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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
 Posted - 02/14/2006 : 6:32:52 PM
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bd1 emailed me this article and thought it may be of interest here. Thanks Doug! I enjoyed reading it.
"Its a dying instrument," says Jimmy Hawton , 78, a steel guitar player and collector, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006. Hawton sits with a 1920s replica of a tri-cone accoustic steel guitar built in 2004. He has 28 steel guitars and has a long-life passion for the Hawaiian instrument. Lianne Milton / Register
Local man works to restore glory of Hawaiian steel guitar sound
By KEVIN COURTNEY, Register Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 1:12 AM PST
The house on Rubicon Street may look cookie-cutter, but inside sits the home of the Royal Hawaiian Steel Guitar Hall of Fame & Museum.
Steadying himself with a cane, Jimmy Hawton, the museum's 78-year-old founder and curator, admitted a guest who had come to learn more about so exotic an institution.
Hawton hoped his visitor didn't have sky-high expectations. "It's just in my living room," he said.
Crammed floor to ceiling with records, sheet music, photo albums and steel guitars, Hawton's living room celebrates one man's life-long love affair with the romance of Hawaii.
As a boy growing up in Wichita, Kan., Hawton taught himself to play the Hawaiian steel guitar while listening to "Hawaii Calls" on the radio. Having never seen the ocean, much less a tropical island, the music spoke powerfully to him.
"The steel guitar is the voice of Hawaii," said Hawton. "Number one, it has relaxation. Number two, it has love in it."
Hawton served in the Navy in the South Pacific as World War II ended. When he returned stateside, he got a job at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo. His civil service job paid the bills. Hawaiian music made his leisure time special.
When his guest was uncertain what a Hawaiian steel guitar sounded like, Hawton gave a demonstration.
Slipping three picks on his right hand and holding a steel cylinder in his left, he stood over the strings of a laid-flat guitar and began plucking and stroking.
His visitor was soon transported half-way across the Pacific to a land of swaying palms, sweet breezes and dark-skinned beauties.
"It's the most expressive instrument on this earth," Hawton said of his instrument, which looks as plain as the sound is dreamy. One listen as a Kansas teenager, Hawton said, and "I just loved that music."
In the decades after the war, Hawton lived in Napa while playing in such bands as Jimmy's Beach Boys and Jimmy's Surf Riders. Hawaii-themed dances and country club luaus were common gigs.
To keep his evocations of the islands fresh, Jimmy and his wife Beverly vacationed in Hawaii each year. Sitting in with hotel bands, he lived the dream that so moved him as a boy.
Only in recent years did the dream go sour. Although the Hawaiian steel guitar was invented in Hawaii and has a legacy over a century old, it has gradually fallen out of favor with island bands, he said.
He tried interesting the Bishop Museum, a repository of Hawaii's cultural heritage in Honolulu, to take his collection of two dozen steel guitars. The museum refused, saying it didn't have enough room, Hawton said bitterly.
"The year before last, I told (Beverly) 'This Hawaii is getting so sick. I don't want to come here anymore,'" he said. Thus ended a 25-year string of Hawaiian vacations.
Back in Napa, his health failing, Hawton redoubled his efforts to find a proper repository for his collection of Hawaiiana. "This is what gets me in a panic," he said. "I want to get my guitars where they can be seen and heard."
Time is not his friend. "I'm going blind. I can't walk. I can't lift," he said.
Hawton is still capable of giving Hawaiian guitar lessons, but he can't find pupils who want to master a retro sound. "In this day and age, I'm competing against the damned computer," he said.
His collection of 26 guitars fills two bedrooms and overflows into the garage. He had it appraised a few years ago for $30,000, he said.
He never intended to acquire so many guitars, he said. But when his guitar-playing buddies died off, their widows offered their instruments for sale.
Although the Grammies last year created a category for Hawaiian music, the sounds of the islands aren't as popular as in earlier decades. Just try to find it on the radio.
