Oregon's own whistling king to hold court in Japan

Today, Mitch Hider is leaving on a jet plane. And the longtime resident of Monroe, who now lives in Eugene, is taking his ukulele with him.

Known around Benton County for his "Mitch's Music Box Revue," where he sits inside a cardboard box painted blue at festivals and fairs and serenades passersbys who pay 25 cents with whistling, singing, yodeling or ukulele playing, Hider will be attending the International Whistlers Convention in Ushiku, Japan, this week.

There, he will be master of ceremonies for the 35th annual convention and additionally he will be an honored performer in two special concerts in Osaka.

In fact, Hider, who is happy to pass off his craft as a performer as no big deal around the mid-valley while he focuses on volunteering for projects such as Monroe's senior meals program, is in fact a very big deal in the world of competitive whistling.

Hider won the International Whistlers Convention contest in 1982. He's also one of the whistlers featured in the 2005 documentary film "Pucker Up, The Art of Musical Whistling" and shares company in the International Whistlers Convention Hall of Fame with the likes of Bing Crosby.

Hider, 69, is originally from Binghamton, N.Y.

He last visited Japan in 1960, while he was stationed in Korea with the U.S. Army and working as a reporter for a military newspaper published in Japan.

After his stint overseas, Hider found work back in the states as a reporter. He stumbled across his first whistling contest in 1977 in Carson City, Nev.

He entered just for fun.

"I thought that I was pretty good," Hider said.

Turns out he was.

Hider quickly fell in love with the annual international whistling festivals, which bring performers together from all over the world to take part in the universal pastime of whistling.

"Everyone either whistles or tries to, so everyone understands what we are doing as far as music," said Hider. "So that's the nice thing about it … a person will hear me whistle and they'll walk away and start whistling."

Despite an international following, this year is the first time the convention will be held outside of the United States. For more than 30 years Louisburg, N.C., has hosted the annual convention and contest.

However, at last year's convention, three of the five categories were won by Japanese whistlers and Japanese whistlers took second in the remaining two categories. After that, the decision was made to have this year's convention in Japan.

Hider was extremely happy with the decision. He credits a 1963 recording "Sukiyaki" by Japanese whistler Kyu Sakamoto, which is the only Japanese-language record ever to hit No. 1 in the U.S., as one of the influences that contributed to whistling's popularity in the United States.

According to Hider, eight countries will be represented among this year's 76 participants, mostly European countries, as well as Canada, the U.S. and, of course, host nation Japan.

Only three other American whistlers will be there besides Hider. They will be representing New York, New Orleans and Pasadena, Calif.

According to Hider, one of the best parts of the annual conventions is the bonds of friendship made between the participants.

"Quite often it's trying out different songs - gathering in a hotel room to share whistling," Hider said.

"I'm often referred to as 'the whistler' around town, but most of the people at the convention are probably referred to as 'the whistler' in their community as well," said Hider. "Most of these whistlers are much better whistlers than I am."

However, Hider's busy performance schedule will leave him with little free time. He's also teaching a workshop on stage presence and whistling history.

Often at the microphone, Hider will be responsible for pronouncing all the performers' names. To prepare, he met with some Japanese-speaking friends before leaving to go over participants' names.

Hider's first performance of his trip will be the opening night of the convention where Hider will be performing Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine;" "Over the Rainbow" and "La donna è mobile" from Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto."

After the convention ends, Hider will travel to Osaka for two more special concerts, where he will share the stage with some of Japan's top whistlers including Kimiko Wakiyama, the reigning women's international contest winner, and 10-year-old Chihaya Kosugiyama, who won the youth division in 2007. Geert Chatrou, of The Netherlands, and Norwegian Tormod Rogne, both whistling superstars in Europe will also be on the bill.

Accompanying himself, with his ukulele and Zydeco necktie - a washboard hung around the neck - Hider will perform George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm;" Richard Rodgers' "All the Things You Are;" and Augustin Lara's "Granada" at the Osaka concerts.

"I like to think of myself as a one man vaudeville show of the musical variety," said Hider who also does humorous magic shows as "The Magnificent Mitchelli" around the mid-valley and plays drums in a regular weekly kid's show at The Shedd Institute in Eugene called "The Magical Moombah."

After he gets back from Japan, Hider will be performing for the 29th straight year at the Benton County Fair and Rodeo, and yes, you can still hear this talented performer for just a quarter.