In the Spirit of Gabby

Milton Lau played guitar with Gabby Pahinui, and founded the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival to honor his legacy. The 25th annual festival happens Sunday, featuring the musicians pictured here

Friday - August 17, 2007
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with the festival since its inception. “We have our roots back in the paniolo days. It came from then and we keep passing it on, and so it’s really a traditional type of music.”

“So when people say that slack key doesn’t really represent Hawaii, it’s like what do you mean?” adds Lau.“It’s the oldest form of music aside from chants.”

Besides pure talent and an explosion of CDs,many of the slack key artists credit the recent spotlight on their genre to the years of performing throughout Hawaii, the Mainland and Japan.It’s a lot of leg-work that Kamakahi says is the reason why the genre is so popular in the Grammy limelight.

MIlton Lau: It all started with Gabby Pahinui

“I’ve been traveling on the road constantly around the U.S. for the past 15 years and I can say in the beginning people were curious about the music, but now they know the style and the artists. So that’s the neat part about it,” says the Kamehameha alumnus.

The Slack Key Guitar Festival has also played a significant role in the growing success of the genre. Besides celebrating its 25th anniversary here on Oahu, the festival also celebrates 15 years on Kauai and the Big Island, and 16 years on Maui.

To fit 22 groups and artists into Oahu’s seven-hour festival,each will take the stage for about 15 minutes, and the rest of the time they’ll spend catching up with a few kanikapila sessions backstage.

“I like the camaraderie,” says Kamakahi. “We hardly get to see each other on the tour circuits, and just this one Sunday we get to get together and jam with each other and exchange stories.”

It’s a time for the new musicians to learn from the “old-timers,” as Lau puts it.However,the old-timers are often taught a thing or two by the amazing newcomers as they bring their own unique signature styles.

“I think seeing the young players come up is the best thing,“says Kamakahi.“When we first started, we were the young players, but now we see guys like Ikaika Brown and Makana grow up. It’s good to see that the next generation is coming up. They play a more contemporary, modern style. My son (David Kamakahi) is from that generation, so we come to a medium.”

This year more than 5,000 fans are expected to turn out for the annual festival. For those unable to attend the event, the concert will be aired live on the Internet and can be heard through live radio broadcasts on COX radio, and JWAVE radio in Tokyo. The concert will also be filmed for a 90-minute special to be aired on KITV later this year.

“JWAVE radio of Tokyo, Japan, claims to have a listening audience of 7 million people,” says Lau. “That’s so exciting. The CEO of the station came down last week and they are really excited to do this.”

Lau and other slack key artists feel the next step is getting the music into local classrooms and school systems. The hope is to establish a relationship with the state Department of Education to offer children the opportunity to continue the Hawaiian art form that has been passed on for generations.

“The future lies with the young people, not the old guys,“says Lau.

It is amazing to think that what began as an intimate concert to pay tribute to the great Gabby Pahinui has grown into a local attraction that can be heard live around the world.

“I think Gabby and Arthur Isaacs guys are all up there and happy that we are carrying on this tradition,” says Grammy-award winner Ledward Ka’apana. “I hope the same thing, that when I’m not here that this still travels on.”

For more information about the festival, visit www.slackkeyfestival.com

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