Video: The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra
By Kevin Coughlin
It’s a long way from New Zealand to New Jersey. But Bek Coogan can’t wait to perform in the state where punk rocker Patti Smith grew up.
Wait a minute…what’s a Kiwi with a pink ukulele doing idolizing a Jersey punk queen?
That’s precisely the sort of question the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra aims to answer at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center on March 10, 2016.
“Hopefully, we’ll keep the audience on its toes,” said Coogan, one of eight Orchestra members making the trip. “Expect to hear the unexpected.”
She promised a mix of popular tunes from different decades and genres, served with pint-sized instruments and Pacific-sized heart.
Past shows have included uked-up covers of Justin Timberlake, Dolly Parton, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie and Salt n Pepa, along with traditional tunes from Down Under.
Audiences are invited to sing along if they know the words…and to sing along if they don’t. Also encouraged: Zany attire to rival the band’s.
“My take would be, be yourself, times a thousand. If someone turned up with good outfits to wear, we’d put them on,” said Coogan, a 40-something artist and singer who got hooked about a decade ago as a dishwasher at the Deluxe Cafe.
The Wellington eatery may go down as the Cavern Club of ukulele music. Orchestra co-founders Age Pryor and Bret McKenzie, who later became half of the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, started holding breakfast jam sessions.
It mushroomed from there. Coogan, who played keyboard and some guitar in a band, got herself a cheap soprano ukulele, learned to plink a few chords, and asked for an audition. The Orchestra put her on “probation.”
And there she has remained, through tours of the U.S., China, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“It’s about having a good time, having some fun, and getting people to join that ride,” said Coogan, who teaches and does art projects between trips.
Video: The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra at the Deluxe Café.
Bret McKenzie rarely performs with the orchestra any more. The Morristown gig will feature Pryor, Andy Morley-Hall, Hal Strewe, Stephen Jessup, Megan Hosking, Deanne Krieg, Francis Salole and Coogan. Two others are back home with babies.
Wellies to get helping hands from Greater Morristown ukesters
When Coogan joined the orchestra, the ukulele was regarded as a toy by many music fans.
“People were a bit shy about bringing it out of the bedroom,” she said.
That’s changing, thanks to virtuosos like Jake Shimabukuro and pop stars like Taylor Swift and Eddie Vedder. They have inspired people to rediscover this four-stringed instrument, which made its way to Hawaii from Portugal in the 19th century.
“The power of the ukulele is that it lends itself to lots of levels of skill,” Coogan said. “If you are a good singer, you can play simple strumming. And vice versa. If you’re not so good at singing, you can focus on plucking.
“I feel like it can express a lot of our human-ness. It can be a very joyful instrument. But it also can be a very sad instrument. It represents to me a lot of group singing, tribe-singing. It’s an instrument that can really bring people together, singing, playing, keeping it really simple. It’s really about the music.”
So if you’re reading this, Patti Smith, Bek Coogan would like to get tribal with you.
Bring your buddy Bruce to Morristown, where you can expect the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra to join you for an unexpected interpretation of Because the Night.
The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra comes to the Mayo Performing Arts Center, Thursday, March 10, 2016. Tickets: $19-$49. At 100 South St. Call 973-539-8008.
