Ukuleles and Craft Tiki Cocktails

As published in Ventana magazine, October 2014

Call of the Tropics

From Midtown to Downtown, Tiki culture is ablaze in Ventura—and it’s not just a string thing.

Photo of Brad Ranola by T Christian Gapen.

It’s been a banner year for Midtown Ventura’s Anacapa Ukulele. In February, Brad Ranola and his partners opened a second ukulele shop, in Los Angeles. In June they hosted the first L.A. Ukulele Expo, and now they are looking to expand the Ventura shop they first opened as a leap of faith three years ago.

The countless YouTube views of ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro shredding the cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” could be a big reason for their success. And who can forget Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s timeless but fairly recent “Somewhere over the Rainbow”? Ukulele music has come a long way since Don Ho’s “Tiny Bubbles.” The modern ukulele movement has indeed piqued the interest of a new generation of would-be players. But Ranola insists the instrument’s broad appeal is due to its size and ease of use.

“Four strings, four fingers is a lot easier than six strings, four fingers; and the nylon strings are easier on your hands,” Ranola says.

Along with a smaller, more portable size and the ergonomic benefits, the ukulele is also more affordable. And affordability doesn’t necessarily mean a compromise. As Ranola puts it, “A cheap ukulele sounds better than a cheap guitar.”

A professional international musician for the last 18 years, Ranola got bit by the ukulele bug five years ago, but in order to get ahold of the instrument he wanted, he had to call a friend in Hawaii. He soon realized this was a niche that needed to be filled.

“I really wanted to become proficient at this instrument, and what better way than to open my own shop?” Ranola says with a chuckle. It was also an opportunity for him to get off the road as a traveling musician and focus on his family. “I can still fulfill my love for music but be home more.”

With a mid-century vintage Hawaiian vibe, the Ventura shop’s design is meant to encourage hands-on interactivity with the instruments they have for sale. It’s this play-before-you-pay philosophy that draws customers in.

“Part of the reason why we opened, is you want to feel the instrument,” Ranola says. “It inspires you to want to play and get better. It’s more of an experience. It’s a place where people can play.”

Among the more unique ukuleles they sell are the bongolele, the banjolele, and a surfy ‘50s-era ukulele with an enormous headstock—to stick in the sand like a surfboard. They’ve also got an iconic triangle-shaped treholipee, “a fun kitschy instrument” that Ranola says would be perfect at a place like VenTiki Lounge.

While co-teaching a ukulele class at Disney Concert Hall with Grammy Award-winning Hawaiian musician Daniel Ho, Ranola shared what he and his partner Cary Hitsman had done at Anacapa Ukulele. Ho suggested a partnership with himself, blues ukulele master Jason Arimoto, and the Japanese American Cultural Community Center in Los Angeles. Within a year, U-Space opened their ukulele retail shop, ukulele school, and café in the heart of L.A.’s Little Tokyo. In addition, the partners dedicate a lot of their time to non-profit outreach, providing instruments and instruction to underprivileged youth in the community.

The instrument’s appeal to all ages is what’s proven to be particularly exciting for Ranola and his partners. “It’s a real communal instrument,” he says. “The ukulele is the great equalizer; there’s no ego. It’s a great instrument that can reach lots of demographics.”

Classes offered at both the Ventura and the Los Angeles locations attract all ages, from kids to seniors. “The kids play a lot of pop music, the older ones play early jazz, and obviously there’s a lot of Hawaiian music. We teach a lot of classical, reggae, and island music, too.”

Growing in popularity is the kanikapila—a sort of ukulele circle/jam session. Anacapa’s website lists several locations throughout Ventura County offering weekly gatherings. Ranola sees the company expanding in Ventura in much the same way U-Space did in Los Angeles. He’s hoping to soon add a café featuring local pour-over coffee and prepared sandwiches and pastries. “Coffee and ukulele go hand-in-hand,” Ranola says with a hopeful smile.

He could be on to something. The world could certainly use more coffee klatches and impromptu kanikapilas.

ANACAPA UKULELE
1899 E. Main St.; 805.500.6848, www.anacapaukulele.com

Photo of Dr. Shocker by T Christian Gapen.

