Sweet Spots in Kailua, O`ahu

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, May 15th, 2016

Lynn has always been our travel manager, choosing the destinations, getting the best deals on flights, and finding places to stay. She has found us some wonderful residences over the years and she just keeps getting better.

We had the honor of serving Ranger the Danger Cat for the first part of our stay this year. His residence is on the beautiful Pu`ukani Place, just down Kalaheo from the Kalapawai Market and a few steps from Kailua Beach. Ranger even has his own pool, although I’ve never seen him use it.

Ke Aloha is one of my favorite Hawaiian songs and this narrative of fragrance and relaxation seemed perfect for Ranger’s domain:

Ranger’s regular servant has returned from her trip and we’ve moved across town to a residence that is new to us, on the south shore of Ka `Elepulu or Enchanted Lake as it is called today. While this location is relatively far from the beach, the view across the lake and the peace and quiet of a residential street have plenty of charm.

I chose an old Hawaiian waltz called My Sweet Sweeting for this video in honor of my sweetie, a little “thank you” token for all her travel planning efforts:

It’s hard to beat sitting on the lanai, cooled by the breeze across the water, watching outrigger canoes and paddle boards and the antics of the water birds, but if there’s something better out there I expect Lynn will find it. In the meantime I’m going to relax just as hard as I can right here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 15th, 2016 at 8:13 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.