Music Credits: Excerpts from “Spirit of Adventure” and “Hayaku” from the CD Rhythm Journey composed and performed by San Jose Taiko, used courtesy of San Jose Taiko.

Excerpts from "I Kona" and "Mauna loa Slack Key" from the cd Led Live Solo, performed by Ledward Kaapana, used courtesy of Dancing Cat Records.

“NY” from the cd Soul Sand composed and performed by Kosta T. Used courtesy of the Free Music Archive.

 

Jo Reed: From the National Endowment for the Arts, this is Art Works. I’m Josephine Reed. To kick off Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we are revisiting two interviews with cultural powerhouses and 2011 National Heritage Fellows taiko drum leaders Roy and PJ Hirabayashi and then later in the show slack guitarist Ledward Kaapana.

As founders of San Jose Taiko, Roy and PJ Hirabayashi have helped create a new Asian American art form. They've combined the traditional rhythms of Japanese drumming with musical and cultural influences from around the world. San Jose Taiko performs its music with choreographed movements so in addition to rhythm, its members need physical strength, endurance, and energy.

Deeply committed to community-building, the group operates as a collective with members participating in all aspects of the art from composing and choreographing pieces, to designing and sewing costumes, and handcrafting the drums themselves.

Here’s Roy Hirabayashi to tell us a little bit more about taiko itself.

Roy Hirabayashi: Taiko is the word for the Japanese drum, but what we're doing I guess is what we consider or refer to as kumi-daiko, which means ensemble drumming. And the difference is historically the taiko drum, the taiko in Japan has been used in many different kinds of purposes and occasions. You would see it in the festivals, in the temples. Historically it was used in the battlefield to send the field commands across the battlefield. But most popularly, you would see it in many different festivals throughout Japan. But you would many times see the taiko being used to accompany other type of art forms--singing and dancing, or the more classical forms. The kumi-daiko form that we're doing, or the ensemble form, is just using primarily taiko as an instrument -- the singing and dancing is not the primary focus; it's just the drumming itself.

Jo Reed:  San Jose Taiko began in 1973. How did San Jose Taiko come together?

Roy Hirabayashi: We started the idea of doing Taiko in San Jose through the San Jose Buddhist Church, and it began sort of as an activity to try to bring the youth into the temple to do some kind of activity. And so myself, Dean Miyakusu, and then Reverend Hiroshi Abiko-- we decided just to try to do this. We had no clue what at least I didn't-- really had no clue how to really form a taiko group because I had never done it before. Musically, I had done other kinds of music growing up but never taiko or a Japanese art form like this.  And so we just really kind of jumped into it a little bit blindly, but we learned how to make our first drums and some basics from the group called Kinnara Taiko in Los Angeles, who had started just before us. And then after we got it started going a little bit, we were able to learn some other basic form from Seiji Tanaka, the San Francisco Taiko Dojo.

Jo Reed: What drew you to taiko, PJ?

PJ Hirabayashi: Well, I have to say it's the power and the energy, and being a Japanese-American woman, there was kind of this relatedness that I had to do that because it was so much power. I was not really interested in the very quiet and very meditative, sedate art forms such as classical dance or the tea ceremony or flower arranging. Everything was embodied in taiko from something that was sports-like, including some theatrics. It was just everything that I ever dreamed of.

Jo Reed: You were trained as a dancer, weren't you? So you really had a sense of performance and a physicality.

PJ Hirabayashi: Absolutely. I think that's what really attracted me. Because in my body, there was just that seed of wanting to move, something that could just be expressed so unabashedly. And to do that with music, drums, the body moving-- it just spoke to me very loudly.

Jo Reed: When we think about the time that San Jose Taiko started in 1973, that was a period of great activism in the Bay Area in California, and that kind of informed the way you went about beginning taiko. Isn't that true, Roy?

Roy Hirabayashi: Yes, very much so. Prior to even thinking about doing taiko, I was pretty heavily involved in the Asian-American scene in the Bay Area, primarily on campus at San Jose State and also in the community in Japantown in San Jose. And as you mentioned, the late '60s, early '70, there was the antiwar movement, the beginning of ethnic studies, the beginning of Asian-American studies, and different kinds of programs like that were happening on the campuses. And so I was really interested in learning more about my heritage, growing up as a third-generation, or sansei, Japanese-American here in the United States. I just wanted to know more about my heritage that I really didn't know, and there was a lot to learn at that time.

