Tag Archives: open tunings

LIVE 135 • 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.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) a Neumann TLM 102 microphone in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

LIVE 127 • Ki Ho’alu (Gabby Pahinui Slack Key Cover, Taylor Nylon Guitar)

Here’s an alternate version of my take on Gabby Pahinui’s classic instrumental simply and appropriately titled “Ki Ho’alu,” which of course is the Hawaiian term for “slack key.”  I probably first heard this song on the stellar “Pure Gabby” album, although it has appeared on other compilations and been covered by numerous slack key artists, including Ozzie Kotani’s excellent version.  My version is inspired by Gabby, Ozzie, and also Dennis Kamakahi who was prolific in the Mauna Loa tuning.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 130 • Slack Key Number 1 (Taylor 412ce)

Here is an alternate take of Slack Key No. 1, the classic showpiece of slack key master Sonny Chillingworth.  I first heard it on the Dancing Cat release “Endlessly,” and it also appears on his 1964 solo release “Waimea Cowboy.”  The Waimea Cowboy version sounds like it was recorded on an electric guitar, while the version on Endlessly was recorded on acoustic guitar.  Both versions are very similar, though with some slight differences.  I have incorporated elements from both versions in the arrangement I play.  Hope you enjoy. 

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 132 • Fair Wind (912ce)

Here is a more recent version of my song “Fair Wind.”  The song is named for a boat of the same name that ran snorkel / dive cruises to Kealakekua Bay out of Keauhou Bay – still does – and my parents took me and my friends for a cruise on it for a number of my birthdays.

Recorded with a 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Line Audio CM4 microphone.

LIVE 149 • Bron~Yr~Aur (K22ce Alt Take)

Bron-Yr-Aur is probably my favorite Led Zeppelin acoustic song.  Written by Jimmy Page about a tranquil cottage in the Welsh countryside, the song is meditative and bucolic; it always puts me in a different place whenever I hear it or play it.  This is an alternate version recorded on my Taylor K22ce.

Recorded with a Taylor K22ce (solid koa grand concert with Elixir Nanoweb 80/20 Bronze HD gauge set) and a Telefunken M60 microphone.

LIVE 146 • Young Street Blues (Cyril Pahinui Cover)

Like many, my first exposure to Cyril’s solo recordings came through his amazing albums recorded for the Dancing Cat label, including the “6 & 12 String Slack Key” album on which “Young Street Blues” is featured.  This particular song was highlighted for me in Mark Hanson’s excellent book of slack key transcriptions, which featured this among other songs by Cyril and other slack key legends.  

The liner notes to the album tell a story of Cyril writing the song at a recording studio on Young Street in 1991.  I seem to recall another story, told by Cyril at a performance, about Cyril living in an apartment on Young Street and feeling kind of restless.  Young Street, starts (or ends) in Honolulu’s Mo’ili’ili neighborhood, running between King Street and Beretania, through Makiki, to Thomas Square Park near the Honolulu Museum of Art.  I recall Cyril talking along the lines of how Young Street was sandwiched between these prominent streets and landmarks in a kind of limbo, being neither here nor there.  I think the song (and ‘that note’) speak to such a restless vibe… but also a sense of playfulness.

Unusually for his solo work, Cyril uses Taro Patch tuning – the most common slack key tuning, but not one featured as often as the C and D tunings Cyril favored.  Cyril’s style is at once both muscular and nuanced, with deep tunings and sometimes the added jangle of a 12 string guitar – it’s a ‘large’ sound.  I tried to capture that feel here by tuning down to a lower register.  This song was fun to play and record.  Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor K22ce (solid koa grand concert with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Telefunken M60 small diaphragm condenser microphone.

LIVE 147 • Keiki Slack Key (Nylon, Alt Take)

Here is another version of the Ray Kane classic “Keiki Slack Key” I recorded on my Taylor 414ce-NR nylon 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.

Recorded with a Taylor 414ce-NR (Rosewood/Spruce grand auditorium nylon string) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 137 • I’m on Fire (Alt Take, 412ce)

Here’s an alternate take of my arrangement of the Springsteen classic I’m on Fire.  This is a really cool little song – almost a sketch at under 3 minutes long, but it really creates a great atmosphere in that short amount of time.  Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone in Honolulu, Hawai’i 2/26/15.

LIVE 141 • “Horn” Improv – Nick Drake Uke Cover

Here’s an improv around Nick Drake’s “Horn” I recorded one day between takes of another song I was working on.  Appearing as a sort of interlude on the Pink Moon album, Horn is a fascinating little study of a song in its own right.  I love the simple, atmospheric melody, and think it translated well to ukulele.  Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Kamaka Koa Deluxe Tenor ukulele (Kamaka HF-3D, high G with Uke Logic Soft Tension strings and a Thomastik-Infeld CF-27 flat wound third string) and a Telefunken M60 microphone.