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Molly Lewis (ukulele player)

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This article is about an American Internet musician. For the Australian basketball player, see Molly Lewis (basketball). For the Australian musician, see Molly Lewis (whistler).
Molly Lewis
Lewis performing in 2010
Lewis performing in 2010
Background information
Also known asSweetafton23
Born (1989-11-23) November 23, 1989 (age 35)[1]
California, U.S.
OriginOrange County, California,[2] U.S.
GenresAcoustic
Instrument(s)Ukulele, kazoo, accordion, stylophone, melodica, piano, whistle
Years active2008-present
LabelsDFTBA Records
Websitemollylewis.wtf

Molly Lewis (also known as Sweetafton23) is an American musician who is known for her ukulele playing and who rose to prominence on the Internet. She plays both covers and original songs. Her original music consists of comedic songs that deal with relevant pop culture topics.[3] She is currently signed with DFTBA Records through which she released her first EP I Made You A CD... But I Eated It.[4]

History

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Lewis attracted attention by recording ukulele covers of popular songs such as Britney Spears' "Toxic"[4] and Lady Gaga's "Poker Face", then posting videos of her performances on YouTube.[5] She also recorded videos with other Internet-based musicians, such as 'WadeJohnston',[6] 'thedoifter',[7] and 'doctornoise'.[8] For Mother's Day in 2009, Molly recorded a cover of "Two of Us" by The Beatles as a duet with her mother.[9] Her version of Jonathan Coulton's "Tom Cruise Crazy" was featured on Episode 226 of the UkeCast.[10] Her song "It All Makes Sense At The End" appeared on the creator album from the first VidCon conference in 2010.

She uploads YouTube videos under the name of SweetAfton23,[11] an allusion to a Scottish poet Robert Burns' lyrical poem Sweet Afton. She was inspired by a rendition of Jonathan E. Spilman's 1837 musical accompaniment to the poem, as played by Chris Thile with Nickel Creek. The 23 refers to her birthday, November 23.[12]

Public appearances

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She was a regular performer at w00tstock,[13] a traveling variety show that began in 2006, alongside Paul and Storm, Adam Savage, and Wil Wheaton. She has also performed with the Presidents of the United States of America.[3] During live performances, she occasionally forgets to bring key instruments, like the kazoo from "I Pity the Fool", and substitutes other things from her pocket, notably a rape whistle. In an animated music video of "I Pity the Fool", the kazoo solo is shown being played by a cartoon version of Mr. T.[14]

Lewis has appeared on NBC's Los Angeles' show Music LA.[4] She recorded the theme music for Episode 2 of Season 3 of The Legend of Neil.[15] She performed at Jonathan Coulton's first JoCo Cruise in 2011[16] with John Hodgman, Wil Wheaton, Paul and Storm, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy from Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax, and Mike Phirman, and remained a regular performer at the event for many years.[17]

On February 22, 2011, Lewis performed her song, "An Open Letter to Stephen Fry", to Stephen Fry himself at Harvard University, during an event marking the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard giving its Lifetime Achievement Award to Fry.[18][19][20]

In fall of 2012, Lewis toured as a solo act for the first time (outside of w00tstock shows) as part of the "Ladies of Ragnarok" tour with the Doubleclicks, performing 19 concerts in the Northeast and Midwestern United States.[21] In January 2013, Lewis toured the West Coast for the first time, also with the Doubleclicks, performing nine shows in California, Oregon and Washington. Both tours were sponsored by fans who could buy postcards or T-shirts to help the musicians cover costs.[22]

In 2014, Lewis co-wrote a musical with screenwriter Josh A. Cagan titled Thanksgiving vs. Christmas, which was staged live on November 19, 2014, at The Triple Door concert venue in Seattle.[23] The show mimics classic holiday television specials, and features appearances by Joseph Scrimshaw, the Doubleclicks, and others, with Kevin Murphy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax as Santa Claus.[24] It was recorded and released on CD in 2015.[25]

Starting in 2019, Lewis hosted "The Panalysts", a YouTube web series produced by LoadingReadyRun.

