Tag Archives: Holualoa

Gabby Style Hula Medley

Songsbig island, blue sky guitar, Gabby Pahinui, Hawaii, Holualoa, Hula Medley, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, kona coffee, ksm141, nick borho, peaceful guitar, Pure Gabby, relaxing guitar, shure, slack key, taylor 310ce, Taylor Dreadnaught

Today’s post is a performance of “Hula Medley,” which pays tribute to Gabby Pahinui’s hugely influential recordings of the same name (both the early solo verision, and the version found on Pure Gabby). Many have covered this over the years, with one of my favorite versions appearing on Sonny Chilingworth’s Sonny Solo album. Per below, my recording of the medley here includes a slightly different lineup of songs. Hope you enjoy.

Medley:
Intro / Nani Wale Li’hue
Wai’alae
U’lili E
Aloha ‘Oe

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, in fall of 2007.

Bumble Bee Slack Key

Songsbig island, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Holualoa, ki ho’alu, kona coffee, ksm141, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, shure, slack key, taro patch, taylor 310ce, Taylor Dreadnaught, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Demo recording of original song Bumble Bee Slack Key, inspired in part by the nalo meli, honey bees buzzing about their business. I wanted a song that was both lively and mellow and think I achieved it. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 12/16/07.

Green Tea (Fingerstyle Improv)

Songsbig island, Hawaii, Holualoa, improvisation, ki ho’alu, peaceful guitar music, pen D, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, shure ksm 141, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, tranquil song

“Green Tea” is a fingerstyle improvisation based on the idea of toying with certain oft used open tuning tropes and seeing how they could be morphed. Listening back, I enjoy the sound of the dreadnaught guitar I recorded it on, even though I have been using predominantly smaller bodied guitars for the last 4-5 years or so. While small bodied guitars have a great balance that is perfect for many situations, sometimes there’s just something nice about the sound of a big boomy acoustic box. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 12/14/07.

Sunny Afternoon In My Ohana (Koaloha Pineapple Soprano)

Songsbig island, Hawaii, Holualoa, koaloha, ksm141, peaceful ukulele music, pineapple ukulele, relaxing music, slack key ukulele, soprano ukulele, tranquil song, uke, ukulele improv

Today’s song from the vaults is an ukulele improvisation dubbed “Sunny Afternoon in My Ohana,” after the ohana unit where I recorded it. The unit centered on a large tile floored room with great acoustics that I kept mostly empty of furniture for recording purposes. People think of tile as producing a bright, harsh sound, but I never found the room to be that way at all. At any rate, it complemented the sound of ukulele nicely and though I only have a handful of uke recordings from that time, I recall playing uke a lot while living there. Anyway, this is one of those recordings; I hope you enjoy this music.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/1/08.

Waimea Ride (Slack Key Improvisation)

Songsbig island, Hawaii, hawaii ranch, Holualoa, kamuela, ki ho’alu, mauka, open g tuning, paniolo, slack key, taro patch, Taylor 310, Taylor 310e, waimea cowboy

Today’s song from the vaults, “Waimea Ride,” is a slack key improvisation that blossoms from a familiar type of descending figure. Though often used as part of a turnaround, this type of walk down has also been featured as a melodic device in a number of songs, most notably Leonard Kwan’s classic signature tune Opihi Moe Moe. I also recall Ozzie Kotani using it in some of his songs. Anyway, I thought the descending figure and overall pace of this improv might evoke the picture of a Paniolo riding downslope on horseback, ergo the title. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 1/11/08.

Silver Threads – Slack Key Improv

Songsbig island, blue sky guitar, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, kona coffee, mauna loa tuning, nick borho, open g tuning, slack key, taro patch, Taylor 912ce

Here is an improvisation I did based on Leonard Kwan’s famous slack key arrangement of “Silver Threads Among the Gold.” This classic tune is a popular piece in the slack key repertoire and often one of the first things people learn when exploring Drop C tuning. Most listeners of modern day Hawaii radio will recognize Silver Threads as the slack key passage quoted in the intro to Country Comfort’s Waimanalo Blues, a beloved song in the islands in its own right. Hope you enjoy.

Moment in the Sun & Crossing the Field

Songsbig island, Elixir strings, Fred Kelly, Holualoa, improvisation, ksm141, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, shure ksm 141, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

“Moment in the Sun” and it’s companion song “Crossing the Field” were recorded as a pair of songs to set the stage for the second half of my “Awake Again” album. Following the dramatic strumming of “Make” that closed the first half of the album, “Moment” & “Field” frame the mellower vibe of the album’s remaining songs. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 4/20/09.

Bull by the Horns

Songsbig island, Holualoa, improvisation, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, shure ksm 141, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, tranquil song

Bull by the Horns is a longer folk fingerpicking piece from my “Awake Again” project. I don’t often use a capo, but sometimes it’s nice to have that bright, chimey sound and snappy playability you get from moving up the neck. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 2/14/09.

Ohio River Rag (Awake Again Version)

Songsbig island, Holualoa, improvisation, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, shure ksm 141, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, tranquil song

Here is a version of my song “Ohio River Rag” recorded for the Awake Again project. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/1/09.

Morning and Night (Awake Again Version)

Songsbig island, Holualoa, improvisation, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, shure ksm 141, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, tranquil song

Here is a version of my song “Morning and Night” recorded for the Awake Again project. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 6/20/09.

Nick Borho

Slack Key & Fingerstyle Guitar

Tag Archives: Holualoa

Gabby Style Hula Medley

Bumble Bee Slack Key

Green Tea (Fingerstyle Improv)

Sunny Afternoon In My Ohana (Koaloha Pineapple Soprano)

Waimea Ride (Slack Key Improvisation)

Silver Threads – Slack Key Improv

Moment in the Sun & Crossing the Field

Bull by the Horns

Ohio River Rag (Awake Again Version)

Morning and Night (Awake Again Version)