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Topic: Modern generation Hawaiian steel guitarists |
William Howson
From:
London, UK
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Posted 25 Mar 2011 4:11 pm |
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Hi guys
I’m currently writing my university dissertation on the Hawaiian steel guitar, primarily focusing on the different acoustic instruments that were developed but also looking at the 'Hawaiian craze' in general, Im also planning to write a chapter about the steel guitar in Hawaii at present and would be interested to find out about post 1970's 'Hawaiian Renaissance' steel players especially acoustic players.
So far I haven’t been able to find any players who play acoustic steel (apart from a picture of Ledward Kapaana holding a Hilo).
If any of you could point me in the right direction it would great! |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2011 6:40 pm
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Narrowing the field to current acoustic steel leaves few names to select from. Other than Bob Brozman, Ken Emerson, and Easterner Mike Neer, Greg Sardinha, is all that comes up quick, and he's not focused on acoustic in decades. These are the top 4 acoustic guys, I'd say, but there are many other players out there. And Buck Giles, another modern day proponant, is probably still around. But Bob is the guy who is the strongest tie from the past to the present.
As far as the 'renaissance' steelers, you gotta start with Gabby, and Feets Rogers on steel. Old schooler's that lead the pack of kids coming up with respect for the good old styles and a mind for the future. It was they who helped retain steel in the newer generations minds. Billy Hew Len and Barney Isaacs were two main holdovers from Waikiki's golden era, with the occassional Herbert Hanawahine type to be found, and Jerry Byrd started shaking thing ups with teaching, but steel didn't really catch on with the young 60/70s Hawaiians. It wasn't until the 80s when Jerry's students started getting the ball rolling again, with Alan Akaka, Casey Olsen, Greg Sardinha, leading the pack. Bobby Ingano and Jeff Au Hoy are later era greats. |
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William Howson
From:
London, UK
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Posted 26 Mar 2011 5:43 am
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Cheers mate
You’ve defiantly given me some food for thought (though my internet connection at the moment is making it a bit hard to listen to any of the people.)
One thing that I’m particularly interested in is whether the in the 60s/70s slack key guitar revival (which from what I’ve read was in part a reaction to the soulless touristy hawaiian music) the younger players consciously distanced themselves from the steel guitar because it was seen as being more associated with tourism and the mainland |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 26 Mar 2011 10:03 am
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| William Howson wrote: |
| the younger players consciously distanced themselves from the steel guitar because it was seen as being more associated with tourism and the mainland |
Some truth there, yet, they didn't seem to have a problem with the foreign bred ukulele which had long been hijacked as much by Hollywood/etc. vs the Hawaiian steel... To me it was a copout, the steel is pure Hawaiian, but can be difficult to play well in sophisticated settings, and while the young crowd saw themselves as sophisticated, most wouldn't put in the effort to get anywhere on steel. Other ways to make music were easier while the new music in general wasn't as well suited to the steel, so the passing of the torch stalled. |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 26 Mar 2011 9:48 pm
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Welcome William!
There are a number of scholars revisiting the steel guitar these days. Expect several new books to come out over the next 3-5 years. What is your field?
John |
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William Howson
From:
London, UK
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Posted 27 Mar 2011 8:36 am
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Hi John thanks for the reply, I think the books might be a bit late for me Ive got a month left to write this thing and have no intention of EVER writing anything again!
Im studying musical instrument building and mainly focusing on Acoustic Hawaiian/reso instruments, in fact though this is my first post this forums been a big help over the last couple of years when looking for info |
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