are back at the old shack for the very last time! 

When: Tuesday June 21, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 87 Tuscany Springs Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Go Stamps Go! 

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - June 14, 2016

Aloha Kākou, 

Pehea'oe? How are you? Another week has passed and it is time once again to strum the night away at my weekly kanikapila. We are busy packing up the old ukulele shack so this week we'll be at Lister House in Scenic Acres.

The Hawaiian word of the week is ke kauwela which means (the) summer. This is the last kanikapila for spring 2016. Next week it will officially be ke kauwela. Woot! Woot!

 What: Pirate Jim's Kanikapila

When: Tuesday June 14, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 355 Schubert Place NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership, $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - June 7, 2016

Aloha kākou 

Pehea'oe?  Maika'i no! How are you? Very Good! Good news! The old ukulele shack has officially been sold! Woot! Woot! So tonight will officially be the 2nd last gathering at the old shack. I will miss this place, but I look forward to the new adventure ahead of me.

My mother in law and her two sisters are going to England for the first time today, so I felt like choosing a travel word this week. The Hawaiian word of the week is Mokulele. The Hawaiian word for airplane. Enjoy the mokulele ride today ladies!

This weeks jam will be back at the shack!

When: Tuesday June 7, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 87 Tuscany Springs Way NW

How Much: $50 for a yearly membership. $5 drop in for non-members

Why: Because we can and we should! 

Pirate Jim's Kanikapila - April 5, 2016

Aloha kakou! 

It is Tuesday once again and time to kanikapila. This week we are back at my ukulele shack and I can't wait to start strumming. This week's Hawaiian word is hua. It has many, many definitions, but it is most commonly used to refer to eggs or fruit. Hua can also refer to things which are round in shape, much like eggs and fruitS like kiwi, apples, oranges and such. Appropriately so, there is also a Hawaiian moon phase called hua, which is when the moon is waxing and nearly full. Under the hua moon, the night was considered sacred to the Hawaiian god of agriculture, and as such was good luck for planting and fishing.

My picture for the week is from last Wednesday night. My good friend Rodger Leeder was having a going away kanikapila at an Irish pub. He let me break the rules and play a few Hawaiian tunes at the Celtic jam. I'm going to miss Rodger, but I am very happy for him too. Happy trails my friend and enjoy your new new home in Nova Scotia! 

What:  Pirate Jim's ukulele jam (Kanikapila)

Where:  At Pirate Jim's Ukulele Shack - 87 Tuscany Springs Way NW in Calgary.

When:  Tuesday March 15, 2016 - 7:30-9:00pm

How Much : $5.00 drop in, $50 for the yearly membership.

Why : Because it's a heck of a lot of fun and a wonderful stress relief especially under a hua moon.

www.piratejimukes.com

See you all tonight!

- Pirate Jim