Regent Theater hosts ukulele summit

Published by The Boston Globe

Two ukuleles, a squeeze box and a mouth trumpet were all the instruments necessary for last night's "Ukulele Summit" featuring a touring duo at the Regent Theater in Arlington.

Victoria Vox, who graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and Brittni Paiva from Hawaii played original songs and covers before an audience of about 50 people. They performed separately and then together, amusing the audience with the unique sounds of their instruments and anecdotes that inspired their songwriting.

“I wrote this song for my husband to tell him that I loved him. That didn’t last long,” said Paiva, prefacing “Made for Me,” an original. She plucked the strings of her ukulele, which stretched over sparkly letters reading “Brittni” on the frets. “Just kidding.”





Paiva, 22, said she started playing at 11 years old when her grandfather passed down his mother’s ukulele to her. From then on, she couldn’t stop. In Hawaii, the instrument is known as a place to experiment with songwriting, she said.

“When you strum it, it makes everyone happy,” she said. “Everyone smiles.”

Vox, who also sings, said she was given her first ukulele by a musician in her hometown of Green Bay, Wis. seven years ago. She likes the instrument for its portability and versatility.

“I’m challenged by its limitations,” she said. “The simplicity aided my songwriting; less is more.”

And her songs are versatile—she played two numbers in French, a poignant breakup song, one with a squeeze box (a type of accordion) and “Tug Boat,” a song about “a sexually frustrated tug boat.” '

She recently raised $21,000 from her fans to make her latest record, “Exact Change.”

Vox, now 30, said she started playing guitar when she was 16 and got a songwriting degree from Berklee. Now, she records and tours around the country, jamming at ukulele festivals and playing the mouth trumpet—she likes to fool her audience by accompanying her strumming with her mouth as they search for the source of the trumpet sounds.

“Like most college kids, I’m not doing what I went to college for,” she said.
Vox said she thinks the ukulele is growing in popularity for its economy—a good ukulele can cost about $100, she said. When she asked the crowd how many players were present, about 15 raised their hands. Some even brought their instruments with them.

“People’s compliments drive me to continue,” she said. “The music keeps me feeling young.”