| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 05/08/2012 : 06:50:27 AM
Ledward is on the mainland for his spring West Coast tour and I'll be opening his shows. Links and more details on my calendar page: http://www.kaleponi.com/calendar/
Ledward will be playing with Mike Ka`awa for the first round. If you haven't seen these guys together don't miss them.
Thursday, May 10, Harlow’s in Sacramento, CA
Saturday, May 12, St. Joseph’s Cultural Center, Grass Valley, CA
Monday, May 14, Sierra Nevada Brewery, Chico, CA
Tuesday, May 15, Don Quixote’s, Felton, CA
Thursday, May 17, Club Fox, Redwood City, CA
After that week Mike goes home and we have a short break, then Ledward and I head to Oregon for two shows.
Saturday, June 2, John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, Eugene, OR
Tuesday, June 5, The Alberta Rose Theater, Portland, OR
Mike returns from O`ahu for dates in Washington.
Wednesday, June 6 and
Thursday, June 7, Seattle’s Triple Door, where Ledward and Mike recorded their magnificent Force of Nature live CD.
Friday, June 8, The Upstage Restaurant, Port Townsend, WA
If you're in the neighborhood of one of these shows I hope you'll check us out.
Fran |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Retro |
Posted - 09/22/2012 : 12:29:09 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Fran Guidry
Michael Keene, host of the Kani Ka Pila show on KVMR radio from Nevada City, was the MC ...
He called in a contribution to our Hawaiian radio show here in Seattle today - mahalo! |
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 06/10/2012 : 11:53:06 PM
Hey, I can call this my Embarrassing Moments Tour, with this memory lapse added to the speeding ticket I got on the way down I5, moments after my wife suggested I was running a little hot on the gas pedal. I don't even want to go into the rest of the items on the list, but there are many.
Anyway, Mark, thanks for coming, thanks for your kind conversation. Sorry to hear about the big hair, but very glad that you got a good dose of nahenahe. I sometimes think I'd be happy to hear "Slack Key Lullaby" all night.
Fran |
| Mark E |
Posted - 06/10/2012 : 6:41:45 PM
It was great to meet you, Fran, and to hear you live. You have a great easy and flowing style that just says Slack Key in everything I have heard you play. I was also glad that the Upstage was packed as well it should be for Led, even though I was stuck behind a wahine with big Hawaiian hair. It was a happy and virtuoso evening with Led playing more of the soft sweet music that I especially love. I hope you'll come with him and Mike again. Many mahalos for all that the three of you gave us. |
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 06/09/2012 : 07:30:08 AM
The Port Townsend show as certainly a lovely way to end the adventure. Some friendly faces from the Triple Door followed us across the water, old friends showed up, and the Upstage was packed. One of the guys from our very first rock'n'roll band lives there, so it was old home week. He was suitably stunned by the virtuosity of Ledward and Mike. Al Tringali (noeau) brought his bright smile and warm hugs and made the place feel like home. The town was charming and the ferry ride across the water was an experience in both directions. I feel tremendously lucky to have been part of the Force 2 ride.
Thanks to all of you who were able to come out for the shows. As I often say, these gigs are a _lot_ more fun with people in the audience <grin>. And of course, taropatchers in the audience are even better.
Fran |
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 06/09/2012 : 07:13:01 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Claudia
Oh you West Coasters are SO lucky that you get these amazing concerts by Ledward and Mike and Fran. Fran, thank you so much for posting the videos from the Shedd - 'Akaka Falls/Waiulu was stunning (was that in Taropatch, capo'd up?) I am thrilled to hear that there will be a Force of Nature sequel - I just about wore mine out, its one of my top favorite albums of all time.
Fran, since I am learning about pre-amps and such and bumbling through trying to learn mine, what kind of pre-amp does Led have hanging off of his microphone stand? Just curious. Mahalo!
Well Claudia, I have to agree with you that we on the west coast are way lucky. Not only do we get more visits from Hawaiian artists, we have more local style folks living here, so we have more halau, more kanikapila, more local style grinds. Heck, even our airplane rides are shorter and cheaper when we get a chance to go ovah deah to the islands. So I extend my sympathy but I do not volunteer to trade places. I'm a nice guy but not _that_ nice <grin>.
The tuning in that clip was drop C capo 4, for the key of E.
The preamp is a Dean Markley DME-3 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/dean-markley-dme-3-outboard-preamp. It's a much simpler unit than the PADI. It has no DI function and only one gain stage (no Gain vs Volume quandary) and a classic low-mid-high EQ configuration. This means it is less powerful and flexible but much easier to use for quick adjustments just because it's easier to see what you're doing. Ledward uses it mainly to mute his signal when changing from guitar to uke, but occasionally he'll tweak the volume or tone slightly and hope the FOH engineer doesn't counteract his adjustments.
If you follow the link you'll notice that the unit is no longer available. Ledward's preamp was thoroughly road-worn and starting to get a little flakey so we went looking for a new one online. When I discovered the DME-3 was replaced by a new, more complex unit I headed over to Ebay to see if we could sniff out one of the old ones. Luckily a music store was selling some NOS (new old stock) and we got a unit new in the box. I was a little tricky and bought the new one on my Paypal account then traded Ledward for his old one after having him sign the old one. So now that old box with hundreds of hours of great music flowing through it is in my collection of gadgets and Led has a shiny new DME-3.
Fran |
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 06/09/2012 : 06:57:03 AM
Thanks so much, Momi, neeej, thumbstruck, and everyone who came to the shows. You make Seattle a wonderfully warm place to visit even when the weather is cold rainy.
