Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings (2012) - full transcript

[ Ukulele playing ]

[ Tempo increases ]

JAKE: This is my second show
for this West Coast tour.

We have a show pretty much every day.

We're just kind of
working our way up the coast.

All of this is pretty new to me,
so, it's, um...

Sometimes I see, like, my name
on a billboard or something.

You know, it just kind of trips me out.

It's really incredible,
if you think about it --

I mean, especially for a solo
ukulele player from Hawaii.

Never in my wildest dreams did
I ever think that I'd be here.



[ Cheers and applause ]

[ Ukulele playing ]

[ Pitch rising ]

[ Cheers and applause ]

[ Mid-tempo ukulele music plays ]

I remember when I was
in elementary school,

I used to think, "Oh, man,
my last name's so long.

"No one's gonna ever remember my last name

or know how to spell it."

Shima... buka -- bukuro.

Jake "Shimabuko."

That's close.

So, this is Madeira High School?

No! No!
No! No!



Traditionally, the ukulele
has been known to --

You know, you play Hawaiian music with it,

which sounds kind of like this.

[ Mid-tempo ukulele music plays ]

But you can play more than just
Hawaiian music with the ukulele.

You can play blues.

[ Blues music plays ]

You can play rock 'n' roll.

[ Rock music plays ]

You can play classical music.

[ Beethoven's "Fur Elise" plays ]

And, you know, now,
because I play the ukulele,

I get to travel all around the world.

I've been to places
like Japan, Australia, Canada...

San Diego?

Yes, I've even been to San Diego.

[ Laughter ]

I've been playing the ukulele
since I was 4 years old.

4 years old.
That's right.

That's 10 years ago.

Both my parents love music.

My mom -- not only was she
my first ukulele teacher,

but my mom is an excellent singer.

We call her the karaoke queen.

When I used to play the ukulele,

Jake always wanted to play the ukulele.

He wanted to always think it was a toy.

But I didn't let him play it
till 4 years old,

until his fingers could reach the chord.

So that's when we started having
our lessons.

[ Soft ukulele music plays ]

JAKE: I remember the first time
she put it in my hands,

I was just mesmerized
by the sound of the instrument.

Every time I played the ukulele
or I heard it,

I just felt so at peace.

It just brought me home.

[ Ukulele music continues ]

The divorce of my parents was --

was quite difficult, you know,
for -- for me.

I mean, I think I was very confused.

I was in the 6th grade, and
my brother was in the 1st grade.

When my mom told me that
they were getting divorced,

I didn't know what that meant.

I think Jake took it
a little harder than I did.

CAROL:
Jake was really quiet.

You know, he didn't say much.

When he stressed at school, when
he's going through depression,

the ukulele was his release.

That's why he would lock himself
in the room,

and he would just play.

[ Ukulele music continues ]

I just played.

It wasn't practice.
I just played.

After my parents got divorced,

my mom, she was working all the time,

and she worked in the bars

to support me and my younger brother,

and I was always kind of
taking care of him,

making sure he did his homework
and would eat dinner

and go to bed on time.

Almost felt like
he was almost like my son.

I mean, my mom will always tell me today,

"Sorry you didn't have a
childhood growing up," you know.

But I don't feel like I missed
out on anything, you know?

I haven't been here in --

So, you were raised here?
Yeah.

In fact, we used to live in
one of the apartments up there.

I mean, it looks so different.

They redid all the --
all the houses.

So, what you doing over here?

I thought you lived mainland.

No, no, I still live in Hawaii.

But I'm gone 9 or 10 months
out of the year.

Nice to meet you.

What's up, man?
You guys like ukulele?

Yeah?

Oh, is it okay if I play a song
for you guys?

All right, all right, here we go.

You want me to go as fast as I can go?

Yeah.
Okay.

This much.
That much?

Okay. You ready?
You ready?

[ Up-tempo ukulele music plays ]

Oh, yeah!

Faster.
Faster! Oh!

When I was your age,

I used to run around over here
all the time

and play my ukulele.

Yeah.

Over here?
Mm-hmm.

Who wants to play my ukulele?

Me.
No!

Yeah?
You want to play it?

He's too young.

How old are you?
4.

I was 4 years old when I started
playing the ukulele.

Really?

Yeah, I was your age.
Uh-huh.

JAKE:
This is like 30 years later.

It's almost like reconnecting
with myself again

when I was their age.

When my mom was working, I would
always be playing the ukulele

'cause it would remind me of her.

