Fond Farewell to Kailua – Kalapawai Swing | Slack Key Guitar in Kaleponi

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.

Fond Farewell to Kailua – Kalapawai Swing

Monday, May 7th, 2012

We’re back in Walnut Creek after our too short visit to Kailua, O`ahu. I’ve posted a few videos I shot during the trip, but here’s one more – a celebration of the neighborhood where we like to stay when we can. Kailua Beach is one stunning place, it attracts visitors from all around the world, and they all pass Kalapawai Park and the Kalapawai Market on their way to the beach park. The store has been at this location for over 70 years, it’s part of Kailua’s history. The park is more recent, from the late 60s.

There’s a little shopping center a block mauka, where pizza and shave ice, real estate and emergency medical services, sunglasses and bikinis, kayaks and bicycles and Segways are all available. Traffic jams are common when a class of kayak beginners crosses the road, and many of the trucks and cars are carrying canoes, paddle boards, kite surfing rigs, or kayaks.

This little corner of Kailua seems dedicated to fun, to enjoyment of this beautiful place. The spirit of the place seemed to match the feel of a song I’ve been working on for a few years, so I gave it the title Kalapawai Swing and set up cameras to record the song in its namesake park.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 8:04 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.