Jo Reed: You're one of the oldest taiko groups in the country. There were two others, one in San Francisco, one in Los Angeles, and then San Jose Taiko. How did you go about learning?

Roy Hirabayashi: I wish back then we had the internet and everything else, but yeah, there was nothing. The resources were very limited, and so we had to be very creative on our own, and I guess in order to develop that. So it was just trying to see as much as possible and learn from whatever resources we did have available. And, as mentioned, Kinnara Taiko and San Francisco Taiko Dojo were the only two here. And then eventually there was a group called Ondekoza that started touring from Japan in the United States. So seeing what they were doing was really an early start for us to examine what taiko was like coming from Japan. But early on, because we did not have those resources, or even a teacher that we could identify as a leader of our group, we really formed sort of a collective style of operating. And more importantly I think is that we really early on decided to start writing our own music based upon our own experiences and influences and what we felt was important using the taiko at that time. So creating from the start a Japanese-American taiko sound that was very unique to what San Jose Taiko is still today.

PJ Hirabayashi: I think there was a lot of question whether we were actually being respectful of playing the correct way from Japan. But at that time, there were only LPs to refer to, other than the direct link with Seiji Tanaka, who is also an NEA folk-traditional artist and recipient Fellowship. But I think that was what was very important, that we wanted to create our own voice, to have our experiences of having grown up in America really get reflected in our art form. Therefore our music instantly became very cross-cultural in nature. But I think we were also being very true to who we were, and to use taiko as a tool for that expression also, not just for our own self-development but for a group of people playing and discovering and exploring where it could possibly go, and also knowing that we are doing this as a community effort as well to contribute to our Japantown community in San Jose, for its festivals, and that's what kind of enlightened us to really want to take taiko to wherever it could possibly go.

Jo Reed: When I look back at what you envisioned and how you moved forward, it is so ambitious in the best possible way. You had to make your own instruments, write your own music. You were taking a tradition and preserving it and honoring it, but at the same time expanding it and taking in influences working in concert but also working in community and doing it all.

Roy Hirabayashi: <laughs> We didn't see that happening early on, naturally, but as we look back, yes. I think what was important for us is that we were trying to create our own sound and be connected to our culture and heritage, and as we start to move forward, we discovered that more people, not just Japanese-American, but just people in general were becoming interested in what the taiko was all about. And so it really did take off, and that's, I guess, what's been exciting for us. We have been trying to, I guess all along, really tried to make a statement in our own way as far as creating the art form here in the United States, because I think we realized early on that we had that opportunity to really do something different here, using an instrument that is not really well known here, but to create the art form here, even beyond what was happening in Japan. And so we were a little bit bold I guess at the time to try to make that decision to really go beyond what was happening traditionally even in Japan to create sort of our-- I guess our multicultural sound or our voice in that way using the taiko, but rhythmically in many different other styles.

PJ Hirabayashi: With both Roy and myself being involved in Asian-American studies, there was kind of a platform about serving our community. If you were in Asian-American studies, it wasn't all about scholastic studies; besides, there were hardly very much reference books or resources to really read back in the '70s. But the main spirit of community-building, to serve the people, I think that really was a part of how we looked at developing San Jose Taiko; that there was no way that we would have a sensei, as in Japan, to tell us what to do, or "This is the way to do it." We were exploring that we had to work collectively, very collaboratively, in order to maintain our organization. We were trying to also level the playing field, everybody contributing as equally as possible, and I think that in itself has been kind of our enduring principles that continue today.

Jo Reed: Well, you combine self-expression with community-building.

PJ Hirabayashi: Absolutely. I think it's very, very necessary that they go hand in hand, that people come to the table being able to participate fully, and I think that's what art should be about.

Jo Reed: When you’re performing, how many people are on the stage? How many people perform when San Jose Taiko performs?

