Aloha, Aunty Genoa and Uncle Ray

This week Hawai’i lost two musical giants and beloved kupuna: Aunty Genoa Keawe (Kay-ah-vey) and Uncle Ray Kane (Kah-nay). Quite a blow. Yumi, Chie, and I were lucky enough to see Aunty Genoa sing and play in 2005 at the Honolulu Festival — though she continued to perform long after despite failing health. (Even in her mid-80s, Aunty could hold her trademark falsetto longer than singers a quarter of her age! Check out her signature song “Alika” to see what I mean.) She was quite a performer, with a smile that could make anybody feel good inside. I wasn’t familiar with Aunty Genoa until after moving to Hawai’i but was always glad to see and hear her, whether in concert or on the television. It’s just really sad knowing she’s not with us anymore.

Ray and I, however, go back a bit further. I first became aware of Ray Kane in 1995 when James Treat got hold of and showed the documentary Ki Ho’alu: That’s Slack Key Guitar to our Native American Studies class. I was immediately smitten by Ray’s charm and warmth, and shortly thereafter went out and purchased his CD Punahele. (Dancing Cat Records, a major promoter of slack key music, is based in Santa Cruz.)

The film was only available as a 16mm print at that time so the nearest I could come to it was a “how to” slack key guitar video that Ray had out. (I wish I had it with me now, but the tape is at Dad’s house with my other stuff.) I still remember when the package arrived: everything was hand-written, even a note tucked inside thanking me for the purchase and wishing me warmest aloha. And though I didn’t get very far with the actual guitar playing, I watched that tape many times just to hear Uncle Ray “talk story”. He reminded me so much of my grandfather and I just liked the sound of his voice in the room.

Being that Santa Cruz is a regular stopover on the Hawaiian music circuit, I had an opportunity to see Ray at UC Santa Cruz during a performance of slack key masters that included Keola Beamer, Led Kaapana, and George Kahumoku, Jr. It’s amazing that Ray was even able to travel back then due to lingering health problems, so I feel honored to have seen him perform live. What a guy, though. Do you know he used to trade fish he’d caught as a kid for guitar lessons? They don’t make them like that anymore, that’s for sure.

Aunty Genoa and Uncle Ray, aloha and mahalo nui loa to you both.

(Lee Cataluna on Aunty Genoa)
(Aunty Genoa Keawe’s Wikipedia page — I contributed the photo )
(Aunty Genoa obit — with photos, video and audio clips)
(Ray Kane obit)
(Ray Kane bio on Dancing Cat Records’ site)
(Ki Ho’alu: That’s Slack Key Guitar)

Dabbling in tabs

I’ve really been enjoying having my guitar back (the Tokai that Todd mailed me recently). It’s also been fun looking up guitar tabs on the Web — mainly for intro licks that get me to sit down and practice for a few minutes. Man, gone are the days (for the most part) of plunking down big bucks for pricey sheet music. I still have a whole boxful at Dad’s house — but only those titles that made it past the culling: the others I flogged years ago at Logo’s Books in Santa Cruz to scrounge up some cash.

(Trivia: first sheet music I ever purchased was U2’s Joshua Tree; bought at Crow’s Nest music in Naperville, July 1989. I remember coming home and trying to work out a D chord on the back porch of our house. It seemed unlikely I’d ever train my fingers to automatically configure themselves in that position and I wondered how in the hell anyone could simultaneously sing and concentrate on finger placement. It was one of the more deflating moments in my life with music.)

Anyway, some of the easy licks I’ve “de-coded” are the opening chords/intros to the Doobie Bros’ “Long Train Runnin’” and “Rockin’ Down the Highway”, INXS’ “New Sensation”, “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath, and, the crown jewel so far, Matt “Guitar” Murphy’s intro to “Sweet Home Chicago” from The Blues Brothers. (I have to say, though, that when I try to replicate what Matt’s doing in the film it doesn’t sound right at all, but I like the fact that I’ll have to work at it a bit more.) Just having fun, that’s all.

What’s surprising is that most of these riffs are fairly straightforward, which is a bit anticlimactic. I mean, it still takes a lot of practice to get them down well, but the notation is not rocket science by any means. I guess it’s just weird in some way to be able to “get inside” or crack musical referents that have a strong personal association. Don’t get wrong: it’s great — and way cool — but also a touch disillusioning.

I remember a story Lyle Larson once told when I was taking his courses on Twain and Hemingway at SMC. He was relating the time someone showed him how to play the basic melody of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata on the piano. For years he’d held that piece in such high esteem that it crushed him to learn how just about anyone could pick it up in a few minutes. Ever since, he’s heard the song with somewhat jaded ears, having lost some of the reverence and awe he held before, which is sad, really. Maybe some things are better left a mystery. Either that or I’ll just go back to Steely Dan, which is always a challenge…

Pack your grip / takin’ you on a trip!

