WATCH: Mikey And His Uke Take On Black Flag’s “Rise Above” With The Help Of Some Friends
WATCH: Mikey And His Uke Take On Black Flag’s “Rise Above” With The Help Of Some Friends
Just a man and his ukulele creating covers of the most iconic songs in music
Over the years Fairmounts‘ frontman, Mikey Hawdon, has made his passion known for his ukulele. Under the YouTube channel, Mikey And His Uke, he takes on tracks from music’s favorite artists to create incredible covers – including Queen, The Ramones, and Madonna. Recently, Mikey has enlisted the help from some fellow musicians in creating more legendary covers. This week, Mikey called upon Tim McIlrath [Rise Against], Moby, Lou Koller [Sick Of It All], Mike Herrera [MXPX], Darrin Pfeiffer [Punk Rock Karaoke/Goldfinger], Valerie Knox [Anti-Queens], and Michael Crusty [Crusty Media] to cover Black Flag’s “Rise Above”.
Opening with a quick ukulele riff, Mikey does his best to make it hard before his band of musical icons show him how it really meant to hit. With Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath leading the pack, the video unleashes a gnarly medley of different vocals. The video rapidly switches amongst the musicians – highlighting all their individual talents while showing off their quarantine digs.
The 1981 punk hit comes from Black Flag’s debut album, Damaged. While its initial release was all but ignored by the masses, it has since gone on to be considered a rock-punk staple. “Rise Above” is the epitome of punk music – fists in the air, calling out the government and societal norms. In today’s political climate, it’s easy to see why this particular track was chosen – and chosen to be covered by some of the most outspoken and influential names in music.
The cover is filled with powerful voices, soaked in punk ideology. From the rough vocal stylings of Tim to the shredding guitar riffs of Valerie Knox to get a glimpse of the inside of Moby’s house – this cover has something all fans of pun-rock will gravitate towards. The video ends with a message of hope from Mikey appearing on the screen which reads, “Stay positive, stay educated, and stay safe. We will get through this.” With new covers seemingly coming out every week, it looks like music fans will have something to look forward to as we impatiently wait for the world to open back up. Until next week, protect yourself, protect each other, heads up, fists up.