Roy Hirabayashi:  It varies. Right now the performing company is about 18 members. Like our larger festivals, when we're home, we'll have almost the entire company participating. Normally when the company's out on tour, our concert program on tour is just eight performers. So it's less than half of that.

Jo Reed: And how many drums are likely to be on stage at the same time?

Roy Hirabayashi: Well, during the entire program, we're using a lot; a variety of drums are going on and off for different pieces or songs that we created. The tour, we'll take out anywhere between 25 to 30 different drums during any one tour, depending what the program is all about.

Jo Reed: When you're on the stage together you perform as one. Can you talk about the process of how that comes together?

Roy Hirabayashi: You know, that's something that we worked really hard on trying to do, and I think it's sort of a signature about San Jose Taiko is all about: creating a unified look as far as our performances, a style of the choreography of the piece or the movement, and just how everyone is participating in different ways. For us, it's very important that, again, that there's no differences between male/female roles, so everyone is cross-trained in all parts of the different songs and different drums and instruments. And so anyone should be able to play any part basically. It's not a gender-based position, basically. And so with that, what we were really trying to do is develop leadership from the top-down that's all equal. And so everyone being able to participate and be able to take part in that leadership of the organization or the group as we're moving forward. So even during practices, there's many times not just one person that's leading the rehearsal, but there could be several members of the group taking on different segments of the practice in order to teach different parts and instruct and lead what's going on during the rehearsal itself. And so that piece I guess is sort of coming from that collective process that we tried to initially use in the development of our organization, and that's been a really important part of how we've tried to develop the organization, or San Jose Taiko in general.

PJ Hirabayashi: Artistically we also encourage our members to contribute to our repertoire of songs. And so we have quite a range of expression that comes into play. And so it does become very holistic in the way San Jose Taiko operates as a company.

Jo Reed: San Jose Taiko didn't begin as a professional company, but you became one. Can you tell me how that evolved?

Roy Hirabayashi: Yeah, so we started-- it was really community based, and it began, as we mentioned, out of the temple. And rapidly became just a group of people within a community that was interested in doing this just for fun. And that's when we started forward and started learning more about what taiko was all about and seeing other groups. And again, at the same time, writing our own music and trying to put our own program together and our own style together. We soon began to realize that we had an art form or style that was different than what other groups were doing, especially from Japan. And that was, I guess, an early concern for us, is whether or not people in Japan would recognize that what we're doing as third-generation Japanese-Americans, removed from what's happening in Japan, using taiko that we made ourselves in America, would be something that they could recognize as different and also that they could appreciate. And so in 1987, we had an opportunity to actually go to Japan to tour with another group, a Japan-based group, Ondekoza,  a joint tour, and that was the point when we were able show the Japanese people, what we were trying to do, and so they were able to see the two different styles on the same stage at the same time, and to compare that. And we found that the people in Japan realized that we were different, and appreciated what we were doing. After that trip, we realized that we had something that we wanted to really try to move forward, and that it was important for us to really think about how we would actually make this into a program that we could take to a broader audience in order to share what we're doing, and because we felt it was an important statement to really talk about what it is to be Japanese-American or Asian-American here in the United States, and creating this art form in that way. And so that was kind of a pivotal point in the early '90s, in order to create that opportunity.

PJ Hirabayashi: I think it's very important to say that we didn't we didn't want to copy what was already being done in Japan. And so to go professional, or create a professional company, and how to reach other communities that would not otherwise see taiko being performed in their community, we wanted people to understand we are not from Japan, that we are home-bred here in America, and that we are actually developing this art form.

Roy Hirabayashi: I'd like to also say that organizationally, what was really important for us at that time in the early '90s was that we had an opportunity, actually through NEA, to go through the NEA advancement program. And that program was one that really set us up organizationally to really take a hard look at what we were doing in order to frame the whole business side of how we were going to operate from that point forward.

Jo Reed:  You are very committed to the community, yet at the same time the company is touring internationally and nationally. How do you stay rooted to the community in San Jose?

