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Chris Yeaton and Adam Werner. Photo courtesy Woodsong Acoustics Group |
CommentsWoodsong Acoustics Group
Friday Jan. 22, 8 p.m.
Published: January 15, 2010
For Chris Yeaton, 1997 was the year the Hawaiian slack key guitarist’s life changed forever. In his own words, “I first came to learn about slack key in 1997 when my father gave me a CD from Keola Beamer. Bathed in the Christmas tree light of our home in Hawaii, I listened to what I thought was the most beautiful music I had ever heard. It was then I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I started learning from friends and then an instructional video that Keola Beamer had released. In time, I was introduced to Keola through his music camp on Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island. We became friends and over the years he took me under his wing, teaching me the ways of the slack key guitar.”
In 2001, Yeaton’s life took yet another turn when he founded Woodsong Acoustics Group. Over the years, Yeaton had attended music workshops with Beamer and Fingerstyle master Alex de Grassi and found “there were an abundance of attendees who were impressive players, and had expressed the lack of opportunities to present their musical abilities. In most cases the one crucial aspect of what keeps a musician from becoming a performing, or touring artist is simply an opportunity.” To help artists like himself, the Woodsong concert series is an effort to “bring together two groups of people — musicians and audiences, and showcase a caliber of music that calls for formal venues to fully enjoy and appreciate its beauty.”
Yeaton and his Woodsong Acoustics Group are now on a mainland tour with plans for a stop in Grass Valley on January 22. Playing with Yeaton are Adam Werner (steel string guitar, harp guitar) and Brenda Lippincott (slack key guitar).
Hawaiian slack key guitar, also known as ki ho alu, is a sacred tradition, a style of guitar playing brought to Hawaii by Mexican and Spanish cowboys in 1832. The Hawaiians learned to tune the guitars according to what sounded beautiful to the ear. Over time, because the guitars had been left with different families, there derived methods of tuning and playing styles unique to each family. Yeaton’s playing has a richness to it that can only be described as being steeped in tradition. Complex in both upbeat tempos and lulling ballads, the guitar sounds so full, it’s easy to forget he is a soloist. The evening is sure to serve as a treat to seasoned ki ho alu listeners and the uninitiated alike.
Catch Chris Yeaton, Adam Werner, and Brenda Lippincott on Friday, Jan, 22, 8pm, Grass Valley Center for the Arts, 314 West Main Street, Grass Valley, (800) 594-8499. Tickets $15/Adv, $18/Door.
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