[SIDEBAR] VenTiki Lounge & Lanai

Despite its downtown location, you’re sure to feel like a castaway at VenTiki Lounge & Lanai. With its piped-in ukulele music and occasional orchestrated volcanic eruption, you can almost hear ripe coconuts falling to the ground. Cocktails are taken seriously here—you won’t find a drop of pineapple juice in the Mai Tai, which is made the proper way, right down to the hand-smacked mint leaves called for in the original recipe created by Trader Vic’s in Oakland in the 1930s.

“In the tiki community, we believe in traditional garnishes to accentuate the drink,” says Dr. Shocker, VenTiki’s manager and self-proclaimed evangelist preaching the gospel of tiki.

The first tiki movement came about when World War II soldiers returned home from the Pacific, but became a fad in the ‘70s when original drink recipes were lost and adulterated. “The ‘70s were the dark days of cocktails,” explains Dr. Shocker. “These drinks are part of the craft cocktail movement and made the correct way: light and refreshing and balanced, not sickeningly sweet.”

Since opening 15 months ago, the quirky little bar has become a popular locals’ hangout, and a regular stop for Ventura Food Tours. Drinks made with myriad ingredients are served in intricate tiki mugs and sometimes set ablaze.

“The Alter of Sacrifice—it just screams it needs fire.” Made with lime vodka, two kinds of bitters, and spiced vanilla syrup, it certainly does.

Dr. Shocker brings another Zombie to life.

Zombie Recipe

With Halloween approaching, a favorite seasonal cocktail is the Zombie, which was invented in the ‘30s by Don the Beachcomber.

Ingredients:
¾ ounce lime juice
½ ounce grapefruit
1 ½ ounce pineapple juice
¼ ounce falernum liqueur
1 ¼ ounce gold rum
1 ounce dark rum
1 ounce Lemon Hart 151 rum
½ ounce grenadine
2 dashes Angostura bitters
6 drops Pernod

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and pour into glass. Garnish with mint and lime.

VENTIKI LOUNGE & LANAI 701 E. Main St.; 805.667.8887,ventikilounge.com

Lissie

As published in Ojai Quarterly magazine, Summer 2012.

Cover story by Lisa Snider. Photos by Guy Webster.

She doesn’t wear a speck of makeup, not even when she’s performing, and her blond locks hang long and unkempt, but she still manages to look stunningly gorgeous. In fact, she is a sweet articulate young woman, blue-eyed and freckled, who also happens to be a cigarette-smoking, tequila-shooting, rising international rock star. But today, she’s just a local gal about town, walking her fluffy little dog, Byron, from her house in downtown Ojai to Libbey Park.

Lissie Maurus, known professionally simply as Lissie, is taking the music world by storm with her signature blend of pop, folk, country and rock, showcasing deeply personal lyrics and intense vocals that stretch from razor-sharp raspy hair-raisers to angelic affecting melodies. In 2010, she released her first full-length album, Catching a Tiger, and won critical praise from Paste, Spin and Rolling Stone. Last year she released another album, Covered Up With Flowers, a collection of a half-dozen covers, including Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” 

Born and raised in Rock Island, Illinois, in the heart of the Midwest, Lissie left college before earning her degree to break into the music business in Los Angeles. Three years later, she landed a record deal, but a bad break-up made her desperate to flee the bright lights of the City of Angels. After a fellow airplane passenger told her about Ojai’s small town charms, she packed up her things, rented a place sight unseen in a town she had never heard of and has been here ever since. That was three years ago.

On a break from touring and making commercials – she makes the rounds to music festivals like Coachella, SXSW and Bonnaroo, and sings in the latest commercial for Twinings Tea in the U.K. – Lissie, 29, surprised and mesmerized a standing-room-only audience recently at Ojai’s The Village Jester. The one-hour set gave Lissie and her band an opportunity to rehearse new material in front of a live audience and gave Ojaians a rare glimpse into the rocker’s world.

Lissie sat with the OQ to talk about settling into life in Ojai, writing music and making a new album.

Do you ever miss living in Los Angeles?

I was ready for a change and that’s when this came up. I kind of try not to go back to L.A. because it still reminds me of some of the hardest times of my life. But I love it, too; it’s where I was able to secure my management who got me a record deal in the U.K. I came out here and I was happy that I didn’t know anyone, stayed under the radar, low key. In the last year, though, I’ve gotten more social and I’ve been meeting a nice group of people.

Coming from the big city, does it ever feel tedious to you?

