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Topic: Joseph Kekuku Recordings With Toots Paka? |
Matthew Dawson
From:
Portland Oregon, USA
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 24 Apr 2016 5:12 pm |
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Hi Matthew,
I'm glad you are enjoying the book so far! Once I started digging into the newspaper coverage of the Paka troupe, it became clear that Kekuku was the featured steel player of the group during that period.
He also recorded in London with the popular group Layton & Johnstone in 1925 and 1926. One of those songs is getting featured in the upcoming Robert Redford/T-Bone Burnett/Jack White produced documentary, _American Epic_. I worked on the script for the episode on Kekuku and the steel guitar, and rounded up most of the images. The director found a great copy of an L & J record that features a nice break by Kekuku, and in one scene they played the song for members of Kekuku's Ê»ohana in LÄÊ»ie. The film looks great and it should come out on PBS and one of the BBC channels in the fall. Elijah Wald wrote the book that will accompany the film, and the Layton & Johnstone number (along with a fantastic recording by Sol K. Bright) will end up in the box set as well. It will be worth watching, for sure!
John |
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Matthew Dawson
From:
Portland Oregon, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2016 10:50 pm
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| Thanks John, The book has been full of all kinds of revelations about early steel guitar history so far. I can't recommend it enough for someone who is into Hawaiian Steel. I'll look out for the documentary. |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 25 Apr 2016 10:23 am book
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| John how do we buy the book, cylinders are fascinating..always thought earliest recordings of slide guitar ( lap or otherwise ) were Charlie Pattons 1929 renditions, these 1909 recordings of Joseph happened way before, if Joseph hit USA in 1904 this would have given is method plenty of time to seep into styles of early plantation performers. except that 1904 was the first recorded evidence of slide guitar seen in the Delta ( on record ) Some accounts say this was a plantation worker called Henry Sloan, The question is would Josephs revolutionary style have reached the delta the same year he arrived in USA ? Makes you wonder if Henry Sloan had spotted it from another source. Do contribute your thoughts. All comments/names relate to lap style so thought this a fitting forum. Would love to know your thoughts also Andy Volk. |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 25 Apr 2016 3:01 pm
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Check out the preview of American Epic here:
http://www.americanepic.com/
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 25 Apr 2016 7:38 pm
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Kevin--
I share your questions regarding the origins of the steel (and of the blues "slide" style) and the extent of a Hawaiian influence in the South, and I spend a good deal of space in the book working through all of the available evidence. I tried to look at this question from every possible direction. The short answer is that we'll never know with 100 percent certainty whether or not Hawaiian troubadours originally inspired the Delta blues "slide" style of playing. What I did discover, however, is that it would have been nearly impossible for white and black southerners to avoid seeing Hawaiian steel players playing on the streets of their rural towns during the early 1900s.
What I argue in the book is that the overwhelming preponderance of evidence points toward a deep Hawaiian influence and presence in the South before and after the turn of the 20th century, decades before Sylvester Weaver first records a "blues slide" song ("Guitar Rag," in 1923)--and even there, chances are he played this song with the guitar in his lap, in the "Hawaiian style," or the "Hawaiian Way," as Son House called it. We also know that Son House never saw anyone playing "slide" style (upright) before he encountered people playing in the "Hawaiian" manner. And it also appears that the Hawaiian steel guitar beat Kekuku to North America by at least a few years.
I published an article on this question a few years ago, and you are welcome to download the pdf here, in case you're interested (http://www.johnwtroutman.com/steelin-the-slide.html). The new book, _Kika Kila_ goes further into depth on the question, as I found additional evidence after the article was first published, and I also go into much further depth on the presence of Hawaiian troupes in the Deep South in the 1800s/early 1900s. If you are interested, you can order the book through UNC Press, here (http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=3719), or you can order it via Amazon. Amazon indicates that the book will be released in mid May, but they are already shipping copies, as is UNC.
Thanks much! It was a joy to work on the book after the last several years and I hope that folks enjoy it. This is a book that I hope researchers will build upon, as we still have much to learn about this historically fascinating instrument!
