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ohanabrown
Lokahi
281 Posts |
 Posted - 01/10/2005 : 12:54:46 PM
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We just got over a bad thunder storm here on maui, being it's still overcast,and todays not a good day to go out, i thought i'd share another one of my slack key story as i was growing up during high school.
It was my senior year in high school,and about the 2nd month in school, I transferred to Lahaina, to be with my grandmother who actually raised me. So i attended, Lahaina Luna High School.
Before leaving Baldwin High, i went to visit the teacher who thought me the art of ki ho'alu. He took me to the side and said since your going to lahaina luna, i better teach you there alma mater, not knowing then, that song would help me there. ( in the maunaloa C.)
Starting in a new school, your known as the "new kid on the block" everyone scopes you out, but no one talks to you. It was like that for about a week'n half. Then one day this student came up to me, his name is anthony kekona, everyday during recess the students gather under a tree and some students bring there guitars and uke to school to play at recess time. You would'nt see that at Baldwin, so it was something new for me, they even wore rubber boots to school the ones that come all the way up to your knees. At Baldwin, you would never,ever see that too.
At that time the students were playing a lot of crosby,stills,nash,and young, c&k and some loggins'n messina. About a week after, while listening to the students play, my friend anthony asked me if i played music,i said yes, it's called slack key. He turned and said whats that? I told him it was a tunning that the hawaiian people use to play. The next day before one of the student played, anthony asked if he could use his guitar, he then passed it to me,and i asked him ( the owner.) if i could play it. While tunning it down, i was'nt sure what to play, when facing your peers thats when you can really feel the pressure, then my teacher came into my mind, and remember him saying " you better learn there alma mater".
So the next thing you know, as i was playing it, all the students stood up under the tree, and after that they all clapped, that was the begning of a new friendship with the students. It did'nt take long, when i attended my chorus class and the teacher asked me if i was the student that played the hawaiian music. Infact that is where i learned to sing, "O come all ye faithful" in french.( a des te fi'deles.) i think thats how you spell it. If there was time in class before the bell rang, he would pass me the guitar. I passed chorus with flying colors. My chorus teachers name was, Mr.Brian Kelly.
My english teacher caught me off guard one day, By then everyone knew it was slack key, my english teacher asked me if i was the new student that played slack key? so she asked if i could stay in for recess and play for her. When the bell rang i went to my chorus class borrowed a guitar, went back to my english class, played one number and my teacher closed her eyes after that she said, listening to that, made me think of my old boyfriend, i said your boyfriend plays slack key? she said we're not together anymore, he lives on oahu then she said, have you heard of this guy, his name is,"sonny chillingworth" i almost dropped the guitar, then it was me asking her all kind of questions about sonny.( i loved sonnys and gabbys singing.) My grandmother had gabbys and sonnys records i would listen to them everyday. I played for her whenever she felt she needed to hear it, a few times, when i missed my assignments, i would play for her the whole recess. I had a passing grade?  . Her name was Penny Seavers. It's been like that ever since, i've made a lot of friends through slack key, it's so nice to see, from my senior year till now, how much ki ho'alu has grown.
Me Ke Aloha
Kevin
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Kevin K. Brown |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 01/10/2005 : 2:52:52 PM
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| Mahalo nui |
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Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2005 : 10:10:05 AM
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Mahalo e Kevin. Great story, and great "lesson" too. And I got chickenskin when I got to the part where it turned out your teacher's old boyfriend was Sonny Chillingworth!
me ke aloha,
na Sarah |
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Bruddah Chrispy
Lokahi
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2005 : 10:44:04 AM
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| Great story brah! |
Aloha a hui hou,
Chris P.
There's no regrets; only good times. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2005 : 10:51:15 AM
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| Thanks for the story, Kevin. Keep writing stories like that and we're all going to be hoping for more thunder storms on Maui! |
Andy |
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Mainkaukau
Lokahi
USA
245 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2005 : 11:40:46 AM
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| Right on Kevin, I love those nostalgic stories. I remember when I met my first real girlfriend. I was attending a Slack Key class that Uncle Raymond Kane was teaching back in the early 70's at Chaminard College. It was the 3rd meeting of the class and when I arrived that day, Uncle Ray's older daughter who was about 10 years old at the time I think. (What ever happened to these 2 girls?) stopped me in the hall and whispered to me that someone was sitting in my seat. We'll see about this I thought to myself and entered the room to see a pretty young girl sitting there smiling at me. To make a long story short we hooked up for over 5 years until I decided to entertain at sea on the SS Independence and she decided to become a music major at the University of Hawaii where she fell in love with one of the instructors. |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2005 : 6:34:54 PM
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| Great story, Kevin! Thank you. We got some of that thunderstorm too when we were on Kaua`i. |
Dusty |
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