Shawn Fogel to Uke it up in Roger Greenawalt’s Beatles Complete on Ukulele January 15th

You never know when a ukulele will come in handy. It’s a good thing Shawn Fogel (Golden Bloom, Neutral Uke Hotel) plays a mean one, because he’ll be putting it to good use as he takes part in Roger Greenwalt’s The Beatles Complete on Ukulele January 15^th at Brooklyn Bowl. The event, spanning two days, will feature Greenwalt and a host of special guests playing every single Beatles song on ukulele. This year, guests include The Zambonis, and Nellie McKay. Last year’s shows featured guest appearances from, Ryan Miller of Guster, Adam Green, The Pierces, and Ben Kweller.

Shawn Fogel is officially in the ukulele camp, as evidenced by his recent project Neutral Uke Hotel. The band played Neutral Milk Hotel’s beloved In the Aeroplane Over the Sea live to packed rooms of singing, stomping fans all over the country. Fogel says of this project, “It’s one of my favorite records ever, and the album doesn’t just have fans. The people who love that album are obsessed with it…. The goal of the project: [is] to strip these songs down and get people in a room to share their love for this album.

Last year was a big year for Shawn Fogel, who joined the likes of Ben Kweller and Guster's Ryan Miller in Brooklyn and at SXSW and played sold out Neutral Uke Hotel shows across the country. His project, Golden Bloom, is currently in the studio recording the follow up to Fan the Flames (2009); shooting for a release this year. He’s already tracking songs with Ryan Ball and plans to work with producer Peter Katis again.

Roger Greenwalt’s The Beatles Complete on Ukulele
Saturday, January 15th
Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn, NY
http://www.brooklynbowl.com
Doors 6pm
Show 6pm
$10 (http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/24861)
21+
With: The Zambonis, Nellie McKay and many more surprise guests

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The Other Side with Producer Roger Greenawalt

Hailing from the mean streets of Washington D.C., Roger Greenawalt migrated up to New York City before launching his career as a record producer and audio engineer in 1983. Over the past two decades, in between producing records for The Pierces, John Moran, and Radish, to name a few, Roger also managed to discover and record albums for indie darling Ben Kweller and the fiery-haired pop singer Colleen Fitzpatrick, better known as Vitamin C. Although the musician at heart plays over twelve instruments, including guitar (acoustic, electric, and pedal steel), drums, bass, banjo, mandolin, and keyboard, he is best known for recording the on-going project Beatles Complete On Ukulele, in which Roger is tackling the feat of re-recording all 185 original Beatles songs with 185 different artists. Every Tuesday for 185 consecutive weeks from January 20, 2009 until July 24, 2012, Roger releases one new Beatles cover accompanied with a personal essay on his website: Beatlescompleteonukulele.com.

We managed to track down Roger Greenawalt (who you can see pictured here with The Pierces and friends) in between recording sessions to find out what it’s like to be on the other side:

1. How would you describe your role as a producer?

To set the standard [for a] masterpiece and lend my utter confidence so [the artist and I] can create that masterpiece. I also want to make something as formally innovative as possible, while still being of service to the people. I still believe in grooves and hooks.

2. How long have you been producing?

My first production was in 1983. I’ve been a full-time producer since 1987.

3. What are some of the most noteworthy albums you've produced in the past?

The Pierces' Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge, John Moran's The Manson Family - An Opera, and Radish's Restraining Bolt. I also discovered Ben Kweller and Colleen Fitzpatrick (Vitamin C).

4. What projects/bands are you currently working with?

In July 2010 alone, I’ve worked with The Pierces, Alison Clancy, Lovely Liar, Julie Kathryn, Thinking In Pictures, Jonah Smith, Leah Siegel, Craig Greenberg, Cowboy And Indian, and Todd Carter.

5. Do you typically work out of one studio or do you go where a band needs you?

I work mainly out of my own [studio], but I will travel.

6.How do you know if you, as a producer, are a good match for a band?

I just need one crucial element: there must be a star in the band. Without a star, I don’t care.

7. What’s the best piece of advice you’d give a band that thinks they’re ready to record?

Build a business team. Art floats in an ocean of fame and money, so [an artist] needs to know and understand culture.

8. How does being a musician help with producing?

It is not possible to be a producer if you are not a musician, because only a musician can produce records. Anything else is executive production. If you don’t know music, the orchestra, or the history of jazz/pop/audio recording, you are throwing darts in the wind.

