Two
of the finest North American guitaristsKen Emerson and
Jim Kimo Westjoined forces for the 2016 CD
release of Slackers In Paradise: Slack And Steel Guitar Duets.
Early in 2016, Kimo released Guitar Stories: Slack Key &
Beyond and in 2014 Ken Emerson released Sacred Slack &
Steel Guitar. Each of those previous CDs were and are highly influential
among fans of Hawaiian and Americana instrumental music so its
quite fulfilling to note that Slackers In Paradise is also
bound to be quite a hit album among their fans. Slackers In Paradise
fittingly includes 16 tracks of Hawaiian folk, blues, jazz and
ragtimeall played with the finesse and expertise worthy of these
modern day guitar masters. Speaking about Slackers, Ken Emerson
tells mwe3.com, We wrote and recorded in between my traveling
and Kimos. He was going out with Weird Al on tour, and I was
traveling all over the West Coast and Hawaii. Then my Dad had a stroke
so things got pretty heavy for me, and I can say working on the record
with Kimo was good for me as I spent a lot of time in Oregon under
a lot of stress and then would come down to LA and get a respite from
it all by jumping into the music production. It turned out to be very
therapeutic. Kimo has a nice home recording set up, as well as a road
rig, he worked on a lot of the editing and mixing while he was on
the road with Al. Discussing the origins of the Slackers
CD Jim Kimo West tell mwe3.com, We put this
record together over the last couple years, 2015 and 2016. We did
it mostly at my studio but Ken contributed a few basic guitar tracks
that were recorded at Ron Pendragons studio on Kauai and I actually
did the basic track for Mango Season in a hotel room when
I was on tour with Weird Al. Both Ken and Kimo have busy
lives so its more than incredible that they not only had the
time for an album of Hawaiian instrumental guitar music that is superbly
relaxing. Highlights of Slackers are the many fine original
instrumentals here but theres also a very cool cover of the
Rolling Stones classic Ruby Tuesday that almost sounds
like a Hawaiian meets Baroque instrumental of one of the most beloved
pop songs of the late 1960s. With hardly a note out of place, Slackers
In Paradise is an instrumental guitar classic befitting the sound
and vision of these two superb musicians. www.jimkimowest.com
/ www.cordinternational.com
mwe3.com presents an interview with
Jim 'Kimo' West and Ken Emerson
the Slackers In Paradise interview
mwe3:
How long have you two known each other and why did it take so long
to get an album as good as Slackers In Paradise from you? Who
started the ball rolling on the idea of making the Slackers album,
so to speak and how did you come up with the title? I thought the
album was called Caution: Falling Coconuts
Jim Kimo West: I met Ken on Kauai in 2001 when
he was playing his regular gig at the Princeville hotel. We stayed
in touch over the years and I asked him to record some acoustic steel
guitar for a track of mine called Goin Upcountry
on my 2005 CD, Slack Key West. We did it by exchanging
burned CDs as he was a few thousand miles away! Ken eventually
moved to the mainland and a few years ago, my friend, Mitch Chang
invited us to perform at the Southern California Slack Key Festival
but we had never played together before so we booked a gig in Santa
Barbara and played two sets with no previous idea of what we were
going to play- it was a blast!
After playing more shows together we naturally wanted to move along
to making a record. I have a studio at my place so Ken came down from
Napa a few times to record and I did all the editing and mixing afterwards.
I had always wanted to call a record The Slackest Of The Slack
but I also liked the idea of using paradise in the title.
I suggested Slackin In Paradise and then Ken came
up with Slackers In Paradise. I had the idea for the Watch
Out For Falling Coconuts sign a number of years ago. They are
common in Hawaii and it made for a very funny inside spread, which
looks fantastic on the vinyl
Ken Emerson: We met on Kauai when I was working the Princeville
Hotel. I had heard of him as a well known L.A. guitarist but not as
a slack key player. Later on he asked me to do a track for an album
he was working on, and I added a National steel guitar to it, called
Hana Highway or something... It fit right into the Slack/Steel
guitar thing I had been doing for a long time. I was surprised we
had a real connection to that area of Maui, as well as all the musical
styles we were doing.
