Tag Archives: taylor grand concert

LIVE 140 • Bron Yr Aur (K22ce)

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 version was 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 124 • Bantry Girl’s Lament (912ce)

The Bantry Girl’s Lament is a traditional Celtic song which dates back to the early 1800’s.  The ‘lament’ is for the soldiers who were called off to fight in the Napoleonic wars, but I find the melody is more wistful than maudlin.  My fingerstyle version is based on Martin Simpson’s version from his fine album “Leaves of Life.”  While Martin used a Drop D tuning for the song (or rather its equivalent on Baritone guitar), I play it here in open G6: (D-G-D-G-B-E).  To me, this is a peaceful, meditative song that gives pause.  Hope you enjoy.

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

LIVE 133 • Meadows Slack Key (912ce)

“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.  

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

LIVE 126 • Opihi Moemoe (improv on K22ce)

Here’s a recently found recording where I’m improvising some ideas around Leonard Kwan’s classic slack key song Opihi Moemoe.  One of the most popular songs in the slack key repertoire, this song has been covered by everyone from Ledward Kaapana to Chet Atkins.  Opihi MoeMoe is a fun piece that lends itself well to improvised variations, and everyone seems to bring something a little different to this deceptively simple song.  Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor K22ce (solid koa grand concert with Elixir HD Light gauge set) and an Ear Trumpet Labs “Edwina” microphone.

LIVE 125 • Bach Cello Suite #1 Prelude (Alt Take)

Here is an alternate take of the Bach Cello Prelude (BWV 1007) on guitar.  I fell in love with the Pablo Casals recordings of the Bach cello suites a few years back.  The prelude to the first suite is oft adapted for guitar, but it’s still a great piece to play.  Hope you enjoy.

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

LIVE 134 • Every Breath You Take by The Police

Here is a fingerstyle cover of “Every Breath You Take,” the hypnotic signature tune from The Police.  Many stories surround the writing, recording, and subsequent success of the song – for example one interesting tidbit is that Sting apparently wrote the song while sitting at Ian Fleming’s writing desk on his famous Goldeneye estate in Jamaica.  With its classic guitar part, “Every Breath” has a mellow / dreamy feel seemingly at odds with its borderline creepy lyrics – though some may find the song is a tad less sinister as an instrumental 🙂  Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) a single Beyerdynamic MC 930 microphone in Honolulu, Hawai’i 8/25/14.

LIVE 115 • Mino’aka (Alt Take)

Here’s an alternate take of Keola Beamer’s Mino’aka (Smile), from his awesome Soliloquy album.  Soliloquy is one of my favorite Dancing Cat era albums from Keola and a highly recommended listen.  Keola’s book is one of the first I picked up when I really delved into the slack key style years ago, and this was one of my favorite songs featured in the book.  In fact, I also recommend Keola’s book for beginner to intermediate fingerstyle players who are looking to learn some slack key.  Although the version I recorded here is at a slightly faster tempo, I hope it still captures the original’s relaxed feel.  Hope you enjoy.

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

LIVE 118 • Lily (Original Slack Key, 912ce)

Here is an original fingerstyle tinged slack key song I wrote a number of years ago called “Lily.”  Hope you enjoy.  

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

LIVE 116 • Fair Wind (K22ce)

Here is an early version of my song “Fair Wind,” recorded not long after I wrote it.  There is 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 Taylor K22ce (solid koa grand concert with Elixir strings) and a Line Audio CM4 microphone.

77 Minutes Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Instrumental Music

For your listening pleasure here is a collection of Ki Ho’alu a/k/a Hawaiian Slack Key guitar instrumentals.   This compilation includes both energetic and relaxed tunes, though I’d say the overall vibe is relaxing.  I like to listen to  some of those longer “relaxing music” videos while working on the computer and became inspired to produce some videos featuring my own performances.  Hope you enjoy.