6/20/2012
Okilele is scheduled to play at 3 p.m. Sunday at the 2nd Annual Ukulele Beach Partyin Okinawa. The party will be held from noon to 5 p.m. at the Ginowan Marina located across the street from Round 1 on the Highway 58
 bypass road.


This is the second year in a row the all-ukulele band made up of members of the International Ukulele Club of Okinawa will play at the event.

General members of Okilele -- the International Ukulele Club of Okinawa -- that plan on attending are asked to bring a side dish as the club will hold its monthly meeting in conjunction with the party. A tent -- that won't be hard to miss -- will have the Okilele logo on it and will be set up at the site. Suggest you bring a lawn chair.

Check the Okilele Group page on facebook for updates on weather, etc.

The following is the schedule of the ukulele performances:

12:00 Opening Ceremony
(everybody play  C、G7、C)
12:10 Johnny Ginowan's Ukulele Student Group        
12:20 Ukulele kids  
12:30 Ohki San's Ukulele Student group      
12:45 Itoman Ukulele Club
13:05 Mirimiri
13:20 KENKO
13:40 KOU
14:05 Yang chen
14:20 Himana Stars    
14:40 Houkan Takita 
15:00 Okilele
15:25 Ohki-san 
15:50 Coconut Telegraph               
16:15 Johny Ginowan & Tomotaka Matsui 
17:30 Awards ceremony for fishing event at Marina
18:00 Call for Encore

May 12, 2012
OKILELE -- The gig band of The International Ukulele Club of Okinawa -- would like to offer its sincere thanks to the Okinawa Nurses Association for its kind donation for our performance last night at their luau at the Kadena Officers Club.

Last night was the first gig we also played in our new band Aloha shirts that were created by OKILELE member Chikako Kinjo. Thanks Chikako.

OKILELE is an all-ukulele, island-style amatuer band that consists of: Masa Negoro, Jerry Cabradilla, Miki Suzuki, Krazy Kaz Kosaka, Jeff Stalnaker and Chikako Kinjo.

The next general membership meeting of the ukulele club will be May 26 at the Ginowan Field House from 3 to 6 p.m.

Absolute beginners to professional ukulele players are welcome to attend.

March 30, 2012 -- The April 21, 2012 meeting of Okilele has been cancelled as we have no place to hold the meeting. The Ginowan Field House, the normal Okilele meeting place, was also previously reserved in March.

The next general membership meeting will be held May 18, 2012 at the Ginowan Field House. Please check the facebook group Okilele or this web site for update or e-mail: founder@okilele.com

Jan. 18, 2012
The monthly meeting of Okilele originally scheduled for Jan. 21 has to be moved to Jan. 28 as the Ginowan Field House has an event planned for that day. The January 2012 meeting will start at 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 28 and theme is love songs.

Here is the meeting schedule for 2012.

Oct. 23, 2011
Okilele is scheduled to play at the Kadena Special Olympics at 12:25 p.m. at Kadena Air Base. The performance band of The International Ukulele Club of Okinawa will play a 20-minute set during the annual event.

Okilele asks members of the club who plan on attending the event to please wear their club T-shirts.

The all ukulele band currently consists of seven-members: Masa, Jerry, Miki, Kaz, Jeff, Chikako and Adam.

Sept. 10, 2011
Okilele -- the performance band of the International Ukulele Club of Okinawa -- will be playing at Johnny Ginowan's Ukulele Picnic at Tropical Beach in Ginowan Sept. 10 from 3 to 7 p.m.
Okilele is set to perform three songs at the picnic and the club is planning on having a pot-luck style picnic at the event.
If you've got one please wear your Okilele T-shirt and bring your uke to strum around the tent we'll have set up.

July 18, 2011
Okilele -- an island-style-band made of members from the International Ukulele Club of Okinawa -- will be the cocktail party band at the 1st Annual Logistics Readiness Squadron's luau at Zampamisaki Royal Hotel on July 29.
The band is scheduled to play from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m.
The gig is a closed-gig and not open to the public, sorry.

Okilele members take to the stage during their first major performance as a "band" Playing for Okilele at  this gig were: Jeff, Masa, Jerry, Chikako, Kaz and Adam.

July 8, 2011
Okilele -- the International Ukulele Club of Okinawa -- peformed as the opening act at AloHai 2011 Festival at the Kariyushi Hotel in Onna, Okinawa, Japan. The island-style band of the club performed two numbers and seemed to be a hit among the crowd that was filled with hula dancers and concert goers.

"This event was a true honor for us to play at," said club founder Adam Johnston. "This was the club's first major performance and to be the opening act for a legendary group like Na Leo was truly special."

The performance was part of a charity event to raise funds to help victims of the Tohuku Earthquake and Tsunami disaster last March in mainland Japan.  Proceeds from ticket sales were to help with disaster relief.

Okilele is a friendship club for ukulele enthusiasts ranging from absolute beginner to professional. Anyone -- Okinawan, Japanese or American -- can join the club that meets monthly to foster long-term relationships through music.

The International Ukulele Club of Okinawa -- Okilele -- is scheduled to play the Kariyushi Hotel on July 16 at 7 and 8 p.m.

July 1, 2011

HAMBY, Okinawa, Japan -- Okilele -- the island-style band of The International Ukulele Club of Okinawa -- will play three 20-minute sets at Tony's Hawaiian Foods -- Hamby restaurant July 1 at 7, 8 and 9 p.m.

This event is a band-gig and will serve as a final rehearsal for  our booking at Alo Hai Festival 2011 as the opening act for Na Leo at the Kariyushi Hotel on July 8 at 3 p.m.  Okilele has advance tickets available for 6,000 yen per ticket for the event. If you'd like a ticket, please e-mail: info@okilele.com.

Members of Okilele's band have been practicing twice weekly since late May to gear up for a series of bookings during the Summer of 2011.

Okilele members who would like to come to eat and watch the band play are more than welcome to attend.

June 25, 2011
CHATAN, Okinawa, Japan -- Members of Okilele played an impromptu gig for an hour at Tony's Hawaiian Foods -- Hamby restaurant in Chatan. The gig was a quick substitute gig after the Johnny Ginowan Ukulele Picnic at Tropical Beach in Ginowan was postponed due to typhoon conditions.

Okilele played several songs from a set list that members have been practicing twice weekly for two hours since late May 2011.

The group received a request for a second set and received an open invitation from the restaurant's owner to come back and play.