Tag Archives: hawaiian guitar

Naupaka Slack Key ~ Early Take

Here is an early take of Naupaka Slack Key, a song that pays tribute to ‘beach’ naupaka, a cheerful bush that can be found near many beaches in Hawai’i.  While the story of separated lovers embodied in the ‘half flowers’ of beach and ‘mountain’ naupaka is poignant, I often think of the little white berries bobbing around in the water at such places as Kamakahonu beach near the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kailua-Kona where I used to swim as a keiki.  Not long ago, an old friend reminded me of the ‘lilikoi man’ who used to walk by the beach there selling passionfruit from a KTA shopping bag for a quarter.  As kids, we would build sand castles, explore the nearby pier, and take small fishing nets to catch little minnow-sized fish for our beach bucket filled with seawater (which we would return to the ocean not long after).  Anyway, the naupaka plant was often nearby during those childhood hours (small kid time, as they say) spent at various Kona and Kohala beaches – mellow and relaxing days with ohana and friends.  Hope you enjoy.

Punahele – Ray Kane Slack Key Cover (Longer Version)

Here is another, slightly longer version I recorded of the classic Ray Kane slack key song “Punahele.”  According to the Dancing Cat liner notes, Punahele (“favorite” or “pet”) came to Ray “one night in 1938 at Zablan’s Beach in Nanakuli. ‘Back in those days there were no cars, it was pitch black. So I sit there in the dark in the nice cool breeze and I hear the waves bouncing on the sand and see the moonlight flicker on the water. It inspired me, something so nice. So mellow. That’s what gave me my inspiration.’”  Hope you enjoy.

Hualalai Sunrise (Slack Key Guitar)

“Hualalai Sunrise” was inspired by the morning sunrises in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i.  Much of North Kona – from Kalaoa where I spent much of my early childhood to Holualoa where I later lived – can see the sun shining over the top ridges of Hualalai in the morning, bathing its warm light over the slopes from the summit to the ocean.

Acacia Improv (K22ce)

Acacia Improv is an outtake of some improvisation done one day while I was recording “Acacia Just Noticed.”  That song as well as this short little improv were meant to highlight the koa guitar’s warm low-mid tone with a touch of sparkle in the treble register, to bring out the characteristic warmth and sweetness of the wood.  Hope you enjoy.

Keiki Slack Key (412ce)

Here is another version of the Ray Kane classic “Keiki Slack Key” I recorded on my Taylor 412ce-R steel string guitar.  Keiki Slack Key (not to be confused with the Sonny Chillingworth song of the same name) is one of the first slack key songs I transcribed, and has stayed on my setlists ever since.  To me, Ray Kane is probably the best example of an ‘old style’ slack key player, and his tracks are always nahenahe.  Hope you enjoy.

 

 

Magic Sands (Original Slack Key, Alt Take)

I used to take a guitar to sit and play some slack key at beaches around Kailua-Kona like Old Airport, Honl’s, Kahalu’u, Keauhou Bay, and La’aloa Beach Park… which is also known locally as White Sands, or Magic Sands.  La’aloa Beach Park is just off Ali’i Drive a few miles South of Kailua-Kona.  Often known as Magic Sands because the sand ‘disappears’ practically overnight from most of the shoreline during winter swells, only to fully ‘reappear’ in the Summer, the beach is a popular spot for residents of Kona.  I often used to head over there with a cup of Kona coffee in the early morning before the crowds arrived, when it was still quiet, and sit on the picnic tables and play guitar.  Here is a slack key style tune I wrote one day while hanging out with my guitar around Magic Sands.  Hope you enjoy.

Slack Key Number 1 (Taylor 412ce)

Here is an alternate take of Slack Key No. 1, the classic showpiece of slack key master Sonny Chillingworth.  I first heard it on the Dancing Cat release “Endlessly,” and it also appears on his 1964 solo release “Waimea Cowboy.”  The Waimea Cowboy version sounds like it was recorded on an electric guitar, while the version on Endlessly was recorded on acoustic guitar.  Both versions are very similar, though with some slight differences.  I have incorporated elements from both versions in the arrangement I play.  Hope you enjoy. 

Young Street Blues (Cyril Pahinui Slack Key Cover)

Like many, my first exposure to Cyril’s solo recordings came through his amazing albums recorded for the Dancing Cat label, including the “6 & 12 String Slack Key” album on which “Young Street Blues” is featured.  This particular song was highlighted for me in Mark Hanson’s excellent book of slack key transcriptions, which featured this among other songs by Cyril and other slack key legends.  

The liner notes to the album tell a story of Cyril writing the song at a recording studio on Young Street in 1991.  I seem to recall another story, told by Cyril at a performance, about Cyril living in an apartment on Young Street and feeling kind of restless.  Young Street, starts (or ends) in Honolulu’s Mo’ili’ili neighborhood, running between King Street and Beretania, through Makiki, to Thomas Square Park near the Honolulu Museum of Art.  I recall Cyril talking along the lines of how Young Street was sandwiched between these prominent streets and landmarks in a kind of limbo, being neither here nor there.  I think the song (and ‘that note’) speak to such a restless vibe… but also a sense of playfulness.

Unusually for his solo work, Cyril uses Taro Patch tuning – the most common slack key tuning, but not one featured as often as the C and D tunings Cyril favored.  Cyril’s style is at once both muscular and nuanced, with deep tunings and sometimes the added jangle of a 12 string guitar – it’s a ‘large’ sound.  I tried to capture that feel here by tuning down to a lower register.  This song was fun to play and record.  Hope you enjoy.

Keiki Slack Key (Nylon, Alt Take)

Here is another version of the Ray Kane classic “Keiki Slack Key” I recorded on my Taylor 414ce-NR nylon string guitar.  Keiki Slack Key (not to be confused with the Sonny Chillingworth song of the same name) is one of the first slack key songs I transcribed, and has stayed on my setlists ever since.  To me, Ray Kane is probably the best example of an ‘old style’ slack key player, and his tracks are always nahenahe.  Hope you enjoy.

 

 

Morning in Paia (Original Fingerstyle)

Alternately titled “Paia Morning” or “Paia Kakahiaka,” the song “Morning in Paia” began life as the harmonic laden intro/outro figure and grew into the mellow yet energetic song here.  Paia Morning captures some of the mellow yet entrancing vibes of a morning in Paia, Maui: you start out strolling the sidewalks – still sparsely populated this time of day – perhaps pick up some fresh fruit from Mana Foods while catching a little bit of local news at the North Shore outpost, or head up the road a short ways to Island Fresh Café for some breakfast nosh.  Next, travel back down the road to grab coffee at Paia Bay Coffee or Anthony’s, maybe taking a meditative stroll along the sand at Paia Bay before wrapping up with lunch at Flatbread Company or Café des Amis.  Hope you enjoy.