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This Sunday Heidi Chang |
Beamer CD takes note
of joys, sorrows of ’70sIn his latest CD, "Mohalu Hou -- Music of the Hawaiian Renaissance," Keola Beamer transcends time and tastefully plucks your heartstrings through his music. He takes you back to the '70s, a decade that many consider the most musically creative era in Hawaiian music. That's when the seeds planted by the kupuna (elders) were taking hold in a younger generation, inspiring musicians like Keola.
"For me and for many Hawaiians it was an awakening of cultural pride. Prior to that, we weren't so sure it was OK to be Hawaiian," Beamer recalls. "Suddenly we went from playing with our aunts and uncles to performing for substantial audiences and discovering that it was OK to be Hawaiian. In fact, it was almost a neat thing. So for us, it was kind of a new beginning."
COURTESY PHOTO
Keola Beamer: An older and wiser performer looks back at Hawaiian Renaissance
It was also a time of change in the islands. Tourism and development was booming. Communities that were alienated by those changes began organizing to protect the Hawaiian way of life and values.
Beamer was at the forefront of the movement, pioneering a contemporary Hawaiian sound. The slack key guitarist, singer and composer made his mark as a soloist and, along with his brother Kapono, became one of Hawaii's most popular duos.
In his CD, Keola pays tribute to the kupuna who influenced him -- the Kahauanu Lake Trio, his mom, Nona Beamer, and Gabby Pahinui. "All these people were the ones that ... began this renaissance," says Beamer. "The next generation, which I'm a part of, were the people who sort of brought it to fruition."
On the new CD, he also interprets the music of his contemporaries -- Cecilio and Kapono, Country Comfort, Olomana and Kalapana.
While Beamer succeeds in expressing the joy and innocence of that era, at 52, he's now wiser and reflects that some of his fellow musicians are no longer with us. "There's kind of a bittersweet look at some of that music, because I remember all of us being so full of potential and yet the road that we follow in life is a complicated one. There are some very serious difficulties that we get into as human beings -- drugs and alcohol abuse."
He adds, "Artists, of course, are not immune to that."
Some of the casualties -- Robert Beaumont, Billy Kaui and the comedic genius, Rap Replinger.
"One of the saddest stories is Mackey Feary of Kalapana," said Beamer. "He was a great, wonderful promising talent. (But he) lost the internal compass, and ended up in prison, then later committed suicide out of depression."
On his CD, Beamer sings a poignant rendition of Feary's biggest hit, "Moon and Stars."
There are some musical surprises, too. Jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer adds a nice touch on "Sunflower" and "Pretty Girl."
Keola's CD also brings back memories of a creative and fun era in radio, when independently owned commercial stations played more original music by Hawaii's artists.
Now things are quite different.
"We're a little concerned that big corporations own the media," says Beamer. "Certain things get played and certain things don't. It makes us nervous, especially from a cultural perspective. I wonder if Hawaiian music is receding with this kind of control."
In his upcoming concerts and on his new CD, Keola comes full circle in performing "Real Old Style," a song he wrote for his grandfather, Pono Beamer, who helped raise him and taught him guitar. That song was featured on Keola's groundbreaking debut album in 1972. But he stopped playing it after his grandfather passed away.
"'Real Old Style" is kind of a portrait of my whole family, the way we grew up together, with music intertwined. It's also recognition of the fact that times change and these great people that are a part of our growing up, won't be here forever."
Keola Beamer performs Aug. 23 at Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College and Aug. 30 at Diamond Head Theatre. For more information call 1-888-KBEAMER.
Heidi Chang is a freelance writer and producer. She is one of four local columnists who take turns writing "This Sunday."
