…and our new “luthier-in-residence”
Every time I think our staff may be complete I get another call–this one from Dennis Lake, a (former) Hawaiian luthier who recently re-located to California. I snapped him up in a heart beat to join us at this year’s West Coast ‘Ukulele Retreat as our master Luthier-in-Residence (though he’d be the first to tell you he doesn’t build lutes).
I met Dennis more than 10 years ago at Aloha Music Camp on Moloka’i, where he guided me through the process of building my first cigar-box ukulele. What an amazing learning experience that was! Since then he has taught luthery and ukulele-building at the Hawai’i Island Ukulele Retreat, where we have the time necessary to build an ukulele from start to finish. But we soon discovered that Dennis’ workshop was like a magnet, it was a favorite place for builders and non-builders, alike, to simply hang-out, talk story, talk ukuleles, repair instruments…… and shoes!
So, we are excited beyond measure to have Dennis Lake (Po Mahina Ukuleles & Guitars) join us at the West Coast ‘Ukulele Retreat this year as our “Luthier-in-Residence.”
Dennis will be on hand, through-out the retreat, to answer questions, tell jokes, make repairs, and at the same time, he will attempt to build a complete cigar-box ukulele for us! He’ll also be available for free consultations, action adjustments, and strap button installations. And, for a small extra fee, he will install pick-ups and replace tuning machines.
Hawai’i’s loss is definitely our gain.
So, if you haven’t signed up yet for this, our seventh, West Coast ‘Ukulele Retreat, you better hurry. Asilomar has just opened up a few more rooms for people from our group, but they are sure to go fast.
Just one-and-a-half months to go!
Hope you can join us.
West Coast 'Ukulele Retreat 