Later on we met somewhere as I am in and out of Los Angeles and Kimo
said the big Redondo Beach show Mitch Chang was producing was coming
up and asked me to play. So I agreed and we thought maybe a shake
down gig would be good, so Kimo came up with a nice club in Santa
Barbara called SOhO. We met there and had no plan or set list, so
we basically just called out some tunes we knew and it turned out
to be a really fun gig, one of those effortless things and the Redondo
show turned out the same, in front of a sold out crowd and all off
the cuff. After that we both agreed we should try and do some
recording and the vibe kept preceding us. It was so much fun to record
and the arrangements came very easily. The title seemed appropriate,
since we are after all
professional slackers. (lol)
mwe3:
Can you give some background on when the music for Slackers In
Paradise was written and where was the album recorded? How many
of the tracks are cover versions and how many originals are on the
CD and why did you not subtitle the songs in English? What made you
want to include the Fats Waller track Lulus Back In Town
and what can you tell us about the Rolling Stones cover of Ruby
Tuesday which goes back to early 1967 and is described as Baroque
pop.
Ken Emerson: We wrote and recorded in between my traveling
and Kimos. He was going out with Weird Al on tour, and I was
traveling all over the West Coast and Hawaii. Then my Dad had a stroke
so things got pretty heavy for me, and I can say working on the record
with Kimo was good for me as I spent a lot of time in Oregon under
a lot of stress and then would come down to LA and get a respite from
it all by jumping into the music production. It turned out to be very
therapeutic. Kimo has a nice home recording set up, as well as a road
rig, and he worked on a lot of the editing and mixing while he was
on the road with Al.
Lulu came about as we wanted some old jazzy stuff, with
interplay between guitar and steel, since I play a lot of vintage
guitars. The Rolling Stones' tune was a contrast to that. I had figured
out a version of a Stones tune called Back Street Girl,
I liked that Baroque vibe, and then decided Ruby was more
mainstream. We wanted traditional Hawaiian as well as music that influenced
Hawaii like the jazz, blues of the 1920s and 30s. Then,
to expand the styles we included some original songs we wrote which
were more contemporary, like Aokealoa, and some of the
other covers helped expand the album and keep it interesting.
Jim Kimo
West: We put this record together over the last couple years,
2015 and 2016. We did it mostly at my studio but Ken contributed a
few basic guitar tracks that were recorded at Ron Pendragons
studio on Kaua'i and I actually did the basic track for Mango
Season in a hotel room when I was on tour with Weird Al. I used
my MacBook Pro and a UAD Apollo interface with a couple good mics.
Hawaiian song titles are generally not subtitles but sometimes record
titles are.
Ken had the idea to try Lulus Back In Town so I
came up with the slack key arrangement and Ken overdubbed his steel
part later. Ken had the slack key arrangement for Ruby Tuesday
sorted out already so, after we got his part down, I came up with
a second guitar part which in a few places imitates Brian Jones
recorder part. Ken actually pulled the song out at one of our first
gigs in December 2015 which was a surprise. Its been an audience
favorite in our live shows!
mwe3: What guitars did you feature on Slackers In Paradise
and have you made some recent additions to your guitar collections
over the past couple years? Was the Slackers In Paradise album
cut live in the studio or were there a lot of overdubs?
Jim Kimo West: Since we werent together that
much we opted to build the tracks by overdubbing. I recorded guitar
for my tunes and then had Ken overdub on them and vice-versa-wed
get Kens parts on his tunes and then I would work on them. I
made use of a Tacoma baritone guitar on a few tracks as well as a
couple Taylor 514s and a 1970 Martin D18. I also used some ukulele
and a Deering 6 string banjo. Ken used his old National tricone, a
Chinese dobro and his Taylor 6 string. I think he used my metal-body
Dobro resonator guitar as well. On the Wairoa Ukulele Rag
he used his moms old Martin soprano uke.
Ken Emerson: I used the best sounding guitars from the collection,
which usually is my 1928 National and my Taylor 6 string. Kimo has
a couple nice old Martins I remember using. I added dobro to a couple
to get a different sound. And we gave the old Martin uke a cameo on
Wairoa Ukulele Rag. One of the early demos we did together
was Hilo Hanakahi, and it was one of those off the cuff
things that fit into the album. We did some over dubbing on some songs
which seemed to help out the sound of them, but pretty much any of
it can be played live with 2 guitars. Of course, we picked one which
maybe Al would want to join in on, so thats how the Slack
Key Polka came about.
mwe3:
Jim, what can you tell us about Aloha Al Yankovic on accordion
playing on the Slackers CD? Whats new with Weird Al these
days?