John |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 26 Apr 2016 1:19 pm slide history
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| Thanks John, thats really interesting..Amazon won't recognise my UK login details so I'll have to start over again. So it seems that Kekuku developed the genre then taught others who then came to USA before Kekuku, talk about taking the wind out of your sails. Id forgotten about Sylvester Weaver, he was a very stylish player. Just out of interest I followed the Asian source of instruments played with smooth polish objects. It seems the earliest stringed instrument players were in fact slide players. As Im sure you are aware the vina can be traced back hundreds of years and was the mothership of later developments such as the sitar ( once the fretting system had been nailed ) I recently discovered the work of the remarkable Raza Kazim who in his quest to re-create the sound of the early vinas, he designed and developed the Sagar Veena, a modern day interpretation of the ancient instrument. As we speak there is only one person in the world that can play it..his daughter ! The frequencies created were so low current audio technology could not handle it…so he built his own amps and speaker system that could handle the bottom end. Heres his daughter Noor Zehra playing this remarkable instrument that evokes sounds from centuries ago. Slide players been around longer than we thought[url] https://youtu.be/2PNGVzE8kEk[/url] |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 26 Apr 2016 5:20 pm
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Hey Kevin,
That link goes to Taj and Bobby Ingano-- itÊ»s a nice clip, though! I deal with the vina tradition in the book as well, and in fact I found a bunch of new evidence regarding Gabriel Davion, an individual of Indian descent who has been associated with Kekuku as a source of inspiration. People have been running objects on strings for millennia, of course, but in terms of people translating that concept into an actual, transferable technique on the guitar--a technique that is actually musical-- it seems that Kekuku is the earliest individual that we can pinpoint with the existent evidence. I tried to find others before him but nothing else truly panned out. Of course, we may find additional information down the road that upends what we know now. What is truly fascinating to me is the role of Tau Moe (and to a much lesser extent, Ernest KaÊ»ai's troupe) in carrying the steel guitar into India, and the steel guitar's impact on Indian genres. I actually ran into a guy in Seattle who is finishing his dissertation on the role of the steel guitar in india--it sounds like an amazing project. My book delves into this relationship between Indian and Hawaiian music, but that chapter mostly focuses on the life and travels of Tau Moe. I was lucky to visit with his daughter Dorian in LÄÊ»ie and she provided all sorts of amazing stories about life on the road in India and beyond. So much to think about, and to continue researching.
Thanks!
John |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 27 Apr 2016 12:00 pm
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Hi John, sorry about the wrong link. actually taj playing hawaiian opens up another can of worms..1904 all over again !
Heres the correct link watch this one first
https://youtu.be/On0rxNTKMpY
then this one
https://youtu.be/HBsy_hZOjjE
Also of interest is this blind single string vina player VAIKOM VIJAYALAKSHMI, https://youtu.be/XB1s2FiEYbg
I am also familiar with the Moes spreading the gospel in Europe. Anyway just wanted to sort the links out, don't feel you have to repeat things you wrote in the book as I will have that in hand asap. Just out of interest I have been playing slide guitar nearly 50 years and lap steel 10 years. I was fortunate enough to have received teachings from Son House himself during an extraordinary event that took place in London..early 70's ( ish ) What I learnt from him changed my whole attitude to slide playing and has been with me to this day. Happy to divulge. Best wishes Kevin Brown |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 27 Apr 2016 12:29 pm
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Kevin, I completely defer to John and I dare say, he is the reigning "world's expert" in this area. I'm much too lazy to do the amazing amount of scholarly legwork that went into John's landmark book. I'm really enjoying it so far. John takes a macro view of the birth of Hawaiian steel that includes politics, economics, ethnicity, historical and cultural contexts and explores the interconnectivity of all these factors in the steel's story at a level never before explored.
And indeed, slide instruments have likely been around for thousands of years before Sleepwalk was recorded.
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 27 Apr 2016 5:37 pm
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Kevin: those videos are awesome--thanks for posting them! Also, holy cow-- you received lessons from SON HOUSE???!!?? Incredible. Yes if you haven't already posted on that experience, please do!!!
Andy: thanks for those kind words and I'm so glad you're digging the book! While I may have done some legwork in the archives, your arrangements and published interviews demonstrate a skill level and patience that truly is inspiring. It feels great to contribute to such an excellent library for steelers. And of course what folks contribute to this forum is pure gold. It is a good time to be obsessed with the steel!
John |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 18 May 2016 1:14 pm
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Hi John, your book arrived today, so glad I didn't get the e reader version, your baby feels nice in the hand, congrats.
