Ledward and Mike for Mele Mei

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.

Sunday, June 8th, 2014

Mele Mei is an annual event that celebrates Hawaiian music, hula, and culture with a whirlwind of events across the state. Several hotels host performances and one of our favorite spots, the House Without a Key at the gorgeous Halekulani Hotel, presented Ledward Kaapana and Mike Kaawa in a lunch time show on May 25. I managed to set one of my cameras in a good position to catch some of the action and was rewarded with a couple of sweet clips.

Here’s Mike’s tribute to Dennis Kamakahi, Pua Hone done with that Kaawa touch:

Mike’s sister, Aurora Kaawa, is a former Miss Hawai`i and a renowned hula dancer. She was generous enough to share her beauty and talent, dancing to Ledward’s arrangement of Nani by Auntie Alice Namakelua:

Events like this make May a great month to visit Hawai`i, as if there were a bad time to travel to paradise.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 8th, 2014 at 7:28 pm 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.