Slack Key DVD Documentary by Eddie Kamae

A few days ago I received my copy of Ki Ho'alu: Slack Key The Hawaiian Way, a DVD documentary of Hawaiian slack key guitar, Hawaii's gorgeous, indigenous fingerpicking guitar style. I've really been enjoying it! You'll recognize some of the names and faces that have appeared at the Southern California Slack Key Festival like George Kahumoku Jr, Ledward Kaapana and Dennis Kamakahi. Gary Haleamau, who was a part of the 2008 Aloha Falsetto Festival, is also in there and you'll get to see him again at the 2011 Slack Key Festival in Redondo Beach January 23. Lots of great interviews and music from Gabby Pahinui (Cyril's father), Raymond Kane, George Kuo, and even my UH college professor Lisa Smith!

I never would have thought - back when I was attending the Slack Key Festival in Hawaii (when it used to be held at the McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana park) - that I'd be hiring these people for my shows and becoming friends with them.

This film premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., during a special day of screenings at the American Film Institute honoring Eddie Kamae's Legacy Series. Jim "Kimo" West says he was there on Maui back when they had just wrapped up the filming and remembers them partying it up at the local restaurant/bar. Lots of great playing techniques that you just don't see anymore like the sewing needle hanging from the mouth and banging up against the string and right hand tapping. I'm sure you'll enjoy this documentary as much as I am.

Seattle Slack Key Festival

Had a blast up in Seattle at the 1st Annual Seattle Slack Key Festival organized by Cyril and Chelle Pahinui November 21-22. It was definitely nice to not have to worry about anything personally and just sit back and enjoy the sweet sounds of Hawaiian music as played by the masters of slack key!

They followed the format of the Southern California Slack Key Festival and held a dinner reception the night before the show and featured the artists jammin' together - Leabert Lindsey, Donald Kaulia and Kunia Galdeira jammed together in one of many different configurations that night. Makana and Jeff Peterson played together with Cyril on bass and that was a blast too! They had a great time and decided to work out something together for the show the next day which turned out to be a huge highlight of the Festival!
You can see photos of the event here - hope more people can make it out next time, please be sure to let your friends and family know what they missed! Photographer was a nice guy and the pictures turned out great! That's me in pic #200 and that's Aya dancing for Dennis Kamakahi at the dinner reception - the only one that got up to dance an impromptu hula to Uncle D's "Pua Hone".

Many of the artists that were there in Seattle will be returning for the 3rd Annual Southern California Slack Key Festival: Cyril and his band which will probably be Sonny Lim, Kunia, Peter Moon Jr and Greg Sardinha, Jeff Peterson, Makana. And this year will also feature Ledward Kaapana and John Cruz. More news and info to come!

Hawaiian music e-newsletters now archived and accessible

Just figured out how to set up an archive for past e-newsletters for those who read this blog but might not be sure if you'd like to sign up on the email list. Please click on this link to view past e-newsletters and if you have any ideas, suggestions or comments on what you'd like to see, be sure to let me know!

Newsletters contain info on upcoming events covering not only the Hawaiian community but the Redondo Beach and South Bay areas as well. Subscribe to read about new events, stores, restaurants, enter to win cool prizes, try some delicious island recipes...from time to time you can also enjoy interviews with some of Hawaii's top performing and recording artists who appear in various Kala Koa Entertainment events such as Cyril Pahinui, Jeff Peterson, Makana, Jim "Kimo" West, Owana Salazar, Dennis Kamakahi, Bobby Moderow, John Keawe and many more!

Pictured L to R: Jeff Peterson, Torie Brown (our #1 fan!), Steven Espaniola

2009 Slack Key Festival Highlights Part 2

One of the best parts of the Southern California Slack Key Festival is the reception held the night before the show that I have come to call the Concert Preview Reception. Duke's Restaurant in Malibu has been the perfect setting for this event and Josh and Brittany in catering have been wonderful supporters as well. Yes, it can be a bit of a drive depending on where you're coming from but every attendee would attest to the fact that it is so worth it! I mean, you get great food, drink and the chance to see the festival's artists up close and personal.

The artists are always so warm and full of aloha and they were greeted with the same from all the fans and that's what really makes this kind of event a success. I asked John Keawe's beautiful wife Hope to do the lei greeting as guests arrived and received, to their surprise, a goodie bag provided by Trilogy Spa.

And oh, the food. To keep costs low for the guests (and also for me) and still present a classy event, I worked on the menu with Duke's who also donated some appetizers including some of the most incredible shrimp and poke you'll ever eat. Even my friend who works in Hollywood and is exposed to vast amounts of the best food on a daily basis (her dog gets filet mignon and prime rib!) said dinner and pupus that night was amazing. Her mom was actually wondering if maybe she should have had more shrimp and poke since that was likely going to be dinner because how could it possibly get any better than that? But no, there was huli huli chicken, mahi mahi, Duke's famous hula pie and so much more. Even Primo Beer pitched in drinks, even before they were officially distributing on the mainland, just happy to be a part of the night's festivities!

Last year, Kimo West said it'd be no problem to bring his PA system in case any jammin' were to take place. I left it totally optional for the artists and to do whatever they feel. Well, George Kahumoku Jr got up and took the initiative, and so did Dennis Kamakahi, Owana Salazar, Cyril Pahinui, and they all had such wonderful stories to share. And speaking of wonderful stories, a couple days prior, Jeff Peterson and I had dropped in, unannounced, on Bill Tapia at his house in Orange County (just like how we do it in Hawaii!) and invited him to the reception where he also got up with his ukulele to jam on a few tunes with George, Jeff Peterson, and Kimo, as well as share his as-usual amusing anecdotes from his 90-year musical career (he is now 101!). He'd claimed he'd known Gabby Pahinui so I mainly invited him so he could come meet Gabby's son Cyril.