Last night I felt a little stir crazy, so I went to Jimmy’s and had a glass of wine and some potato chips and read a book, and that was my idea of a wild night. I went to a farm party a couple weeks ago. Last weekend there was a band up from L.A. at the Deer Lodge. There’s always stuff to do. When I tour I’m so busy I think when I come home I’m happy. I hang out with my dog. I watch Mad Men and Friday Night Lights. My girlfriends will come up, and we’ll just drink wine on my porch. I’m totally content.

Where do you like to go out to eat? 

My favorite, favorite place to eat is Suzanne’s, but it’s pricey. I always get the same thing there – the sand dabs – it’s amazing. But, of course, I love Farmer and the Cook and Papa Lennon’s. And my favorite place to get an egg sandwich is Knead.

On one hand, you have this sweet and genuine personality, and on the other you smoke and drink and rock unabashedly on stage.

I’m goofy and silly and full of contradictions. There’s sort of a humility that comes with being a Midwesterner that’s ingrained. When I was young I was always like, “Look at me, look at me, I’m gonna sing for you!” I think being a good person and being happy is much more important than everyone thinking that you’re cool.

Do you think your small town roots growing up in Rock Island, Illinois, are what attracted you to Ojai?

Probably. I mean, this is smaller; the town I’m from is 40,000. I was a disgruntled teenager, and my good memories were canoeing on the Great Lakes. I sort of always had this relationship with nature where it was always the place I felt happiest and calmest. I think I was drawn here because of the hikes and the rivers and the mountains.

What are your favorite outdoor spots in Ojai?

I get up in the morning and go for a hike on Shelf. I’ve also been going swimming in this swimming hole I found, and it’s pretty amazing. It’s up the 33 on the side of the road, but I’ve been joking that I’m going to try to keep it a secret.

What makes Ojai special?

I noticed when I moved here three years ago that there’s definitely a vibe that they want to keep the riff-raff out. Just this past year there’s a lot more musicians coming up, and I feel like now I’m one of those people that’s like, “Hey, I found it first, it’s mine,” kind of like the swimming hole! I don’t want to feel like I’m in LA.

How has living in Ojai affected your songwriting process?

The first song I did write here three years ago came to me in two minutes. It’s a song called “Bully.” I had just come out of this hard time. I was being so hard on myself, and I was so sad, and my parents were worried about me. I used to just write a song all at once, and it was good enough. But now that I am in a position where people are actually really hearing my songs, it’s changed how I’ve written in general because I’m a little bit harder on myself. There really is a craft to writing. You really want it to build and pull and push in these ways so when the chorus comes in everyone is like, “Oh, that’s so rewarding!” It’s one thing when songs just come out, but there’s other times where you really are crafting a song and it becomes a bit more like a puzzle.

At The Village Jester, you debuted your newest song, “I Bet on You,” a heart-wrenching break-up song, which had such powerful raw emotion, it made me sad, too.

I just couldn’t handle how sad I was, but I worked through it. This cycle of writing has been interesting and it’s helped me prove my mettle a bit as a writer where I’m using more of my memory to write. I don’t actually have to be heartbroken to write about heartbreak. Now I can write about it as an observer as opposed to actually going through it, which is nice. I’m sorry it made you sad, but it’s nice (to know) when stuff makes you feel.

What’s it like to be the only woman backed by an all-male band?

It’s kind of nice being the only girl around a bunch of guys because it sort of gives me a bit of independence where I can engage, but I can also sort of disengage and do my own thing. I’m kind of a little bit of a loner, so it’s nice ‘cause there’s not that sensitivity to not wanting to do everything with them all the time. They are so sweet to me. And they are really talented. They’ve helped form my sound. I think it’s gone more in a rock direction because live that’s where I want to take it, and I want the next record to feel live. You don’t need a lot of fancy bells and whistles, just straight forward music, guitars, turn up the amp, put a little distortion on there and grit, and dirty it up.

Where are you when you are not in Ojai and not on tour?

I’m signed in the U.K. - my business runs out of London - so I go there every other month. I do a lot of co-writing, and I go between Nashville, the U.K. and getting people to come stay (in Ojai).

What’s your connection to photographer Guy Webster? 

“He’s probably one of the first people I met around here. He’s just so excited and in the mix. He’s so supportive of young artists. He shot the Mamas and the Papas album cover, and I have those records from my parents, and he signed them! He’s so accomplished but he’s so nice.

What’s next for you?

