Music
Na Makana
Psychologically speaking, people spend the years between their teens and 20s building an identity through a resolute ego that fights to create an individual self. Eventually, maturity comes along to erase it and replace it with compassion, and it’s then that one man becomes capable of remarkable greatness. All of which is simply to say, hey Makana, look how you’ve grown: Are you the 13-year-old boy who was Sonny Chillingworth’s most promising young protégé? The guy who admits to philandering with strippers? The guy who loves surfing and yoga? The guy who endorses Aaron Russo’s condemnation of the Federal Reserve and is upset about the Navy’s sonar testing?
Actually, Makana, 28, would say he’s all these guys. And you’ll believe him if you see the slack key artist’s music as a reflection of himself—just about every song Makana plays is a different tuning, from the bluegrass-inspired “Ain’t Got Nothin’” to the folksy adaptation of Yaz’s “Only You.” His mastery of ki ho‘alu and the art of self-accompaniment is still most transcendent in Hawaiian pieces like “Ku‘ulei ‘Awapuhi,” “Pu‘uanahulu” and “The Poi Song.”
But what makes Makana that much greater is that now he’s not just one—he’s a band (pictured below). He’s hooked up with two versatile and experienced British-born talents—bassist Jon Hawes and drummer Steve Howells—and longtime friend and singer-songwriter Steve “David Gilmour” Inglis. (Inglis, the former Palolo Jones guitarist who has played with Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, is currently working on his third album, slated to be the first release by soon-to-debut local label Elepani Productions.) Makana, Inglis and Hawes are all professed former choirboys. As their voices deepened, so did their six-string repertoire. With the band’s help, Makana delivers a deft slack key composition of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb,” only to be rivaled by compelling slack key rock originals that comprise his latest album A Different Game, due to be released in September. Together their sound is arresting, and the foursome exudes a comfort that matches the feeling you get when you walk into your home after you’ve been away for a long time. It’s a really good feeling. Catch them at Indigo on Wednesday night for the duration of July.
Indigo, 1121 Nu‘uanu Ave, Wed. 7/12, Wed. 7/19, Wed. 7/26, show starts at 9pm, no cover, 521-2900, [www.makanalive.com]
