They were Mexican workers on foreign soil and, as usual, they brought their music with them. It is believed to have been the 1830s and the workers were cowboys, brought to the Waimea area of Hawaii’s ...

Even if you don’t know exactly what a Hawaiian slack key guitar (or ki ho’alu) is, you can probably easily recognize its music. It’s that smooth, sweet sound that evokes island breezes and warm sunny ...

The best musicians are usually the most versatile, such as Jim “Kimo” West. Van Nuys resident West is the guitarist for “Weird Al” Yankovic, whose latest effort, the chart-topping “Mandatory Fun” (RCA ...

The closest thing to flying to Hawaii for a night may be getting a seat to see Makana play at The Neptune Theatre Friday, Sept. 29. Makana, 39, has been called the master of the slack-key guitar, a ...

Left-handed James “Bla” Pahinui learned to play on a guitar set up for a right-handed guitarist — “upside down and backwards” for him. Playing “upside down and backwards” meant hitting the guitar ...