It's so magical how everything is just go with the flow....to see Makana jammin' with Peter Moon Jr and Lehua (Ledward Kaapana's sister) and Sonny Lim and Bruce Spencer from Maunalua - these artists never get together like this even in Hawaii but that's exactly what happened at this year's reception. Ever seen Cyril get up to do an impromptu hula followed by Bobby Moderow hamming it up? You probably never will again, either!

The photos under the heading Reception at Duke's capture just a fraction of the aloha that filled the room that night but that picture of Makana and Bobby Moderow sharing the mic is itself worth a thousand words.

Stay tuned for info about the Concert Preview Reception for the upcoming Aloha Falsetto Festival in July!

2009 Grammy Awards Hawaiian Night

For the first time since the Hawaiian music category was introduced in 2005, slack key guitar wasn't on the winning ballot for the Grammy award. That's OK, the genre has received plenty of attention through the years and there are so many other facets to Hawaiian music that deserve a listen as well.

What was most fun - for me, anyway - were the events leading up to the awards show: Friday night there was an intimate gathering of the nominees from the islands over at the Grammy museum in the brand spankin' new downtown L.A. Live area in one of the theatres. Daniel Ho and Tia Carrere started things off then came Paul Togioka on solo slack key and Bobby Moderow (of Maunalua) singing for his beautiful hula dancing wife Pua, then LT Smooth and Don Kaulia jammin' with Milton and Chris Lau on bass and percussion, respectively. I think the evening was Milton's idea, it seems he coordinated the whole thing. Milton has been producing the Slack Key Festivals in the Hawaiian Islands for the past 26 years, an incredible run.

I can't remember if Ledward Kaapana with Mike Kaawa tearing it up came next or if it was Rev Dennis Kamakahi performing 3 of his classic songs "Koke'e", "Wahine Ilikea" and "Pua Hone". These songs have stood the test of time for sure, so much so that one might think they were public domain songs by now! It was sure an honor having Dennis at the first ever Southern California Slack Key Festival and I'm hoping Led & Mike will be available to come onboard for the 3rd Festival in 2010.

Amy Hanaiali'i wrapped up the evening with her incredible vocals which was so refreshing to hear. Very polished performance since she does record and perform with a regular band, all awesome musicians I kind of consider the "Hawaiian Wrecking Crew": Steve Jones on bass, Chino Montero on guitar and the ubiquitous Jeff Peterson also on guitar. Steve is highly proficient at both upright and electric bass, Hawaiian and jazz. Chino was a member of one of my favorite groups, Palolo - I can listen to their first CD, especially, over and over. Can't say enough about Jeff's classical, jazz and Hawaiian slack key guitar chops, music-arranging savvy and overall musical know-how. Amy is very lucky to have him on her side.

However, I have to admit that by far, the best part was attending the rehearsals for the Grammy show! Got to hear Coldplay run through Viva La Vida - which won Song of the Year - 3 times! Also Paul McCartney and an incredible band, which included Dave Grohl on drums, played through "I Saw Her Standing There" 3 times as well.....Jeff Peterson and I were THIS close!!! When we first arrived, the blues quarter was running through their stuff and this was just an awesome thing to witness - B.B. King, Buddy Guy, John Mayer and Keith Urban - WOW!!!

Like the beer commercial said, it doesn't get any better than this.

Makana - if you haven't heard his music yet, you don't know what you're missing

I've known Makana for a while now, probably since around 1999, right around the time his debut CD came out but feels like it's been a little longer than that. Actually, at the very moment a friend was introducing us, "Only You" was playing on the radio right next to us, that was a trip. Here are some things people had to say about that first recording Makana:

"Makana's debut CD is simply fantastic. Having seen him play live for three years now, I can honestly say that the CD is a realistic showcase of his talents. "Jacked Up Slack" is a fabulous fusion of traditional slack key guitar and funky jazz tones--it's like sitting in on a hot jam session on a cool Hawaiian night."

"His music is heartfelt and growing. If you want to hear something different and reflective check this out."

"I bought Makana's CD recently and wuz blown away"

Now, 8 years and four CDs later, he's still going strong - booking most of his own gigs himself throughout Hawaii, the mainland and all over the world, as well as keeping up with his fans and supporters - and he's only getting bigger! What a monumental talent but with such a giving and humble spirit. Not afraid to branch out and experiment musically, he deserves all the good things that come his way. Even all the big dogs of traditional slack key like Dennis Kamakahi and Cyril Pahinui give him props and they show support for what he does, too.

On a personal note, I've always appreciated his support of the Southern California Slack Key Festival that I started in Los Angeles - which he'll always be welcome to be a part of - and of my endeavors in general. This coming Monday and Tuesday I'll be playing cajon (for the first time in a non-flamenco situation) behind him at Typhoon restaurant in Santa Monica. Had a fun time last night going over stuff with him and another friend Jim "Kimo" West, another slack key artist who lives here in L.A. who also happens to be the guitarist with Weird Al Yankovic so he is VERY versatile and will actually be playing a fair amount of bass for the Typhoon gig (my idea, pat myself on the back lol). Unlike most other people who, when they play cajon, just basically try to beat the shit out of it, I try to get as many sounds out of as I can which is why I also really like to use brushes for different textures. If you had to choose just one, I think the cajon is the perfect percussion instrument to accompany Makana's music, given its versatility. Anyway, for those who attended last week's Slack Key Festival, you will see some very different stuff at Typhoon's as well as some of the stuff you loved at the concert. For those not already familiar with Makana's music you should definitely try to make the show - you will see what you've been missing all these years!

Please leave some comments relating your experience hearing Makana's music and if, after reading this, you decide to attend the Typhoon gig, please come back here and tell me what you think!