Sonny Chillingworth

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.

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Uncle Sonny Chillingworth was one amazing artist. You can read his bio here at Dancing Cat Records. His Moe Uhane (Dream Slack Key) is a requirement for us mainland slack key players trying to find our way into the style. His Weeha Swing is a mark of prowess for those who can accomplish it – a challenge I have yet to take up. But I’ve been influenced hugely by Uncle Sonny, and I hope to continue to steal from him in the future!

Just to give an idea of the variety of his work, here’s a clip from Ki Ho’Alu: That’s Slack Key Guitar with Sonny demonstrating the “needle and thread” technique:

while this one features Sonny playing a Gretsch electric guitar with a Waikiki band featuring Myra English, the Champagne Lady of Hawaiian music:

One of the Sonny-influenced tunes I do is Imi Au `Ia `Oe based on the version he recorded on his Endlessly CD. Here’s a video I captured of the piece:

Have a listen at Dancing Cat or iTunes and see if Uncle Sonny’s slack key and vocals tickle your fancy. They’re some of my favorites.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 10:36 pm and is filed under News, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.