ELAINE’S JOURNEY: REFLECTIONS ON A MUSICAL CAREER

Many people dream of a musical career, but relatively few manage to turn it into a living. One who has is Elaine Kinsella. We chart her journey here, from family singalongs as a child to founding a successful business around her passion for music and the ukulele.

Musical intros

Elaine’s love of music began at family gatherings, with everyone squeezing into her grandma’s house in Belle Vale, singing along to the piano. She started piano lessons when she was seven but quickly lost interest as she was more interested in playing songs than practising scales.

By the age of twelve, she had formed a group with some school friends, but then music went on the back burner for Elaine for over a decade.

Renewed ambition

After finishing school, Elaine got a job with Liverpool City Council, and then worked abroad for different holiday firms. She backpacked around Australia for a year, meeting fellow Scouser, Craig, who was travelling with his guitar. Elaine’s passion for music was reignited by Craig, who could play virtually any song. She was totally hooked and landed back in the UK with renewed ambition. 

Study period

After returning home, Elaine did a film and media degree, then enrolled on a GCSE in music, and signed up to evening guitar lessons.

‘I was the only young woman there. I turned up without an instrument, which amused the tutor,’ she remembers.

The tutor let Elaine practice on his prized 1974 Fender Stratocaster. The following week, he brought in a three-quarter-size classical guitar for her to borrow. After completing the beginner’s course twice, Elaine progressed to rock guitar classes.

Discovering the ukulele

One of her tutors suggested Elaine try a lunchtime ukulele class. Borrowing a cheap yellow uke for her first class, she adapted her guitar cords and things just clicked for her. She went to watch her first ukulele gig the following weekend:

‘I felt like I’d been transported back to a cool 1920s jazz club. I was amazed by the techniques and music I’d never heard before.’

Signing up for lessons, she was again the only young woman in a room of seasoned players. Armed with her cheap yellow uke versus everyone else’s handcrafted vintage instruments, she soaked up all the knowledge and techniques.

Drumming

Elaine’s musical journey picked up speed as she started gigging with different bands. When the drummer in one of the bands quit right before a run of gigs, she stepped in after persuading someone to give her some lessons.

‘I just managed to get through each set!’ she says, still surprised. 

Elaine formed a songwriting duo called The Jel, then joined Jo Bywater and the Waves, staging sell-out events in Liverpool. 

By 2010, she had joined the indie pop band The Swapsies, playing drums alongside four other members who wrote their own songs. They landed a record deal in the USA and toured the UK as a support act, releasing several CDs and a vinyl single.

Elaine went on to drum for the folk-inspired Windmill, who released an album, Wanderlust, on the Liverpool label Velvet Records.

Ukulele Club Liverpool

These experiences led Elaine to set up Pop Club, a project to help teenagers start bands, with many young musicians performing at packed events. Due to popular demand, she held a ukulele taster session for some of the parents and before long she had grown a business from her base in Aigburth: the Ukulele Club Liverpool (UCL). 

UCL offers space for lessons, rehearsals and recording facilities, with a team to support students. Anyone who has lessons or gets involved becomes a member of the musical community. There are social events such as the Four Strings Cinema where members watch a film featuring the uke and learn to play one of the songs. 

There are also workshops, band booking facilities and an online shop selling ukulele accessories.

‘The ukulele is so popular because we can teach anybody to play without needing to read music,’ Elaine explains.

Members soon find themselves performing publicly and making friends through music. Elaine believes that’s what makes the Ukulele Club Liverpool (UCL) so special. 

‘It’s not about being perfect. It’s about having a go and discovering you’re capable of far more than you ever imagined,’ she says.

A dream realised

This year, Elaine played her first solo gig with original material at the Smithdown Road Festival. She has also performed internationally, and is working on her debut album.

She drums with the Splintered Ukes every second Sunday of the month at Handyman bar on Smithdown Road, and with the Ma Machestes, a female-led group made up of UCL members. 

Alongside all of this, Elaine helps others work out arrangements and record demos. The girl who once shied away from music now spends her life performing, teaching, and inspiring others. 

‘The sheer joy music gives me will never wear off,’ she says. 

Elaine’s journey reminds us that careers, like songs, can be written line by line. Improvising, being persistent, and taking opportunities can all add up to a successful and enjoyable career.

Liverpool Ukulele Club’s next ukulele courses start in September and are available at all levels.