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Topic: Hawaiian Music: Be honest now......... |
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 29 Sep 2008 4:28 pm |
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How many of you steel players really and truly love Hawaiian music?
I mean the olde stuff AND the Hollywood Hawaiian stuff too.
I mean do you really get moved by the multiple chord changes found in so many of the real Hawiian songs?
Do the elderly folks who dress up in 'whites' and Aloha shirts turn you 'on' or 'off'?
Tell us about it. We can talk........... |
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Eddie Cunningham
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 29 Sep 2008 5:41 pm Love that olde Hawaiian music !!
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| Hi Ray , I , for one , do love the old Hawaiian music !! "Hawaii Calls" was my long time favorite radio show. When I took up steel there were no Hawaiian bands around so I got into Country music . I was around 60 yrs. old when I first worked with a real "Hawaiian music" group !! Eddie "C" ( the old non-pedal no reverb geezer ) |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 29 Sep 2008 6:03 pm
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| Some Hawaiian music has a "haunting" quality to it, which I feel it gets from the many 6th and diminished chords it employs. The newer "slack key" Hawaiian music which consists of mostly vocal harmonies over a simple acoustic rhythm just doesn't do it for me, despite the claim that it's really and truly more Hawaiian than the electrified "Haole music" with a steel guitar. |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 29 Sep 2008 6:43 pm
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I think this music is beautiful,I can listen to it and enjoy it for awhile,but not for a long time,would get boring to me,But The same would go for any kind of music,It boils down to the mood I'm in,sometimes I'll pull out some old heavy metal,Jazz,Hank Sr.,bluegrass,Classic country,Southern Rock,and I really enjoy the things Mike P,does,I like any kind of music[except rap] if it's played well.DYKBC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 2:09 am
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I'm a big fan of Kay Das and have several CD's.
I'm not sure I'd call it Hawaiian, but it's what I call Island Music, whether Singapore or The Big Island.
But there are so many, and I don't know them all, but love the tunes. 'Beyond the Reef' and stuff.
_________________
Those that say don't know; those that know don't say.--Buddy Emmons |
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 2:41 am
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Ray, although I'll have to admit that's there are some beautiful melodies in Hawaiian music it's just never done it for me. The only Hawaiian music album I've ever owned was the Marty Robbins LP and I don't even have that anymore.
I did a show on steel guitar at the beach last summer with an Elvis impersonator for what was billed as "Elvis, Hawaiian Style" which was fun but mainly to watch the Hula girls.
I just don't care much for the "sixth" sound on steel and never have. I like the straight ahead country twang and rock or blues type 7th chord playing. Ocasionally I'll get a request at a gig to play a Hawaiian tune and I usually do "Harbor Lights" or "Beyond the Reef" but do 'em in an E9th style with the good old A & B pedals and a couple of knee levers thrown in for good measure!.......JH in Va.
_________________
Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!! |
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Terry Wood
From:
Marshfield, MO
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 4:55 am
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Though I have primarily been a Country steel player, Jerry Byrd's music has been imprinted in my mind forever!
His sound was Hawaiian as far as I am concerned. How sweet it was too!
Terry
Last edited by Terry Wood on 2 Oct 2008 4:45 am; edited 1 time in total |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 5:50 am
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| Quote: |
How many of you steel players really and truly love Hawaiian music?
I mean the olde stuff AND the Hollywood Hawaiian stuff too. |
Depends on how old, and whether there is a steel guitar in the music. In fact, and IMO, "Hollywood" sometimes depicts a better reflection of what I love, than much of what is dubbed the "original". At least ya can hear the instrument attributed to their native music. Albeit, mostly glissando and not enough pickin.
| Quote: |
| Do the elderly folks who dress up in 'whites' and Aloha shirts turn you 'on' or 'off'? |
Depends on whether they include and/or promote the "Hawaiian steel guitar". If they don't, they are a total "turn off" as far as I am concerned.
