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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
 Posted - 01/22/2006 : 6:12:47 PM
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Getting to know the Grammy nominees
I thought it would be fun to feature this year's Grammy nominees for Best Hawaiian Music Album. I asked each nominee 9 questions. Unfortunately, not everyone responded, but I will post what I have over the next few days. Mahalo to all those who responded, and best of luck to all. In no particular order...
Slack Key Guitar:
The Artistry of Sonny Lim
Answered by: Sonny Lim and Charles Micheal Brotman (producer, last year's GRAMMY winner)
- Artist/Label:
Sonny Lim / Palm Records- Please tell us about your album? What do you want people to know about it?
Charles: Sonny grew up in the heart of paniolo country on the Big Island where his family has resided for generations. His dad was a rancher at parker ranch and sonny also worked on the ranch for a long time. The album was recorded at my studio, lava tracks recording studio, also in heart of paniolo country - just a stones throw away from where slack key guitar originated.
Sonny: It is my first solo instrumental project and gave me an opportunity to do a wide variety of styles from traditional to contemporary. It is a soulful tour of my journey to this point in my life. Old favorites that bring back memories of times past and the great slack key masters that inspired me and new songs that I hope will help inspire the next generation of slack key guitarists. This whole album was done with just a single solo guitar, no rhythm at all. It was something new to me but, I really love the way it turned out.
- Can you tell Taropatch.net about your personal practice routine, how you learned, tips, how to play better, etc?
Sonny: My practice routine is to play every chance I get. It is very relaxing to sit and just play. I got interested in slack key after seeing Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs play in Kohala when I was 10 years old. I couldn't believe the sound coming from their guitars. It started my Kiho'alu journey. I later had the pleasure of learning from Uncle Fred Punahoa who gave me a whole new perspective about what can be done on a guitar. His showmanship on the guitar was mind blowing. He told me to play the way I feel inside, like painting your own picture with the sound of the guitar. I try to play by these rules. I love to play a lot of different tunings. My tip to players would be to find your favorite tuning and try and master that and continue to experiment with new tunings and you'll find a lot of different beautiful sounds in those tunings. Practice, practice, practice......
- Your music gear (guitar, `ukulele, strings, amps... if applicable maybe mention bandmates and their gear)
Sonny: I play a lot of guitars, for me its more about the sound of the guitar as opposed to the brand. I have a Takamine TAN16C and ST212, Taylor 714CE, Martin D1R, Rainsong WS 1000,Adamas 12 string and a Yamaha Classical. Strings are a matter of preference. I use medium/heavy gauge for lower tunings and light/medium gauge for higher tunings.
- What does the Grammy nomination and potential Grammy win mean to you?
Sonny: The nomination means that I, along with the other 4 nominees have achieved the highest goal that an artist from Hawaii can in the music world. If I am fortunate enough to win this award it would be a humbling achievement considering the company I am in.
It would also reflect all the knowledge that has been passed down to me from all the Great Slack key players before me and those that inspired me and continue to inspire me.
- With "Slack Key Guitar, Vol. 2" winning last year and 4 out of 5 of the nominees being slack key albums this year, what are your feelings about the Hawaiian Grammy category and the idea that there should be a separate "Hawaiian language" category?
Sonny: I hope that this is an indication to the Grammy board that in the future we do need a separate category. I don't know if we have enough members to make that difference but, the popularity of Slack Key worldwide would indicate that it should be done.
Charles: The key here is membership and participation. We would love to see several categories in the Hawaiian Grammy section. That will happen only if NARAS membership increases in Hawaii, and if the number of Hawaiian albums being submitted increases. Right now, we barely have enough membership and participation in the state to preserve the one category that we have. The level of participation from the Hawaiian music community will dictate the categories future. We encourage everybody to become a member and submit their recordings.
- An unknown factoid about you or the album.
Sonny: I didn't use any of my guitars for this project, I used a Santa Cruz studio H cut and a Ramirez classical guitar.
- Can you direct us to your website and does it have sound clips of your album?
Sonny: www.Palmrecords.com, and yes it does have some sound clips.
- Anything we didn't ask but you'd like to answer?
Charles: Slack key is a very personal expression - just one musician, one guitar, with the fingers directly on the strings - so you really hear the musician's personality through their music. Sonny is a very humble, gentle soul who was born and raised in a beautiful area on the Big Island. You hear that in his music. We are happy to be able to share 'the essence' of Sonny Lim and the feeling of Hawaii through his music with so many people around the world.
Sonny: I think the Grammy Awards will be good for all music coming out of Hawaii. It will open doors for other music besides Hawaiian in the future. 
Mahalo,
Sonny Lim
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