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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
 Posted - 02/13/2004 : 3:25:16 PM
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My name is Karl, which, I am told, translates to Kala (money) in Hawaiian. I will be 60 years old in a few days, have been playing guitar since childhood. Never any good, just enjoying myself. Being a pleasant mother pheasant plucker by choice, I enjoy quiet stuff, and slack key certainly provides that. Living in Alaska the last 33 years, with few mother pheasants around to pluck, has given me some time to reflect. This is what I have come up with;
Well, I have been playing this music on the couch, alone, for 7 or 8 years now, and feel the need to learn more, play more, share more slack key with anyone interested in interior Alaska. I live outside of Fairbanks about 25 miles, am willing to travel anywhere in the interior for good musical companionship.
My first taste of Ki ho'alu was on a Public radio show 10 years ago featuring Raymond Kane and Ledward Kaapana. Next exposure was via George Winston, who plays one or two pieces at each piano concert up here. Then, my daughter took a semester at UH, Manoa, and of course I had to go check on her well-being. After an arduous all day search, I found someone in Honolulu who actually had heard of slack key guitar, and had a friend, Bobby Moderow, who played it, and was in fact playing that night at Roy's. Our entourage (my wife, daughter and her boyfriend and another UH swim team member, and I ) showed up during their (MaunaLua) first set. After the second song, I introduced myself to Bobby, and told him I had heard he played slack key. Well, did his face light up or what??? He was thrilled that anyone knew about the art form, and also wanted to hear it. Needless to say, he played several songs, and the band sat with us at every break the rest of the night. I managed to wangle a lesson from Bobby that trip, and have been playing several of the tunes he showed me ever since.
Since then I have immersed myself in instructional videos, listened to every slack key record I can get my hands on, and kept on practicing, and trying to figure out the tunings I am hearing, or just adapting the songs to the tunings a I know.
On a return visit to Hawaii in December 2002, we found the McMasters and Titus Kinimaka on Kauai, ad Kalani Smythe on Maui. I was still rather appalled at the lack of knowledge of the locals about anything to do with slack key music, performers or performance venues. It seems almost to be an underground movement, and unless you know who to ask, you get only "What?????" as an answer.
At a recent Kaapana, Combs, Dennis K. concert here in Fairbanks, i met and got a lesson from Patrick Landeza. He labeled me "hard-core". Not because of any playing prowess, but because my friend and I chose to take our lesson at 1:30am, after the performers had had their reception with the local concert association. It was very much appreciated that Patrick took that time with us, (especially since ha had been awake 20 hours already,and had to catch a plane at 6 am!)and it has only whetted my appetite even more for slack key.
So, anybody out there from within 100 miles of Fairbanks Alaska, reading this, get off your buns and let's get together and make some music.
Karl
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Karl
Frozen North |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2004 : 3:40:08 PM
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| Welcome Karl! According to our online `ohana stats, there are currently four TaroPatch.net members from Alaska, so hopefully the other three will chime in and at least one of them will be nearby. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2004 : 4:59:57 PM
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Welcome Karl! So I'm not the only one someone's called "hardcore." Welcome to the `ohana!
I show these members being in Alaska. You can probably email them from their member profile. |
Andy |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2004 : 6:10:49 PM
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Maybe it's just getting used to the "midnight sun" 'cause I ran into a couple other folk from Alaska and they kept Me up way past my usual bedtime.
welcome,
Raymond
San Jose |
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