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Keola Beamers Ki Ho Alu
Come and be a part of Keola Beamer Ki Ho' Alu. Book your tickets now.
Ki Ho 'alu is a Hawaiian term for Loosen the Key. It features the exceptional performances by Hawaiian Slack Guitarist, Keola Beamer. It won multiple awards such as Keola Beamer. It is actually a film produced and directed by Kenneth M. Burgmaier. It was critically acclaimed and critics have called this feature length movie, "An Uplifting Spiritual Journey" and "The Best Slack Key Documentary Ever Made." It includes appearances by Willie Nelson, George Winston, Ozzie Kotani, Ledward Ka'apana, Willie K, Cindy Combs, Moanalani and Nona (Keola's mother).
This is one musician whose roots can be traced back to the 15th century rulers of Hawaii, Kamehemeha and Ahiakumai. Not only this, Keola Beamer great grandmother was Helen Desha Beamer who was an accomplished songwriter and hula dancer. His mother was popularly known as Auntie Nona, has been known to be the most influential figures in the restoration of Hawaiian culture in the 1940's. She has also been a well known composer, dancer and educator. She is credited for coining the term "Hawaiiana". The word Hawaiiana generally explains the study of culture that she started in the Kamehameha Schools. His real name is Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Beamer. Undoubtedly, the same thing runs in Keola's blood. He is a Hawaiian slack-key guitar player. He is best known as a composer of "Honolulu City Lights". He was the first one to fuse Hawaiian roots and contemporary music.
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Artist Biography - Keola Beamers Ki Ho Alu
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 Keola recorded his first album in the year 1972 and it was his solo effort as the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar in the Real Old Style. In 1973, he was joined by his younger brother Kapono and they both started performing as a duo. They used to mix traditional styles as well as materials with mainland pop influences. They produced almost seven albums over the next decade. They can be credited for establishing the "Hawaiian contemporary", a kind of style that has its roots in the Hawaiian language as well as tradition. They also tried to bring in a hint of rock, pop, Latin, singer-songwriter and also Hollywood soundtrack and tried it with Hawaiian language and tradition. They experimented all these in their next album Honolulu City Lights. In 1978, they released Honolulu City Lights and the title song became a tremendous hit in the Hawaiian local market. It was placed first on the list of the fifty most important Hawaiian albums, in the Honolulu Magazine. In the year 1980, the brothers broke off professionally, not because of any enmity but wanted to establish a separate career of their own. Even after being separated they were able to produce albums that brought them awards. Keola produced a number of pop-oriented albums. He then signed a contract with George Winston's Dancing Cat, who owned the recording studio. He then released five albums under the banner from 1994 till 2002. In this albums too he emphasized slack key guitar, Hawaiian lyrics as well as the contemporary influences.
Apart from a good musician, Keola has also been an influential teacher like his mother. He is a very unselfish man. He started giving lessons to his students about the music he used to play, that too in the 1970's and it was that time when he himself was trying to create a sensation. Most of the musicians would reveal their musical secrets only to their family members. He also published a book on Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar in the year 1973, and it was the first book that explains this form. In the 1990's he came out with several instruction books and videos and created his own website, so that he can impart lessons to those people who were interested in the Hawaiian music. From 2001, he started running a series of workshops known as "cultural immersion" where different aspects of Hawaiiana, apart from slack key, were taught to play. Meanwhile he is continuing with his tours and is also working hard to release CDs on his own 'Ohe Records label.
Time and theater waits for none, so book your tickets now. Hurry!
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For more information , enjoy the official homepage of Keola Beamers Ki Ho Alu
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