For the past couple of weeks I haven’t been able to stop listening to Heatwave’s “The Groove Line” (extended version). It’s a kick-ass jam, plain and simple. I “re-discovered” the song while listening to one of Marie’s Phat Trax compilation CDs and haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. (Not a bad thing, by the way.)

At first I couldn’t figure out why the song resonated so strongly, then I got the reference: in the finale episode of Freaks & Geeks, “Groove Line” is spinning on the turntable when it’s Nick’s turn in the dance contest. (Remember I’d watched the entire series over winter break.) This thread of the storyline works particularly well, I think, as Nick, rejected by his father and ex-girlfriend, turns his back on rock ‘n roll and finds release and acceptance in the discotheque (previously anathema to his group of close friends). Though it’s obvious Nick is in denial, big time, there’s a redemptive quality to the act of surrendering to something once despised, allowing oneself a certain vulnerability in exchange for the bliss of forgiveness.

That’s a bit over the top, I know. But Nick’s dance scene in the club (which cuts to the Dungeons & Dragons game in progress at Sam’s house) has a very fin de siècle feel to it, tying right in to the finale’s overall “end-of-an-era” tone: time to let go of past labels, conceptions, and associations; new days and possibilities lie before us. I guess that’s what I get when I listen to “Groove Line”. The song just radiates optimism.

Leave your worries behind…

The Police come to Honolulu

Concert ticket (plus surcharges): $114
Concert t-shirt: $35
Beer: $7 x ?
Chance to see The Police in concert for the first (and most likely last) time in my life?: a hell of a lot!

Last Saturday Adam and I went to The Police concert here in Honolulu. I almost didn’t go because of the absurd price of tickets, but we don’t get many big name acts out here so you take what you can get; and besides, it’s The Police! I never saw them back in their heyday and I simply couldn’t justify not seeing them. Sting said the last time they played the Blaisdell was back in 1981. (They toured here in ‘84 in support of Synchronicity, but I’ll bet they played Aloha Stadium for that one.) Plus, Honolulu is the final stop for this reunion tour that’s been on the road since last May.

(On a side note: Adam and I were both trying to remember the last big-time concert we’d each been to. The nearest I can remember is perhaps the H.O.R.D.E. Festival at the Shoreline Amphitheater in ‘97 or ‘98? I remember seeing Ben Folds Five, the highlight for me.)

The boys have all grown older (which was true of the crowd, as well) and the songs were a bit mellower, but their musicianship was still tight as ever. Plus, the Blaisdell Center only seats about 10,000, so there really wasn’t a bad seat in the house. Adam and I sat through the first half but spent much of the second hour on our feet, circling around the mid-level walkway. The cool thing there is we were able to walk right behind the stage, with the band maybe 20 yards away. (Can you imagine getting to check out Stewart Copeland’s drumming from that proximity? Hello!…) The security detail wasn’t down for loitering so we had to maintain a slow, measured shuffle, making at least 4 or 5 circumnavigations in the process.

Here’s the set list:

Message in a Bottle
Synchronicity II
Walking On The Moon
Voices Inside My Head
When The World Is Running Down
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
Driven To Tears
Hole In My Life
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Can’t Stand Losing You
Roxanne
King Of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breath You Take
Next To You

Of note:

Fiction Plane (the opening act, featuring Sting’s son), were pretty good. The guy sounds just like his father, though I don’t know how much he’s trying to work that angle. Another Julian Lennon? He probably hates that criticism.

Ann, I was thinking of you often during the night. You and The Police will always go hand-in-hand in my mind (even though I developed my own relationship with their music years later).

And yes, during “Walking on the Moon” I sang as much of the lyrics to “Bussing in the Lounge” as I could remember. (John, I would have tipped a beer in your honor but I got a little ahead of myself when moving to let my neighbor pass by, accidentally knocking over the reserve I had stashed under my seat. I was thinking of you all the same.)

None of the t-shirts featured images of the band members today.

Though recording devices of any type were strictly prohibited, I’ll bet half the audience at any given time were staring at their cell phones instead of the stage. (While a good proportion of the remainder took in the jumbotron rather than squinted to see Sting…) For the time being, there are still quite a few videos posted on YouTube from the show that we saw. Just do a search for police concert honolulu.

