As soon as Uncle D passed, I began to write this song. His contribution to Hawaiian music as both a composer and slack key artist is unsurpassable. A gentle philosopher, he guided me through the roughest times of my musical life and continued to do so until his passing. In 2004, he believed that a new Hawaiian Renaissance was to take place, however this time it would be on the mainland, where the interest in all things Hawaiian (hula, music,slack key, `ukulele) will be embraced by not only children of Hawaii born parents but Hawaiian music lovers of all ages and cultures. Uncle D taught me to keep moving forward, make sure that all dealings musically and beyond are pololei (correct, straight, right), allow your actions to speak louder than your words and most importantly, it never matters what anyone says or does, only YOU know who you are, embrace it. Just because you were born mainland, you are STILL HAWAIIAN and your ancestors will guide you. I am who I am today because of my mentor/uncle Dennis Kamakahi. I have MANY stories and folks have been asking me to share. Ive enjoyed listening to David Kamakahis stories because I WAS THERE for most of them. My song is my story. When I composed this song, I thought what if uncles songs came to life, what would they say to him, or to us now that hes gone? This song is dedicated to my teacher, who taught us to write songs about our time, the time WE live in and to write often. This is also dedicated to the Kamakahi `ohana and Aunty Robin Kamakahi, YOU are AMAZING AUNTY ROBIN and mahalo for sharing Uncle D with me and the world. E ola mau kōna mau mele – let his songs live! ps. this is a rough cut but you get the idea! Stephen Inglis on Lead Guitar Acoustic Bass, Recorded and engineered by Chris Lau
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 14:16:43 +0000
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