9. What’s your favorite thing about producing?

Listening to a brand new masterpiece over and over again with the people you just made it with.

10. What’s your least favorite thing about producing?

Philistines, amateurs, and cowards.

11. What instruments do you play?

Expert Level: Guitar, Ukulele, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Lap Steel

Proficient: Drums, Percussion, Keys, Pedal Steel, Programming

Best In The World: The Recording Studio, The Internet

12. In addition to the music you are working on, what current albums have you been listening to lately?

I’m currently listening to Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti on vinyl, medieval chant, and female vocalists. I often listen to NPR and WFUV, especially The Trevor Wilkins’ “World’s Greatest Calypso Radio Show” on Friday and Saturday nights. I’m also into Woody Guthrie, because I just read the Joe Klein biography. I also like The National, I recently went to see them [live] and they were awesome.

The Other Side highlights the talented and very important folks behind the scenes of the music we listen to, featuring producers, engineers, booking agents, photographers, radio DJs, management teams, and label representatives.

This week’s The Other Side is brought to you by: Lauren Roberts

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Neutral Milk Hotel Gets Uked

Always better than getting nuked, Neutral Milk Hotel will get uked when  Golden Bloom’s Shawn Fogel takes his show on the road with his latest project, Neutral Uke Hotel. It’s exactly what you think it is, Neutral Milk Hotel music played entirely on the ukulele. To be more precise, Fogel has arranged Neutral Milk Hotel’s 1998 iconic indie album In The Aeroplane Over the Sea into a collection of classic contemporary indie pop songs that he plays on ukulele.
This interesting idea came after Fogel worked with producer Roger Greenawalt's "Beatles Complete on Ukulele" project. Fogel explains, “After recording a version of the Beatles’ B-side ‘I'll Get You’ with Roger at his Shabby Road Studios, I performed with Golden Bloom, Guster's Ryan Miller, The Zambonis and Leah Siegel at the 2nd Annual Beatles Complete on Ukulele Festival held at Brooklyn Bowl this past December,” says Fogel. In March Fogel went to SXSW in Austin to play The Beatles Complete on Ukulele Festival alongside other artists including Ben Kweller.

“Inspired by Greenawalt's successful merging of one of the biggest bands in the world with one of the smallest instruments in the world, I decided to use the uke to tackle another major influence of indie musicians across the world: Neutral Milk Hotel.”

While additional shows are being confirmed for this summer, Boston fans can get a sneak peak when Fogel plays these nuggets on Friday, May 7 at the Arts at the Armory in Somerville. Click Here to Read More..

The Beatles Ukulele Style at SXSW

The Beatles are a bit of an inspiration for us--or at least the bands we choose to work with. Truth be told, I'm a sucker for a great pop melody. That said, it seems inevitable that Golden Bloom's Shawn Fogel would participate in the Beatles on Ukulele Party at SXSW this year. And with his good-natured soul being what it is, the multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire stepped in to help the Beatles cover band, The Eggmen, on drums--that is when he wasn't playing the front man for one of The Beatles 180 songs in the catalog. Austin's KXAN offers just a sneak peak of what you could expect from this super pop melody fest. Click Here to Read More..

Golden Bloom Plays Beatles on Ukulele Party at SXSW

Golden Bloom will play The Beatles on Ukulele Party at SXSW. The Austin event’s financial beneficiary will be EMI (the past two recipients were Warren Buffett and Yoko Ono). “We just wanted to express our eternal gratitude to EMI for bringing us treasures like The Beatles. Our goal is to help celebrate, not mourn the passing of EMI in these, its final days,” says Beatles on Ukulele co-founder, Roger Greenawalt of the struggling record company. occurring on March 17th and 18th at

The brainchild of producer Roger Greenawalt (Ben Kweller, Nils Lofgren, The Pierces) and David Barratt (Jimmy Page, David Bowie), they set to re-record every Beatles song with a release every week alongside an essay.

Beatles on Ukulele Party

The Patio at Jaime’s

802 Red River Street, Austin, TX 78701-3313

512.476.5149‎

Wednesday March 17 and Thursday March 18

11 AM - 6 PM

Check out Golden Bloom’s cover of The Beatles’ “I’ll Get You” .

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