Hawton said he pitched KVON, the local radio station, for a show featuring Hawaiian music. He argued that a lot of Hawaiians are settling in the Napa Valley. "Why not give them some music to listen to and make them feel like home?" he said.
The station didn't buy it.
The decline of Hawaiian music parallels the diminished popularity of the luau, which was once nearly as popular as crab feeds. "Luaus are my party," said Hawton.
Unfortunately, they aren't easy to put on. "It takes quite a bit to bury a pig and cook it," he said.
Hawton has a Web site, www.steelguitar.org, where the Royal Hawaiian Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and Museum has an Internet toehold. The site offers a history of the steel guitar and promotes steel guitar albums including his own "Blue Coral."
One of Hawton's biggest fans is his wife. "I think he's one of the best musicians I've ever heard. He can hear it once and just play it," Beverly Hawton said.
When Hawton burned out on Hawaii and his health declined, his wife rallied to his side. "She said, 'We'll make Hawaii at home,'" he said.
And so they have. Their backyard on Rubicon is a re-creation of a Hawaiian garden with nine pools, 24 waterfalls, five illuminated pagodas, two illuminated ponds and 10 illuminated waterfalls. Water begins flowing with a flick of a remote control.
Their patio has six sliding glass doors that open onto the garden, creating that seamless transition between indoors and outdoors that makes a stay in Hawaii so magical.
Beverly Hawton apologized for the garden not looking its best in winter. Come back in summer, she said, when the birds of paradise and ginger plants are in their glory and Hawaiian music pours from speakers hidden throughout.
"We love it out here," she said of her backyard's many themed nooks. "If we don't like one part of the island, we go to another part of the island."
The link to this article is http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2006/02/14/news/local/iq_3282083.txt
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Andy |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2006 : 07:29:03 AM
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KonaBob, any ideas to help this man?
Maybe the museum of making music in Carlsbad, CA would be interested -- I'll send them an email asking if they are interested. |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2006 : 3:06:50 PM
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Although he says "everyone these days is on the computer" I think that if he were introduced to this website, it would at least bouy his spirits. Anyone reading here will realze hawaiian music is not dead. And, if he lives near any of you, why not give a shout and invite him to a jam?
I only wish he were closer to me....I'd be at his side learning all i could |
Karl
Frozen North |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2169 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2006 : 4:38:42 PM
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| Someone go jam with the man NOW! |
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Konabob
`Olu`olu
USA
928 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2006 : 5:28:55 PM
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I wrote to Jimmy, and told him that I have 7 students here in Kona. I also have agreed to go to the school in Waimea and turn the kids onto steel guitar. Slack key is gaining popularity, the ukulele has made a big come back. I am sure that the acoustic steel will be rediscovered in the near future. Most of the pop music on the radio these days is heavy on rhythm and lacking in melodic content. People will eventually look for other means of musical expression. The pendulum will swing back one day, and it will be the fretless instruments turn to shine.
I was talking to Dennis Lake about his trip to Molokai. He mentioned that the steel guitar class over there focused on C6th and two other less well known tunings, but no Open G Taro Patch tuning. I would like to hear from any of you who took the class. Let me know your thoughts.
Aloha,
-Konabob |
Konabob's Walkingbass - http://www.konawalkingbass.com
Taropatch Steel - http://www.konaweb.com/konabob/
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Konabob2+Walkingbass |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2006 : 5:39:02 PM
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| I emailed him too. Wanted to let him know that I posted the article here, posted his link in our link pages, and to let him know there are Hawaiian music fans here. I found his story and love for Hawaiian steel guitar very inspirational. |
Andy |
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neeej
`Olu`olu
USA
643 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2006 : 9:00:30 PM
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quote:
[i]I was talking to Dennis Lake about his trip to Molokai. He mentioned that the steel guitar class over there focused on C6th and two other less well known tunings, but no Open G Taro Patch tuning. I would like to hear from any of you who took the class. Let me know your thoughts.
