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©2000 by Ely Music/Pub |
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Around The World With Steel Guitar"Aw come on, does HSGA really 'go round the world with Hawaiian Steel Guitar'?" a neighbor asked me, on seeing HSGA's new bumper sticker on my car. "How far 'around the world' do you want to go?" I thought. The following special feature is in response to his question, and any skeptics in your neighborhood. - Marjorie Scott Reino Luoto - Espoo, Finland "At times, music-making has been t a standstill and even ceased totally. Ten years ago we assembled once again, friends of Hawaiian music together, and started playing once a month. We sing and play older traditional music. Musical notes have been bought, and also copied from records. We have learned words in the Hawaiian language. Songs copied from records have been slightly difficult. Out repertoire includes, among others, Kalihi, Nä Lei O Hawai`i, Tiare, Alekoki, Hula Blues, etc. "At the moment our instruments are Hawaiian guitar, two acoustic guitars and bass. We sing by four voices. almost all the arrangements for the orchestra have been made by Hawaiian guitarist Pekka Kyotikki. Gerald Venema - En Velsen Noord, The Netherlands "We had about 1,000 visitors in the hall, with three stages: one main stage for just real Hawaiian, a smaller stage for newcomers and groups who prefer (to play for) a smaller audience. Also, not only Hawaiian but some jazzy or mix and a session stage where everyone who wants to play with friends can do whatever they want, but still Hawaiian." (Gerald's wife Lolita was in Hawai`i recently, and spent time with Hanalei and Lily deWilligen at the Halekulani "House Without A Key".) Derek Young - Oxfordshire, England "When I was about 13, in 1952 I asked my father if he would play for a South Seas sketch in a show my Boy Scout troop was putting on. He said "No". So, with mouth larger than brain, I said I would play. I had 3 months to learn 3 numbers. It must have sounded terrible." Derek says he persevered with steel guitar, had invested in a Roy Smeck 6-string, and learned a lot "especially music theory" from Ronnie Joyness (who composed many Hawaiian songs, and made some 400 broadcasts on the BBC with A.P. Sharpe's Honolulu Hawaiians). It was during this period that Derek met John Marsden, and even got together in Sheffield for a "jam session". "At that time, I had my own band called The Hawaiian Aires". We played locally and even appeared on midlands TV." Derek went on to form the "Hawaiian Beachcombers", and thanks to another steel player got a recording contract with EMI at Abbey Road Studios in London. Then the 70's hit, and C&W replaced "the dreamy strains (of Hawaiian music)" in England. Derek says these days he prefers to listen rather than play, but still has his Hawaiian guitar and "my favorite Fender Twin reverb amplifier." During the day, Derek is a film editor for British Television. "The job demands long days, but the reward is earning enough money to visit Hawai`i." Derek also trains editors at the National Film and Television School "and at last count, have trained over 2,500 editors. So if anyone in Hawai`i would like an editor experienced in the Avid Non Linear system, I'm open to offers!" "Like most stories, there is a happy ending," Derek writes. "During my last visit to Hawai`i, I met Alan, who knew John Marsden through HSGA. I had lost track of John, and Alan put me back in touch, and I joined HSGA. I had to go half-way around the globe to find the address of someone who lives only 152 miles from me." John Mills - Dalkeith, Western Australia " Perhaps the music, plus the excitement of a sea voyage from India to Fremantle, stirred up a strong wanderlust in me. I will never know, but just before my sixteenth birthday, I packed my bags and left home to join the Merchant Marine." John goes on to say that he ended up spending 40 years in the Merchant Navy, holding the position of ship's Captain for sixteen years, up to his retirement in 1990. During his many years traversing the Pacific, John says "I've been to Hawai`i, and I haven't." "Sailing from the Panama Canal to Japan, we had engine problems and needed spare parts. The ship diverted to Honolulu to get the parts, but I was ordered not to enter port. The ship was stopped about a mile off the entrance to Honolulu harbor for a whole eight minutes, while a launch brought the parts to us. I can still remember my feelings of anticipation and disappointment, at being so close and yet so far. During those couple of days, we approached the Big Island just before sunset one evening, and the next morning saw Diamond Head and Honolulu just a couple of miles away; I heard lots of familiar music on my radio. Perhaps next year, I will actually make it to Honolulu." Early in his sea-going career, John met a Hawaiian steel player, by chance, playing for a dance in one of the ship's ports of call. When John discovered he could plug a small steel into his valve-operated radio for an amplifier, he bought a steel guitar and signed up for lessons. "I couldn't read music, but the number system offered almost instantly recognizable tunes, which was important since I was sharing cabins with other crew members who were not always too tolerant with a struggling beginner producing weird noises. "I took my guitar to sea with me for many years, and was used to playing by and to myself. In fact, I hardly every had anybody to accompany me." John changed employers, had to start flying to and from ships, and thus leave his guitar at home, as it was "excess baggage". Now that he's retired, he's decided to take it up again. "Regrettably, I find it's not just the strings that are rusty, but than can be remedied. I have books and records and a head full of melodies, and Barry Homan to urge me on." 
HSGA * HAWAIIAN
STEEL GUITAR ASSOCIATION Homepage URL: www.hsga.org (hsga@lava.net) Last updated: 07/23/02 by Gerald Ross (gbross@umich.edu) |