Tag Archives: taylor guitars

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.

 

 

Punahoa Special (alt take)

Here is an alternate take of “Punahoa Special,” this one recorded with a Telefunken M60 microphone.  Punahoa Special is a signature showpiece of legendary slack key master Fred Punahoa.  This is a song I was fortunate enough to learn directly from Led Ka’apana, one that Led had in turn learned directly from Fred himself.  Though Fred Punahoa never made a full album under his own name, he did make a notable appearance on the Waimea Music Festival album, in addition to fostering amazing talents of the next generation such as Led and Sonny Lim.  “Punahoa Special” is an often covered song in the slack key canon, and might also be the most popular song in Mauna Loa slack key tuning.  Hope you enjoy.

 

Wonderful Tonight – Remix

Here is a remix of my fingerstyle rendition of Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight.  Eric wrote the song about his then-wife Pattie Boyd, who had already inspired great songs from Eric and previous husband George Harrison.  This song has been the theme to many a high school prom, and its simple yet tasteful melody has held up over the years.  In keeping with that, my arrangement here is fairly straight forward: it doesn’t move around the neck very much or have any unusual chord voicings.  Hope you enjoy it.

 

Punahoa Special

Today’s song is the joyful “Punahoa Special,” a signature showpiece of legendary slack key master Fred Punahoa.  This is a song I was fortunate enough to learn directly from Led Ka’apana, one that Led had in turn learned directly from Fred himself.  Though Fred Punahoa never made a full album under his own name, he did make a notable appearance on the Waimea Music Festival album in addition to fostering amazing talents of the next generation such as Led and Sonny Lim.  “Punahoa Special” is an often covered song in the slack key canon, and might also be the most popular song in Mauna Loa slack key tuning.  Hope you enjoy.

 

Kailua Bay Blues

Today’s tune from the vaults is a recording of a slack key song I wrote and called “Kailua Bay Blues.” I spent a lot of time as a kid swimming in the waters of historic and majestic Kailua Bay, the waterfront area of ‘downtown’ Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. The bay is surrounded by historic residences once occupied by the Hawaiian Monarchy, hotels, restaurants, and usually someone fishing off the seawall. The area also hosts the swim and finish line for the Ironman World Championship triathlon. The waters of Kailua Bay, as well as the sky above, can have many different shades of blue – thus a double meaning for this bluesy slack key song’s title. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, 9/13/07.

Moment in the Sun & Crossing the Field

“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.

Wonderful Tonight (Alternate Take)

Here is an alternate take of my fingerstyle rendition of Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight. Eric wrote the song about his then-wife Pattie Boyd, who had already inspired great songs from Eric and previous husband George Harrison. This song has been the theme to many a high school prom, and its simple yet tasteful melody has held up over the years. In keeping with that, my arrangement here is fairly straight forward: it doesn’t move around the neck very much or have any unusual chord voicings. Hope you enjoy it.

Recorded in Honolulu, Hawaii 4/27/15.

Introduction from Awake Again (6/13/09)

This was the introduction to a set of songs I was working on a while back. The working title of the project was “Awake Again”, and the idea was to have a set of songs songs that were connected by mostly shorter and improvisatory ‘transitions’, including both an introduction preceding the set and an outro at the end. I wanted the introduction to convey a sense that you were transitioning into listening mode and set the stage for the music to come. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 6/13/09.

Perfect & Beautiful

One day in the fall of 2012, I sat down to record a set of improvised songs with a Taylor dreadnought acoustic guitar. I improvised five original songs and two versions of Amazing Grace. With only one or two false starts, they were mostly first takes. The set was nothing really mind altering, but it had some cool songs with good vibes – so I considered it a success. It’s not the kind of thing I do often – in fact I haven’t done the exercise since, haven’t played any of the original songs again, and don’t consider it the most incredible thing I’ve ever done. Yet somehow it stands out in my mind as a creative milestone, a memorable event. Sometimes it’s important to break out of the mold with such experiments to reach a new frame of mind, a new level. This was the fourth song in the set, which I dubbed “Perfect & Beautiful.”

Recorded in Louisville, Kentucky, 9/29/12.