Tag Archives: Elixir Polyweb

Meadows Slack Key (912ce)

Songsacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, Elixir Polyweb, fingerstyle guitar, geckos, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, Holualoa, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, Mamalahoa Highway, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open G, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, slack key, taro patch, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

“Meadows” is a slack key song I wrote during a full moon in Kailua-Kona. I think the song was influenced by the night air and night sounds – the occasional chirp of geckos, the distant sounds of traffic on Mamalahoa Highway and the waves in the ocean. Hope you enjoy.

Meadows

Songsacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, Elixir Polyweb, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, ksm141, Mamalahoa Highway, nick borho, open G, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, shure, slack key, taro patch, taylor 310ce

“Meadows” is an original song I wrote during a full moon in Kailua-Kona. I think the song was influenced by the night air and night sounds – the occasional chirp of geckos, the distant sounds of traffic on Mamalahoa Highway and the waves in the ocean. This version was probably recorded within a year of when I wrote it. Hope you enjoy.

Slippery Slack Key (310ce)

Songsbig island, blue sky guitar, Elixir Polyweb, Hawaii, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, ksm141, nick borho, open G, shure, slack key, taro patch, taylor 310ce

Years back I was working on some turnaround ideas when I wrote “Slippery Slack Key.” Also known as the “Slippery Fish Slack Key,” this is a fast paced and fun to play slack key song that saw various incarnations in my set a few years back. The slippery runs were inspired in part by the fish in the waters off Kailua-Kona. Kona’s world famous fishing was also brought to mind frequently by my landlord at the time I wrote this song, a local fish boat captain named Chuck. Hope you enjoy.

Saddle Up! Slack Key

Songsacoustic guitar, big island, Elixir Polyweb, hawaiian cowboy, Holualoa, ki ho’alu, kona coffee festival, ksm141, pa’u rider, paniolo, shure, taylor 310ce, wahine tunhawaii

Here is a song I wrote years back called ‘Saddle Up! Slack Key.’ It pays tribute to Hawaii’s unique Paniolo cowboy culture, including the beautiful Pa’u riders I would see at the Kona Coffee Festival Parade among other events. Hope you enjoy.

Jewel Ponds

Songsacoustic guitar, big island, blue sky guitar, Elixir Polyweb, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, ksm141, nick borho, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, shure, slack key, taylor 310ce, Taylor Dreadnaught

This improvisation is named for the beautiful anchialine ponds you find along the leeward coast of Hawai’i Island. These ponds are an ultra rare and pristine habitat (please do not bathe in them) that host rare tiny red shrimp – ‘ōpae ‘ula – and can have a magnificent array of turquoise and opaline colors, like jewels. Some of these ponds are tiny indeed, almost more of a puddle than a pond, and legends tell of ponds that would mysteriously appear to someone only to vanish when visited again. There can be no denying the strange, quiet magic of Hawai’i’s anchialine ponds.

Mauna Loa Slack Key

Songsbig island, blue sky guitar, Elixir Polyweb, Hawaii, Holualoa, ki ho’alu, kona coffee, ksm141, mauna loa, nick borho, shure, slack key, taylor 310ce, Taylor Dreadnaught

Here is my cover of “Mauna Loa Slack Key,” one of the relatively few surviving original songs from legendary slack key kupuna Fred Punahoa. Though “Uncle” Fred never made a full album, he did make a notable appearance on the Waimea Music Festival album which features Mauna Loa Slack Key along with another of Fred’s originals, “Punahoa Special.” Uncle Fred’s legacy also includes fostering amazing Big Island talents of the next generation such as Ledward Ka’apana and Sonny Lim. Like the Punahoa Special, Mauna Loa Slack Key is an often covered song in the slack key world. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 10/11/07.

Opihi Moe Moe (Taylor 310ce)

Songsbig island, blue sky guitar, Chet Atkins, Elixir Polyweb, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, kona coffee, ksm141, leonard kwan, nick borho, open G, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, shure, slack key, taro patch, taylor 310ce, Taylor Dreadnaught

Here’s a recently found cover I did of Leonard Kwan’s signature tune, Opihi Moe Moe. One of the most popular songs in the slack key repetoire, this song has been covered perhaps most prominently by Led Kaapana; in fact, Chet Atkins even recorded a version after hearing it from Leonard on a visit to Hawai’i. Notably, Leonard himself recorded several versions of this song including variations such as Opihi Bounce. Opihi Moe Moe is a fun song to play that lends itself to little variations, and everyone seems to bring something different to this deceptively simple song. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 1/4/2008.

Nick Borho

Slack Key & Fingerstyle Guitar