Written by Amy Stoltenberg
Photo by Diana Vega
On Monday night, ukulele playing singer-songwriter Victoria Vox stopped in at the Sentient Bean to play a concert for Savannah residents on her way from Baltimore down to Tampa’s Singer Songwriter Safety Harbor Festival.
The playlist was mostly original songs with a few covers–a reflection of recent years of personal artistic projects. In 2011, Vox committed to learning one cover song each week on the ukulele in a variety of genres and languages. Then in 2012, she wrote one original song every week as an exercise in creativity and discipline.
“As an independent artist, no one is pushing me but me, so I have to always be challenging myself so that I grow as an artist,” said Vox. The 104 results of this commitment can be found on her YouTube channel.
Throughout the show, Vox alternated between a standard and a baritone ukulele, which allowed her to explore a wide range of tunes. For a couple of songs, she combined the deep swells of the baritone with a steady techno beat to produce what she calls “uk-tronica.” The result was a groovy, dancey beat with a nice balance to some of the slower more soulsy numbers.
Most of her original songs also contain “mouth trumpet” solos, an element unique to Vox and her music. Her lippy instrument originated during a long car ride when Vox drove solo across the country during a tour and got so bored that she started experimenting with making noises with her mouth. Since its discovery, the mouth trumpet has played a central role in much of her music, and even led Vox to a performance on the Jay Leno show.
Audience member Ani Burns appreciated the aesthetic of Vox’s vocals.
“She has incredible control of her voice,” said Burns. “Her technique is very subtle, how she matches her voice with the rhythm of the guitar, but there’s no doubt that she practices every single one of those little nuances.”
Vox started playing ukulele ten and a half years ago, when a friend gave her one as a gift. “I took it and just started writing,” said Vox. “It was like getting a new vehicle and learning to drive differently.”
This new instrument has fundamentally affected the way Vox goes about writing her music. She even credits the ukulele with getting her out of her songwriting rut.
“The limitations are open to a whole new world with so many different style of music from jazz to funk to from sad tunes to happy ones,” said Vox. She also said many of her ukulele songs end up having a more positive message.
An easy, fluid relationship existed between Vox, her music and the audience throughout the performance. In between songs, she asked for audience input as to what type of song they wanted to hear next, to keep a good balance between the heavy and light themes in her songs.
“The ukulele lends itself to an eclectic sound, and really allows you to go on a journey with the audience because of the range of sounds that it can make,” said Vox.
Vox’s lyrics, “of all the things I forget, I remember the music” capture the essence of the soothing and beautiful yet quirky performance.