Jim
Kimo West: Yes, Aloha Al played accordion
on the Slack Key Polka which of course was very appropriate.
Ken had suggested we try a polka so I came up with a demo track which
ended up being the record track after I got Ken and Als parts
recorded. Im of the road with Al this year but 2015 and 2016
were very busy. We played over 200 shows in support of our CD, Mandatory
Fun which debuted at number 1 on Billboard and won the Grammy
for Best Comedy Recording. One of the tour highlights was playing
the Hollywood Bowl two weekend nights with the 70 piece orchestra!
mwe3: Where are you living now and how much time do you get
to spend in Hawaii these days? What Hawaiian guitarists and composers
are you listening to these days?
Jim Kimo West: Im in Los Angeles but Hawaii
is always home for me. I get back a few times a year for
gigs and R&R and its nice when everyone says welcome
home!. There are some great Hawaiian guitarists in the islands
these days although most of my slack key heroes are gone now. Keola
Beamer has always been a favorite of mine, especially his solo guitar
recordings on Dancing Cat. Ozzie Kotani is am amazing player and composer
and is well-known as the top teacher of slack key. My friend, Jeff
Peterson is a great player who is equally comfortable in slack key,
jazz and classical guitar and newcomer Ian OSullivan is following
in Jeffs footsteps.
Ken Emerson: I currently spend time between the Napa area of
Northern California and Monterey, where I share a studio with a partner.
Its called Reel to Real Sound, and we run one inch tape there
in a nice old school analog set up. I have digital recorders there
as well. I have a little place in Central Oregon where I enjoy part
of the summers fishing and tour the Northwest and Vancouver B.C. and
am in the process of acquiring 3 acres in Hawaii for the future studio
where we can escape the winter.
mwe3:
What formats was the Slackers In Paradise album released in?
I see three different types downloads are being offered. What is the
difference between the different download formats and how about the
CD and vinyl pressings? Was there a need for different mastering techniques
between the vinyl and the CD?
Jim Kimo West: I know some of the download sites
over various quality levels in the downloads and Im afraid Im
not really up on the selection. CDs of course are always available
but sales are generally going down as that medium fades in popularity.
Many folks get there music via streaming sites like Spotify and Apple
Music which is very convenient. Vinyl sales are picking up
mwe3: Did the songs on Slackers In Paradise require
specific guitar tunings and what guitar tunings were most prevalent
on the album?
Ken Emerson: Yes, certain songs require certain tunings. We
strive to match the guitars in a way where we get the most variety
of sound. Many times we are in two different tunings, and/or one guitar
is capoed and one tuned low, etc. We also do a lot of slack/ steel
duets, and Kimo will bust out the baritone and I have a guitarlele
6 string now so we can really move things around musically.
Jim Kimo West: We mostly were in various tunings.
Kens part on Hapa Haole Hula Girl was in standard
tuning but everything else was in slack key tunings. Taro Patch
or open G was common on both guitar and acoustic steel. My baritone
was in the same tuning but lowered to the key of D (A D A D F# A).
I used a few other tunings as well including Drop C which
is a variant of Taro Patch.
mwe3:
What can you tell us about the Southern California Slack Key Festival
and what can music lovers expect to hear from you? Also what was the
Slack Key Guitar Workshop like? I imagine Slack Key guitar style is
popular all over the world even places like India.
Jim Kimo West: The Southern California Slack Key
Festival has been going now for ten years and was the brainchild of
Mitch Chang, a guitarist and ukulelist from Oahu who lives in
the L.A. area. A little over ten years ago he asked me if I thought
a festival would go over here and I was quick to answer... yes! I
had actually approached Hawaiis festival promoters with the
idea before. Its been wildly successful and is such a fun show
with very high talent and production values. Workshops are often taught
in the most common tunings such as Taro Patch but an artist like Cyril
Pahinui will teach in C Major tuning since thats that one he
uses most. I have many tunings that I use but I stick to the basic
ones as most folks will find them the most useful. Slack key is mostly
known in Hawaii and the West Coast in the U.S. but Japan also has
a big fan base. Interest in steel guitar is more widely distributed
around the world. In the early 1900s, Tau Moe and his family
played all over the world, bringing Hawaiian music and steel guitar
to faraway places like India, where there is now a tradition of Hindustani
steel guitar.
