Tag Archives: Holualoa

LIVE 070 • Sunny Afternoon In My Ohana (Koaloha Pineapple Soprano)

Live, , , , , , , , , , , ,

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 with a Koaloha pineapple soprano ukulele and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/1/08.

LIVE 067 • Waimea Ride (Slack Key Improvisation)

Live, Slack Key, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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 with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 1/11/08.

LIVE 086 • Silver Threads – Slack Key Improv

Fingerstyle, Open Tunings, Slack Key, , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 079 • Moment in the Sun & Crossing the Field

Live, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“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 with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 4/20/09.

LIVE 077 • Transition I (Awake Again, 3/1/09)

Live, , , , , , , , , ,

This is another improvisatory piece recorded for my “Awake Again” project, which included a handful of songs that were connected by mostly shorter and improvisatory ‘transitions’ such as this. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/1/09.

LIVE 076 • Bull by the Horns

Live, , , , , , , , , ,

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 with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 2/14/09.

LIVE 072 • Dust Yourself Off

Live, Slack Key, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dust Yourself Off is a slack key influenced fingerstyle song from my Awake Again project. I hear the song as imbued with a sense of renewal and starting a new journey. This was to be the first full length song in the setlist, preceded by only a brief instrumental introduction. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 2/24/09.

LIVE 063 • Momentum (6/8/09)

Live, , , , , ,

Momentum was a song I wrote not long after moving back to Kailua-Kona after being away for a while. Alternately titled “Rolling Waves,” I have added different bridges and changed the intro at times, but the core of the song remains the same. This version was recorded as a demo for my “Awake Again” project. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 310ce (Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 6/8/09.