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Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
 Posted - 09/17/2008 : 5:37:41 PM
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TP = Andy (Taropatch.net)
Kimo = Jim Kimo West
TP: So Kimo, what's new?
Kimo: I'm back from Kauaʻi and Honolulu, back in smelly old LA!
I had a great time! On Kauaʻi , I hung out with Cindy Combs at her gig at Hanapepe Cafe and with Keliʻi Kanealiʻi at his at Saffron in Princeville. I had a show at Small Town Coffee which went really well.
On Oʻahu, I spent an afternoon playing music with Ozzie Kotani at his house, did and interview and photo session for Hawaiʻi magazine and hung out in Kailua with David Kawika Kahiapo.
TP: Congrats on another great CD. What was the inspiration for Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Kimo Style, your third slack key album? How did you get here?
Kimo: I guess I'd say that "Kimo-Style" is a reflection of where I am in my ever-evolving journey of exploring both the roots and the possibilities of slack key. I record songs all the time and this bunch seemed to fit together in a good way.
TP: You incorporate West African guitar rhythms in Strawberry Guavas and some non-traditional chords in Kuʻu Lei ʻAwapuhi. How do you describe your slack key style?
Kimo: I'm definitely what you'd call a contemporary slack key player, but I have immense respect for the tradition, too. I try to stretch the boundaries a bit but also try to retain the spirit of kī hō ʻalu, the nahenahe feeling that I love so much. I never really tried to pick apart the details of classic slack key repertoire that much - I more or less absorbed the sounds of the great players by osmosis - Gabby, Atta, Uncle Sonny, Ray Kane. I listened to their records for a few years before I ever really tried to play slack key.
I started playing professionally at age 16, all kinds of music - folk, rock, blues, jazz - so I have many other influences that tend to color my slack key playing. I'm a big fan of modern, 20th century classical music as well, and that probably sneaks in a bit here and there.
TP: I really enjoyed the kanikapila feel and bluesy riffs in Hana Highway Slack Key. Can you talk about some of the other musicians who appear on this album? How did you choose who you'd collaborate with?
Kimo: Mahalo! That was a fun track and reminds me of all the times I've driven the Hana Highway listening to "The Gabby Band" or "Two Slack Key Guitars" and many others! I asked Ken Emerson to do some steel guitar magic from his old National resonator guitar. I know him from Hanalei and really enjoy his steel playing!
TP: Did you record together live or use technology?
Kimo: We couldn't get together physically so I sent him a CD of the track and he sent me back a CD with a few takes. I just edited them together into one and mixed it in!
TP: As a touring musician, where does slack key guitar fit in? You clearly have a genuine passion for Hawaiʻi and the music.
Kimo: I most often tour with Weird Al Yankovic, my "day" gig, but I would love to do a slack key tour sometime. I'm not real fond of booking and organizing tours so it might have to wait until I find someone to do that!
I do have a passion for Hawaiʻi and really consider it my home. I've been going back and forth to Hana, Maui and Kauaʻi for almost 25 years - the longest connection I've had with just about anywhere.
TP: How often do you get out and perform Hawaiian music? Who are you performing with?
Kimo: I play a few private gigs in the LA area from time to time and, when I get invited, concerts and festivals. Most recently the Southern California Slack Key Festival back in January. It was a tremendous experience!
I also opened for Led and Mike Kaʻawa a while back here and have played the Hawaiʻi festivals a few times - not lately though. I do a lot of kokua gigs at Hoʻolauleʻa, hula hōʻike etc and plenty of jamming with my friends here. I have played here with my friend Kapō Ku for many years and produced his first CD, "Eia Mai Ka Lā" that came out on Mountain Apple recently.
TP: Can you talk about your producing credits?
Kimo: Besides Kapo's CD, I've done a number of CD's for independent artists. Most recently for Donovan Kealoha, which we are shopping right now. He's very talented and had two or three Top 40 country hits in 2006, 2007 on Category 5 Records in Nashville, as Donovan Chapman. (Kealoha is his mom's last name.) He's half Hawaiian and half Cajun and has moved his focus away from country to more of an islandy, reggae, laid back surfer sound - very cool stuff.
TP: Hawaiian tributes to Sublime and The Eagles for LA's CMH Records sounds really cool.
Kimo: Yes, CMH Records hired me to produce a couple CD's for them - they do these tribute CD's, mostly bluegrass - that are really cool. In this case they wanted Hawaiian-ized versions of Sublime and The Eagles. I wasn't sure how they would come out, but they ended up being really cool! Being low budget projects, I played all the parts except for the steel guitar on "Kalana 'Alani", an original song on the Sublime CD which was played by the incredible Greg Liesz.
TP: Sorry that this Q&A is so late, 9 months after the release of this great album. For those who don't own it, where can people buy it?
Kimo: Well if you're in Hawaiʻi, you can get it at Border's and a few other places. Otherwise my website has links to CD Baby, Amazon, mele.com and download sites such as I Tunes, hawaiitunes, etc.
TP: You've had a long and diverse career with Weird Al. Not many can say that they've performed to sell out crowds dressed as a Jedi or rapped on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (I love White & Nerdy, btw.) What are you working on now?
Kimo: Yes, it's been quite a ride and no sign of slowing down anytime soon! We just did a ten week summer tour and plan to start recording new material soon. My latest slack key project is a Christmas CD: "Kimo's Hawaiian Slack Key Christmas". It will be out October 1st. It features my kī hō ʻalu arrangements of traditional and contemporary Christmas songs and also an original, "Mauna Kea Sleigh Ride"!
TP: Mahalo e Kimo for your beautiful music and friendship.
Kimo: My pleasure Andy - mahalo for the invitation and for providing us all with such a wonderful slack key resource!
For more info about Kimo, visit www.jimkimowest.com.
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Andy |
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