I have to go out on tour again in the fall and I won’t be around here a whole lot, but this is where I always come back to. I love living here. I like staying low key. I think people here are really friendly. It’s definitely a place I came to heal and never left. Hopefully this will be my home for a long time.

For more about this rising star, visit her Web site at www.Lissie.com. 

Ojai Madrigali

Finding the Holiday Spirit with Voices from Christmas Past

I remember my first holiday season in Ojai, thinking that because the nearest mall is more than 25 miles away, I’d need to do all of my Christmas shopping “in town” or on the internet.  On a lark, and mostly because I had an unfinished shopping list and time was not on my side, I ventured into Ojai’s village center.  I was struck by all of the festive decorations, the sophisticated shops, the slight chill in the air, the dusting of snow on the Topa Topa’s and the sound of Christmas filling the air.

I strolled down the arcade to find where the sound was coming from.  There were no instruments, just lovely voices singing ancient verses that reminded me of Dickens.  I don’t know why, because who knows what sort of soundtrack would accompany Dickens, but if it did, it would sound like this.  Warm and lilting and charming and lovely.  And from another time.  It felt nostalgic.

I found my way to a breezeway off the arcade where a small crowd had gathered into a circle.  In the center was a group of carolers in full renaissance regalia, trumpeting a cappella.  The breezeway offered the perfect acoustics for their harmony.  The costumes were fancy; ladies in full-length velvet and cinched corsets and gentlemen in knickers and fancy feathered hats.  They were animated and jolly and having as much fun as their enchanted audience. 

Soon we were on the move, making our way down the arcade, stopping every now and then.  Along the way I picked up a set of painted coasters at Kindred Spirit, a soft scarf with matching gloves at Rains and scented monogrammed soaps at Kava Gifts.  With my Christmas gift list almost complete, the last stop took us to Rainbow Bridge for a hot cup of soup and more carols; a perfect end to a relaxing and entertaining afternoon of Christmas shopping free from the hectic pace and frantic crowds of the mall.

The Madrigali Renaissance Voices have been entertaining Ojaians and visitors alike since 1989.  Jaye Hersh came to Ojai from Lubbock Texas and founded the group when she became involved with the Ojai Shakespeare Festival her first summer here.  Originally meant to entertain the audience during festival intermissions, the group quickly gained in popularity and was soon getting gigs left and right.  And then people started calling them to sing holiday carols.

“We only sing music written before 1650,” says Hersh, who was a music major in college.  Through her work with the Shakespeare Festival, she recalls, “

I ended up over the years becoming a de facto specialist in Shakespeare music.”

Much of Madrigali’s music is based on song texts from Shakespeare’s plays.  “We have no idea what it actually sounded like,” says Hersh, explaining that all notated music of that era was written exclusively for the church.  Secular music that was created for pure entertainment typically deviated from the church’s music and was therefore considered sacrilegious.  Because it wasn’t notated, this music was essentially lost during the Baroque period and buried for about 300 years until choir directors in the twenties and thirties brought it back, then in the sixties it developed a following.

Hersh wanted to bring the music to life, so she sat with a colleague at a piano to come up with melodies to accompany Shakespeare’s song texts.  Now they have over 100 songs in their repertoire, all sung in the madrigal style – a term for polyphonic vocal music.

“Madrigal music is incredibly satisfying to the singers,” because, Hersh explains, the music was created in the “spirit of discovery and play, without expectation or requirement.”

After 17 years, Madrigali is 13 members strong and all are local residents living throughout Ventura county.  They have traveled as far as Barcelona, Spain and Sienna, Italy to perform as a group.  In the beginning, their costumes were mostly borrowed and haphazardly put together.  Hersh remembers thinking, “We need to get a look going on!”  Now most of their costumes are handmade with strict adherence to complying with the renaissance period.

During the holiday season, Madrigali typically performs on a for-hire basis for private audiences, but often they will end up in the arcade after a show to entertain passers-by.  This year they are performing at the Ojai Valley Inn on Christmas Eve for guests and restaurant patrons.

For more information or to hire Madrigali, contact Jaye Hersh at 640-MUSE.

Published Winter 2006 in the Ojai Valley Visitors Guide.

Music Columns

Scott Smith (Smitty West), Ojai Songwriters Anonymous

Tony Barnes, Peace Thru Music

Fred Schmitt

Dr. Jass

Myridian

INXS