Have Uke, Will Travel

For Foggy Otis, the ukulele isn't just a novelty

Foggy Otis

Who is Foggy Otis? You’ll find tales floating through the swamps of Jersey, whispered among the gravestones in Sleepy Hollow, or repeated by schoolkids in the aisles of Stew Leonard’s in the Nutmeg State. With a hardscrabble voice and a poet’s tongue, he plays the ukulele. And that’s really all you need to know.

When Life Hands You Lemons, Play The Ukulele is his new album, ten songs of simple wisdom and tuneful melodies about love and life. Some of these go back a while, like “Turnin’ Round,” which you might have heard played on guitar in another place, another time. Others are fairly new.

As a songwriter, Foggy Otis transcends time, drawing from the rich traditions of Tin Pan Alley, the Great American Songbook, and modern pop. He can be humorous or romantic, pained or playful. We chatted with the man behind the legend about his new album.

Q: Tell the world where Foggy Otis came from and how you became interested in the ukulele?

My obsession with the ukulele was the result of a very serious illness. In 2008 I spent four weeks in the hospital in congestive heart failure. My heart was only working at thirteen percent and the prognosis looked quite grim. Depending upon the outcome of a seven hour, quadruple bypass, a heart transplant was on the table. Fortunately the bypass worked but it came at a price. An artery for my heart was harvested from my left wrist, leaving me with numbness from my wrist through my thumb and index finger. Back then I was a guitar playing songwriter. The numbness and pain made it impossible for me to play guitar anymore. I attempted it for about two years but it was excruciating. Then I picked up a cheap ukulele I had around the house and it didn’t hurt as much to make a few chord shapes. Having practically lost the ability to make music, I welcomed the uke into my life.

Q: While performers like Jake Shimabukuro and Travels With Brindle have introduced the uke to the worlds of alternative rock and pop, most people think of the uke in connection with novelty acts like Tiny Tim. How is that changing and why should it change?

I actually like that most people think of the ukulele as a novelty instrument. It plays in my favor whenever I perform for new audiences. I’ve heard the collective groan from the room more than a few times when I’ve walked out onstage, uke in hand. There’s nothing more fun than going from groan to gasp in about 30 seconds, heck, my silly name plays right into it!

Q: I know you’ve been doing a deep dive in the ukulele sub-culture, what’s lurking beneath the surface that the general rock listener wouldn’t be aware of?

You know, I would LOVE to be a part of that ukulele sub-culture but my attempts have fallen on deaf ears for so long now that I’ve given up. I’ve even had articles published in Ukulele magazine and produced tutorial videos for their website and YouTube channel but whenever I’ve reached out to festival organizers, folks for press, etc, they don’t even respond. Hell, the one response I did receive from a local festival was downright rude! (LOL) I HAVE met a number of really cool ukulele people on Facebook though. I belong to a public group called Ukulele Lovers that’s really well moderated and filled with positivity, they’re my sub-culture! I recommend it to all of my uke-playing friends

Q: Some of these songs go back a bit and some are fairly new. What’s your songwriting process like and what do you hope listeners glean from this collection of songs?

Well, this record is a new beginning for me, a re-invention if you will. It’s my first “ukulele” album and I though it would be fun to add in a song from my previous life as a guitarist, re-arranged for uke. I chose to update the title track from Boxcar Nancy’s 2004 album, Turning ‘Round. (Available for download at foggyotisuke.com) I always felt the song was incomplete so I took the opportunity to “finish” it twenty-one years later and include it here. The rest of the songs span my entire time as an ukulele player, skewing towards more recent times. A new song usually starts out on ukulele, a riff, a few chords. The words often develop simultaneously. The closing song on the album, “Keep Holding On” was an exception. The lyrics guided that song’s direction from the opening line- “An eye for an eye makes everyone blind.” It’s my favorite song on the record. As evident by the album’s packaging! When life hands you lemons, play the ukulele is a record filled with love and hope and optimism.

Q: The music teacher at the elementary school where I sub teaches ukulele to her students. It’s often dismissed as an “easy” instrument to learn how to play. What’s been the most difficult aspect of the ukulele for you to master?

Remember the game Othello? Right on the box, under the name it said- “a minute to master… a lifetime to learn.” That’s a great description of learning ukulele! With zero musical knowledge, a person can absolutely play a simple song during their first class. My go-to song for this is “Coconut” by the late Harry Nilsson, one finger is all you need! For me, the most difficult thing is still coping with my left hand. One really helpful strategy has been to lower my ukulele’s tuning, this relieves some of the string tension, helping me cut back on fatigue

Q: What advice would you give someone, young or old, who’d like to pick up the instrument? What should a beginner’s uke cost? (feel free to share your online lessons, magazine articles, etc here!)

Do it! Ukuleles are generally inexpensive. Good quality beginner instruments that stay in tune can be found for about $75. For uke-curious folks in Connecticut, I offer private instruction. I also teach two group classes here, one at the Milford Senior Center and another at the Orange Senior Center. Visit foggyotisuke.com for more info. My web site is also a good starting point to check out a few of my tutorial videos. My YouTube channel (@FoggyOtis) currently has about 600 videos up there, all sorts of neat stuff- lessons, performance videos, reviews, short films, please subscribe, comment and share, I really appreciate it!

Q: Please let people know where you’ll be performing, how to find you online, and where to purchase the CD, plus anything else you’d like to plug.

My friends host a weekly open mic at Randall’s in West Haven, CT on Thursdays. I can be found there most weeks, schedule permitting. It’s a really friendly, relaxed atmosphere, hosted by The 34s. Half my record took shape at Randall’s over the past year or so.

I’ve got a Facebook livestream coming up on Tuesday, July 22: Two For Tuesday, hosted by Dave Vargo, at 7 p.m. I’ll be back home in Jersey on Saturday, September 27 for another Asbury Park Porchfest. I really enjoy this festival, especially seeing some familiar faces throughout the day.

Check out the Shows page on my website for regular updates, more CT shows in the works. My new album, When Life Hands You Lemons, Play the Ukulele, is available on CD as a download and there’s even an accompanying songbook, all available at foggyotisuke.com.

The album drops on Amazon and Apple on July 16. CDs are available at all of my shows. The record is not streaming on Spotify but it does stream free on my YouTube channel.

Uke on!