Kapali Long’s Heartfelt Hawaiian Country | Acoustic Guitar Sessions

Hawaii has an abundant history filled with cowboys, guitars, and stories. A history with a large and under-appreciated impact on American music. Long before the Gene Autry-inspired American misconception of the singing cowboy riding the variety with a guitar slung over his shoulder and a tune at his lips swept over the mainland, locals on the Big Island of Hawaii, trained by Mexican cowboys (vaqueroswere ending up being specialists at roping, riding, and rounding up livestock, which were presented (as a present of 6 cows and one bull to King Kamehameha I from Captain James Vancouver) to the island in the 1790s.

These Hawaiian cowboys, called paniolos (originated from españolcompletely accepted the ranching culture, establishing their own clothes and saddles, and even their own private design of music, believing the guitars presented to them by the vaqueros and other tourists, and the tunes they sang with them, sounded much better in an open tuning. In the 1920s, Hawaiian music cleaned over the U.S., and its special guitar noises have actually continued to progress and weave themselves into the material of American music since.

Today, Hawaiian singer-songwriter Kapali Long, a self-described “Americana nation bluesman,” is doing his part to keep the flame of Hawaiian c and w burning intense, admiring his forefathers by putting his own stamp on the music they produced.

For this Session, recorded in AG‘s San Anselmo, California, head office, Long carried out a trio of tunes, each showcasing a somewhat various musical side. Up is the anthemic “Go Back,” which strengthens the old saying about 3 chords (well, 4 in this case) and the reality.

Next is “One More Night,” a wholehearted homage to a lost enjoyed one. Closing the set is a rousing slide-infused cover of Muddy Waters’ “Feel Like Going Home.”

While Kapali’s tunes check out some really individual sensations of sorrow, yearning, and discomfort, the individual is universal. “It does not matter who you are, where you originate from, who you elected, or why your eyes are that color, or who you grandpa was. everyone misses out on someone,” Kapali states. “We all feel that hurt. Which’s why I like singing tunes like ‘One More Night.'”

Each efficiency includes a various guitar from Long’s collection of Gibsons: a 2013 J-15, a 1991 J200, and a 1934 L50. Have a look at the Guitar Talk video listed below for more on Long’s Gibson collection.

For music, livestreams, trip dates, and more, go to KapaliLong.com