If they do, I listen to the steel and what "they" wear is of no concern to me. 
The greatest dissapointment I ever had was on our first trip to Hawaii. With the exception of Jerry Byrd playing at the "Royal Hawaiian" hotel, I saw little evidence that Hawaii 'at large', even knew what their invented instrument was, let alone play it; or worse...... dare to listen to it.
I could not believe the music I heard. Oh yes, gobs and gobs of "uke's" and "geetars", false "falsetto's", flowered shirts with white skirts and pants; not to mention American colllege student "hula girls" going thru their impression of hulas. No steel however. NOT even at an "authentic" Hawaiian Luau. Lot's of 'rock n roll' though, everywhere. Sad.
Went to a highly advertised "Hawaiian" show. I have forgotten the star's name, but I want to say "Harrington" or something like that. Anyway, NOT one semblance of steel guitar, or anything else that sounded Hawaiian to me.
But he DID have a flowered shirt and white pants on; and he DID sing a bunch of "big band" songs from the 30's and 40's' and he DID tell a few stale 30 yr old American jokes such as, the one about "the one way street and the arrows" that banded around in the '50's on the "mainland".
I wondered if he wondered why his mostly "American" audience did not laugh. By the way this was in the '80's!
Finally my wife and I took one of those incessantly advertised "Dinner Cruises" hoping to hear some "Hawaiian" steel guitar. Guess what kind of music they played "as the sun sank slowly in the West"? There's a hint above 
I asked one of the musicians during their break (so they could eat dinner too), "Why do you not play Hawaiian music and USE a Hawaiian guitar?"
He responded, "I wondered about that myself!"
Oh well 
c.
_________________
A broken heart + †= a new heart. |
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Charley Wilder
From:
Dover, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 6:40 am
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| It's beautiful music but a little bit of it goes a long way with me, "real" or "Hollywood". I'll listen to it a little because I like the instrument not so much the music itself. Paraphrasing Jerry Hayes, the "sixth" sound is fun for a tune or two be it Hawaiian or Swing but that's about it with me. |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 7:02 am
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| Quote: |
| Paraphrasing Jerry Hayes, the "sixth" sound is fun for a tune or two be it Hawaiian or Swing but that's about it with me. |
I could not agree more. It is interested to note, that while Jerry Byrd said he came up with the now very popular C6th tuning, I never felt he used it as a "6th" tuning.
By that I mean, he often played his phrases and embelishments absent of what I call that (often boring) "6th" sound. This was never more true than when he backed legendary country singers like Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb, et-al. And there was not, to me, a single touch of what I hear when most others such as die hard "western swingers" play the tuning.
I will always believe the tuning lent it self to the intervals he wanted and was noted for; rather than to constitently play a "6th" chord on EVERY note possible, such as notables did like Joaquin Murphy, Noel Boggs, etc, did.
This is one of the reasons I never cared for "A6th" either. Since in almost every case that F# is in there somewhere. When to me, it should be used ONLY when the music calls for a "6th" chord, and NO place esle!
But then who am I?
All I know is, I LOVE the way Jerry played C6th; be it country, pop, or latin, or whatever. To me, he was as "Hawaiian steel guitar" as I ever want to hear WHEN he played Hawaiian songs. When he wasn't playing "Hawaiian" songs, he was as far from "Hawaiian", as an atheist is from a bible.
c.
_________________
A broken heart + †= a new heart. |
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Brad Malone
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 7:20 am Beautiful Kahana
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| Talking about Hawaiian Music, has anyone ever seen the sheet music for the song BEAUTIFUL KAHANA? If you play club dates. people love to dance to tunes like "Harbor Lights" and "Blue Hawaii" and the such. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 7:27 am
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If any of you want to get your feet wet on Hawaiian music, I have tabbed out 24 of the old favorites.
