jamesclark.com

What is this… a blog update?! Could it be??? Yes, after many months I finally have something new to say.

Here’s a little something I want to share with you. I put this video together for a video contest.

Speaking of contests… Back in January, I entered (and won) a contest where the challenge was to write ukulele-themed limericks. I wrote several obscene ones that I was rather proud of, but this was my winning entry:

There once was a cat named Bailey
Who learned how to play ukulele.
He never chased rats
Like all other cats;
He preferred to caterwaul daily.

But the cat was kind of a putz.
And his cat friends thought he was nuts.
Did he know how they made
The strings that he played?
‘Cuz they came from a relative’s guts!

That is all.

For a couple more weeks you can get my debut album “Ukulele Jim’s Authentic Down Home Marital Aid” for whatever you want to pay for it, even if you don’t want to pay anything at all. That’s right, folks… free. Why am I doing this? Well, you can read about it here.

My new album comes out next month. Keep an eye out for it, won’t you?

It’s been a while since my last update. I really need to get on the ball and post more often, but I’ve reduced much of my blogging to the occasional Twitter twatting. Anyway, here’s what’s up with me.

COMICS UPDATE: Comic Con was last month. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the Eisner award, but it was still really cool being nominated and attending the award ceremony. Dave blogged about it here. I had a lot of fun at the show, hung out with the family, went to Sea World, and just generally enjoyed San Diego.

Oh, and while I was at the show, I discovered a comic called Super Siblings which has a lead character named James Clark who looks just like me circa 2002. Like me, the character has a wife and two kids — a boy and a girl — and his dad even looks like mine. And he acts kinda like me, too.

It’s both eerie and cool to see myself in a comic book, especially since the comic’s creator Patrick Scullen and I had never heard of each other before. Weird.

MUSIC UPDATE: I’m about 90% done working on my album of children’s music, and maybe 80% done on my second rock/pop album. I’m hoping to finish up a bunch of those tracks in time to have a demo CD together for when I perform in LA next month. You can read about that here.

OTHER STUFF: My kids turn five this month. FIVE! Where did the time go??

I’ll try to get back in the habit of writing more often, in case anyone actually reads this thing.

(It didn’t work.)

More inspiration from Mindy Gledhill. This time it’s a chance to win $50 and a free CD! Read on.

What I’m trying to do is formulate my “perfect pitch”, a phrase or slogan that describes my music in an appealing way. Below I’ve listed several adjectives in an attempt to reveal all the feelings and vibes that I am trying to create with my music:

* bright
* quirky
* light-hearted
* fun
* jovial
* emotive
* catchy
* uplifting
* nostalgic
* energetic
* hopeful

Now, let’s look at my other lists.

Singers I sound like. You said: Don McLean, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, Jack Johnson, James Taylor, Tom Waits, Paul Simon, John Denver, Ghostwriter, Buddy Holly, Chris Isaac, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson.

Here are some of my influences:

* Author and book: Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere.
* Film: A mostly unknown movie Fandango starring Kevin Costner.
* Composers: Vivaldi, Debussy, Mozart.
* Growing up: The Beatles, John Denver, Jim Croce, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt.
* As a teen: Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor, John Lee Hooker, The Police.
* Currently: Mike Doughty, Jake Shimabukuro, Marcy Playground, The Beatles, Glen Phillips, Cake, Jack Johnson, Colin Hay, Rocky Votolato, Gomez.
* Poets: Charles Bukowski, ee cummings.
* Painters: Mostly contemporaries like Jeffrey Jones, Kent Williams, George Pratt.

Using these lists only as a guide, I am inviting you to have a stab at writing my pitch. If I use yours, I will send you $50 and a free copy of my album, “Ukulele Jim’s Authentic Down Home Marital Aid.” Remember, this is short and sweet. Your pitch must be posted by 10:00 p.m. MST, on Sunday night February 28.

Some examples of artist pitches are:

Mindy Gledhill – “Music that recalls the sweetness of Ingrid Michaelson and the quirk of Regina Spektor, Mindy Gledhill will leave you floating like a scoop of vanilla cream in a strawberry soda.”

John Taglieri – “If Vertical Horizon and Third Eye Blind got hit by Train!”

Devil Doll – “Jessica Rabbit meets Joan Jett.”

My music can be sampled here: http://ukulelejim.bandcamp.com

Don’t hold back. All ideas are welcome! Entries must be posted in the comments section below. Ready, set, GO. And thanks!