A Man of Many Talents - Getting to Know Nathan Aweau

Rated 5.0 Stars

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Every man has his own vocation, talent is the call." If that is true, Nathan Aweau, the subject of my column this month, has definitely recognized and honed in on one of the finest skills we can possess-loving what we do for a living! "Music is more than just a job, it's part of my life, it's my favorite hobby. I love picking up my guitar or bass everyday... I look forward to practicing. I love jumping on my keyboard, turning on my computers and just creating," says Aweau. More »

And the Winner Is... Ki Ho`alu, Again!

The second Grammy Award for recorded Hawaiian music went to "Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitars - Vol. 1," a CD that features 12 cuts of songs most of us know well. And it features artists that most of us know too. More than 170 new CDs were released in Hawai`i last year; 26 of them were entered in the Grammys; five were selected as finalists; and on Feb. 8, the winner was announced in California. More »

Ka Himeni Ana ... The Singing

Ka Himeni Ana is an annual contest for unamplified singing of old Hawaiian songs More »

Slack Key Guitar: It's Happening In Japan Too

Although Hawaiian music and hula have been very popular in Japan for many years, it has taken longer for slack-key guitar to catch on in the land that boasts more Hawaiian musicians and dancers than anywhere - including Hawai`i nei. More »

Happy Birthday Michael Jackson!

Rated 4.0 Stars

You had to be hiding in the deepest crevices of an earth far removed, to have not known that one of the most influential music legends of my generation, in my opinion, passed away on June 25. It was one of those moments, that those alive during the JFK assassination, 9/11, or the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, can compare its significance of "Where were you when ... " More »

2005 Was a BIG Year for Hawaiian Music!

In the overall scheme of things, every year seems to be a bigger and better year for Hawaiian music. For those of us who remember times when the traditional music (and the language) of our Islands seemed doomed, it is exciting to look back each January at what has happened in the past 12 months. More »

The Wild Hawaiian - A Special On Henry Kapono's Latest Release

With my job, I meet a lot of people in Hawaii's entertainment industry, and am fortunate enough to be friends with some of Hawaii's finest entertainers. However, I do have my favorites; those whose careers I closely follow. More »

California Songwriter In Love With Hawai`i

Doug Baker may not be the first Californian to fall in love with Hawai`i. But we can't think of anyone who expresses that love better than this singer-songwriter who has flown in and out of Honolulu so many times over the past four decades. And no other songwriter has spent as many hours in the night skies over the Islands he loves so well. More »

Anthologies and Compilations; Winners Abound

Rated 5.0 Stars

Up against some very tough competition Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar won the Grammy in the Hawaiian music category. It was the third year that Hawaiian music has been considered in the NARAS annual Grammy Awards, and it was the third consecutive win for a slack-key guitar compilation. More »

An Evening of Enchantment - Hawaiian Style

It was more like a family gathering, a reunion of sorts. It was like a backyard lu`au of days gone by. It seemed like a homecoming to some, a ho`olaule`a for others. It was a pa`ina, a ho`ike, a Hawaiian music concert not to be missed. It was five hours of outpouring of Aloha. More »