I was kiving on the island of Maui in the late 70's & trying to learn the guitar. At the time I was staying in a laborts Motel, most of us were construction workers from the other islands, so I'd end up practicing across island in Bayan Tree park near to where I hund around. Every once & a while some local would demand that Ilet them play, it was the way they asked that set my off, I'm sure it was cultural & not rude. One twilight an older teen asked if he could give my gitar a try. They way he askrd schocked my & I handed it to him. Right off I was scared, he started retuning ALL the strings. I stopped him & told him if he couldn't tune it back to where it was, I didn't want him playing it at all. He assured me, "no problem at all Bra". He started playing, I neally fell over, it was the 1st time I'd ever heard slack key style playing, he started singing in Hawaiian like I hadn't heard since I came to the islands. This was the real Hawaiian music he said, not the hapa holi (half white stuff they sing for the tourists). A couple Samoaians came by & I was set for a confronation thinking that they were looking for a fight, until they started dancing hula using "talking hands". The kid was only 18, he said that all his family played, danced & sung. I met him a coulpe other times & never thought to record him, a deep regret even to this day. I later realized he came from a family of traditional musicians/singers that were known through out the islands but were just unkown to the rest of the off island non Hawaiian world.

Barry