James Hill - Ode To A Frozen Boot

[Sickening99]

Sounds like a song that should be played on a banjo not a uke -_- that's just my opinion

[filecabinet33]

Haha I actually met him a while back and he signed my ukulele!

[captainguyman]

I love how the camera can't pick up all his hand movements, he's so fast....

[SLOROB55]

Fantastic

[jbbritzy]

U came to my elementary school in '10 k-park

[bonbon3021]

Does he use a custom ukulele? If so what brand?

[rasputinsghost]

@bonbon3021 G string ukuleles. Derek Shimizu.

[Deesisease]

i want to learn this sooo BAD!!

[RyanFalls]

@ChickenVendetta There are Canadian hipsters too.

[abruehl6]

Awesome! Thank you! I love it!

[bigjoelindley]

Jewkulele

[akehawa]

Wow Amazing



[coreAtheist]

I wish I had that many fingers.

[RyanFalls]

I will go gay for this beautiful ukulele playing hipster.

[ChickenVendetta]

@RyanFalls He's not a hipster. He's ACTUALLY Canadian! :D

[Stephen96D]

I remember hearing this at the festival in Oregon...absolutely fantastic!!

[1viva]

Fabulous! :-)

[CaioLugon]

Look at his face!! He's John Petrucci!! That's why he's so good!!

[K3LLYRI0T]

Dayum.

[s10m0t10n]

I'm not musical because my brain doesn't work fast enough to even hear all those notes, let alone play anything like them. Great fun and musical virtuosity. Ten out of ten.

[daddymorg]

Excuse while I pick up my jaw.... Man alive, I need to practice.... or give up!

[rachuke2]

i hate to say it, but i agree with @PhilUSAFRet

i love jake, but james is just...genius.

[PhilUSAFRet]

I think Jake is amazing, but for just plain "listening" I'll take James

[patebrisee]

What amazes me most is that he can chat and carry on while playing.... :O:O skillzzzz

[BigBeansi]

@patebrisee sooo true!

[jekk23]

fuck me

[MsSamxxxx]

3 people are deaf and angry that they can't hear him play this song

[RubbaDubbaDoo]

In the words of the late great Jerry Reed, "SOUN"!!!! You double clutchin E flat got it!!!

[algonquinadprof]

@markwazhere. Yeah, no shit. Isn't this the fastest, craziest, happiest uke performance on youtube? Come ON!

[TheChristianMessiah]

he came to my school today, incredible

[easymail116]

holy shhhhmokes... I am in awe of his musical prowess.

[cwyuill]

wach lullaby of birdland it is awesome

[EnergonCube]

Human fingers don't move that fast.

[DougieDoLittle]

handsome, funny and oh so freakin' talented... James you are off the hook !

Catherine

[DougieDoLittle]

handsome, funny and oh so freakin talented... James you are off the hook !

Catherine

[zgrowler2]

I want to meet this man and lick his hands.

I want to know what amazingness tastes like.

[DerDeziBelzeBub]

wow, that's so fast, i can hardly believe it...

[DdlyHeadshot]

Sounds a bit like Yakety Sax...

[rgoei]

Methinks his frozen boot just spontaneously combusted

[jbasshill]

Smokin'!!!

[ScarlettMoss]

..... looks like he's in fast forward! O.O

[steakstar]

Hole lee shit!

[uteanatinny]

'Ripping it up'... is an understatement. ;-)

[fayenesse]

oh james... what the hell... you are insane...

[Iernon]

@15turkey15 It's a Custom G String ukulele.

You can find the specs on his website

[NiBl5000]

Jake Shimabukuro got nothin on James Hill

[hukapuka1022]

@NiBl5000 jake's got as much skill as he does, maybe even moree.

[DiamondGeezerDude]

@hukapuka1022 I agree that Jake is a fantastic player, and so is James. Imagine those two jamming together!! But as to who is better, they're both great, but music isn't and should never be a competition otherwise we might as well all watch X Factor. Both Jake and James are brilliant talents. Neither is better than the other. 

[hukapuka1022]

@DiamondGeezerDude that i agree too. theyre both amazing musicians for sure.

