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Topic: Old Laps Steel Photos |
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Steve Honum
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 27 Jun 2001 7:38 am |
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Thanks Andy, This is a great site. I really appreciate it when you guys let us know about stuff like this, especially with a live link. Better dust off my longboard and book that trip to Waikiki.
Haere mai,
Steve H.
S8 A6 |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 27 Jun 2001 9:22 pm
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Yo Steve ... "Haere Mai" is New Zealand, not Hawai'i! (ha!)
Andy, what a great site you have posted. I was particularly intrigued by the old photo of my dear friend(s), The Tau Moe Family. Theirs is a story of adventure, near starvation, running into and running away from wars...just an amazing family who left Hawai'i "temporarily" around 1927 and returned some 50 years later after being around the world 7 times entertaining. They did everything...Big Band, ballroom show dancing, tap dancing, acrobatics. Each in the Family would learn a new art form from teachers in Europe and teach it to the others. Last February I jammed with Tau and he is still going strong at 92; son Lani, 50 teaches dancing at the PCC; daughter Dorian is heavily involved with the PCC also. (Polynesian Cultural Center in Lai'e).
(Mama)Rose sadly passed away a couple of years ago having suffered the ravages of Alzheimer disease. The amazing thing about Rose, she could still sing all the very old hulas when we jammed in Lai'e. She knew all the words, but when it came to knowing who her old friends were as we were all jamming together, Alzheimer took its tole. She had a truly remarkable and amazing voice unlike any heard today in Hawai'i. I am proud to say I played a principle role in introducing Bob Brozman to his "hero", Tau Moe...the rest is history. If you have heard the great album Bob made with the "Aloha Four", it all came about as a result of this initial meeting and the ensuing jam session we all enjoyed together in Lai'e with the Moe's. |
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Paul Graupp
From:
Macon Ga USA
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Posted 28 Jun 2001 4:37 am
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George; Thank you for sharing those old memories with us. As I went through that part of the site I was wondering if that may have been the case and it was. A 50 year oddessy in music. Day by day it may have been ordinary for them but looking back on it as you have, shows it to be an adventure
of great proportions.
Best Regards, Paul  |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 28 Jun 2001 1:48 pm
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| Indeed it was an adventure. I earlier made mention of Tau's Big Band. It might be safe to say he was one of the earlier pioneers to incorporate the steel guitar in a Big Band surrounding. Tau was a fine composer/arranger and were you to hear his arrangements, he worked the steel in amongst the reeds beautifully. Talented son Lani learned to play trumpet, sax and trombone amongst many other instruments and could easily sit-in whenever a musician was absent. Lani has an exceptional singing voice even to this day but is very modest about it. I was presented with a video which was made up of a series of early cine films, many taken directly from b/w tv in Europe where they had "Live" shows on tv. Beautiful choreography between the 4 of them as they danced, Tau and Lani in long "tails", Rose and Dorian in gowns, then later, came the Polynesian revue. I know of no entertainers alive today who could come close to matching what these fabulous 4 achieved in their lifetime. We'd could probably term their act as being a form of vaudeville, but in reality, it went much further than that. The saddest part of this great history of Hawaiian Entertainment Heritage, this fabulous family is hardly known within Hawai'i amongst the average Hawaiian which is probably due to the fact they were away from the Islands for over 50 years. [This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 28 June 2001 at 02:50 PM.] |
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