For underexposed mainlanders, Hawaiian music is mellow slack key guitar, or traditional falsetto with lots of guitar and ukulele, or maybe it’s the older hapa-haole songs — Little Grass Shack and Ukulele Lady. All that stuff has its place in the history of Hawaii’s sound, but there’s a new generation. The golden boy of the [...]
Posts under ‘Music’
Mighty Uke in Honolulu
I was beyond delighted to catch Mighty Uke in Seattle, but how much more thrilling would it be to see the Mighty Uke Roadshow in the homeland of the ukulele?! It’s showing at the Honolulu Academy of Arts on March 19th, 2010. Learn more on the Academy’s website.
“Aloha Oe” Considered
After a recent visit to Hawaii, KUOW’s Amanda Wilde has a new connection to an old melody. The last of the Hawaiian monarchs penned this tune. It was inspired by a poignant moment on top of a mountain on the Island of Oahu. Amanda spoke with KUOW’s Dave Beck about a classic tune that Sounds [...]
Budget Travel: Reader’s Best Photos
Here on Holoholo Wale I try to look into the corners and behind the usual sun, surf, and sand stories about Hawaii (though I call that beer, beaches, and babes). But every now and then, I remember — Hawaii is freaky gorgeous, really, just breathtaking, and the sun, surf and sand, while not the be [...]
Kanikapila Means Jam Session. Sort Of.
Kona Kitchen, a Hawaiian style restaurant in North Seattle, hosts a once a month kanikapila — or jam session. It’s at a funny time of day — nine to noon, that’s right, in the morning — but there’s still a decent showing. Yesterday morning (September 12) there were 12 or 16 musicians there. There were [...]
Iz, Gabby, and the Sounds of Hawaii
Big Iz’s “Over the Rainbow” is an iconic ukulele track –it’s often the first thing folks ask me to play when they learn I have a uke. If you’ve heard the full track — it slid into U.S. consciousness a few years back via a toy store advertisement — then you’ve heard the bit at [...]
Kalama Heritage Festival
Kalama, Washington, is a little strip of a town along a river that bears the same name. John Kalama, a native Hawaiian, shipped out from the islands to work the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest. His travels took him to the land of the Nisqually tribe on the banks of the river where he [...]