Whenever I played the ukulele,

it was like she was home with us,

and I think, as I got older,

putting more time and energy
into playing the ukulele

helped to make up for some of that time

that I didn't get to spend
with my mom when I was a kid.

I remember coming home from the bar

like 2:00, 2:30 in the morning.

And, you know, I would just
throw my tips in my purse

and then...

I can't remember if Jake was 13, 14.

Maybe 13.

But I would come home, and he
would be waiting up for me.

The brother would be sleeping.

And I would turn over my purse.

I'd go, "Oh, this is how much
I made tonight."

And he would know what I have to
pay, and we'd count the money.

I remember, one night, he said,
"Oh, Mom, you got $50 extra.

What you gonna do with that?"

I said, "What you want to do?"

I remember he said to me, he said,

"Mom, one day, I'm going to do so good,

you won't need to work anymore."

Being a mother, you say, "Oh, that's cute.

Oh, so touching,"

but you would never think
it would come true.

[ "Bohemian Rhapsody" plays ]

MAN: Welcome to
another amazing day at Google,

and today is particularly amazing

since we have Jake here for
a Musicians@Google performance.

The way that I see the ukulele

is because it has such a small range

and it's only four strings,

I find a lot of power in that

because then it challenges me

to really expand
on the other aspects of music.

I never saw the limitations

as something that would hold me back.

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

Thanks a lot.

My whole life,

I always wanted
a Kamaka four-string tenor.

That was, like, the Excalibur of ukuleles.

But they were the most expensive.

[ Tapping ]

This kid, it was his in high school.

You know, so he's maybe
15 or 16 years old.

Keeps calling in,
wants this uke made for him.

He wanted something fancy.

And I'm like, "Really?
Who is this kid?"

I'd say, "Who is he?"

You know, he had glasses.

He wasn't as in shape
as he is now, you know?

[ Laughing ]

So he just kind of looked
like the kid down the street.

Then I heard him play,
and I was just like...

[ Laughs ]
"This is Jake?"

I said, "Wow."
I was amazed.

[ Mid-tempo ukulele music plays ]

At that point, I just told him,

I said, "I'll make whatever ukes
you want me to make for you,"

after that.

JAKE: So, right when I graduated
high school,

I started working at this music store,

and it was called House of Music.

While I was working at
the House of Music, I met Jon.

He had a really unique singing voice.

And then I met Lopaka,

who worked at House of Music with me,

and he was a brilliant percussionist.

We actually started playing
together, I think, in '94,

and we formed a band called Pure Heart.

* Did I ever say

* How I feel about you?

* And did I never find...

JAKE: We'd go to these
different places,

and we'd say, "Hey, can we play
in your restaurant?"

And they'd be like, "Oh,
you have to bring a demo tape,"

and at the time,

my former ukulele teacher
started up a record label.

I wanted to record an album
of all of my students.

I asked Jake, "You want to be
a part of this thing?"

He said, "Yeah,
but can I bring my band?"

JAKE: We kept thinking,
"Oh, this is great,

"because now we'll have
a high-quality demo tape

that we can present to
all these restaurants and clubs

that we wanted to play at."

MAN: Ladies and gentlemen,
in studio with me right now

the brothers of Pure Heart!

JAKE: I remember the day
that the album was released,

a lot of the local radio stations

kind of supported the album,

and they played
the entire record on the radio.

* I just saw you there

* And with just one stare

* You broke my heart in two

* Now I'm not the same

* I'm a bit insane

* All in love for you

CAROL: When that CD came out,
I'd run out to Tower Records.

I would buy five, whatever I could afford,

and I would give it out free to everybody.

JAKE: We started doing
our own concerts

and doing these bigger venues,

and I think that's when it all
kind of started.

I thought, "Wow."
You know...

"I really want to do music."

[ Ukulele solo ]

I looked at almost as like it was a sport.

When I would get up on stage
to play, it was like game time.

[ Up-tempo ukulele playing ]

[ Cheering ]

In that single moment,

you just feel so connected
with everything around you,

physically, mentally, spiritually.

You feel like you're doing the one thing

that you're supposed to be doing
at that moment.

It was almost impossible to sit
in the audience

and not be drawn to this --

I mean, this phenom of a ukulele player.

His destiny was, at that point,
starting to become apparent.

I could finally start to see
where his vision was.

This guy actually believes,
somehow, in his head,

that this ukulele is something
that could take him worldwide.

[ "Crazy Words, Crazy Tunes" plays ]

* There's a guy
I'd like to kill *

* And if he doesn't stop,
I will *

* Got a ukulele and a voice
that's loud and shrill *

JAKE:
Outside of Hawaii,

people didn't take
the instrument seriously.