[jsnbeat]

@DiamondGeezerDude well said (but James is better, he heh)

[NiBl5000]

@hukapuka1022 The only reason I think James is better is because his songs are much more complicated and difficult. I can play most all of jakes songs (that I can find tabs/music to) but James's songs take much more skill to learn. Don't get me wrong I love Jake and James, it's just James's song are just a lot more complicated.

[hukapuka1022]

@NiBl5000 in some songs yes. james is a ukulele player with amazing techniques. just in my opinion i prefer jake. but yes, they are both amazing artists.

[cwyuill]

@hukapuka1022 JAMES HILL WILL RULE THE WORLD

[hukapuka1022]

@cwyuill well hes a great ukulele artist but i dont see him being a world renowned artist. Jake has toured the globe already. just saying. i wont judge your point of view, but i prefer Jake more.

[jsnbeat]

@hukapuka1022 this guy is definately more relaxed and realistic than Jake ... Jake is very refined. I'd like to play an eighth as good as either, but I would lean toward this style myself.

[snakeweirdo]

@NiBl5000 However, I don't think it's how complicated the song is that counts, it's the musical aspect of it, and I think Jake is much more musically interresting..

[cwyuill]

@snakeweirdo his nameis james

[snakeweirdo]

@cwyuill I was talking about Jake. Not James.

[cwyuill]

@snakeweirdo James is better!!!!!!!!!

[meinblubber]

seems like there's a brain in each finger

[psychaotic2]

My fingers cramped watching that.

[Lunge91]

That was AWESOME!

[scuzznightrunner]

3 people mistook this guy for justin bieber

[clockguy2]

I'd have to go to the hospital and get them to remove my fingers from the tangle of strings if I tried that.

[d1st0rt3dsan1ty]

Whaaaat. It's like I'm impressed with his abilities and ashamed of my own at the same time.

[wherethetreeslive]

An inspiration to all the kids...

[SuperHeftigTyp]

AAAAAWWWWW BRAINBUG AWESOMNESS OVERLOADED

[cinkafo]

3 morons with bad taste of music missed the like button

[daughter411]

WOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!

[smokingbandit67]

He's also a peaceful timid homosexual hipster.

[IncredibleEverything]

@smokingbandit67 I'v met the man.. more hippy than hipster... by far.

[plumboterror]

cooooool

[sn0tnosedkid]

james hill is my new favorite uke player :)

[LsBaba]

Trance-inducing.

[peppermintmmeringue]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT. wasn't expecting that.

[IncredibleEverything]

@peppermintmmeringue No one ever does ;)

[bronkula]

@peppermintmmeringue nobody expects the spanish inquisition

[mazdamaniac90]

@bronkula hahah YES!!!!

[davidmull]

WOW. Amazing.

[Squarekn0t]

That would make my Moose run loose thanks /IncredableEverything

[gregorydavids]

This guy is super human. What he's doing does not seem within the bounds of possibility.

[Tinaskingdom]

Oh My GOD!

[BenDavidUkulele]

if he got lost in the world of the film 'Deliverance', he'd take the "the" out of Psychotherapist

[superagnitio]

Insnae ukelele folk shredding... never thought I would type that...

[tmonkeypunch]

That is ridiculous speed and accuracy on his right hand, unbelievable strength on his left hand. Even if I had the skills to do that, I would have pulled a muscle a minute into the song.

[dm7b5]

James is playing a free clinic on Tuesday April 6th, 4:30 at Long and Mcquade on Bloor St in Toronto. Bring your Uke.

[Squarekn0t]

If you think frozen boot is bad, try losin one in a bog 5 miles out in Newfoundland , chasin a fox trying to hide in Moose tracks, and I didn't even get the sock back

[IncredibleEverything]

@Squarekn0t I laughed. That is the Canadian definition right there.

[KatieBrain]

I wish, oh how I wish that my fingers would move that quick!

[MRCat3rd]

@KatieBrain BIG double meaning, my friend.

[gnortznitz]

Fucking awesome. It's like one of those things that delights, confounds, and renders tenor ukulele players like me totally fucking jealous. Why can't I kick that much ass?! Whyyyyyyy?!?!? T_T

[smyrna5]

Wow!

[HowNotToRap]

I want a beard like his.

[gadam15]

best facial hair ever

[Brotherh00d]

He said this song is inspired by a canadian song or something,what song was it??

