Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter - January 24, 2017

Aloha kakou!

Pehea'oe? How are you? I've had a busy week... it's tax time soon so I have been doing a lot of book keeping (yuck). At one point on Sunday I had a hard time speaking english. All that would come out of my mouth was numbers... YUCK!

My doctor orders me to get together my friends and family tonight and strum on a four string instrument (you heard right, Stanis is back tonight! Woot Woot!).

Tonight's Kanikapila

This weeks jam will be at my shack

When: Tuesday January 24, 2017 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: FREE

Why: Because we can and we should!

Play Paintball With Pirate Jim

I will be returning to Capture The Flag this weekend, so come out with me and shoot some paint!

What: Play Paintball and Jam with Pirate Jim

Where: Capture The Flag - Cochrane - 72032 North, Range Road 40

(for more info on Capture The Flag go to: http://www.capturetheflag.com/

When: Saturday January 28, 2017 - 12:00 - 4:00pm

How Much: Depends how much you shoot and how good of a gun you want to rent. 

That's all for now my friends!

Malama ko aloha

- Pirate Jim

Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter - January 17, 2017

Aloha kakou!

Pehea'oe? How are you? I hope you are doing well.

I am currently working on a few new projects that I can not release details on yet.... but be on the lookout for some good news next issue. Until then here is this weeks jam info:

Tonight's Kanikapila

This weeks jam will be at my shack

When: Tuesday January 17, 2017 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

How Much: FREE

Why: Because we can and we should!

Play Paintball With Pirate Jim

This past Saturday was awesome! it was nice and warm and we had a blast playing out in the woods. We will be returning to Capture The Flag next weekend so come out with us then.

What: Play Paintball and Jam with Pirate Jim

Where: Capture The Flag - Cochrane - 72032 North, Range Road 40

(for more info on Capture The Flag go to: http://www.capturetheflag.com/

When: Saturday January 28, 2017 - 12:00 - 4:00pm

How Much: Depends how much you shoot and how good of a gun you want to rent. 

That's all for now my friends!

Malama ko aloha

- Pirate Jim

Pirate Jim's Aloha Tuesday Newsletter - January 3, 2017

Aloha kakou!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year! Pehea'oe? How are you? I hope you had a fantastic new years eve. I had a fantastic new year's playing paintball and playing my uke for a bunch of fun people. Well it's now back to regular non-holiday life so here is the news...

Tonights Kanikapila

Tonight we will gather in a new location. The lobby of my mom's apartment building at Riverside Towers. I performed here on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve and I had some of the residents primed and ready to jam with us... I am excited to see what happens. The only catch with this venue is the lack of chairs.... They should have enough for us, but please bring along a folding chair with you tonight and your music stand in case we get a big turn out and run out of both.

When: Tuesday January 3, 2017 - 7:30-9:00pm

Where: 145 Point Drive NW (in the main lobby)

How Much: FREE 

Why: Because we can and we should!

*Please bring your own folding chair and music stand in case we run out before you arrive*

Play Paintball With Pirate Jim

I know everyone is talking about new year's resolutions and such and I am not hip on them myself, but I have decided to play more paintball in 2017. I started playing this game when I was 16 and put it on the back burner for many years. Over the last 2 years I have taken my oldest sons out to play and we have all become addicted again.... so during the football off season Nathan, Avery and I will be heading out to the various paintball fields in and around the Calgary area as many Saturdays a month as we can. When it gets warmer I want to start bringing along my uke and jam out there between games. I may even bring along my uke this Saturday too. SO..... You are invited to join us, even if you have never played paintball OR ukulele before. 

This weekend we will be going to Capture The Flag in Cochrane. If you would like to come along please contact me ASAP so I can add you to the reservation list.

What: Play Paintball and Jam with Pirate Jim

Where: Capture The Flag - Cochrane - 72032 North, Range Road 40

(for more info on Capture The Flag go to: http://www.capturetheflag.com/

When: Saturday January 7, 2017 - 12:00 - 4:00pm

How Much: Depends how much you shoot and how good of a gun you want to rent. 

 

Website Redesign

The transition has begun! As you may notice my website logo has changed and the re-branding of Pirate Jim has begun. Watch for new video's and links and the ability to purchase my old and new recorded music. I have realized over the holidays that I don't really talk about the past or how Pirate Jim got to be Pirate Jim. There is a reason I wear a Buccaneers bandana a lot and I have 3 CD's for sale that will kind of explain it. I know, I know.... What the heck is Jim going on about now? In short you soon will be able to purchase my old and new music on my website but if you want to check it out right now you can go to itunes and check out The Buccaneers. I will be updating my website with itunes links very soon.

Well folks...... that's all for this week....

Malama Ko Aloha!

- Pirate Jim

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 13, 2016

Aloha kakou!

Pehea'oe? How are you? I hope you all are staying warm and dry this week. The cold last week was a challenge for me, but I am lucky to have escaped to Honolulu this week. I arrived here Thursday and competed with my mother on Sunday in the 44th Annual Honolulu Marathon. This is my second full marathon and I beat my personal best by just over 30mins. Last year I did the 42.2KM in 6 hours and 50 minutes, this year my time was 6:26:06. I'm stoked!!! Not too sore either.

Tonights Kanikapila

Although I am still in Honolulu, my kanikapila will still be happening. My beautiful wife Stanis will be in charge tonight so please don't stay home! We'll be meeting again at our ukulele shack so come on over and strum the night away with us!

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

Where: 60 Tuscany Ridge Way NW

HowMuch: FREE

Why: Because we can and we should!

Christmas Kanikapila & Pot Luck Party 2016

Next week will be our annual Christmas kanikapila and pot-luck party so if you haven't come to a jam for a while, this is the one to come to. make sure you bring a dish and/or a bottle (wink,wink) and celebrate the season with us. 

MELE KALIKIMAKA KAKOU!

New Ukulele's in stock

I am very happy to tell you about a few new ukulele's I am bringing home with me this week that are for sale. Every time I come to my second home on Oahu I always visit my friends at Kanile'a. They are such beautiful people and they make such beautiful instruments. My personal ukulele's are made by Kanile'a and I fall more in love with them everyday. This week I will be bringing home a Kanile'a Islander MT-4 Tenor uke and a Kanile'a MC-4 Concert uke. Unfortunately because of the exchange rate right now the prices have risen on them a little, but they are the best low budget models on the market. If you'd like to come try them out, come to the kanikapila next Tuesday. I know you will love them.

Well I hear the sound of waves crashing on the beach outside and I should go take in as much of the salt water, sun and humidity before I head back to the cold and snow so until next Tuesday friends..... 

A hui hou!

- 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 - November 15, 2016

Aloha Kakou!

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

Well while we were singing and strumming last week the impossible happened. I hope "The Donald" doesn't let us down... maybe we should give him an uke!

Tonight's Kanikapila 

This weeks jam will be at John and Cherie Musselwhite's home in Douglasdale.

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

Where: 263 Douglasbank Mews SE

How Much: FREE (yes folks, for those who missed last week, the jam is now free)

Why: Because we can and we should!

Pirate Jim LIVE in Dance Montage 2016 

As I have mentioned before I am currently involved in something called Dance Montage 2016 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 Has FREE Stampeder tickets to give you!

My beloved Calgary Stampeders will be facing the BC Lions in the western final playoff game this coming Sunday November 20 and I have free tickets for you. I will bring them tonight and they are all yours! Yes there are totally FREE ! Now if only my ukulele was loud enough to make noise when BC has the ball like my big red horn! Maybe I should bring and amp! LOL

GO STAMPS GO! 

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!