Michael G Drake

The Freeman Waukesha Daily Paper 2016 Serenading Downtown Waukesha Andrea Fencl If you attended the farmers market in the past year, chances are you may have encountered a ukulele player serenading pedestrians with personalized songs. Michael Drake, known as Ukulele Drake at the farmers market, has been performing songs on the ukulele in Waukesha for the past year. “The people here in Waukesha are happy people. It's really neat to feel that interaction going on.” Drake said. He started playing trumpet in fourth grade after a man came to his class for show-and-tell with the cornet. In his teens, Drake traveled to Mexico frequently, and after moving to Wisconsin, Drake began playing in Latin bands, influencing his music to develop an island style. “The first gig I had was at a VFW hall and we paid to play. We were doing Limbo Rock, little did I know I would continue to play island type of music,” he said. Two years ago, Drake began performing trumpet in Waukesha with a friend Hal Kacanek and together created 2Trumpets. After Ukulele Drake plays at the market, the two can be found outside Steaming Cup at 11 am Saturdays playing classical music such as Bach and Telemann. “We said, well, let's play on the street here on Saturdays,” Drake said. Drake begin playing the ukulele last November. “I thought this would be fun to do for my kids shows. I integrate the ukulele into literally everything I do, except the classical trumpet, it wouldn't make sense to do that.” He also plays piano and percussion. I could've gone so many different directions as a player. All these different instruments and different things it's like paging through a magazine, what do I want to do, so I said how can I decide?” When asked what his favorite instrument was, Drake said, “Depending on what I'm playing at the time, that's my favorite. When I'm doing the ukulele and I'm entertaining there's nothing more that I like to do. When I'm playing the classical music there is nothing more I like to do. When I'm playing my Jazz stuff that's my favorite--it has to be.” “You don't want to be thinking ‘I wish I was doing something else,’ no, it has to be for that moment. The most important moment of your life is that one that you just lived. Drake said he has performed his entire life, although he considers his early official performances to have taken place during high school. Interacting with people is Drake's favorite part about performing. “When I play the trumpet I have my nose in the music; I don't really get to talk to people--I'm creating an ambiance in the streets. But when I'm at the farmers market I’m one-on-one.” When Drake attends the farmers market as Ukulele Drake, he asks people for their names then makes a song on the spot, putting himself in a sometimes challenging position to create rhymes. Drake also acknowledged the importance of reading people. “Most of the time”, he said, people are willing to have him sing a song using their name, but sometimes people are embarrassed or busy in which the best action is to just move on. The songs are free although he will accept tips. Drake performs for charities, retirement homes, weddings and children's events in which he goes by the name Mr. Pickles.

Shepherd Express 2014 Drake at The Piano By Dave Luhrssen “I love entertaining,” says Michael Drake. No one who ever saw him in person would argue that point. A prolific recording artist with nearly a dozen albums to his credit, Drake began as a jazz trumpeter but branched out into Latin and Caribbean-flavored island music along with children’s shows. Never less than fully animated, Drake is a percolating coffee pot of highly caffeinated ideas. Recently, he took up a Wednesday residency on piano at a long running Westside restaurant, Pitches Baby Grand, No band? No trumpet? Just solo piano? Just me and the baby grand with no sequencers. I've always loved Billy Joel and the great piano songsters. And I have re-purposed my island music for this gig as romantic music-ballads. But it’s still all done with an entertainment attitude. It's all about the stories. I tell stories in song. By changing my format to piano, I'm setting the stories in different places. What do you play at Pitches on Wednesdays? It all depends on who’s there. I might noodle and create the wallpaper if the mood is quiet. An entertainer has to read the audience. It can go in any possible direction. Without sequences I can change the character of the song I'm playing on the spot. If someone wants to come up and sing a Beatles song, I'll accompany him. I've got a repertoire of 150 Beatles songs. You take requests? I've got a song list sitting on the piano of 400-500 songs. I've got them categorize. It’s all part of the entertainment thing. An entertainer cannot be selfish. I'm pouring my heart out on that song for the person who requests it. How long have you been making a living at music? That depends on what you mean by making a living! I played my first paid gig in 1967. I delivered the Chicago Tribune newspapers for 15 years. Finally, I was able to get rid of the day job in the early ‘90s. Have audiences changed over the years? There's been a change in receptibility. More and more people don't know what entertainment is. It's a conversation! Back when I played weddings, I’d have everyone in the palm of my hand. I still do, but it's more work. People aren't used to seeing entertainers in person anymore. Being an entertainer is a one-on-one relationship--a rapport. You can't get from the TV screen.