[Nicorette1234]

bluegrass style, canadian name

[heart4musicality]

it's a new tune bluegrass style with a distinctly Canadian title - Ode to a Frozen Boot,, that's it.

[Brotherh00d]

oh cool,i thought he said that the song is somewhat like another canadian song.

Oh anyway,any idea what did he said about the tuning thing,where everyone laughed?it was kinda soft and unclear.

[heart4musicality]

he just wondered if anyone had those moments, because he forgot which way to turn the peg haha, anything else? your hearing is deffinantly kind of off !

[jershaw]

@Brotherh00d dude! you are an idiot! listen to what HE SAYS @ the begining... everyone should flame this retard!

[OfGreatLakes]

I'd love to see James Hill, Bela Fleck, and a mandolinist get together to do some collaborative fingerpicking. What an amazing sound that would be...

[HerschelKrustofski]

works so well with a low res cam...can't keep up with'm.

[keithy351]

some where in his hey days he must of shreaded on a banjo, can tell by his picking style

[1bluejazzykat]

I don't even like bluegrass and country for the most part, but this guy is just so awesome it's like he was born to play the ukelele

[heretotry]

wow. damn.

this man has officially won my envy.

a thousand times over.

[deep2k4]

yeeeehaaa! thats gold! :D

[oxymormon]

Holy ukulele fingers!

[markwazhere]

How does this not have a million views yet?

[iAMboognish]

Its like the 20th time I've watched this vid, and I was JUST wondering that myself!!!! WTF?

[maxenes38]

@markwazhere 'Cause peoples are occuped to listen Justin beiber.

[JamesBorgir]

I love this! I love ukulele and this frozen boot!!!!!! ;D

[hirumaakuma]

Frickin' Amaazing!!

[maxmca]

He could tear holes in the universe with his ukulele.

[gblan]

He already does. They call it the "ozone layer" but just haven't figured out yet that he's causing it.

[jimbeas]

superb skills!

[thatguy431]

i swear to got this video is sped up or something....its just way too good to be real!

[thecivillain]

Man! Don't you just hate those frozen boots!

[markwazhere]

*Blown away*

How long would it take to learn this man, there are like a million different notes. What a badass.

[ediotsavant]

For those of you havent seen the video idiot box this is a compliment

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA­AAAAX

[UkuleleExplosion]

haiey eyeball wtf lol?!  amazing tho

[UkuleleRequiem]

it would take years for me to be able to play something half as good as this James Hill is amazing!

[eschelar]

I've seen a good handful of James' vids and this is easily one of his best.

Many of the other performances I have seen is pure technical showboating, but this really shows him getting into his song. Great stuff.

[pdrow1]

If Sam Bush played the ukulele, he'd want to play it like James Hill.

[gritzly]

James, how many Red Bulls do you have to drink before you play something like this? AMAZING!

[iAMboognish]

James is ukulele God... Jake Shimabukuro is incredible... but James "has it."

[chris69666]

I agree, JS is incredible but JH triggers more emotional response for me.

[Ilikekittycats123]

wow.Three comments in a row

[Ilikekittycats123]

James,you beat Solja Boi any day

[Ilikekittycats123]

Hey everyone who loved this might like my videos!

[ukegurl101151]

yea he came 2 the 38th annual ukulele festival...those of u who wer there i was sitting in the front row 2nd 2 the last of the 1st set of chairs on ur left facing me. he played this song...he also played this thing he made up by using jus his ukulele and regualr chopsticks it sounded realy unique i recorded part of it on my phone kuz i had a realy good view...lolz but yea i think james is almost as good as jake

[elsanchokaki]

i was gonna buy that uke untill i saw the price!!... but is a fine piece of work

[Ilikekittycats123]

yeah,the uke that he has costs about as much as a mini-van.The guy made it,then when he saw him play it,he said"take it,tell people where you got it.Not this one,though,it costs around $2000.Its based on his original uke,but less fancy

[elsanchokaki]

still 2,000 is a lot of money for an instrument, i reached my limit with a 1,200 guitar. and i wasnt gonna do it again jajaja

[kneekneewood]

James, youre a frickin machine!!!

[barboo123]

i meet him at the ukulele festiville in new zealand (we broke the rocord for most ukuleles)

i asked for his autograp with my friend

he's from canada but he lives in nz

[hardmutengland]

holy shit, this guys on fire!

