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Topic: Keoki Lake to will be 'on the air' again! |
Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 21 Nov 2007 3:34 pm |
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Tune in Fri. night at 8pm MST on Canada's CKUA radio station www.ckua.com which is celebrating it's 80th aniversery to hear a live recreation of what George was doing as a solo act during the years from 1949 to '52 during his Hawaiian Sunset radio show. This time he will be joined by fellow musicians to play the other parts, while he concentrates on the steel work.
His original program was a fine take-off of Dick McIntire's 30/40s radio show that was a huge inspiration to Mr. Lake and millions of other land locked and island starved citizens world wide.
I've been fortunate to hear George's original shows, and he did a marvelous job of creating an atmosphere almost more Hawaiian than the real thing. All the instruments were played by himself, alone in a Canadian studio, long before he had the chance to set foot on Hawaiian shores. I'm sure Friday's show will be more of the same delicious quality.
Most folk are unaware of how long and how much George has given of himself to provide Canada and the world a healthy taste of island music, as well as a member of the great Tracadero big band, and smaller groups that are still playing for large crowds, as well as teaching ukulele and steel guitar to very sizeable classes for many years.
Check out the CKUA site for a good view of what he's been involved in for decades, as well as some very cool pix of him in action.
Kudo's to Mr. Lake for all he's done, and will be doing, for us music lovers.
Keoki, please correct what I may have gotten wrong, and give us a personal take on how it was during those day's, on the air. |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 21 Nov 2007 11:10 pm
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Mahalo Ron ... appreciate the "plug". Slight errors which I will endeavour to correct. Back in the years when dinosaurs roamed freely, (1949 - 52), I did indeed have a weekly Hawaiian radio show on radio station CKUA here in Edmonton. The show was titled "Hawaiian Sunset" and aired every Saturday evening at sunset. Contrary to Ron's statement about it being a "solo"performance, I played the steel guitar and was accompanied by some very fine musicians on r/guitar, upright bass, ukulele and vibraphone. (Besides myself, only one member of the group survives today).
These programs were transcribed on large 16" discs which spun at 33 1/3 rpm and utilized the 78 (wide) grooves. Each side could contain 15 minutes maximum. The reason for transcribing the programs;
I was also playing steel guitar on a country/western show every Saturday nite at another radio station. Of course, I couldn't be at two radio stations at the same time therefore it was decided we would transcribe the Hawaiian shows. A good decision as when the show went off the air, I was able to purchase all the discs which I have since transferred to cassette tape. For younger readers, there was no such thing as tape recording or anything digital at radio stations back in those days. Once the cutting stylus hit the blank transcription, there was no going back, no chance to edit or erase an error...you lived with whatever happened.
Yes, I confess, I was inspired by "HARMONY ISLES", a wonderful program which a young Dick McIntire produced back in (circa) 1933-36.
As mentioned, the program ran from 1949 through to 1952. In 1952 it was briefly picked up by CBC Radio, (similar to NBC/ABC in the US), as a summer series. CKUA had an "exchange of talent" agreement with radio in Australia. They chose to send 8 of my programs down-under around 1951.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of CKUA radio. CLICK: http://www.ckua.com/ . To celebrate this big event, CKUA reached back in their archives, discovered I was still alive and kicking and asked if I would re-create my 58 year old show which will air www on Friday Nov. 23rd. I have hired young musicians who were born decades after the show went off the air. Similar instrumental setup except an electric bass now replaces the upright, and an electronic vibraphone replaces the old Deagan mallet vibes. I feel deeply honored to be a major part of the 80th Anniversary and hope I don't goof up on the show! Incidently, I had my program when the station was 22 years old and I was 21 years of age.
Ron mentioned the Trocadero Orchestra. I founded this big 18 piece band 16 years ago, (1991), and of the original members, I am the only survivor. It's a great orchestra in which I play r/guitar. CLICK: www.trocadero.ca
I'm fast approaching 80 years of age but that doesn't stop me from remaining active in music. I teach 32 students weekly on steel and ukulele. CLICK:
http://www3.telus.net/public/lake_r/ (Please allow about 20 seconds to download), and have a jazz quartette in which I play 5 string Fender electric bass. This group entertains on average twice weekly at senior homes. Lastly, (besides playing Hawaiian music), I play banjo about four times a year in a dixieland band. Hope this covers everything Ron.  |
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c c johnson
From:
killeen,tx usa * R.I.P.
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Posted 22 Nov 2007 2:52 am
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| I too still listen to the tapes. I can get the station but still cannot hear the music. I will keep trying though. CC |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 22 Nov 2007 7:12 am
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CC: When you log into CKUA, you will notice what appears to be a "radio tower" on the upper left side of their Home Page.
Over and under this "tower" are the words 'Live on air'. Click the tower. You will probably hear a 20 second welcoming voice which is then followed by whatever is being broadcasted at the moment from CKUA. Hope this helps. CKUA is a non-commercial radio station solely supported by listeners. Daily, you'll hear music which other stations never play. |
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