Aloha,
-Konabob
I'm very new to steel, but enjoying it. My teacher here wants to do C6, and one does what one's kumu wants, no? On Moloka`i, Fred taught mainly the Rogers tuning (tuned down from E to D for the sake of breaking fewer strings), and I liked it very much---a real sweet sound. I greatly fear there may be another steel guitar in my future  |
--Jean S |
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Konabob
`Olu`olu
USA
928 Posts |
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neeej
`Olu`olu
USA
643 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2006 : 9:55:38 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Konabob
Does the Rogers style of playing work best with an electric steel?
Aloha,
-Konabob
I'm too new to this to say which is better. Most of those in the class had electrics, though Fred taught with an acoustic. I was too busy trying to untangle my fingers for the subtleties at this stage :-/ |
--Jean S |
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Julie H
Ha`aha`a
USA
1206 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2006 : 8:49:40 PM
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Aloha Jean, and everyone else,
If I remember correctly, it seems to me that Fred had an electric Rickenbacher Bakelite model, and I remember this because all 3 of us (Fred, Mark, and I) had identical amplifiers and we had to find a way to distinguish one from another.
The "Rogers tuning" (E B G# E B G#) was very interesting, and intimidating for a beginner who has been tuned to TaroPatch all along. But for the class we all tuned to D A F# A D F# for the sake of not snapping all the strings.
KonaBob, it turns out the the Rickenbacher I was able to snap up on eBay looks to be a 1947 or so Silver Hawaiian. You will want to try it when you are in California! E komo mai!!! Hugs to you all,
Julie
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2006 : 3:43:38 PM
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quote:
all 3 of us (Fred, Mark, and I) had identical amplifiers and we had to find a way to distinguish one from another.
Well, that was really easy. Mine was the one Kaliko was playing through...
Dare to Suck!!!  |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 3:00:58 PM
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Hello Mike,
I would be very happy to contact this person as we are quite interested in Hawaiian Steel Guitars. However, the link to the article no longer works. Can you send me his name, phone number or other contact information?
Thank you very much,
Carolyn Grant
Executive Director
Museum of Making Music
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I sent her the information and link to Jimmy's web site. |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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Bd1
Lokahi
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 3:18:35 PM
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| Aloha all, Every day I find more reasons to be here in Da Patch! When I read the article my heart went out to Jimmy but I didn't know what to do. Hence the e-mail to Andy. It is so nice when we can come together to further what we love.........Hawaiian Music!!! BD1 |
BD1 |
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Julie H
Ha`aha`a
USA
1206 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 7:11:16 PM
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This aricle plucked at my heart strings...
Napa is only a 3 hour drive away from me. I wonder if I could make a trip up there. Anyone else interested?
Aloha, Julie |
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jlsulle
Lokahi
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2006 : 5:42:30 PM
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Hey Julie,
I am just over the hill from the Napa valley and would be happy to join you any time you can make it. Come up and stay over in Vacaville sometime. Aloha, Jerry |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2006 : 06:47:15 AM
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I'm puzzled.
The article says: "Although the Hawaiian steel guitar was invented in Hawaii and has a legacy over a century old, it has gradually fallen out of favor with island bands, he said." And, Konabob, you said, "I am sure that the acoustic steel will be rediscovered in the near future."
Almost all our Hawaiian music CDs that have a "band" playing, or instrumentalist backing a "star" have a steel guitar being played. Both times we were at Waihe`e there was a steel being played; the last time, *2* steels.
In what sense is the steel guitar being neglected? I can understand most mainland music not using steels (except for nearly *all* the trad N'ville and Southeastern US music that has steels) and the Island music styles that mimic mainland styles. But we hear it lots and it is an integral component of the music we listen to.
So, what am I missing? Are Sarah and I just in an alternate universe? Is there any difference between the scarcity of steel and other Hawaiian forms? Hardly anybody in CT ever heard of Slack Key; nobody in CT plays a `uke. Actually, when we tell someone in CT that we play a Hawaiian guitar style, they automatically think of the steel and we have to go through a whole explanation process.
So,could someone explain this to me?
...Reid (who would love to have Geri Valdriz in the same playing session every day)
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