Q&A with Kaua‘i’s slack-key masters
LIHU‘E — The 18th Annual Hawaiian Slack-Key Guitar Festival wraps up its statewide tour from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort near Hanama‘ulu.
The event is free, and 16 acts will take the stage, including Kaua‘i’s own Paul Togioka, Cindy Combs, Normon “Ka‘awa” Solomon and Sandy and Doug McMaster.
They answered questions from The Garden Island about their passion for music, love for slack key and favorite festival memories.
Cindy Combs
As “the only female player on the planet” to have a full-length, solo, slack-key instrumental album, Combs began her professional music career in 1971.
Combs credits musicians Gabby Pahinui, Atta Isaacs, Keola Beamer and Sonny Chillingworth among her musical influences.
Her latest album, “Sunny Rain,” is available through her website at slackkeylady.com.
Q: How did you become interested in slack key?
A: I began to listen to Hawaiian music as soon as I arrived in the islands in 1963. I became aware of it as a guitar style around 1967 and realized I had been hearing it in a lot of the Hawaiian music that I loved. I started playing the guitar in 1965, but it wasn’t until 1971 that I began to learn slack key.
Q: How many years have you been involved with the slack-key festival?
A: Eleven years? Sorry, I’m losing count!
Q: How would you describe your musical style?
A: My style is a blend of contemporary and traditional music. It’s influenced by all types of music, old and new.
Q: What do you wish to share with audiences?
A: I hope that when I share my music with anyone, they come away with their heart a littler happier and lighter than before they heard me.
Norman ‘Ka‘awa’ Solomon
Local recording artist and firefighter Solomon made his festival debut last year, prompting others to ask where he had been hiding this whole time. Solomon has recorded three solo CDs and is currently in the studio working on his fourth album. His latest CD, “Na Mele O Kaua‘i,” (The Songs of Kaua‘i) is available at hawaiianmusicstore.com.
Q: How did you become interested in slack key?
A: I became interested in slack key as a child — 9 or 10 years old — listening to my uncle play in the back yard. The sound was so pleasing, that’s when I fell in love with slack key.
Q: Do you have a favorite memory from the festival?
A: Well, it was my first time playing, and I was nervous because I was playing alongside a lot of great players. The night before, there was a CD-release party for Walter Keale in the lounge. Milton Lau (producer of the festival) called me and asked if I could play for the party. I said OK, and after I was done, I thought I was well accepted by the cheers.
When I was in the lobby, LT Smooth introduced himself to me and said, “Where you been all this time?” I said ‘here on Kaua‘i,’ and he said he liked my style and we should get together and play sometime. I was like ‘Wow!’
Later that night, along with the other slack players, we just hung out in the lounge and just played music. The next day I was scheduled to go on around 2 p.m., but one of the participants needed to get back to Honolulu. Milton asked if we could swap times. He said you will go on at good time because that’s when the place will be packed.
So, I got nervous again, I was re-scheduled to go on at 5 p.m., right after LT Smooth and before Makana, who was the final performer. I just told myself not to worry and just go out there and have fun, and so that’s what I did. I had the crowd clapping and singing, I was so happy when I had the ‘hana hou’ to play on. As I was coming off stage Makana gave me a good compliment and I was just stoked!
Q: How would you describe your musical style?
A: My musical style is simple, I try to capture the essence of ‘aloha’ that I share through my playing and singing. So as far as style? I was influenced by ‘Pops,’ Gabby Pahinui, and I had the opportunity to play with him at my uncle’s house in Makaha under the mango tree when I was in high school. He taught me that listening was the key to music. My other influence is James Taylor.
Paul Togioka
Veteran of the Hawaiian Slack-Key Guitar Festival, Togioka has performed at the “Kaua‘i-Style” festival for the past 15 years and has been a featured artist at the neighboring islands’ festival since 2003. Originally from Kekaha, Togioka has been a featured artist on the two-time, Grammy-nominated and Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning CD ‘Hawaiian Slack-Key Kings.’
Q: How did you become interested in slack key?
A: Back in 1981 while growing up in Kekaha, I saw Issac Kanahele and Sam Licayan playing the slack-key guitar. I was very impressed to see one person play both the melody and bass line at the same time. It sounded like multiple guitars were playing at the same time. I immediately gave up my electric guitar and within a few months was taking lessons from Hal Kinnaman. A few years later, I moved to O‘ahu and met Dennis Ladd. Dennis brought me to the music of Leonard Kwan, Gabby Pahinui and Ledward Ka‘apana.
Q: Is playing on Kaua‘i different than performing on the other islands? Why?
A: Up until last year, the ‘Kauai-Style’ Festival was the only island that held the concert indoors. The indoor environment made the interaction with the audience very intimate. Many of the outer (island) entertainers like performing on Kaua‘i due to the audience support.
Q: How would you describe your musical style?
A: My playing style varies from the old style to contemporary. Many of my arrangements exhibit signs of bluegrass, which is largely due to my influence from playing the five-string banjo. I use to play in a bluegrass band in the early ‘80s.
Q: What do you wish to share with audiences?
A: I would like to say ‘thank you’ to the many supporters of slack key. By nature, I am a very shy and private person. The music industry has definitely broaden my horizon.
Sandy McMaster
Doug and Sandy McMaster started the Hanalei slack-key concert series, which takes place twice a week. The duo performs traditional-style, slack-key concerts featuring songs and stories that tell the history of slack-key music. To date, the couple has played more than 1,200 concerts. Their last CD, “Hanalei Tradition,” was nominated for a Na Hoku Hanohano best slack-key award and won the People’s Choice Award by the Hawai‘i Music Foundation for best slack-key CD.
Q: How did you become interested in slack key?
A: Doug has been playing slack key since he was a young child. We’ve played music together since we first met over 30 years ago. When we were getting ready to move back to Kaua‘i from Moloka‘i in 1999, the slack-key caretaker of Moloka‘i took us aside. He looked at Doug and said ‘Doug, you and me, we’re the same. We play old style. There’s only a handful of people still playing the old style of slack key. It’s up to you to make sure it lives on.’ We asked him how we could do this. He said, ‘As long as people can still hear the songs and stories, they’ll carry the music in their hearts and take it with them all over the world. It will live on.’
Q: What do you wish to share with audiences?
A: Traditional Hawaiian slack-key guitar is a gift to the world from the kupuna of old. It is a musical art form filled with aloha from the islands themselves. In the modern world of fast-paced, stress-filled days there’s no better way to stay connected, centered and filled with aloha. We play old style — nahenahe, soft and sweet. Doug is a prolific composer and songs are given to him from special places and experiences. It’s family music in the real, old style.
Q: Do you have a favorite memory from the festival?
A: Our favorite memories of the slack key festivals is listening to Raymond Kane play beautiful slack key from the heart. Raymond is the one who rooted our feet to the slack-key path. Although he is gone from the physical world now, his spirit and influence carry on through the music.