Look what I got today a Treholipee

That thing is totally freaky looking.
I love it.

Let's hear a tune.

Check it out my very own Treholipee. I picked it up this morning during my rounds at the flea market. Here is a little something about these crazy Ukes. Apparently Treholipee means "Tre" for "three" and "holi" for "holes" Not sure what the "pee" refers too. These little buddies were one of a family of nutty ukes that became pretty popular in the 60s, The Treholipee was the most bizarre looking with it's long headstock. The concept was that when you were out surfin' you could stick it in the sand. These things were made by Swaggerty Co. Swaggerty was a San Clemente California company they also made the Surf-a-lay-lee and the the Kook-A-Lele. I am pretty stoked I have always wanted one these obscure bits of beach culture! I totally dig the little surfer dude graphic on the back of the neck. I won't rub it in how much I paid for it. Only thing is two of the tuning pegs are busted so I got a find some or fabricate my own. Here are some pics:

Hey Pablus... Try and figure out how i managed to post this beneath yours???!!

Lost-Isle
Lost-Isle Trading Post
Barefoot bloggin'

edited to mess with the mind of Pablus.

[ Edited by: chongolio 2006-01-20 19:13 ]

On 2006-01-20 16:51, Chongolio wrote:
Check it out my very own Treholipee. I picked it up this morning

i think you can be cured with antibiotics... :o

no seriously, VERY cool find. i dont know a think about Ukes (cept the kine Tiny Tim plays).. didnt know they could be so danged cool!!

hopefully you'll bring it to Oasis, and play me a tune!

elicia

You're wiggin' me out, man.
How the heck did you do that?

Pablus, It's a Chongolian mind trick. Do not attempt to adjust your resolution.

No really what happend is I went back to edit it my post but deleted it instead and started over. You answered in the same seconds as i was deleting thus makin' us cosmic brothers in time for a moment. I did the same thing to Bamboo Ben one time. Kwinkydinky!

Here's my collection of "kooky-ukes":

The one on the left is a Kook-a-la-lee, the middle one is called a Wander-a-lay-le, and the third is a Singing Treholipee.

I've never even seen anything like these instruments you left coasters are presenting.
Ookoo lady, how do they sound?

I'd love to whang on some of those.
Could you imagine one of those things in the clutches of King Kukulele?

Those look like fine instruments, but good luck getting them on an airplane.
The one with the decal/drawing, reminds me of the old Bullwinkle cartoon art, or
something else I can't place.

I've never actually played them - just have them hanging on the wall. The pegs on my Treholipee are broken, and on the others the pegs are wedged in so tight I can't turn them.

Hopefully Chongolio will give us demo on his!

"The one with the decal/drawing, reminds me of the old Bullwinkle cartoon art, or
something else I can't place"

The little surfer graphic was done by popular 60's surf artist Rick Griffin.

Swaggerty was a San Clemente California based manufacturing company in the 1950's-70's, and owned by Ancil Swaggerty. Ancil made the prototype as an art piece to hang on the wall, a friend suggested that with some minor modifications, it could be made playable, and thus the "kooky Uke" was born. Swaggerty manufactured many oddball instruments such as the Surf-a-lay-lee the Kook-A-Lele, as well as the "singing" Treholipee. A patant was granted for Treholipee in 1966. Swaggerty had its hayday in the sixties whith endorments from celebritys of the time. Advertisements claimed the Treholipee could be tuned "...as Uke, tenor banjo, plectrum banjo, tenor guitar or baritone uke."!! The Treholipee and the Kook-A-Lele had pointed extended headstocks that, according to advertising materials, allowed the instrument to be stuck into the sand whe the surf was up. The Surf-a-lay-lee was shorter, presumably to allow it to be played while on a surfboard, although no mention was made of it being waterproof. There was also a similer line of instruments called the Polka-lay-lee, and the Wanderlele made by the Peterson Co, of Ohio.

Dogbytes, Don't worry I have all my shots!

On 2006-01-21 07:03, c10 wrote:
Those look like fine instruments, but good luck getting them on an airplane.
The one with the decal/drawing, reminds me of the old Bullwinkle cartoon art, or
something else I can't place.

On 2006-01-21 08:22, Tiki King wrote:

The little surfer graphic was done by popular 60's surf artist Rick Griffin.

Thanks for bring that up. I thought so!! That make this score extra coo! Thanks for confirming that T.K.

Hey Pablus, you want to really blow your mind like it never been blown? Then feast your peepers on this one:

Oddballmusic.com

Thanks for postin' your pics Ookoo those are all cool. Do people ask you if they are from India or something? I got that question twice and I have owned one for less than 24 hours. Hey do all yours have the same Rick Griffin drawings or are the different?

Lost-Isle
Lost-Isle Trading Post
More Treholipee stuff at Barefoot bloggin'

[ Edited by: chongolio 2006-01-21 10:08 ]

Hey Chongolio, I just re-read your first post and saw that your Treholipee also has a couple of broken pegs. I've been told that violin pegs will work, although they won't have that cool paddle shape.

That's why I've been reluctant to try and tune my other ones, because the pegs are so tight I'm afraid they'll break if I try to turn them.

Somewhere I have the original hang-tag from one of these, with Steve Allen's picture on it. For the youngsters out there, Steve Allen was the host of the Tonight Show before Jay Leno and Johnny Carson. Apparantly Steve Allen liked and endorsed the Treholipee. The hang tag also recommended using guitar strings if you need replacements.