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Jeff Watkins
Aloha
37 Posts |
 Posted - 08/11/2005 : 09:47:59 AM
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Several years ago while staying in the Kapoho area on the Big Island, I listened to a CD on which Moses Kahumoku played "Pohakuloa". It is a beautiful song and got stuck in my head. I am still trying to learn it. I hope that Moses is doing well and will return to slack key soon. I currently listen to over slack key 30 CDs and work at some of the songs. My redneck friends think slack key is cool.
Jeff Watkins |
Jeff Watkins |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2005 : 1:41:04 PM
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I actually have no musical background, as most of you who've heard my playing can attest. ha. Years ago I would accompany my wife to her Ukulele kanipila's and be bored to death. I spent my time working on Ipu's while she played.
THEN ONE DAY, at one of these yawners, I heard someone playing a Ukulele & guitar duet. The music wasn't slack key, but some beautiful old Hawaiian song. I thought the combination wonderful and wanted to learn Hawaiian music. I mostly did simple children's songs, which for me was a lot to do musically speaking.
....anyways, blah-blah-blah the wife brought me to a concert in which Dennis Kamakahi was playing. WWWWWOOOOOWWWWW! I never heard such beautiful music, it was just so melodic, capitvating, and dare I say the cliche' - magical. I wished his songs would never end. Right then and there I said to myself, " I want to learn that!!" so I did. As the years passed I heard other artists, and styles but that feeling remains today. I love all types of music: rock, reggae, soul, alternative, latin, etc.. but slack key is in my heart.
One day years from now, I want to play with the same skill and captivating sound as when I first heard it.
-slkho |
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Kapila Kane
Ha`aha`a
USA
1051 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2005 : 8:33:37 PM
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Well, everyone is giving such nice, thoughtful, heartfelt answers...I gotta try to do 'mo betta.
Karen and I had been fascinated with IZ's OTR...and I'd slept through the movie "Finding Forester". But I was hooked on something...not even aware of IZ being Hawaiian, or who he was...
But we had met Konabob and Shirley...(was it 3 years ago?) well, my wife was selling my cd at a silly little pancake breakfast/concert one beautiful summer day in the Rockies, and
Shirley and Bob came by to check out the Kapila ware, and they hit it off with Karen--while I slaved away on the fiddle. Actually, I fiddled while the Pancakes burned.
Anyway, they mentioned they were on the Big Island, and if we wanted to drop in...
well, shucks...
After 30 years of world travel, her only stop in Hawaii was for a 6 hour layover...
We decided to "drop in".
We bought some Hawaiian cd's for the drive around the BI (some good, some not)...and Bob "lent" us a Hapa collection...(3 years later, and it's still safe in the car Bob)...
Bought the litte Keola instructional book...and laid it aside...
but took some trad. fingerpicking the following spring, and started to try a couple of the slack tunes...
We've now been to George's camp 2 years...have probably a hundered books, dvds and videos...
and a bazilliion tabs....
I'm not a natural language person (Karen is just the opposite), so I struggle with getting better with the language...
It's a huge undertaking...all from wanting to play a little slack for grins...
But I feel like it's a crime most people who visit Hawaii never even TRY or go deeper than a staged tourist Luau...and just think it's cute...or don't even know it exists...
enough for now.
I'm glad I found it--it's fun, frustrating, challenging therapy in a world going mad.
Playful, Powerful, Peaceful...
Mystical, Marvelous, Magical Slack key.
Thanks Bob and Shirley...
otherwise I'd still be stuck in Bluegrass Pergatory...or magna Kum-ba-yah limbo.
What was the question again? |
Edited by - Kapila Kane on 08/11/2005 8:45:23 PM |
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slackkeymike
Lokahi
440 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2005 : 02:24:57 AM
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I am absolutely suprised that the number of people who actually learned to play the guitar because of slack key! That is amazing!
I have played all my life...but for several years had put it down. What got back to playing? Slack key. Ray Kane & and Iz mostly. Uncle Ray has a way with the guitar and Iz provided a soulful insight into the Hawaiian culture...I have got to learn the language!
I have a goal, and I am sure we can make it a collective goal to turn peopl's common perception of Hawaiian music from Don Ho (bless his heart) to what we are talking about and playing.
Or, perhaps its better as a secret? |
Aloha, Mike |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2005 : 03:42:32 AM
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Mike,
Because Sarah and I learned to play the guitar (with very different results) because of slack key, I am not surprised at all. Music of a certain sort was our goal; the guitar was, and is, a tool to make it. Additionally, we never had any notion that we would become "guitarists" or "musicians", especially professional ones. We are, and will ever remain, slack key amateurs. That last word has a few important meanings.
