Slack Key Festival returns with lessons from masters
by Laila Freeman Celebrated slack key guitarist Makana plans to do more than perform at the 18th Annual Southern California Slack Key Festival, on January 19 at 2 p.m at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. He will also teach the audience what’s behind the music. “Do the listeners know what the song means? Do they understand kaona (hidden meanings)? Why were the songs written in a style that veiled the meaning?” Makana said these questions come up in academia, but he thinks they should also be part of Hawaiian music performances. He’ll appear at the festival in white loafers, and wearing a 1960s style, triple-strand carnation lei. “I’m, as usual, going back in time to go forward,” he said. Born Matthew Swalinkavich, Makana grew up on Oahu and has been playing slack-key guitar since he was a child. The name Makana comes from Hawaiian tradition.”‘A gift given freely,’ as a practical and philosophical orientation to life, is how the kūpuna (elders) translated ‘makana,’” he explained. “I was given the name as a reminder of my responsibility and commitment to share my gifts freely with others. “In slack-key, we tune to a chord,” he said. “Since the guitar’s already holding the…
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