(Honolulu Advertiser concert review)

(KameraKozo’s photos from the concert)

Easy Breezy

Yesterday it arrived: the Tokai Tele my brother gave me 18 years ago. [correction: Todd gave the guitar to me on July 6, 1991, when I was back in Chicago for a week; I just checked this against my journal. 2/22/08] The guitar is a replica of a late ’50s Fender Telecaster — though some say Tokai has equalled or ever bettered (!) the original Tele’s sound and tonal quality. Whatever — it’s a nice axe.

The guitar was with me in California throughout the 90s and went into hibernation there while I was off in Japan for three years teaching English. In late 2003 it migrated east to Wisconsin; more specifically, to my dad’s basement in Madison.

Lately, however, I’ve been feeling pangs of music withdrawal and a longing to play (electric) again. I asked Todd if he wouldn’t mind having the Tokai (and its “BreezySound”) looked at, tuned up, and sent to me out here in Hawaii. Anyway, it’s great to have her back again. I’ve only messed around for a couple of hours and already my fingertips are throbbing. (Admittedly, I haven’t play much at all during the past 4 years…)

As an aside, The Police are in town, probably having dinner a few miles from here. In less than three hours Adam and I will be there when the jams begin. Bring on the night!

Update (2/19/08)

From the research I’ve done on the Tokai Registry website, I’m fairly certain that my guitar was made in 1984 in Japan (the “BreezySound” headstock from that year matches my own). Todd says he bought it used at, well, here’s what he told me:

I picked it up the other day from Dad’s. It doesn’t seem to have sustained any damage. The plating is starting to show a bit of light pitting. I bought the guitar from Snukst Music in Chicago’s Polish district. I found a pick that I got when I bought it and I will put it in the case. It wasn’t cheap when I got it and I knew nothing about it. I just figured that you get what you pay for. I was cheesed off to have to pay extra for the case, but there you go.

Update (2/22/08)
(photo of me with the Tokai a week after I received it from Todd)

Music store jitters

Last week I went to Honolulu’s Easy Music Center to check out an effects pedal I’d been researching online (in anticipation of my guitar’s arrival from Madison). It was the first time I’d set foot in a serious music store in a long while, and I found myself coming down with a case of the jitters as I approached the front door. Once past the threshold, however, I put on my poker face and marked a confident path towards the corner stocked with guitar accessories.

I’ve always enjoyed playing guitar immensely, but when it comes to being a member of the community of musicians, well, I’m a bit of an outlier. An impostor. (But I’m also the first to admit my musical shortcomings.) I can’t read music and all the theory I once absorbed through several guitar classes at Santa Monica Community College has long since evaporated. Instead, I fake my way through songs by relying on chord boxes and rote memorization (and I’ll be damned if I know more than a handful of songs start-to-finish). Somewhere along the way I must have felt ashamed for not knowing what the hell I’m doing. I’d have to think about it a bit more, but I’m sure that’s it as I’ve never been able to play (well) in front of other people. My hands start shaking and I just fall to pieces. Every time.

In the end, I made quick work of my business in the shop, inspecting the unit and leaving a contact number. I was fine once back on the bike.

New World “Mash”

This one’s for all the solo jammers out there.

Last summer I came across a killer vid of some guy drumming along to Rush’s “New World Man” in his garage or basement. That find led to several others, and while they’re interesting to watch on their own, ever since I’ve been wanting to make a good thing even better by mashing them together into a single video. Well, this morning I finally got around to editing it. While the result is less than perfect, I had a lot of fun making it (and fun is what I needed at the time).

I found several other clips that would have worked nicely but I had to draw the line somewhere, so I just went with the original four I’d downloaded. This could be really habit forming… (link)

Pick it up!

I just can’t help myself. Following on the previous entry (The Salteens singing “I’m So Happy I Can Dance”), here’s another toe-tapper from “Yo Gabba Gabba!” — albeit a more didactic one: GOGO13 performing “Pick it up!” There’s nothing like a little ska from a modern-day Mary Poppins (in this case, a 1960’s-era Rude Boy holdover) to get the kids to pick up their s#@%. (I love the toys in the room, by the way: the carved coconut, vinyl records, checkers — and the Vespa!) Props to Todd for correctly identifying Alex Desert of Hepcat sitting in as guest vocal on this one.

A pick-me-up for all occasions

I just love this appearance by The Salteens on “Yo Gabba Gabba!” I watch it whenever I need a quick reminder that just being awake, playing with friends, singing, and “dancing real fast” are simple pleasures that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Like a lot of the music featured on the show, “I’m So Happy I Can Dance” appears deceptively straightforward, but is layered with some nice harmonies and chord progressions that get my attention. (The song works me in much the same way as Ben Folds Five’s cover of “She Don’t Use Jelly”.) Good stuff.