On his new DVD, Lil' Rev is shown seated with a ukulele, coaxing a big sound from that tiny instrument and finding a measure of complexity in its four short strings.
Along with his DVD, Showpieces With Lil' Rev, the Milwaukee multi-instrumentalist and singer has just published a pair of ukulele instruction books through Hal Leonard. Anyone associating the instrument with the camp of Tiny Tim or Don Ho's Hawaiian lounge will be surprised by the contents. It's the Great American Songbook with folk-blues selections such as "Goodnight Irene" and "We Shall Overcome" next to Elvis' "Love Me Tender," Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" and Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies." The Beatles' "All My Loving" adds a slight British accent.
Rev has always traveled the unpaved roads of American music, exploring the traditions underlying the music that became country and blues and shaped the direction of rock 'n' roll. Among many other things, he produced a traveling show on the unheralded influence of Jews on popular music. Around 15 years ago he made a discovery while playing at Nash's Irish Castle, when a man in the audience handed him a shopworn ukulele. "'If you can fix it, you can have it,' he told me," Rev recalls. "I thought this old instrument would be perfect. I taught myself how to play it."
The instruction manuals he turned to were tattered and unearthed at flea markets and the scratchy recordings he relied on revolved at the speed of 78. Most of the material dated from the 1920s and '30s, when ukulele found its way into country music and touring Hawaiian dance orchestras introduced the exotic instrument across the country.
Rev was in the advance guard of a revival in the long-overlooked instrument. Since the '90s he has traveled the United States, playing before an increasingly intricate network of ukulele clubs and festivals. "A lot of people learning to play have never been successful on any other instrument," Rev says. "Anyone can pick it up. It's very punk in nature."
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Although simplicity is part of its charm, a new generation of players has brought a high degree of technical prowess to the instrument.
At his performance this weekend, marking the publication of his new ukulele instruction books, Rev will be joined by a couple of other ukulele players specializing in old-time Americana, Aaron Baer and John Nicholson. "It's a fund-raiser for a dream of mine," Rev says. "I want to hold a ukulele festival next year in Milwaukee." The date has been set for Sept. 26 and a roster of nationally respected musicians has been assembled, including Victoria Vox, The Heftones and the Boulder Acoustic Society. All that remains is finding a venue and raising enough money to pay the artists.
"Many people don't believe you can make real music on it," Rev says of the ukulele. "But once you put it in your hands, it becomes the most intimate musical experience. It's like holding a baby-you can't put it down!"
Lil' Rev and friends will perform from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14, at ComedySportz.
