AND - Slack Key gave us steel!!
Slack key preceeds steel playing by many years. Without it, the steel we know today in it's many forms (pedal and blues slide playing etc.) would not be the same, or may not exist at all IMHO!
Joseph Kekuku turned his slack key tuned guitar on it's side and slid a 'bar' on the strings when he was a young pup - and here we are today.
Read "The Hawaiian Steel Guitar and Its Great Hawaiian Musicians" by Lorene Ruymar if you have not yet - and see what you think.
Why do you think the dobro is tuned the way it is? ANY chance it's based on the 'taro patch' tuning in use for over 100+ years!
I personally don't think slack key is boring at all. It's quite beautiful. There are dozens of exciting slack key players in Hawaii and elsewhere. I will agree there are boring musicians! Slack key is not easy to play well. You need a special spirit behind it - just like steel. I think Hawaiian steel playing is quite boring with the wrong person behind the bar. I'll admit oft times it's me 
But I'm getting there.
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Chris Kennison
Ft. Collins, Colorado
"We can't afford to let Nature Run Wild" - govt. offical - Alaska
[This message was edited by seldomfed on 31 January 2002 at 05:18 PM.]
[This message was edited by seldomfed on 31 January 2002 at 05:19 PM.]
[This message was edited by seldomfed on 31 January 2002 at 05:20 PM.]
[This message was edited by seldomfed on 01 February 2002 at 08:38 AM.]