So I'll reciprocate with my Son House story. Growing up in the NW of England I was one of a handful of blues enthusiasts and record collectors. We had a spare room in the house and I would retire to this haven to gather every lick I could from my small record collection. Slowly I worked my way through Terry n Mghee, Hooker R Johnson and Son House. Son house was impossible I gave up here and then, I saw no point in trying to emulate the enlightened prophet..he was beyond me. Sundays often meant hitching to London to join other buskers on Portobello Road. It was a typical day, National Duolian in hand, wailing my pants off to anyone that would listen. Suddenly through the crowd strode a lanky learned type and spoke gently in my ear in his unmistakable American accent…"Do you know any Son House songs" I laughed and explained briefly how Id given up on ever learning his unique renditions…"Oh thats a shame, He's standing right behind me ! " I saw Son and fell into a mild state of shock.…only the night before Id been reading the liner notes on his record sleeve.
I was introduced to him and the first guy took me aside and asked if I could do him a favour..He explained he was Dick Waterman and had brought Son House to Europe for what was to be his last foreign tour. Dick needed to take care of business and asked if I could look after the living legend for the afternoon !! Is the pope a catholic, ha ha !! So we found a quiet room in nearby pub and we spent the afternoon talking and he revealed to me advice that I have implemented in my performing ever since that day. The knowledge he imparted changed my life , right there and then. To this day and 14 albums behind me every single cut has been influenced by his words that afternoon.He laid out the path before me and it was up to me to follow i and that I have done.
Im happy to pass on his knowledge and will post soon. Thanks again John for requesting this story..I'v never written it out before, something I'v been wanting to do for ages. ( By the way your follow up should be slide guitar history up to Joseph Kekuku ! ) I once taught the story of flight up to the Wright Brothers, their story had been told many times, the journey towards them was equally as fascinating…..Now where did I put that book of yours  |
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Orville Johnson
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 19 May 2016 8:53 am
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John, I'm about halfway thru your book and it's fantastic. I think I've probably read everything available on this subject for the last few decades and your book leaves all else in the dust! Tremendous research and well reasoned conclusions and a nice flow in the writing that makes the Hawaiian guitars' journey understandable and memorable. Thanks for a major contribution to roots music history.
Also, i'm curious about the person in Seattle doing a paper on Indian slide.etc. I live in Seattle and I'd be interested in looking him up. If you're at liberty to identify him you could PM me with the info. Thanks again. |
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Kevin Brown
From:
England
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Posted 19 May 2016 9:20 am
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| Agree with Orville, it took one paragraph for me to realise this was going to be a marvel of a resource. Orville re Indian Slide did you see the Zoor Nehra clips I posted for John above playing the Sagar Vina ? Best of luck with Seattle guy, sounds interesting. |
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Orville Johnson
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 20 May 2016 8:42 am
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| Kevin, yes, I watched those videos. What a wild looking instrument! I've never seen one of those. Thanks for posting! |
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Stephen Abruzzo
From:
Philly, PA
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Posted 20 May 2016 10:41 am
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Kevin, am very interested in the "wisdom" Son House imparted to you.
As you may or may not know, John Mooney, was a "disciple" of Son House and toured with him. It would be interesting to hear if there were differences in how he influenced you and John.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mooney_(musician) |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 24 May 2016 12:05 am
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Hi everyone--
I've been traveling for the last few days and am behind on things, but thanks to everyone for your kind words on the book! And thanks to Kevin for your cool Son House story! I'm looking forward to his words of wisdom as well. Orville-- thank you so much for your kind words, in particular! You know, the guy in Seattle was a grad student in ethnomusicology but I cannot locate his name and info. I totally misplaced it and it is driving me crazy. I will look and ask around, figure out who it is, and send you his details. thanks!
John |
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Jim Newberry
From:
Seattle, Upper Left America
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Posted 24 May 2016 6:58 am
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John, I was there when you met him and I can't recall his name, either. Drat.
_________________
"The Masher of Touch and Tone"
-1950 Fender Dual Pro 8
-1950's Fender Dual Pro 6
-Clinesmith D8
-Clinesmith 8-string Frypan
-Clinesmith Joaquin
-~1940 National New Yorker
-~1936 Rickenbacher B6
-Homebuilt Amps |
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