PJ Hirabayashi: Many different levels, but of course, number one is that we started in San Jose Japantown. And Japantown in San Jose happens to be only one of three Japantowns remaining in the whole United States, that really has a geographic Japantown. And we feel very committed that we are part of the vitality, we are part of the preservation of that particular community, but it goes like the extended ripple effect that we also take pride in the fact that we are San Jose Taiko. Even with the encouragement of our promoters before-- they said, "Can't you get a sexier name, other than San Jose?" No. San Jose is who we are. And so wearing the badge of the city of San Jose, of course that's another reason of how we remain rooted to the community. And it just ripples out even farther, because taiko in general has just become so popular throughout the world that taiko can be found in Europe, it can be found in Southeast Asia, beyond Japan. And we're finding that this taiko community is a very vital force, one that connects people.

Roy Hirabayashi: Also there's several community festivals that go on annually within Japantown or around San Jose that we're really committed to doing in order to support the larger community. So those are also very important for us. No matter where the company is at as far as on the road, we're trying to make sure that we're also servicing our local community at the same time. And so with the numbers of performers we have, we were able to have a company on the road and still have performances going on at home, along with classes, because the classes that we teach for the youth and other adults are really important. I think we both feel that it's definitely a partnership. And so having that opportunity to do that I think was the excitement of what really kind of helped move us forward.

Jo Reed: That was 2011 National Heritage Fellows Roy and PJ Hirabayashi. The year the Hirabayashis turned 60, they stepped away from leading San Jose Taiko, eager to turn it over to a younger generation. Both have moved on other projects. Roy now serves as chair of the Executive Committee of the North American Taiko Conference, and is a senior fellow at both the American Leadership Forum and the Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute.  While PJ created TaikoPeace, a movement dedicated to unleashing creativity and healing the human spirit through the dynamic energy of taiko. You’re listening to Art Works, I’m Josephine Reed.   Next up—we continue our celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, with slack key guitarist Led Kaapana.

Led Kaapana: See, in Kalapana we never had any electricity. Yea, everything was run by kerosene. The first I had guitar I had was run by kerosene.

Jo Reed:  You’re listening to slack-key guitarist and 2011 National Heritage Fellow Ledward Kaapana.   Led Kaapana has scored a musical trifecta: he is a master of the slack key guitar, an extraordinary ukulele player, and one terrific singer with a voice that somehow encompasses a soaring baritone and a yearning falsetto. Little wonder that he's been a celebrated performer for over fifty years entertaining audiences in Hawaii, on the mainland, and around the world. Although Led Kaapana has dedicated himself to carry on and extend the traditional style and musical repertoire of Hawaii, he's also worked with a wide range of musical talent, including Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Wayne Henderson, and Chet Atkins. The traditional Hawaiian virtues of ohana (family,) aloha aina (love of the land), and lokomaika'i (generosity) inform Led's music and his life.  And it all leads back to the small town of Kalapana where Led's family settled in the mid-1950s.

Led Kaapana: Kalapana is a place that is so isolated from everything else. So I learn how to live the old style, surviving off the land, go hunting for meat and go fishing for food, learn how to respect people, and just learning the old style was great, and the music was one of the most important thing that happened, because where we lived we didn't have no electricity, no TVs, no nothing. My dad, my mom, my uncles, grandmas and grandpas, they all played music, so as I was growing up, I was growing up in an environment and just listening and watching what they were doing, observing and just learn how to carry on the tradition.

Jo Reed: Tell me about the house parties. What were they?

Led Kaapana: In Kalapana, from the first house to the last house, everybody was related, and everybody played music. And the further in Kalapana you go, the music gets better and better. And I come from the last house. <laughter> I'm just joking. No. No, but we used to have parties that used to go -- I remember the parties used to last, like, one month. We have the parties for one month because...

Jo Reed: A month?

Led Kaapana: A month, yeah. Dad used to go work, and we're back home helping mom and everybody just to get the food prepared, and every family used to come over and, like potluck, everybody used to share the food. And that's why the things just go on and on and then you have different families that comes and they also play music, and they have their own style of playing, their own keys, their own tunings. My family was all musical, yeah. We had 11 of us and we all played music.

Jo Reed: And your mother was a renowned singer.

