ukuDaily Video of the Day 07/16/10

Cough Syrup by Young the Giant, today covered by vphamtastic, known much better here in the US as Vanessa Pham.

Yes, I know. I haven’t been posting many videos lately. It is only half my fault though. I have still be doing my daily journey through all the ukulele videos on YouTube, but there just isn’t that much spectacular new stuff out there, and like I have said before, I will post nothing before I post something lame. All that said, if you post or see something great on YouTube, let me know and I will take a look. I am always looking for interesting stuff to share.

Today, I am featuring a real nice cover of Cough Syrup. Vanessa not only does some real nice uke work (especially the fingerstyle at the beginning), but her vocals are solid as well. It also really helps that she has a glowing smile. This performance made me smile and I hope it does the same for you. Now, on to the interview.

Mike> How long have you been playing the uke?
Vanessa> My aunt bought me my first ukulele two years ago from Maui, and I just couldn’t stop playing it after that. Ever since, I’ve been teaching myself how to play that beautiful instrument.

Mike> What other instruments do you play if any?
Vanessa> I also play acoustic and electric guitar and have recently been trying to teach myself bass.

Mike> Is the ukulele your instrument of choice?
Vanessa> Absolutely. I usually write my own music on the ukulele because it just has this amazing, bright sound.

Mike> How long have you been working on this song before you recorded and uploaded it?
Vanessa> I actually taught myself the riff last month (which took me a full day to learn) and I never bothered to learn the rest of the song until this week.

Mike> What kind of ukulele are you playing?
Vanessa> I play a Lyon concert koa by Washburn.

Mike> How many ukuleles do you own?
Vanessa> I also own a Kohala soprano, which I use for jamming at the beach or lending to friends. It’s one of those cheap beginner ukuleles.

Mike> If money was no object, is there a ukulele you would love to own?
Vanessa> It would be a dream to have a tenor KoAloha.

Mike> Can you tell us a little about your audio and video recording setup? Camera, microphone, software?
Vanessa> Well, every video I’ve had on my channel has been recorded on something different (camcorder, camera, built-in computer camera). However, the featured video is recorded with Panasonic camcorder.

Mike> Thanks so much Vanessa for your great answers and sharing your playing with us.