Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada

Nearly two years ago now I decided to start noodling around on ukulele and enlisted the assistance of my friend Ralph Shaw to help me pick out an instrument that would stay in tune and be a good place to get started… He suggested the Flea Soprano Ukulele put out by Flea Market Music and upon visiting their website and checking out the various styles I opted for the Pineapple model… Just seamed to suit my personality. 

I spend months noodling on my new Uke before I ever ventured out for a public performance and was lucky to have the Vancouver Ukulele Circle as my first audience. The Ukulele Circle has a policy to give you a standing ovation for your first public performance which was really a wonderful boost given how nervous I was when I stepped up on stage.

I couldn’t believe how scared I was to attempt a song on my ukulele in front of an audience. I rarely ever feel nervous about stepping on stage to do my comedy juggling show, but there was just something nerve-racking about being on stage with a prop that I had no history with. Thankfully I survived the performance, received a standing ovation and continue to plug away on other songs that I may be able to work up enough to perform. 

I’ve just returned home from a contract aboard the GRAND Princess and am pleased to report that I summoned the courage to try putting a couple of songs into my performance while aboard ship and the audience really seemed to enjoy my musical performances which was both remarkable and a huge relief… 

I read something once that suggested that the chemical reaction that happens in your body when you get scared and the one that happens when you get excited are virtually the same… It’s one thing to intellectualize this, but it’s another thing completely to get over a case of the nerves when you try something new out on stage. Going with what you know is by far the easiest thing to do, but my experience with pushing myself beyond my comfort-zone was that it made me feel somehow more alive and this was where my fear turned into excitement.

It’s often not easy to take this sort of leap of faith, but I highly recommend it when ever you get the chance.

.