Awards and achievements

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Her cover of Coulton's "Tom Cruise Crazy" earned Ukulele Hunt's "Ukulele Video of the Year" for 2007.[26] That video brought her to the attention of Coulton,[27][28] which led to her opening for him on several occasions.[29][30]

She won the third edition of Quick Stop Entertainment's Masters of Song Fu competition in 2009,[31] defeating 16 other artists, including Hank Green and Paul and Storm.[32]

Discography

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  • I Made You a CD, But I Eated It (2009)
  • The Same Old Songs, But Live! (2013)
  • Thanksgiving Versus Christmas (2015)
  • Like & Subscribe (2019)
  • Live at Alaska Folk Fest 48 (2023)

References

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  1. ^ Lewis, Molly (2009-11-23). "twenty trips around the sun". The Artist Formerly Known as sweetafton23. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  2. ^ Bascaramurty, Dakshana (2010-07-02). "Meet Your Vloggers". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  3. ^ a b Grandy, Eric (2010-02-09). "Up & Coming". The Stranger. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  4. ^ a b c Zouves, Natasha (2010-07-16). "An Unlikely Ukulele Sex Symbol". KNBC. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  5. ^ McGinnes, Jeff (2010-10-12). "Musician Molly Lewis makes waves on the Internet". Toledo Free Press. Archived from the original on 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  6. ^ "Christmas #6 - Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time! - sweetafton23". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2012-12-25. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  7. ^ "Two Girls, One Uke". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  8. ^ ""Bone" You (Garfunkel & Oates cover) feat. Doctor Noise". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  9. ^ "Two Of Us (Beatles cover) - Mother's Day special". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  10. ^ UkeCast 226, November 8, 2007 Podcast available UkeCast 226 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Molly Lewis". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  12. ^ Molly (2008-09-27). "Questions & Answers: 1st edition | The Artist Formerly Known as sweetafton23". Sweetafton23.com. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  13. ^ "A Night of Geek and Music". w00tstock. 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  14. ^ "I Pity the Fool". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  15. ^ "Legend of Neil, Season 3, Ep. 2: The Gloffice | Funny Videos". Atom.com. 2010-08-10. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  16. ^ "JoCo Cruise Crazy". JoCo Cruise Crazy. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  17. ^ "JoCo Cruise Crazy - Jocopedia, the Jonathan Coulton Wiki". Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  18. ^ Kenyon, Samuel (2011-02-22). "I Will Not Be Told: Stephen Fry's Speech At Harvard". Science 2.0. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  19. ^ Valen, Frédéric (2011-02-25). "Molly und ihre Ukulele". die Tageszeitung. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  20. ^ Goodman, William (March 9, 2011). "Molly Lewis serenades Stephen Fry on ukulele at Harvard: "Let me have your baby"". CBS News. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  21. ^ "Ladies of Ragnarok Tour". Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  22. ^ "New Year, west coast, POSTCARDS?". Retrieved 2013-04-12.
  23. ^ "Thanksgiving Vs Christmas w/ Molly Lewis". do206.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Thanksgiving vs. Christmas". mollylewis.wtf. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Thanksgiving vs. Christmas". Bandcamp.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  26. ^ Wood, Al (2008-01-19). "Ukulele Video of the Year 2007: Sweetafton23 - Tom Cruise Crazy". Ukulele Hunt. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
  27. ^ Coulton, Jonathan (2007-11-05). "More Uke Love". jonathancoulton.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  28. ^ Bascaramurty, Dakshana (2010-07-02). "Meet your vloggers". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  29. ^ Coulton, Jonathan (2008-04-29). "Thank You Portland and Seattle". jonathancoulton.com. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
  30. ^ "Blog Archive " SEA–>PDX". Jonathan Coulton. 2009-01-24. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  31. ^ "Masters Of Song Fu #3: The Winner Announced! " FRED Entertainment". Asitecalledfred.com. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  32. ^ "Masters Of Song Fu #3: Round 1 Challengers and Challenge Revealed " FRED Entertainment". Asitecalledfred.com. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
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