They are done up for the E9th tuning and are available for $1 each, plus postage. |
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Bill Terry
From:
Bastrop, TX
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 8:05 am
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Mr. Dixon, first SO glad to see you posting again!! I know you've been back for a while, but thanks for rejoining the forum. Your insightful posts were missed.
I had the opportunity to take a very brief business trip to Hawaii back in Mar. As I walked down the long concourse at the airport, there was a 'Hawaiian' band playing near the end. Now I don't know much about what constitutes old vs new vs Hollywood styles, but these guys sounded very authentic to me. The steel player was playing some sort of double neck console, maybe a Gibson, and sounded great. I hung around as long as I could.
Later, I was staying at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and they had a group playing outside in the patio area. This band was totally different, although they did have non-pedal in the band. What they did was cover a lot of 'pop' type tunes with a 'Hawaiian' flavor. Not really all that enjoyable to me...
I'm too uneducated in the Hawaiian style to really answer the question in the original post, but I'd have to say what I heard at the airport I REALLY liked, what I heard at the hotel, not so much.
_________________
Lost Pines Studio
"I'm nuts about bolts" |
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Twayn Williams
From:
Portland, OR
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 8:53 am
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I really love the old hot jazz stuff from the 20's - 40's, especially Sol Hoopii and while I really appreciate Jerry Byrd and have about 4 of his albums, it tends to be just a little too syrupy for my tastes normally. Modern Hawaiian music leaves me pretty cold.
I love the 6th sound. It's what drew me to steel guitar in the first place. The wonderful thing about a 6th chord is that it works harmonically everywhere.
_________________
Primitive Utility Steel |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 9:06 am GREAT COMMENTS.........and differing views!
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For those of you that have heard JERRY BYRD's Hawaiian Album "Nani Hawaii".......with Danny Kauuna (sp?)...
What's YOUR opinion on that bit of steel guitar playing? Too syrupy (sp?), too 6th-ie, too what?
I've always felt that it was some of JERRY's finest playing, style and TONE. What's YOUR opinion? |
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Twayn Williams
From:
Portland, OR
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 9:26 am Re: GREAT COMMENTS.........and differing views!
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| Ray Montee wrote: |
For those of you that have heard JERRY BYRD's Hawaiian Album "Nani Hawaii".......with Danny Kauuna (sp?)...
What's YOUR opinion on that bit of steel guitar playing? Too syrupy (sp?), too 6th-ie, too what?
I've always felt that it was some of JERRY's finest playing, style and TONE. What's YOUR opinion? |
Is this the one where he plays with slack-key guitarists? It's good stuff!
Gotta tell ya, I prefer Freddie Green style comping beneath Hawaiian melodies to slack-key, but it's still fine music. I have a Barney Isaacs cd where he plays Dobro in C6 with a slack-key player and it's great stuff!
Oddly enough, I tend to listen to my Hawaiian cd's more in the winter, especially around christmas time, than any other time of the year. It's not any sort of "longing for the islands" (never been to Hawaii) because I love the Portland winters. Seriously, I like the rain.
_________________
Primitive Utility Steel |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 10:50 am
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| I love the really old stuff. I have quite a collection of Hawaiian 78s, some of which are very old. If I'm ever down in the dumps,,, "It's Hula Time!" The music makes me smile with pleasure! |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 11:02 am
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| Strictly a mood thing with me. Normally I wouldn't listen to it, but have been known to on occasion (especially for romantic situations - perfect mood music). |
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 11:25 am
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I agree with Jerry about the Marty Robbin's album.I have very FEW vocal albums,I like instrumental music,But Martys [ISLE OF THE GOLDEN DREAMS] is my favorite Hawaiian album,His beautiful voice did justice to this style of music,Not sure about the time line,but think it came out in the mid 50's,got a lot of radio play back then.DYKBC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 12:02 pm It's all about atmosphere
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There have been so many styles of Hawaiian music over the century and versions of each that there is tons to choose from. Unfortunately, it's the bland or syrupy or badly played stuff that many hear, and I agree, it stinks.