[xdamerx]

he kinda looks like a dallas green no? i used to go to school with him, well i was in his sisters grade, but still, he can fuckin rip!!!!

[Boudewijn85]

ow the hell can he talk playing something like this? Jesus:D

[staircapades]

After practicing the same song 100's of times, you can play the song with your eyes closed.

[Ilikekittycats123]

Playing with your eyes closed is actually very easy.You don't have to play it "100s of times" to play it with your eyes closed.Its way harder to talk while playing.

[staircapades]

yes true...100s of times is a bit much. I correct myself and say at least 10 times.

Talking while playing is easy too if you can split your mind into two like drummers.

[Ilikekittycats123]

with what?An Axe?

[staircapades]

lols no...I mean being able to do two different things with your hands...you know the belly rubbing thing while rubbing your head?

[Ilikekittycats123]

I can do that

[staircapades]

haha good for you :D

[HafaHaole]

What a BEAST!!!

[johnnierah]

well said.

peace

[stratocasterxl]

now that you mention it 2182248, he really does remind me of john petrucci. scary ^^

[inkorgr]

HOLY CRAP

[2182248]

This guy must be the greatest uke player in the world. Scary thing is that now he has the beard he bears an uncanny resemblance to John Petrucci, guitarist for Dream Theater, one of the greatest guitarists in the world. Anyone else see the likeness?

[ChamoruDT]

the best?...probably not, but he is one of the most respected uke players out there

[Ilikekittycats123]

Of course hes the best! Have you...has anyone ever seen someone play better uke than he does? And, by the way, he doesn't live in New Zealand, he lives in Canada, Nova Scotia to be precise.Not very far from where I live...ten minutes driving

[ChamoruDT]

Jake's pretty darn good...and my friend Nikko's pretty smooth - picked up the uke about 3 months ago, and since he knows his music theory pretty well, he figured out a bunch of songs. He picked up my uke one day, and played like 7 jimi hendrix songs. Thats pretty amazing to me honestly haha

[Ilikekittycats123]

I bet your friend Nikko plays guitar.He does,doesn't he?

[zenxten]

His amazing Uke powers must be derived from his beard. That's why I've been growing mine out for the last two months.

[pjppjp24]

2.30 - 2.48

*jaw hits floor*

[menehunenyc]

Freakish uke playing. Imagine if you got jake s. and james to play together, what would THAT sound like. I haven't heard much of james hill, but my impression is that although his technique is brilliant, I wonder if is compositions are as good as Jakes.

[BirgitBettina]

Wow!

[ukulelespindel]

i really like he's beard, much better then usual!

[sethbergs]

I am in awwee!! holy crap thats sweet

[albertsoratorio]

Wow! Amazing, thank you for sharing that!!!

[darriuk]

Undoubtedly the finest uke playing I have ever seen. Welcome at any party on the planet.

[divrom1]

Wow! This guy should surely be crowned "King of the Uke".

[RockinBrandon]

he looks less nerdy with a beard

[leo959]

i wish james hill and jake shimabukuro could jam together sometime.. it would be called when "when west meets east ukulele style" i can c it now

[acanadianjoe]

they did, in Hawaii in 04. was amazing. watched them play together after a show in the hotel lobby.

[leo959]

do u know if theres any videos out there i can watch of them together?

[MoskeetoUke]

unbelievable!!! Crazy! So fast and still he makes jokes... crazy. Thanks for sharing!

[ukulelezaza]

wow, james hill absolutely is one of the best uke players ever. he's a true virtuoso with exceptional and unique technique, without being a show off. sure, it's played at lightning fast speed, but it's not a trick, it's music. I wouldn't mind spending a couple of hours jamming with James - the best way to learn.

[hoorano]

James learned his folk techniques by playing with the best guitar and banjo players all around the world. One of his hero is another virtuoso name Troy Fernandez of Palolo, who was part of Ka'au Crater Boys.

[deadeye61]

i have no idea how he goes so FAST!

[IsaacBickerstaffEsq]

Well, practice, obviously, but perhaps less obviously is he's relaxed. "Trying hard" is what slows you down. Tension in the muscles.

Just wiggle your fingers loosely in the air. That's what it should feel like when you are playing.

Now just add control :)