Hilo’s Palace Theater plays host to Makana, one of Hawaii’s most versatile and inventive musicians, Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
Hilo’s Palace Theater plays host to Makana, one of Hawaii’s most versatile and inventive musicians, Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
Fresh off a successful West Coast tour, the concert will feature songs from the singer-songwriter-guitarist’s new, 25-track double CD “25” which will be available at the show.
“Almost nobody in Hawaii has heard it. … The first time ‘25’ will be available locally will be at the Palace Theater show. It’s celebrating or commemorating my 25th anniversary of playing the slack-key guitar,” Makana told the Tribune-Herald Wednesday. “The project was done entirely analog until we went to burn the CD. It was recorded on an old tape machine, a Studer quarter-inch stereo reel-to-reel tape machine.”
Each CD has a different theme. One, called “Raw,” focuses on his singer-songwriter material. The other, “Root,” features Hawaiian slack-key guitar music.
“It sounds amazing,” Makana said. “The most common feedback I get is, ‘Wow, it sounds like you’re right in the room with me!’ People are flipping out. On the ‘Raw’ record, we actually recorded monophonic — one microphone, one guitar, one voice, into the tape machine. That’s it.
“‘Root’ is possibly my finest collection of slack-key guitar and Hawaiian songs. I’ve been getting incredible feedback. That one was recorded the same way, but we used two microphones, stereo. It alternates vocals and instrumentals and it’s got classics like ‘Maui Chimes’ and ‘Punahele’ from Uncle Raymond Kane. I did a solo version of the ‘Portuguese Folk Song.’ It’s got a tribute to Dennis Kamakahi, ‘E Hihiwai.’
“I went into the studio and I had no plans except I wanted to play the songs of my youth. And I found my old songbook from when I first started playing shows when I was a teenager. And I would just flip through it, pick a song, flip ‘record’ and go. Each song was one take.”
One song from the “Raw” CD, “Manic” was recorded on Makana’s previous CD, “Ripe.” It featured a big, digital studio production by Mitchell Froom, whose credits include Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, The Coors, Crowded House, Suzanne Vega and Richard Thompson. This time, Makana recorded an unplugged, stripped-down version with just himself and acoustic piano.
“People love that song and they really want to hear the lyrics on it,” he said.
The sessions were engineered by Makana’s friend, Shane Drew, owner of Hi-Fi Hawaii, a boutique audio shop featuring high-end home and commercial stereo equipment.
“We call him ‘The Sommelier of Sound,’” Makana said. “He took a couple of weeks out of his life and lugged around the tape machine. We went into a basement in a friend’s house. What I don’t like about studios is the sterility. It’s like, ‘Come, give us your greatest emotional expression in a sterile environment.’
“I’m done with this idea that music has to be made in an environment that’s not human. It’s OK if there’s a little noise. It’s OK that there’s an occasional creak. Man, music is about the emotion, the feeling. It’s not about perfection or making it in a vacuum. Fans are, like, ‘We like your records, but we really love your live show. We want something that raw.’ That’s why I made this record.”
About the concert, Makana said: “I need my Hilo fix, man. I’ve been so busy. Usually I do my season concerts at the end of the year, but this year, I haven’t booked anything else.”
Tickets are $20 for general admission, $25 for side reserved and $35 for center reserved, available at the Palace Box Office, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays. Credit card orders area available by phone, 934-7010. All seats are $5 more on the day of the show.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune- herald.com.