You had guys like Tiny Tim

playing "Tiptoe Through
the Tulips."

It locked people into this certain image

of the kind of music
that it could produce.

[ "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" plays ]

* Oh, tiptoe
through the window *

* By the window,
that is where I'll be *

* Come tiptoe through the tulips
with me *

KAMAKA: It's more like a gimmick --
a gimmick instrument.

We never played it like that in Hawaii.

We've never heard it played like that.

So it kind of hit me inside

because we don't make gimmick instruments.

In my mind, we make musical instruments.

MAN:
Jake Shimabukuro!

JAKE: In Hawaii, we've always
respected the instrument.

You know, it was a big part
of our culture and still is.

I have to be truthful.

One of the best is my husband,
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

Moon Kauakahi.

We have Jake Shimabukuro.

For my grandchildren,

they like the contemporary music,

but for me, it's also very important

that they learn the traditional,

to know your roots,
know where you come from.

[ Singing in Hawaiian ]

JAKE:
I started out playing

a lot of traditional Hawaiian music.

That's my foundation.

But as far as ukulele players
go, Eddie Kamae was the best.

He was the first ukulele virtuoso.

He was the one who made it all possible.

[ Singing in Hawaiian ]

Back then, he was playing,
like, jazz standards

and Spanish guitar pieces but on ukulele.

That's when I think that little
light bulb went off in my head,

and I realized that, "Wow.

"I didn't just have to listen
to ukulele music.

I could play a jazz standard
or a pop song."

[ Mid-tempo music plays ]

[ Tempo increases ]

[ Finale plays ]

MAN: You just finished
your Japan tour.

How was it this time?

I wanted to really convey my appreciation

to the Japanese audience here.

I've been touring here for nine years.

I just appreciate them accepting me.

So, this verse over here
is actually this verse up here,

and this second verse is the one on --

Okay. I see.

[ Ukulele playing ]

[ Kaz humming ]

Yeah.
Right?

I don't know.
I'm just following you.

Kaz and I have been working
together for about 12 years.

KAZ: I'm originally from Japan,
a city called Sendai.

And I moved to Hawaii in 1992.

JAKE:
When I met Kaz,

she really believed in what I was doing,

and she said she wants to help me.

Back then, there was no such thing

as a touring solo ukulele player
who doesn't sing.

Because of her confidence in me,

it gave me the courage
to make a solo career.

I had no idea where this was gonna go.

All I knew was that I needed
someone that I could trust

and worked very, very hard.

KAZ: Coming from a totally
different background,

different culture,

I guess Jake and I clicked.

JAKE: She basically
did everything for me --

answering all the e-mails
and making all the phone calls.

You know, even doing my laundry

and ironing my clothes sometimes.

One of the first times
I went to Japan with Kaz,

we went to her hometown,
and she showed me around,

took me to a lot of places
from when she was a kid,

some of her favorite restaurants.

It's a special -- We're having
a special night for Kazusa

'cause it's her birthday.

[ Cheers and applause ]

TERADA: Kaz had set up
a showcase in Japan.

She had called
all these major record labels,

which is unheard of.

You don't just say,

"Hey, can you guys come down
and watch this guy play?"

JAKE: They never signed
a ukulele player before.

I remember just feeling the pressures

of trying to write some original songs.

So I went out and I bought
an electric guitar,

and all I did was sit
with that electric guitar

and I just strummed chords.

I started hearing different things,

a different kind of melody.

And then I remember picking up my ukulele

and then trying to find
that melody on the ukulele

and figuring out how to play it.

I wanted to take a lick like...

[ Ukulele strumming ]

...you know,
and really make it sing.

[ Electric ukulele strumming ]

So, the first two songs that I
wrote for my very first solo CD

was written on an electric guitar.

[ Up-tempo ukulele playing ]

Back then, all I wanted to do
was play everything

as fast as I could.

[ Tempo increases ]

I started looking into distortion pedals

and different amplifiers --

you know, all of these different things

to kind of change
the sound of the instrument.

[ Ukulele playing continues ]

Now that I look back,

I realize that I was walking
a very fine line

between being a little
disrespectful to the instrument.

I was trying to make the ukulele
something else.

And I remember being very insecure

without having all my effects with me.

I was like, "Well, hey,

"if I want to manipulate
the sound of my instrument,

"I'm gonna do it with my hands.

I'm not gonna do it
electronically."

[ High-pitched ukulele strumming ]

And once I committed to that path,

the way that I approached music changed.

