Launch
Launch. Don’t you just love that word. Of course images of ships and businesses come to mind, but also there is that hint of nausea—sickening excitement, the companion of newness. So here I go, launching this new communication. It’s a thrill! Like emailing your best pal in the morning before you get steeped and mired in the minutia of the day. I look forward to conversation, an informal klatch which might explore the melodic, rhythmic and poetic motion of life. What a blast.
Waves. Stories seem to me like waves. They generate themselves way way out there in the unseen, then travel vast distances, then build, then break in any manner of style and intensity, then recede back into the mystery. Just returning from a journey in the Pacific I can still hear and see the waves. It keeps coming back to me in, well, waves. Our story of the moment is this: my little clan of four (husband Phil Round, sons Wilden McIntosh-Round age 14 and Rainer Mason McIntosh-Round age 10 and I) performed, sold a song, and studied under slack key guitar master and Grammy nominee Paul Togioka on the north shore of the island of Kauai. We lived in a small neighborhood adjacent to the Kilauea Lighthouse and Bird Sanctuary. Breaching humpback, spinner dolphin, frigate and tropic bird, red footed booby and albatross all at once. The rhythm! The melody! The poetry!!
Trade winds. We lived next door the venerable “Evril,” from Guyana, who blessed us with a smile you can’t describe and graciously lent us her bicycle. Her family photo included people from all over the world, and the sheer genetic strength, grace and beauty silenced us. Auspicious trade winds blow as Barrack Obama brings this amalgam to Washington DC.
Slack. Give me some. Loosen up. Slack key guitar says this and more. Thanks to Berklee jazz guitarist Tony LeHoven who operates TV Juice Productions with his wife Susan, we were able to perform, sell a slack key song and meet members of the music community on Kauai. Since Hawaii is technically part of the United States, it’s easy to forget that it s the most remote place on the planet (why do we forget the essential nature of things we ‘own’?). Historically Hawaii has had one of the highest incidences of endemic species in the world. The music reflects this singularity but also is formed by cultural dynamism. The guitar was brought to Hawaii in the 19th century, and now slack key style plays a major role. We studied the most common tunings including the taro patch, wahine and Mauna Loa tunings, and a lesser used but worthy C6 tuning. Many of the traditional songs have a five measure cycle, which also makes the music interesting and challenging to the ‘American’ ear. Lessons are available for all levels.
Snake River Guitars. Meanwhile back home both our indigenous/endemic guitars were being tweaked by master luthier (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Chuck crafted both our guitars right here in this house in Wilson. They have aged beautifully and all who hear them around the world are stunned by the richness, clarity, and soul of these instruments. They speak about THIS amazing place with a voice unparalleled.
So we’re back to it, hooray for the Yellowstone Plateau and all it embodies. I’m using the C6 tuning on a new song which I’ll perform with my pal the legendary Doug Peacock at the Teton Science School Jackson Campus on 19 May (free beer!). More on this on the next entry! Thanks for reading this, and I look forward to comments, questions, or a quick hello. Mahalo!!