Ken Emerson: The Southern California Slack Key Festival is
a great showcase for some of the best players in the world, like Ledward
Kaapana, Jeff Peterson, Sonny Lim and George Kuo among others. I like
it because I can play both slack key and steel, sometimes in the same
song. The format was loose this year, like being on the beach, and
it was a gas to be able to hang out on the stage and watch my favorite
artists perform. With all the hard work playing all over the world,
when I got to places like France, the slack key guitar is still not
as well known as the steel guitar. So there are places that still
need an introduction.
mwe3:
I saw that Slackers In Paradise is dedicated to Michael Cord.
Can you share any other thoughts on Michael Cord and his important
contribution to Hawaiian guitar music and is the Cord International
label being kept active by Michaels wife?
Jim Kimo West: Michael Cord was a friend and probably
the worlds top archivist of older Hawaiian music. His compilations
are wonderful and so well done. And all out of a genuine love for
the music. Besides all the compilations, he released many of Kens
CDs. His wife Maryann still maintains the label although I don't
think they are releasing any new stuff.
Ken Emerson: Michael was a real visionary in keeping vintage
Hawaiian music alive and saving old masters so they can be enjoyed
forever. It was fitting to honor him. He was my main producer and
record label for many years and his loss is immeasurable. Maryann
Cord will continue to run the label and host events like our upcoming
workshops and concert in Ojai. She has just redone the website.
mwe3: What other guitarists and albums, CDs, etc, are you currently
listening to, both Hawaiian slack key players and other jazz and rock
guitarists who you find inspirational? Do you see Slack Key and other
forms of Hawaiian music gaining in popularity?
Jim
Kimo West: Lately I have been listening to tons of
CDs for Grammy voting consideration, so that is just about every
style imaginable. I do love really good jazz and world music and of
course classic slack key and Hawaiian music from folks like Gabby
Pahinui, Atta Isaacs, Moe Keale (who Ken used to play with), Hui Ohana,
Ray Kane and others. I listen to a lot of public radio in my car and
I like the element of surprise, not knowing what Ill hear next.
I do see slack key going popularity. Its music that is organic
with a rich history and a contagious feel-good sound, a sound that
comes from the aina, the land. Often people who
hear me play have no idea what it is exactly Im playing but
they just like the way it makes them feel.
Ken
Emerson: I still listen to a lot of players that have passed on...
My favorites including Gabby Pahinui, Atta Isaacs, Sonny Chillingworth
Ray Kane. Also the old steel masters like Sol Hoopii.
I enjoy the contemporary artists like Keola Beamer, Led Kaapana, Jeff
Peterson, Ozzie Kotani, Cindy Combs and many more. I listen to a lot
of jazz and all types of music. So much to hear and so little time!
I think Hawaiian music will continue to be popular as new artists
come up and whatever my contemporaries and I come up with while its
still our time.
mwe3: So now with Slackers In Paradise released and
getting airplay what other plans do you have for 2017, like new solo
albums, and chances for any live shows around the country or the world?
Jim
Kimo West: We will focus on live shows for 2017 and
hopefully get to spread our slacker music around the country
and maybe the world. I have a few other solo projects on the shelf
but the priority is Slackers In Paradise. Last year I collaborated
with Grammy-nominated producer Arun Shenoy in Singapore on a project
called A Stagey Bank Affair. A really nice record with terrific
players and recording quality. I contributed two songs which were
produced by Arun and his excellent team from India and Singapore.
It was up for Grammy nomination this year but sadly got pushed aside
by some entries from artists with big name appeal!
Ken Emerson: Now that the New Year is started we are looking
into bookings. Kimo has this year off with Al, so we are going to
try and get on a roll and travel about some. We have things coming
up this spring/summer and will be traveling into the Northwest. We
have a tour coming up for Hawaii in May, including George Kahumokus
Slack Key Show on Maui, and the Blue Note in Honolulu. We also have
some extra songs we recorded, so at some time we will look at them
and think about what we want to do for the next project.