It wasn't just about trying to
play as fast as I could anymore,

but it was about letting
the instrument breathe.

That was when I really started to learn

how to utilize space in my music.

[ Ukulele playing continues ]

I always felt that my music
career and my personal life

were kind of the same.

Everything was always about the music.

But now I have
this amazing person in my life.

[ Guitar strumming ]

KELLY: One of my friends
wanted to set Jake and I up,

so we had actually kind of set a date.

And he did call me later on,

and he sounded kind of terrible, actually,

and he said he was really sick,

and so if we could reschedule,
and I told him that was fine.

It was around that time
that I got superbusy traveling,

as well, so, um...

to make a long story short,

it was about three years later

that I called her back
to reschedule that date.

And, basically, it was Jake
on the phone just saying hi,

you know, "How are you?

Just going through the contacts
on my phone."

[ Laughing ]

Well, we -- No, no.
I mean, it was --

No, that's what you said.

[ Both laugh ]

KELLY: In that first year
when we were dating,

he must have been gone

a good eight, nine months
out of that year,

which was a normal
touring schedule for him.

Having only met a person a few
times and having them leave,

it was a lot harder than I had imagined.

JAKE: We would have
this long-distance relationship.

We took the time to communicate,
to write to each other.

Like, I remember, after a show,

I couldn't wait to see

if she responded to an e-mail
or something, you know?

Be counting down the days
until I could see her again.

We talked on the phone frequently,

and that's when I think
I really, honestly,

started to, I think,
fall in love with him.

It really made us appreciate the
time that we did have together.

One thing about a relationship
is we really do both understand

the devotion that we both have
to our careers,

even though they're very different.

Hawaii has always been
the only true home to me,

and I've always wanted to
practice medicine here.

JAKE: She worked her whole life
to be a doctor.

I see how she's just so driven

and how she's so committed to her patients

and, you know, her art.

That's her art form.

I think that's really what connects us.

I don't think I could be with anybody

who didn't always strive to be --

to be their best.

Some of that stubbornness
and drive in our careers,

we apply that to making it work out,

even if it's not necessarily
the easiest path.

[ Soft ukulele music plays ]

JAKE:
Every time I go on another tour,

that's time that I'm taking away
from our relationship.

And still I continue to --
to leave, you know?

It's gonna be tough to find, man,

especially with all this snow.

Yeah, six or seven years ago,

we were here, and I was shooting a --

We were filming this local
TV show called "Ukulele Disco."

It was a lot warmer.

[ Laughs ]

And, uh --

Yeah, and I played an arrangement

of "While My Guitar
Gently Weeps" here, and --

I mean, I had no idea, you know, that --

I mean, at the time, I didn't
even know what YouTube was.

YouTube had just started out, so it was --

it was just one of those things, you know?

You know, I just got lucky.

This is a song that was composed

by one of my favorite songwriters,

Sir George Harrison.

So, uh...

Well, since we're in Central
Park near the Strawberry Fields,

I thought this would be kind of cool.

Song entitled
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

Something like this.

The video of Jake's on YouTube

was uploaded about five years ago,

which is right around the time
that YouTube started.

It was uploaded unbeknownst to Jake.

This video soon became
in the millions of video views.

It was one of the first
viral videos on YouTube.

JAKE:
I was performing in Japan,

and I was doing a few things
on the mainland,

but it really wasn't until YouTube...

I mean, things just kind of exploded.

KAZ:
I started receiving e-mails

from literally people
from all over the world.

JAKE:
I mean, through that video,

I got to perform and record

with people like Jimmy Buffet
and the Coral Reefers,

Yo-Yo Ma, Bette Midler.

It's amazing what
one little video clip can do.

[ Ukulele playing continues ]

[ Cheers and applause ]

Wow! Man!

Thank you so much.

That was unbelievable!

Unbelievable!

Thank you very much.

We've been doing this show a long time,

ladies and gentlemen.

That's one of my favorite things
I've ever seen over here --

Jake Shimabukuro.

We'll take a break.
We'll be right back.

[ Cheers and applause ]

[ Piano playing ]

KAZ: He's known
as an innovative ukulele player,

so I'm sure he has a lot of,
you know, pressure and stress

to following up his own success.

Okay, I think I got it.

There are times when I'm
by myself and I just feel like,

"I don't know if I can do this."

Sometimes I feel like, "Man, I just --

I've just been getting lucky,
you know, the last few years."

But I feel like one of these days

that that luck's gonna run out.

Basically, this is the range
of the ukulele --

middle C, then you have a C above that,

and then one C above that.