But those who say they don't like Hawaiian music usually havn't heard the tons of good stuff, or they havn't really listened.
I love the old stuff from the early day's of electric to the late 60's, and with exceptions, not too much past that time frame.
The first 10+ years of the Hawaii Calls shows with David Kelii are awesome examples of good Hawaiian music, as are many of the 78s that Twayne mentioned.
They put serious feeling and style into the music, whether its tempo was very slow, med., or quick, which is hard to find post 1970. Plus, the backing rhythym (yes, I always spell it wrong...) guitar/uke is extremly important. Pua Almeida was one of the very best backers, and a superb steeler/singer as well.
It's the atmosphere that they elicite that makes or breaks it, and that's what sold it big time pre WW2 and kept it popular until marketing screwed it up.
Last edited by Ron Whitfield on 30 Sep 2008 3:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bill Terry
From:
Bastrop, TX
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 12:13 pm
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So Ron... any idea who the guys were at the airport when I was there earlier this year? They were really good..
_________________
Lost Pines Studio
"I'm nuts about bolts" |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 1:20 pm
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Any chance someone can post links to some of the songs being discussed?
Thanks in advance,
pete b. |
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Ray McCarthy
From:
New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 2:07 pm
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Hawaiian is what got me turned on to the steel. As a kid in the fifties in Kearny, New Jersey there was not much country music in my house, if any. Just the ol, doo-wop rock on WABC radio. One day my father brought home a 33 rpm album entitled "An Hour of Hawaiian Music, with, as far as I can remember, a painting of a volcano smoking away on the cover.
It was in this music that I first heard the steel with that 6th tuning, and that was what I fell in love with--that sound. I can't say that I,m a devoted fan of the music, but i did recently purchase a CD by Billy Hew Len called "Steel Guitar Magic", and it's good for steel lovers whether they're into Hawaiian or not.
A good thing to listen to on U-Tube is George Piburn (Georgeboards) playing "Paradise Isles"
Derby, NV112, TrueTone, George L Cables |
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Johnne Lee Ables
From:
Minnesota, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 2:10 pm I really liked the "unknown" Hawaiian music...
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I was stationed at Schofield Barracks for a time in the early '60s. I was just a kid, a Private in the Army, wandering around the Islands waiting to go, or having just returned.
I heard many, many talented local musicians playing beautiful Hawaiian music. It was usually a trio (maybe a quartet) of acoustic steel, ukulele, hand drum, that sorta thing. My favorite Hawaiian music though came from a duo of non-pedal steel and slack-key acoustic guitar. I just loved those two folks' playing.
All these folks were just amateurs/weekend warriors maybe who played for the love of it. I still think of that duo sometimes. Might be something to workout. I have a number of slack-key guitar recordings also.
I like much Hawaiian music, but to me saying "Hawaiian" music is just like saying "American" music. I think it requires more definition...
Johnne Lee
_________________
Justice S10-Pro 5x4 C6
Roland Cube 80GX
Wonderful Wife
"In the course of a long life a wise man will be prepared to abandon his baggage several times." |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 30 Sep 2008 2:42 pm
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i don't know much about hawaiian music, and most people i know joke about it. but i wish i could go back to hawaii and just sit there with polynesian paralyses and play beautiful steel tunes, easy and relaxed. when i was there one year i saw the man with a steel bar attached to the stub of a hand/arm that he had...he played beautifully.
i've got a bakelite 6 string rick that i've never used much, but want to. should i just settle on c6 and start listening to jerry bird? i love the fluid lines with slants that tie it all together. i'd be happy with 2 string grips if i could get a handle on where to start.
i've heard that jerry and also paul franklin play basically out of the c6 tuning for anything they play. what would the best tuning and gauges be for my old rickenbacher B6?? |
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