Aloha no,
Reid |
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Bing
Lokahi
USA
100 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2005 : 05:57:47 AM
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In 1998, My wife and I were on a trip back to Idaho from a winter in Baja and we stopped by a little Hawaiian shop in San Diego. I asked the sales lady if she had any Hawaiian tapes that we might enjoy on our thousand mile drive home. She looked through her collection and came up with a tape by Keola Beamer and said she thought we would like it. Well, we played that thing constantly all the way through Nevada and Idaho. About half way home I thought, since 30 years ago I took a few classical lessons, I think I can do that! Well maybe not as good as Keola. Anyway when we got home I found Keola’s e-mail address on the side of the tape case and emailed him. I asked how in the heck do I tune my old classical guitar to Taro Patch. Surprisingly he e-mailed me right back and recommend I buy a chromatic tuner, which I did along with Keola’s video and tab booklet He also surprised me by saying that he remembered my surfboards from the 60’s and went on to say my boards were the best. The best ones to steal when he was a kid. (I think he was kidding. At least I hope so) After struggling with the video for a year I found out about Ozzie’s book and tape and I was on my way. I attended Keola’s 2000 Aloha Camp and I met a lot of wonderful people with the same interest including Reid and Sarah and our very talented web master Andy.
At 69 years old I will always be an amateur. But it’s wonderful therapy and keeps my brain and fingers working. |
Bing |
Edited by - Bing on 08/12/2005 06:37:11 AM |
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bl0ops
Aloha
13 Posts |
Posted - 08/12/2005 : 12:11:40 PM
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| i discovered slack key while listening to music. i use to always listen to hawaiian music and some tracks would have slack key and all. and i really wanted to play like that so i found out the name (slack key). and just started playing... |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2005 : 09:08:37 AM
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Good Old Public Radio. My main source for musical inspiration for years. Granted, we have two very hard working enterprising promoters here in the middle of Alaska who bring up all sortts of wonderful musicians, but the public radio station has always kept me several steps ahead of the perofrmers who actually make it here. 1995 i heard a concert on the radio with Raymond kane, the reverend Dennis and Led Kaapana. I had been playing a lot (OK, trying to play...) of Kottke stuff and other open tuning slide things and i recognized some of their tunes as being in open G. Fortuntely, I had the cassette tape deck going and recorded the whole concert. Managed to pick out parts of several songs, but never knew the names of any.
I decided to learn more, got Keola Beamers video and learned the first easy one in taropatch, Manu Kai. By that time my daughter had moved to Hwaii for a semester at UH Manoa. Like any good father, i had to check up on her, so i went over Thanksgiving. Spent 2 whole days trying to track down anyone who had ever even heard of slack key music.....nobody knew, most people looked at me as if i were from mars. I finally went into a donwtown Honolulu msic shop and was plunking around on the only slack key tune i knew and a salesman came up ans said, "Oh, you play slack key?" I was amazed and delighted (First that he recognized what trying to do, and second, that he knew what it was.) Still, when asked where i might hear some played, he had only one suggestion.."I have a friend who plays in a band and they play some slack key if you ask them to. His name is Bobby Moderow,and he will be at Roy's this Friday night"
Or entourage went to see the band, Maunalua, that Friday. They were playing outside so we got a table right near them. They played all contemporary "tourist" songs the first set. After it was over i introduced myself to Bobby and told him i heard he played slack key...his face lit up and from that point on they played more than half slack key and Hawaiian songs the rest of the evening. I managed to fit in a lesson with him before i left, and now i look everywhere i can for new information on playing more and more songs.
I am not the purist that Reid and Sarah claim to be, for i still get out the slide, still sing some songs in standard tuning, etc., but slack key is the main reason for playing guitar now. |
Karl
Frozen North |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2005 : 6:23:48 PM
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On a visit to Maui (not Kaua`i  ) in 1992 I became aware of an intriguing type of music. I didn't know what it was called - only that it sounded so sweet. When I got home I forgot about it. Then, a couple of years later I found a Ray Kane CD (Punahele) and loved it. |
Dusty |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2005 : 7:01:58 PM
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quote:
On a visit to Maui (not Kaua`i )
maui no ka `oi!
aloha,
keith
(maui refugee and sons of waiehu groupie) |
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DaSlacker
Aloha
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2005 : 8:35:33 PM
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Took a few 'regular' guitar lessons waaaaaay back in high school. The only thing I could play was an E chord! Basically, I did not practice enough to really learn anything.
Fast forward a few years. Talk about crazy. I was looking for something nice made of koa to hang on my wall as art in my office. Picked up a Jumbo Goodall Royal Hawaiian with no plans at the time to learn how to play it. Discovered slack key while researching koa made guitars. The rest is history...
And yes, I am crazy. I now have 2 Jumbo's and 1 Grand Concert. All are Goodall Royal Hawaiians... |
Aloha,
Joe |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2005 : 06:40:22 AM
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quote:
Picked up a Jumbo Goodall Royal Hawaiian with no plans at the time to learn how to play it.
Pretty nice wall decoration. |
Dusty |
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kihoalukid
Lokahi
USA
289 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2005 : 07:06:01 AM
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| Suddenly my Stevie Ray Vaughan cardboard cutout stratocaster wall decoration seems lacking... |
Lee |
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DaSlacker
Aloha
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2005 : 1:26:24 PM
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I told you I was crazy.
Here is a pic of the second RH Jumbo that I picked up.
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Aloha,
Joe |
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kihoalukid
Lokahi
USA
289 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2005 : 3:51:45 PM
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| W O W ! |
Lee |
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