A Song from Kalapana

Welcome to Kaleponi Records, my musical home on the web. My name is Fran Guidry, and I play kika ki hoʻalu or Hawaiian slack key guitar.

Kaleponi is the Hawaiian word for California, where I live. Ki hoʻalu, or slack key, has a direct link to California history. The guitar was carried to the Big Island of Hawaiʻi by vaqueros from California. You can read more about the history of slack key guitar on the Dancing Cat Records web site.

Slack key guitar is named for the retuning that characterizes the style. Most of these new tunings feature loosened, or slackened, strings which give a deep rich sound.

My personal slack key history goes back to 1999 and my first visit to Hawaiʻi. When we turned on the TV in our Waikiki hotel room I was captivated by the playing of Keola Beamer. I knew in an instant that I had to learn to play this beautiful music. Over the years I've learned from great players and teachers like Ozzie Kotani, Keola himself, Patrick Landeza, Kevin Brown, Cyril Pahinui, Kawika Kahiapo, Raymond Kane, Dennis Kamakahi, and Ledward Kaapana.

Saturday, April 7th, 2012

One of my favorite slack key instrumentals, Black Sand, was written by George Kaapana, Ledward’s father. Ledward used it as the title track for a wonderful CD, one I highly recommend. I managed to capture a video of the song in the Kaapana backyard, with the Ko`olau range in the background.

Playing duets with Ledward is a wonderful combination of inspiration and intimidation. I hate it when I mess up in front of my hero, and sometimes he plays such amazing stuff that I can only watch. But Ledward plays so solidly that it’s easy to get swept along and play beyond one’s limits, and he’s always generous in sharing his ideas, his licks and tricks.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 7th, 2012 at 2:46 am and is filed under Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.