Tag Archives: kona coffee

LIVE 052 • Kona Snow

Acoustic, Livebig island, coffee trees, Hawaii, Holualoa, hualalai, kailua kona, kona coffee, kona snow, relaxing guitar, relaxing music

Kona Snow 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. This song is named for the early spring blooming of the coffee trees on the slopes of Hualalai. People merrily dubbed the effect of white blossoms covering row after row of coffee trees “Kona Snow.” At the time I recorded this song, I was living next to a coffee orchard in Holualoa, Hawaii, just mauka of Kailua Kona. The setting amidst a wonderful agricultural tradition over a century old inspired me probably more than I knew at the time. 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, 6/20/09.

LIVE 051 • Hand Dancing

Acoustic, Liveacoustic guitar, big island, fingerstyle guitar, hand dancing, Hawaii, Holualoa, kona coffee, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Taylor 310, tranquil song

Hand Dancing started out as an introductory fingerpicking study I wrote for students back when I was teaching guitar full time at a music store. I kept the song in my set for a number of years, playing it on both nylon and steel string. This version was recorded as a demo for my “Awake Again” project. The wallpaper shows me with my old Taylor 310ce that I used to record this song. 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, 6/20/09.

LIVE 045 • Transition One (3/16/09)

Acoustic, Blue Sky Guitar, Liveacoustic guitar, big island, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, kona coffee, love, peaceful guitar music, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks, tranquil song

Here is an improvisatory piece recorded for a project I had a few years back. The idea behind the project, called “Awake Again,” was to have a handful of songs that were connected by mostly shorter and improvisatory ‘transitions’ that would act as both glue and palette cleanser between the slightly more structured songs. The wallpaper shows me with my old Taylor 310ce that I used to record this song. 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, 3/16/09.

LIVE 039 • Henry Street Slack Key

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, altered tunings, big island, borders, East Indian Rosewood, ebony, EIR, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, henry st, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, kona coffee, kuakini, Larrivée, open G, open tunings, P-09, palani, parlor guitar, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, rosewood, sitka spruce, Slack Key, Taro Patch, thumbpicks

Here is a demo of a song I wrote a while back called Henry Street Slack Key – named for what was then the still developing Henry Street, which runs between Kuakini Highway and Palani Rd in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The street had a lot of places I went to at the time – a healthfood store, a Border’s Books (with a great music selection, in the days when CD’s ruled), Wal-Mart (a place to run into people in small town Kailua-Kona), Safeway, several coffee shops, and a Korean BBQ. This is also one of the few recordings I made with my Larrivee parlor guitar – a rosewood / sitka spruce P-09, which I have since sold. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Larrivée P-09 Parlor guitar (Rosewood / Sitka Spruce) and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, 8/26/07.

LIVE 037 • Home Abroad – Slide Guitar

Acoustic, Liveacoustic guitar, altered tunings, big island, blues slide, Elixir strings, fingerstyle guitar, Fred Kelly, Hawaii, Holualoa, kailua kona, Ki Ho'alu, kona coffee, Open D, Open E, open tunings, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Slide Guitar, Taylor guitars, thumbpicks

From the vaults, here is a slide guitar song I wrote called Home Abroad. I used to play a fair amount of slide guitar, but I don’t play it much anymore. I figured I’d either have to go all in on the slide or not, but couldn’t just dabble with it – so I decided to work on other areas instead. This is a fun leftover from when I dabbled with it though. 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, 3/18/09.

LIVE 035 • Glass Ball Slack Key / Chicken in the Straw

Live, Slack Key2008, brittni paiva, chicken in the straw, dancing cat, fingerstyle guitar, fingerstyle ukulele, glass ball slack key, Hawaii, Holualoa, ka’apana, Koaloha Pineapple Soprano Uke, kona coffee, kona hawaii, led kaapana, led live, ledward, Pineapple Sunday, slack key guitar, turkey in the straw

From the vaults, Glass Ball Slack Key is a favorite chestnut (or kukui nut) of uke players throughout the islands. Also known as “Chicken in the Straw” or “Turkey in the Straw” in Hawai’i (though different from the Bluegrass / fiddle song), this is a fun little ditty that is sure to please aunty or uncle. I learned this song watching and listening to the great Led Ka’apana (it’s also on the classic Led Live CD). Many other ukulele players have covered the song over the years as well. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Koaloha Pineapple Soprano ukulele and a matched stereo pair of Shure KSM 141 microphones in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/6/08.

LIVE 034 • Holualoa Blues

Fingerstyle, Live, Slack Keyblues guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Holualoa, kona coffee, kona hawaii, open g tuning, slack key guitar, Taro Patch, Taylor 310, taylor 310ce, Taylor 310e, Taylor Dreadnaught guitar, Taylor guitars

From the vaults, here is a demo version of my tune Holualoa Blues. This song is primarily a blues piece, but with some slack key influence as well. Done in open G / taro patch tuning. 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, 10/11/07.

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Slack Key and Fingerstyle Guitar