‘Ukulenny’ talks up the ukulele and U3’s Spokane debut

When Lenny San Jose caught Paul McCartney’s “Got Back” tour in Oakland in 2022, he was thrilled to see the Beatles legend pull out a ukulele and perform “Something” in homage to George Harrison.

How else would a guy nicknamed Ukulenny react?

“It was so cool since that shined a light on the ukulele,” San Jose said while calling from his Oakland home. “People don’t know as much about the ukulele and how cool it is.”

San Jose and his U3 bandmates are more than happy to deliver a set of songs to those who might not understand the appeal of the four-stringed instrument. U3, which will perform Thursday at the Bing Crosby Theater, will showcase songs from their debut album, “In Waves,” which was released in 2020.

“We put so much effort into it and right after we completed it, the pandemic happens,” San Jose said. “So now is the time to play these songs live.”

The eclectic tunes range from jazz to bossa nova to reggae to Hawaiian tunes. Some of the finer moments are the cover tunes. U3 offers its take on the Guns N’ Roses classic, “Sweet Child of Mine.”

U3 goes the other way while taking the mellow route. U3’s take on the classic banger features the ukulele play of Abe Lagrimas Jr., who helps turn the familiar track inside out.

“Abe is just a tremendous musician,” San Jose said. “That goes beyond the ukulele. Abe can play anything.”

Lagrimas Jr. also plays vibraphone and percussion throughout “In Waves.” Cynthia Lin’s vocal carries the cover of the Police classic “Message in a Bottle,” which is a perfect island tune.

“Cynthia is at the center of this project,” San Jose said. “It’s about her singing ability and she’s a heck of a ukulele player as well. We fit together well.”

U3 is planning on crafting a new album, but an ocean separates San Jose from his bandmates, who live in Honolulu.

“I guess I could move over there but I love living here in the Bay area,” San Jose said. “I have job security being one of the only ukulele players in this area. But we’ll work it out and make more music. You don’t have many groups out there with three people playing the ukulele. We just want to show people how cool the ukulele is. You have to experience what it sounds like in a live setting. We would love for more people to get with how great of an instrument it is.”