So that's about it.

And I just came up with
this little chord progression.

[ Soft piano music plays ]

I sat there with my uke,

and then I started playing this piece.

[ Ukulele music plays ]

I don't know.

Maybe it's the Japanese in me

because, culturally,

you don't know how to deal
with praise or compliments.

It makes you uncomfortable.

Maybe it's because you don't
feel like you deserve it

and that's why you work extra hard --

because you feel this tremendous
responsibility to deliver.

[ Ukulele music continues ]

[ Cheers and applause ]

KAZ: Well, although people
might see his career

is a huge success,

but to us, it's just a beginning.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ]

You know, I need to make sure
that he's okay, healthy,

eating, and sleeping.

I forget to do those things.

JAKE:
She's just constantly working.

If I tell her, "This is my goal.
This is what I want to do,"

she's gonna -- she's gonna make it happen.

[ Laughs ]

I'm working, I'm working.

JAKE: She sacrificed
over 10 years of her life

into what we're doing,

and, you know, how do you...

how do you make that up
to someone, you know?

I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Kaz.

Yeah.

No. I have no comment.

[ Laughs ]

He's a good boy.

A very good boy.

[ Both laugh ]

I'm a good boy.

Very good boy.

KAZ:
I'm looking at the screen.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

My hometown got destroyed.

And the Japan that I know is gone.

You know, I can feel it, you know?

I can smell it and I can feel it,

and this is my hometown,
and I know this, you know, town.

JAKE: You know,
part of the school

is being used as a shelter

for a lot of the people in
the area who lost their homes.

[ Shouting in Japanese ]

1, 2, 3, 4.

1, 2.
[ Speaking Japanese ]

1, 2, 3, 4.
1, 2, 3, 4.

[ Speaking Japanese ]

And stop!

Ready, play.

[ Singing in Japanese ]

Okay, wait now.

Get ready.

[ Speaking Japanese ]

1, 2, ready, play.

[ "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" plays ]

And wait.

[ Singing in Japanese ]

Okay, and ready. Here we go!
And...

[ Singing continues ]

Yeah!

Good job!

[ Applause ]

There were times I would stop
and kind of look at Kaz,

you know, and...

I mean, just looking at her --

at her face and her expression...

You know, all these years,
she's always taken care of me,

and I think I realized that...

you know, sometimes
she needs to be taken care of.

I'm glad that I could be there with her.

You know, when I'm on stage,
all I'm trying to do,

and all I want to do,
is just connect with people,

and I want to be as sensitive as possible

so that I can feel what they're feeling.

Music communicates the purist
form of human emotion.

[ Soft ukulele music plays ]

I always believed that music
is so important, you know,

and it's so healing,

and I still believe that,
you know, to a certain extent.

But then you come across
an experience like Sendai.

You know, they still have no home.

They have to somehow
still support their family.

You know, for me, I'm on
the next plane to Hawaii

and going home.

That experience was a huge reminder

to not take things for granted.

Coming home is always special.

Everything that's important to me is here.

My mom and dad remain friends.

My dad can still come by the house,

and we can all still go out to dinner.

You know, so I think it's very positive.

[ Singing in Hawaiian ]

Kailin, where's the baby?

Where's the baby?

Right there.

Yeah.
Oh, you felt it move.

He gonna come to my house.

Come to your house?
Yeah.

Yeah.

We are expecting our first child, a boy.

Baby boy.

We really don't know too much
about parenting,

so we do have a lot to figure out.

I'm so nervous.

I don't know the first thing
about being a dad.

I still feel like a kid
sometimes, you know?

It's scary.

It's supposed to look like this.

[ Both laugh ]

Oh, 'cause I think he just sits
up in this and just bounces.

I don't think he hangs from this.

You don't think so?

These are terrible instructions.

There are gonna have to be
changes with touring

and my career and Kelly's career,

but looking back at everything,

being raised by a single mom
and looking over my brother,

the long-distance relationship with Kelly,

I never really looked
at those things as obstacles.

You just make it happen
because that's the only option.

You know, with my mom,

she really didn't have much of a choice.

If it meant working two or three jobs,

she did whatever she had to do.

She taught me to focus

on the things
that really mattered to me...

...and when the time comes,

you'll know what to do

and you will do it.

Good evening, everyone.

I'm Jake Shimabukuro,
and this is my ukulele, Belle.

And tonight, we're gonna play
for you a couple of songs,

and...

I'm not a professional or anything,

so don't expect anything too great.

[ Chuckles ]

[ Soft ukulele music plays ]