Led Kaapana: Yeah, my mom sang. She's the one that taught me how to play the guitar and the ukulele, and my dad played slack key guitar. He played steel guitar. He played autoharp, saxophone, piano, and none of them read music. In Kalapana, nobody read music. Until today, I still don't read music. <laughs> It just comes from within. I do a lot of festivals now, and I play with all these different entertainers, and I’m not afraid to play with different entertainers because I think it's so deep down in me that the music just comes from here. And you know what I found out about playing with other entertainers is that you have to have a good ear, and that's what it is. If you don't hear it right, you're not going to get it. So I always compliment my ears.

Jo Reed: I think that's so right. So much of good music is about good listening.

Led Kaapana: Good listening, yeah. That's what it is.

Jo Reed: Yeah, absolutely. If you had to explain what a slack keyed guitar is, what would you say?

Led Kaapana: I would say the slack key guitar is a style that the Hawaiian people created. Actually, let's go back. Mexican cowboys, I guess, came to the Islands to help upgrade the cattle industry, to teach the Hawaiians how to rope cattles, and then they the one brought the guitars in. And after they got through roping cows, in the afternoon around the fire, they used to sing and play, and after they left, they left some of the guitars back in Hawaii. And then the Hawaiians got a hold of the guitar, and they taught themselves how to play the guitar. So what they did, they retuned the guitar to how they felt. And retuning the guitar from a standard tuning to a slack key tuning, a slack key tuning is that you have all these strings that they relate to one another. In other words, if you're on a standard tuning, if you hold the key G, you have to put the finger on the fret board to hold the note G. What the Hawaiians did, they retuned the guitar where you don't have to put your finger there. All you have to do is strum the strings from the sixth string down to the first, and you have a G chord. And from there they started creating their style of playing, and the style is the thumb plays the bass notes while the fingers do the melody chords. So it sounds like two or three guys playing because of the way the finger picking is done.

Jo Reed: When I was listening to your work and I was listening to your solo work, and I kept looking at the CD, saying, "This is solo. How is this solo?" <laughter>

Led Kaapana: Yeah. A lot of people say it.

Music up and hot....

Led Kaapana: And I just use two fingers, my thumb and my first finger.

Jo Reed: Fascinating. And you play eight tunings of slack key. Probably more by now.

Led Kaapana: That's one thing about the tunings. Every time you retune the guitar, then you have to learn the fingers, because the fret board changes.

Jo Reed: Everything changes.

Led Kaapana: Everything changes, yeah.

Jo Reed: Okay, hot finger style.

Led Kaapana: <laughs> Hot finger style?

Jo Reed: What is that? <laughs>

Led Kaapana: I guess it's the way I play the guitar. I play standard tuning and I play slack key. So when I play standard tuning, I guess they mean the way I pick on the guitar, because I play over the neck. And that's what my uncle used to do. He used to play over the neck of the guitar, picking above, on top of the guitar and playing melodies and singing along with the songs.

Jo Reed: Your uncle, that's Fred Punahoa?

Led Kaapana: Fred Punahoa, yeah.

Jo Reed: And he was a wonderful slack key guitarist.

Led Kaapana: Yeah. And my Uncle Fred, he told me this story about how he learned to play his guitar. He dreamt for about seven nights of how to play. In his dream, someone came into his dream and taught him how to play the guitar. This guy sat under the coconut tree. In his dream, he sees the guy on a coconut tree, but he couldn't see the guy's face. All he seen was everything was white with a red chest. You know the Hawaii style, they always had the red chest, and sitting there and teaching him. And do on the seventh day, he told his dad and his dad gave him a slap. So in other words, he was not supposed to say anything, because after that, that dream was gone. Never had that dream. Then you know what he told me? My uncle told me, "If I didn't tell my dad about this dream, I could have been playing with my eyelashes." <laughter> Because he plays with his nose. He plays with his toes. He plays over the guitar.

Jo Reed: Wow!

Led Kaapana: And then me, as young, watching him do all that, I was just amazed.

Jo Reed: You follow both the tradition of your mother, because you're an incredible vocalist, as well as your uncle, an extraordinary guitarist. You sort of weave them both together.

