I’m looking forward to my first shipment of my new Hawaiian Steel Guitar CD to arrive Monday September, 10. I plan to bring them to My show at Mulligans in Wailea 6:30 to 8:30. Physical CD’s will be for sale on my website and retail locations soon. They are already on iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby. I will be sending a link to a free song soon. There is much that I like about this CD even after listening to the material so much as I worked on it.

My favorite of the Hawaiian Songs is Akaka Falls. The tone of the dobro/resonator guitar on “My Yellow Ginger Lei” is very nice. I used an old AKG 451 mic. There is a story about that mic. About 20 years ago I was approached by two guys who were making a series nature recordings with music. They were making recordings of Maui rainforests and wanted slack key guitar. Steve Grimes recommended George Kahumoku. This is how I first met George. The two guys had an AKG 451 and they liked it on guitar. We used it on George’s guitar and they were so happy with the project that they gave the mic to me.

My favorite song overall is the opening one, Harlem Nocturne. I believe it was originally recorded as a sax solo by the Viscounts in 1960. It starts with the eerie major/minor chord. I recorded it direct through an old tube preamp and I love the tone of the steel. The dynamics and subtleties of the instrument are all there without being squashed by compression. I will give more details of the making of the CD soon.