Fran |
| Claudia |
Posted - 06/09/2012 : 02:22:18 AM
Oh you West Coasters are SO lucky that you get these amazing concerts by Ledward and Mike and Fran. Fran, thank you so much for posting the videos from the Shedd - 'Akaka Falls/Waiulu was stunning (was that in Taropatch, capo'd up?) I am thrilled to hear that there will be a Force of Nature sequel - I just about wore mine out, its one of my top favorite albums of all time.
Fran, since I am learning about pre-amps and such and bumbling through trying to learn mine, what kind of pre-amp does Led have hanging off of his microphone stand? Just curious. Mahalo! |
| thumbstruck |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 5:08:58 PM
Was unreal. Had a report from a friend from the Thursday concert that totally matched mine from Wednesday. TOO GOOD! Eh, Fran, nex' time spend more time here Seattle side. |
| neeej |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 04:27:21 AM
I wasn't there on the Wednesday, but I'm still willing to bet the Thursday blew everything else outta the water!! Hoohah, my ears are still replaying it. Only one thing coulda been better...more Fran :-) |
| Momi |
Posted - 06/07/2012 : 7:28:34 PM
The guys were really cooking last night:
Doug & Anela (the Pacific Poi Boys), Mike, Led, and TP's own Fran.
Fran, it was a pleasure to finally meet and hear you last night. Maika`i no! |
| Retro |
Posted - 06/07/2012 : 11:47:14 AM
quote:
Originally posted by slipry1
Then to Paortland and down the coast to California. This is not to be missed if they're headed your way.
Psst...Keaka...you are reading the calendar backwards. They played Portland already (we were just talking about the Alberta Rose Theatre a few posts back), and did California just a few weeks ago in mid-May. |
| slipry1 |
Posted - 06/07/2012 : 11:35:27 AM
Eh, Fran! It was good seeing you again, and the concert was fabulous! There is a repeat concert tonight, and they are headed for Port Townshend, WA for a concert tomorrow. Then to Paortland and down the coast to California. This is not to be missed if they're headed your way. |
| Retro |
Posted - 06/07/2012 : 08:31:31 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Fran Guidry
I promise to get out of the way for your intro tonight <grin>.
Not a problem - I was backstage listening to you, and I told Mike & Led that you were doing a fine job for an intro, so I wasn't going to disrupt the flow by popping out there again. All the "business" things I needed to say waited until the start of the second half.
It was a marvelous show, with a mix of fine players joining in; it was a treat to finally meet Fran in person, to hear him play live, and to enjoy the grand jam at the end. Doug & Anela shone as well, and the nerves that were apparent early on faded in the face of an appreciative crowd.
Mike and Led - well, even when they are not playing at the peak of perfection (in very brief moments, because they are willing to take risks), they still outshine so many other performers, and it's always entertaining to be invited along for the ride.
Enjoy tonight's performance as well (I won't be there - I can't hog ALL the emcee opportunities in town - Braddah Steven Gomes will host).
And if folks are going to see the show, please note - these two nights are being recorded for a "Force Of Nature" Volume TWO, so cheer on key! |
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 06/07/2012 : 08:11:44 AM
Wow - what a night. The Triple Door here in Seattle is quite a venue, the history of the place must be fascinating.
TP member retro was the announcer for the show and got things going in style.
The Pacific Poi Boys http://www.pacificpoiboys.com/ opened the show with a wonderful mix of dobro and resonator mandolin, six string guitar, vocals, and eclectic influences. They stirred Hawaiian, blues, and Indian raga into a very flavorful stew indeed.
When I came out I was delighted to see the smiling faces of slipry1 and thumbstruck in the front row - nothing like a bunch of taropatchers to make a person feel welcome.
Then Ledward and Mike did their inimitable thing - these guys are on fire, folks. When they say they don't practice it's true, but they do "fool around" very effectively, trying out various songs and arrangements, beginnings and endings, medleys and transitions. They had about a week of "fooling around" with various songs while we were staying in Walnut Creek, and the result was a fountain of gorgeous Hawaiian music and a few haole pieces thrown in for spice. It was great fun to watch the show from the green room with Doug and Anela of the Poi Boys - they were blown away by the range of material, the musicality, and the sheer fun Led and Mike generated on the stage.
The evening wound up with all of us on stage for a bit of kanikapila - you know it can be a little terrifying to take a pa`ani while Ledward and Mike play backup, yeah? But those guys are so generous and supportive that it just flows, and before you know it the nerves are replaced by the joy and delight in the music. It's hard to beat "Hawai`i Aloha" for a chicken skin ending to a great evening, topped off by a lot of hugging and talk story with old and new friends from the audience.
And we have another night at the Triple Door tonight to do it all again!!
Fran |
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 06/07/2012 : 07:41:16 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Retro
quote:
Originally posted by Fran Guidry
Last night in Portland we played a charming venue, the Alberta Rose. A small neighborhood movie house converted to a performance space, they bring a variety of shows to the Alberta Street scene. Alberta Street in the northeast seems to be a great place for food enthusiasts. We had a few wonderful bites at Bar Lolo, a tapas bar across the street from the Alberta Rose, and earlier had sampled the exotic ice cream flavors at Salt and Straw, while friends told us of other culinary adventures up and down the street.
Nice! I love that eclectic space - saw some friends from Canada there last year. See you tonight.
Greg, it was great to finally meet you and Momi at the Triple Door last night. I promise to get out of the way for your intro tonight <grin>.
Fran |
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