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Konabob
`Olu`olu
USA
928 Posts |
 Posted - 07/01/2011 : 08:25:56 AM
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My, oh my! This week is passing quickly by...
Blue morning skies, soft breezes and Kona coffee are not a bad way to start your day. Knowing that you are going to be playing Hawaiian music with your friends for much of the day makes it that much more fun. And so Thursday began, with the sounds of slack key, ʻukulele, and beautiful Hawaiian steel drifting through the gardens at Keauhou Beach Resort.
Guess who showed up for lunch? John and Hope Keawe, with Shelley! It is always great to see them, and to have them show up was such a treat for many campers who have enjoyed taking Johnʻs slack key classes, and Hopeʻs hula classes at past AMCs.
It was "Open Mic Night" last evening, and people were busy in their spare moments, working on their performance pieces. My job was to make sure that they could all be heard. The sound system was very simple: 5 mics on stage. No monitors, no DI Boxes, and the main speakers turned up just enough to keep the folks in the back row happy. Dennis Lake, who has been to every Camp since Eisenhower was president, told me it was the best sound he had ever heard at one of these things - so I am happy.
Tom Lunneberg was a primo emcee. His dry sense of humor is just perfect in that role, and he puts out such a nice, welcoming "vibe" to all. We heard some beautiful slack key during the evening -some playing stunning original pieces, we were treated to some hula, and even a comedy "skit"! Claudia Goddard and her brand new Steve Grimes guitar proved that she could easily run with the "Big Dogs". She performed a song that she was supposed to sing at the last camp with the advanced slack key class for Hoʻike night but couldnʻt due to illness. Miho Hyodo from Japan, took the stage with ʻukulele in hand and sang Pua Tuberose - starting high, and modulating up three times! The campers who were new to the world of slack key and some also to the world of performing, presented themselves very well, and as Tom said, "they are now on the Journey!" It is alway great to see beginning slack key students show their courage and share their love for this music with their new musical family.
Now for something completely different: Sherry Mayrent, and her Band-in-a-Box, showed us what Klezmer music is all about. She and her clarinet started out sweet and slow, just to show us how complex the chording is in this music from Eastern Europe. Then she put the pedal to the metal, speeding up to an infectious festive dance rhythm, and the crowd went wild! I heard feet stomping, hands clapping, and shouts of "Hana Hou" and "Mazel tov!"
At the end of the evening, I joined the "Three Amigos" from Punahou (Danny Ane, Tim Canty and Kendall Casey) on the Walkingbass for a little slack key medley, some splendid ʻukulele jazz numbers, and a very sweet rendition of "I Lanikai" by Nancy Gustafsson, which they dedicated to my wife, Shirley. (She cried ;) )
To top the evening off, Kaliko and Moana had us all hold hands for "Hawaii Aloha". It started raining during the song, and then suddenly, as the song ended, the rain was gone. Magic!
See you tomorrow for Beamer Concert Night.
Aloha,
-Konabob
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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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AMC Report - Thursday