Led Kaapana: Yeah. And on top of that, because of all of my other uncles that I have that, I guess in me, I have some of them in me. So I like putting everything together. So when I play this guitar, I guess it comes from within. So when I'm playing, I also surprise myself, because I'm creating something that I feel, and it's happening right there, and I'm surprised. And I guess it's like a gift, you would say. And it makes you so happy. I'm so happy. Never a dull moment, always want to play music. I've been having these feelings since I was young to now, and I still have the same and keep on creating.

Jo Reed: And you play the ukulele.

Led Kaapana: I play the ukulele, yeah. And the autoharp. <laughs>

Jo Reed: And you're considered a master at that, and it's rare. A master vocalist, master slack guitarist and a master ukulele player.

Led Kaapana: Yeah. Well, like I say, just because I love music so much and growing up in a musical family and to this, I always tell myself, I wish those days was like today, because the people of today could see how my dad, how my mom -- you know like today, they have all this technology and recording, video, and those days wasn't -- never had such things. We had reel-to-reel tape. That was it. That was about it.

Jo Reed: Let me ask you this, and this comes completely out of my ignorance. But do you reach for the ukulele for some songs rather than the slack guitar? What's the difference in the way you use those instruments?

Led Kaapana: When I'm doing my show, I'm playing the music that I love to play, and then the reason why I reach for the ukulele, because if it feels like I'm running out of songs, so I'll go to the ukulele. <laughs>

Jo Reed: I see. So the different instruments inspire you.

Led Kaapana: Inspire me, and I grab it, and then when I done with the ukulele, I feel some more on the guitar. So I switch over and that's like I'm going back and forth.

Jo Reed: Oh, that's so interesting.

Led Kaapana: So as I playing, I can feel the ukulele or the guitar. Like, do the ukulele now, and then it just comes natural.

Jo Reed: You’re steeped in traditional Hawaiian music and really embedded in that culture, but you also listen to music from the mainland as well.

Led Kaapana: Yeah, yeah. I started, you know, like I say back in those days, back there, I used to listen to The Ventures. I used to listen to country music all those days when I was growing up, so that's when I used to go to school. In school days, I used to have friends that walk around with transistor radios with the batteries. You had those old -- <laughs> so I hear songs.

Jo Reed: The little antenna. <laughs>

Led Kaapana: Yeah. Then I hear the songs, like, oh, man that's nice. So in my head, I keep the melody and everything, and I just go home and grab my guitar or ukulele and just play the song.

Jo Reed: Would you try to merge Hawaiian sensibility into it or just do it straight, or both?

Led Kaapana: Well, both. Yeah. I just feel the song, how it feels, try this and try that and try this and have fun with it.

Jo Reed: I have a question. What makes Hawaiian music Hawaiian music?

Led Kaapana:  I guess because of maybe could be the vocal, the way they sing, the falsetto.  In Hawaiian, it's called leo ki'eki'e. Ki'eki'e, yeah. And that, with the feelings, the music is like it comes from the soul. That's why I think for my music, the Hawaiian music comes from my soul, and the music goes out and grabs people and makes them cry and they come up to me and says, "I cannot believe; you made my day and you made me cry." And I said, "You know what? That's a blessing. And I love when I hear people say it, because I know I did the right thing. I took you back to your days. You reminisce whatever happened." And they tell me, "That's what it is.” So the Hawaiian music is like a healing to me, it's like a healing music. Back home, we have people that they're feeling ill, they're sick; all we have to do is go over there and play for them, go visit them and bring them a guitar and start play slack key music and singing leo ki'eki'e the falsetto.

And next thing you know, they're smiling, tears coming out of their eye, and they feel so great. So it's like a medicine to them. You know, in Hawaiian say chicken skin. You can feel all the goose bumps.

Jo Reed: Yeah.

Led Kaapana: Yeah. <laughs> In this music. That's something the Hawaiian music -- that's how I feel about Hawaiian music.

Jo Reed: In listening to it, it seems to me kind of a visual music.

