Guitar fest to offer concerts, workshops on 2 islands
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Hawai'i Guitar Festival begins its second decade Thursday with four days of performances and workshops on O'ahu and Kaua'i.
Sponsored by the University of Hawai'i's Outreach College, the festival's initial mission of paying tribute to legendary guitarists has over the years moved more toward providing a performance showcase for established and emerging guitarists from all over the world.
Past participants have included Scott Tennant, Adam Del Monte and Greek classical guitarist Antigoni Goni, who offered a superb performance at last year's festival.
Hawai'i Guitar Festival 2002's schedule will feature a mixture of classical, jazz and Hawaiian slack-key concert performances and workshops.
Concerts
- Thursday: Darryl Gonzales (slack-key guitar).
- June 28: Paul Meyers and Byron Yasui (jazz and Brazilian guitar).
- June 29: Denis Azabagic (classical guitar).
All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. at UH-Manoa's Orvis Auditorium. Tickets are $20 general, $15 children, UH students, faculty and staff. A $50 package is available for all three performances. 956-8246, 956-6878.
- June 30: Hawai'i Guitar Festival Kaua'i Concert (featuring Gonzales, Meyers, Yasui and Azabagic) 7 p.m., Kaua'i Community College Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $15 general, $10 children and students. (808) 245-8270.
Workshops
- Thursday: Jazz guitar workshop with Paul Meyers.
- June 28: Classical guitar workshop with Denis Azabagic. Both workshops 1-4 p.m., University of Hawai'i-Manoa Music Building, Room 108. $30 registration fee required. Bring your guitar. 956-8246.
Kaua'i-based slack-key guitarist Gonzales, 41, said his festival debut would include a menu of covers by his favorite R&B, contemporary and blues musicians (re-worked slack-key style) and a small helping of his own Latin- and Caribbean-tinged instrumental compositions.
"The stepping stone for all slack-key artists is 'Hi'ilawe' by Gabby Pahinui, so I'll be doing that," said Darryl Gonzales, offering a small sample of the repertoire for his Thursday night show. "I'll do a slack-key style song by Peter Frampton called 'A Penny for Your Thoughts' ... an instrumental from his 'Frampton Comes Alive' album."
Wait a minute, Frampton did slack-key?
"Yes, he did," said Gonzales. "A lot of rock 'n' roll-influenced players know about slack-key and use it. The Doobie Brothers and Dolly Parton were a couple of them. While watching her on TV ... I could tell by the structure of her fingers and the way she was holding her guitar that she was doing slack-key."
After teaching himself to play his favorite Kalapana, Olomana and Country Comfort hits while a student at Castle High School, Gonzales cut his musical teeth with a handful of O'ahu bands (Brown Company, Par 3). He moved to Kaua'i with his family 10 years ago and is now a full-time musician with regular solo gigs at a several Garden Island hotels.
Gozales also is a pretty decent singer.
"I'll be trying to sing, at least," said Gonzales, laughing. "I'm no Pavarotti or anything, but I try to get the job done."
