Album Notes

Fran Guidry's debut CD, Kaleponi, features original and traditional Hawaiian slack key solo guitar instrumentals. After playing old time rock'n'roll for 20 years, Fran experienced a musical rebirth when he turned on the TV in a Waikiki hotel room. He saw and heard Keola Beamer playing slack key, and he fell in love with Hawaiian music at that moment. Since then Fran has immersed himself in slack key and Hawaiian music. He has collected CDs and LPs, attended concerts, studied books and videos, taken lessons, and played slack key guitar nearly every spare minute. He has performed at various venues around the San Francisco Bay Area, in solo shows and as an opener for Hawaiian music stars like Dennis Kamakahi, Cyril Pahinui, and Patrick Landeza. He has also played with masters like Ledward Ka`apana, Mike Ka`awa, and Kevin Brown on his trips to Hawai`i.

Slack key guitar is a folk style that demonstrates the beauty and power of simplicity. Created over 150 years ago by Hawaiian cowboys herding cattle on volcanic slopes, it has endured and grown, inspiring new devotees generation after generation. Now this charming music seems to have transcended the boundaries of its island home, with slack key guitarists blossoming all across the mainland of the United States, in Japan, and in Europe.

Slack key seems to capture listeners like magic. The stresses and strains of the fast paced modern world fade as the ebb and flow of slack key transports them to that idyllic island paradise locked in their imagination. Like the traditional Hawaiian songs, Fran's originals are inspired by personal relationships, joyous life events, and the wonders of the world around us.