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Pua Kai
Ha`aha`a
USA
1007 Posts |
 Posted - 08/13/2006 : 2:01:52 PM
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Aloha to all! I live just south of LAX, and though I keep looking, I have yet to find a "group" of slack key players in this area. I am so happy to be part of SCSKS, though it's a long haul down to Oceanside and San Diego. There are so many Hawaiians close by; lots of ukulele, wonderful hula dancers. So I go to eat at Bob's Ohana on Vermont in Gardena. It's a truly wonderful place with delicious food. On Thursday nights, Gerry and her ladies play many wonderful Hawaiian songs and the hula dancers delight us - even pretty small keiki. On Friday nights, Henry Kamae and his pals play so many old songs, some of the newer ones; the singing is wonderful and I'm sure trying to learn. Uncle Henry stopped the show, introduced me all around, and invited me to sit with his ohana since I was by myself. Pretty special..... I'm afraid that does it with last names. Roger's family was there too. Roger sings the falsetto and "yodel" type. And Bob's son, a Hermosa Beach firefighter and his friends joined us. And Pete always plays a terrific slide steel. The guitars in attendance are tuned conventionally - no slack key - sigh. And then Rich plays his little ukulele finger-style - nice picking!! And he's a fisherman so we have fresh poke or sashime... is there a difference? It's the bes' - same day caught and eat. And for you surfers out there - Rabbit Kekai joined us. pretty special, yah? And in case the Kahumoku's read this, Momi, Deidra and Stella Nakila said to say hello. they kindly graced us with their hula. And Uncle Henry's daughter Crissy is always a joy as she dances. Her 19 mo old Keiki kane is hysterical - in the ways that I see the little ones enjoying lu'aus and music... part of the laughter and fun.
And an update: Uncle Chuck will not be able to come to Terry's for the next kanikapila, nor will he and Auntie Iolana be at the Cerritos Ukulele Festival this year. For both events they will be in Hawai'i. But they say HI to everyone and will be at the next kanikapila when they are in town. Uncle has a heavy teaching schedule Tuesday night so won't make it to Kaisen, but one of these days he'll get down to join us for an open mic on a different night.
I have lots more news about what he's doing and will share at Terry's on Saturday (Aug 19th).
Mahalo and aloha nui loa to all our ohana here in LA and SD, and everywhere between and beyond.
auntie nancy
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 08/14/2006 : 07:17:06 AM
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... I think its time for you to start a subsidary of SCSKS up there in your area. Just post flyers at the local eateries, see what nibbles. Maybe there's a lot of closet guitar players wanting to learn slack key, give it a shot Pua.
~slkho |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 08/14/2006 : 09:54:47 AM
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Nancy
What about the enthusiastic young lady living across from you....a little Japanese girl, i think.
I cannot believe you are the onlypracticing slacker in the area. Heck, we now have two in tiny Fairbanks, and a uke group as well. Good luck in finding more slack key nearby
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Karl
Frozen North |
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Pua Kai
Ha`aha`a
USA
1007 Posts |
Posted - 08/14/2006 : 11:01:02 AM
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Aloha you folks -
Well..... I did post around the locals... not one bite... maybe because my last name is Cook? And I asked Uncle Henry last week. There are So many ukuleles - I'm very welcome with them, but cannot hear slack key guitar over 50 little fleas....
Uncle Karl, Rachel is interested in so many things and so busy, it's hard to even say hi. She's another hapa - her mom's a redhead from Utah, and her Dad's Hawaiian from Moloka'i - no Japanese there. Pretty cute, thought yah? Uncle George offered her a scholarship to camp on Maui and I couldn't break her loose for that either. Sigh...
Not to worry, I have a 4x4 so I can get down to SD county even in the heavy snows.
See you on saturday!!! |
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Tonya
Lokahi
USA
177 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2006 : 05:32:06 AM
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Auntie Nancy,
In a different vein, I couldn't find anyone at all in my area to play ukulele with (we are a very rural foothill area of Northern California). So I'm in the process of *making* ukulele players by offering a free beginner lesson once a month for 30 minutes then we move on to playing in a "circle" style for the next hour or so. Admittedly it's not much fun--yet--to "jam" with these very beginner players and it doesn't really satisfy my desire to play lots of Hawaiian sounds with others, but I figure I'm building the possibility of making that happen in the future so I'm investing in my own possible happiness! And no, I'm not a really skilled ukulele player, but I *can* teach a beginning lesson and share my deep enthusiasm for playing.
So perhaps not advertising a slack key group, per se, but an intro to slack key for curious guitarists, might be more successful in garnering some local response. The "free" aspect of an intro lesson is something I repeat at each month's gathering--it lessens the newcomers' worry about already having to know something about the genre or forking out the $$ if they're not sure they'll like it (Ha! But of course we know they *will*). Have some CDs playing as newcomers enter so they can "hear" what they'll be aiming for.
Plus, even if none of my ukulele group folks ever end up being great players, I've met some wonderful people and shared my love for this instrument with them. It's such a joy to see them strum and play and smile! |
http://www.uketreasures.com
http://www.ukuleletonya.com |
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keneke ka
Akahai
USA
75 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2006 : 8:02:47 PM
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| I saw your uke group listed on the Flea Market Music website . good luck starting a uke group. I started a Uke group at my church ,and if you have the patience , they will become skilled enough to jam along with you . Maybe get a few gigs too ! . Too bad you don't live in So. Cal. plenty of uke groups here. You can always jam along with the cds , but it isn't the same as kanikapila. Once again good luck with your uke group.....keep on strummin...Keneke |
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keneke ka
Akahai
USA
75 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2006 : 8:11:45 PM
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OOPS ..that last message was for
Tonya , but looking at her website, her uke group has grown by
leaps and bounds..good for you...ukulele lovers came out of the woodworks...keep on strummin |
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MahinaM
Lokahi
USA
389 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2006 : 04:23:15 AM
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Eh, Auntie Nancy:
Our group just started with 3 folks two years ago and now it's over 50! Granted, there are more ukesters than slackers, but THEY ARE AROUND!!! Slackers will come out of the woodwork too, but you'll have to find them and grab 'em. Try posting stuff at Bob's Ohana and other Hawaiian eateries and start your own group somewhere at a public venue, church or school on a regular basis. Word of mouth does spread. How about posting on sites like Craiglist?. Good luck, sistah! - Maggie
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