Led Kaapana: Yeah, you just can see all, and it's all good. To me, it's all good, and I always thank the man above when I get the comments from people, good comments, I always thank the man above, every day, I thanking him for this gift to make people happy. And to me, I always say that for me I always have to play from within, from the heart, always say, "Play from the heart."

Jo Reed: Somebody said to me, "Hawaiian music is about sharing. It's not about showing off."

Led Kaapana: Yeah. It's sharing the love. That's why the Hawaiians always write about love stories, about the mountains, about the ocean. Because it always bringing a group together and having a nice time and a lot of, we call it Mana is like the Lord above, the blessings.

Jo Reed: Well, you and your twin brother and your cousin, Dennis, formed a trio called...

Led Kaapana: Hui ‘Ohana.

Jo Reed: Hui ‘Ohana, and that means?

Led Kaapana: A family group.

Jo Reed: A family group. And your first CD was "Young Hawaii Plays Old Hawaii” And it was a huge hit.

Led Kaapana: Yeah, yeah. The three of us, we used to hang around my dad then. And we loved the music. That's why today, I never thought that this was going to be my thing that I -- traveling the world. I'm so happy that it turned out that way, and I get to share all this music that was passed on. And when we started Hui ‘Ohana, from 1972 to 1976, we played together.

Jo Reed: And your mother would sometimes come and sing with you, wouldn't she?

Led Kaapana: Oh, yeah, yeah. And on our third album, we invited my mom to record with us.

Jo Reed: Oh, that must have been so special.

Led Kaapana: Yeah, because all those years, my mom, my dad--outside of Hawaii, nobody knew who my mama, Tina, was, who my dad and my Uncle Fred. And so we put it on a CD and a lot of people love her voice. And after that, we backed her up on two of her CDs. One was "Mama Tina" and the other one was called Alania. That was her solo album.

Jo Reed: 1989. You performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival here in Washington, DC. That was a game-changer for you. Tell us about it.

Led Kaapana: Yeah, that show time, that was my first time of playing solo. <laughs> Yeah, I was afraid of playing solo. After Hui ‘Ohana disbanded, I was going to give up. But my wife told me, "You cannot give up. You have to -- coming from Kalapana, playing with your brother and your cousin, and that's the only one you played with all those years. And then when the thing disband, you just got lost. What are you going to do now?" And she knew there were a lot of things that I could do. <laughs> And I wanted to give up, but I kept on going and going. And that was my first solo. And you know what? It started from there. It actually started from there, because after that, there was guitar players for the Smithsonian, we went around the world, I guess. Play all over, East Coast, West Coast. We did it all with Jerry Douglas, myself. Tal Farlow was a jazz guy. Wayne Henderson. Rockabilly Albert Lee. <laughs>

Jo Reed: All playing together?

Led Kaapana: All the same, yeah. And we were all different guitar players with different culture, and Joe Wilson put the thing together. And that's where I was playing all solo and learning and just watching all these professionals up here and learning the same time and got more confident in myself at playing solo. But the feeling for me was just to play with somebody from a different world you know, to share what we did. That was a great feeling. The same like the festivals, when I go to the festivals and they put you on the stage with all these guitar players. And when you don't know nobody, everybody just go there, and it feels so great to be sitting there to play with guitar players that you just met now and you share in this music or this "mele," what we call it in Hawaii, the music.  I feel happy bringing this music out, spreading the music for Hawaii, to go out and share this music.

Jo Reed: Spreading the joy.

Led Kaapana: Spreading the joy, yeah. Aloha. Yeah. That's what we usually say. The spirit is where it comes from. For me, it's all spirit and love, a lot of love, lot of love in the musics. And it covers all that. <laughs>

Jo Reed: That was 2011 National Heritage Fellow Led Kaapana. Led is still performing in Hawaii and on the mainland. You can keep up with him at LedKaapana.com

You’ve been listening to Art Works produced at the National Endowment for the Arts… Follow us on Apple Podcasts or Google Play and leave us a rating it helps people to find us. Next week, NEA Lit Fellow Peng Shepherd is here to discuss her new novel, The Cartographers. For the National Endowment for the Arts, I’m Josephine Reed, stay safe and thanks for listening.

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