Uni and Her Ukulele feature August 2011

Uni and her Ukelele began it’s life in 2004 as an outlet for an already accomplished singer to self publish and perform original work independently.

Since that time Uni has released three full albums, numerous E.P’s, collaborations and a covers album ranging from lo -fi indie pop to melodic strings to rock. Uni’s sound has been described as eclectic, infectious pop and not your usual Ukulele fare.

Recipient of the SF Weekly Music Award, Uni has toured all over the USA and Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand and has been the subject of celebrated festival Documentary ”The Mighty Uke”

Often described as the love child of Rainbow Brite and Mr. T, Uni is possessed of the uncanny ability to stare wanly out the window and simultaneously kick you in the balls…. Ding!

Heather Marie Ellison began singing in nightclubs in a country band at the age of fifteen (grandpa chaperoned). Then later, during the Swing resurgence of the 90′s, sang in a Northern California swing band by the name of The Savoy Swingers.

She caught the eye of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Johnny Otis and was soon back up singing in the Johnny Otis R&B Revue, opening up for such legendary artists as Koko Taylor, Tower of Power, The Four Tops, Ray Charles and James Brown.

So confident was Johnny Otis of Ms Ellison’s potential, he produced a solo album with her entitled Heather Marie With The Johnny Otis Band, Got My Mojo Workin‘

During the early 2000′s Heather Marie worked at all three locations of legendary independent record store Amoeba Music before hanging up her name tag to tour the world as Uni and Her Ukelele.

From 2007 to 2008, Heather hosted the wildly popular San Francisco variety night “Club Unicornbread”. In a similar vein, being a big fan of Christmas, Heather Marie has brought international acts such as Caga Tio and The Yule Logs to the bay area for six consecutive years with the most craptacular Christmas show in San Francisco Christmas Is The Best in collaboration with Dr Trucker and “friends”.

Having accomplished the impossible task of making New Zealanders Oil Wrestle, making cocktail hats for the rich and famous and making it through Canadian Customs, the future is wide open for Heather Marie as she travels the globe dancing with friends, eating increasingly exotic foods and writing music. New projects are on the horizon for the betterment of us all.

The Paper Dolls Duo- Emily Schmidt and Heather Marie Ellison (Uni & her Ukelele) started singing together in 1997. The two were renting themselves out as back-up singers/ “dancers”(if you will) for various bands in and around Sonoma County when they met Adam Theis, now a well known San Francisco jazz musician and band leader (www.jazzmafia.com), and started a neo-swing band with him, called The Savoy Swingers. Over the next 8 or so years with the Swingers they played all over California opening up for acts such as The New Morty Show, Lee Press On and the Nails, Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, and Huey Lewis. Yes. Huey Lewis and the muthafuckin News. And then Heather quit and moved to LA. Shit.

But she came back a couple years later with ukulele in tow, and after meeting Jolene Enns, a Canadian ukulele songstress, Heather persuaded Emily, her long lost singing soulmate, to grab herself a uke and learn how to play. And thus, in 2005, the Paper Dolls were born: Uni Doll, Em Doll, and Jo Jo Doll. These days Uni and Em are focusing on taking the act to the streets; traveling, rocking faces off in Lakeport once in a while, and racking up some serious adventures, one yankee dollar at a time.