Hi Gang,

I want to tell you a little about a recent development around here. There is a really cool venue near my home in Northern California called Montalvo Center for the Arts where I have been fortunate enough to play some concerts over the years.

For many years they have put on a very well-respected series of concerts in a small theater there called the Carriage House. It had been where they parked carriages (the garage) when it was the estate of James D. Phelan, U.S. senator in the 1920s.

Over the last 10 years I was asked to share the stage there once a year with a guest artist of my choosing but recently the directors wanted to take the place in a different direction, not including the small intimate concerts like mine. After a few years of strange decisions and planning they seem to be back on the older track.

They recently called me and asked if I could schedule a show for the upcoming fall season. I said sure and asked who they might be interested in me sharing the stage with. As they looked through their records they noticed that shows I had done with Keola Beamer were very successful- meaning they didn’t have to advertise much to sell out the theater- a good thing in a promoter’s eyes. I called Keola and he was very agreeable, so the show is on for November 1, 2009.

I first met Keola about 10 years ago when he came to my music store to give a workshop on Hawaiian music and Slack Key Guitar for my students and we really hit it off. It certainly didn’t hurt that I had married into a Hawaiian family and my daughters had been dancing hula since they were 4 or 5 years old.

Although more of our connection was formed as teachers, he did a very good job of explaining things to the group of students and I occasionally offered comments and suggestions to help clarify some things. He was very open to and appreciative of the help.

One thing I had noticed about Keola’s playing was that he had one very important thing that is very hard to teach, what I call the touch. Many students get very accomplished at playing the notes but can’t quite get the touch or feel that that carries the music to the highest level. Sometimes they are too caught up in the technical side of things and forget one crucial element to music- you have to listen to your heart and let that guide how you play.

All the tech skills in the world will never make up for playing a slow, beautiful melody that paints a wonderful picture for the listener. Keola has this, and it is very rare, even among well-known and popular musicians.

Another incredible thing about this great musician was he had no pretensions about being a star and expecting to be treated as such. The first time he and his lovely wife Moana met my kids we became one big happy family (very extended, as is the Hawaiin tradition). Lizzie and Rebecca feel very comfortable with their Auntie Moana and Uncle Keola. My 20 year old son Cory, is a bit of a different story.

He gave Keola such a hard time the first time they met, all in great fun of course, that they connected on a level more like big kids- very cute!

A few months later Keola and I did the first of many shows we have done together and Rebecca and Lizzie danced with Moana as Keola and I played a few traditional duets. It was a thrill for everybody.

Now, I realize this is a bit rambling but I really just wanted to invite our TotallyGuitars.com Community to think about joining us in the fall here for the show and let me know if you would be interested in some lessons about Slack Key Guitar.

We might even be able to persuade Keola to come in as a guest if we play our cards right. In any case, there is a lot more to this story that I need to save for another day…

Stay tuned and in touch,

Neil