Ken Cameron’s first guitar was unplayable.
Ken Cameron’s first guitar was unplayable.
His parents bought it for him, but the strings were so far away from the fret board that it was almost impossible to make any chords. That didn’t bother Cameron’s parents, who were hoping their teenage rock ’n’ roll-loving son would give up the idea of becoming a musician.
But it did bother Cameron, so he saved up money from his job at a steel mill (Cameron was born and raised in Scotland), and bought his own guitar. It’s still on display inside Hilo Guitars and Ukuleles, the small store on Ponohawai Street that Cameron has owned nearly 15 years after moving to Hilo, where wife, Joycelyn, was born and raised, to raise his family.
During that time, the store offered guitar and ukulele lessons. About 50 students a month came by to brush up on their skills.
On Wednesday afternoon, one of the last students walked out of the shop, ukulele case slung over her back.
Hilo Guitars and Ukuleles will close when inventory, which is being sold with no markup, runs out. The shop is open during regular hours of 10 a.m.-4 p.m. today and 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.
Diagnosed with chronic lymphoid leukemia three years ago, Cameron and his wife recently made the decision to move to Portland, Ore., where they have family and where there are more choices for medical care.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” Cameron, 66, said earlier this week, thanking the Hilo community for its support throughout the past decade and a half. “I think they’ve been very good to me and hopefully I’ve been good to them.”
Owning a music store was a natural choice for Cameron, who before moving to Hawaii played in assorted bands on two continents, started his own record label and worked as a sound engineer for bands such as The Police and Los Lobos.
It took five months from the time the shop opened to sell a single guitar, though. Most people just wanted to browse.
“It’s not my job to sell someone an instrument,” Cameron said. “It’s my job to help somebody buy an instrument, if that makes sense.”
He opened the store with the intent of focusing on guitar sales; he had just three ukuleles brought from California on display. To his later chagrin, Cameron hadn’t realized the actual potential of an ukulele, known then on the mainland as a novelty.
“Then when the locals started coming in and picking up ukuleles, I realized ‘Oh, this is a really serious instrument,’” he said. “I was blown away; I was extremely blown away…I’d had the shop about four weeks and somebody came in and picked it up. ‘Whoa.’”
Now, he typically has about 180 ukuleles in stock. High-end models come from Kanile‘a in Kaneohe, Oahu; other models kept in stock are Islander, Kala and Oscar Schmidt.
The ukulele market has changed in the past decade and a half as more people outside Hawaii have the same realization as Cameron.
“It’s become popular in Germany, Britain, France, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand,” Cameron said. “I mean, it’s a worldwide explosion. Most of that, I think, has to do with (more awareness of) Iz (Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole) and Jake Shimabukuro.”
Residents from around the island frequented the shop, which also relied on tourist traffic.
“The ukulele world is pretty small,” Cameron said. “They all talk to each other on the internet. The selection here, compared to what you’ve got on the mainland, is (better).”
Cameron himself began playing ukulele as well (“I probably play it like I do guitar”), though he still enjoys acoustic guitar, and leans more toward electric now because it’s easier on his fingers.
He said there are no plans to open another shop in Portland.
“It’s very possible I may start playing music again,” he said.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.