I'm Taking Requests!

Aloha Kakou!!

Greetings from beautiful Waiakea...otherwise known as Hilo! It is another beautiful day here, with a gentle breeze blowing through and a few clouds in the sky, promising us a little liquid sunshine later in the day. It is something that we are quite used to here...it keeps everything green and looking lush. Speaking of lush...I have caved. Many of you may know that at our house, the lawn mowing and care is my responsibility. Having not done this for a very long time, (and of course not having owned a house before) I was actually looking forward to it, as part of my "manly duties". (Please not cries of sexism...I was being sarcastic...who do you think had to remind me exactly how to mow lawn? Yes, Leialoha) It was fun for all of about two times, and then became, for lack of a better term, a pain in the ass. So, I have caved. There is a very nice young man named Bryson who now comes to our house every two weeks and mows, edges, weeds and just generally does the things that I don't really want to do. I feel I may have dropped the standard of Tool Time Tim

But, as my Mother always says, when you don't want to deal with something like this, throw money at it. So, I get an extra hour to do things I want to do, like practice, or veg out, or write a blog entry. Hooray!!

There have been a few changes on the ship in the last week or so, as the Golden Princess changes its entertainment format on board to make it more of a non-stop entertainment venue. It is actually a very good idea, and the result is that there is very little "down time" for the passengers...if they wish to avail themselves of it. It has also resulted in a little more work for Leialoha and myself, but in a positive way...if that is possible. The set times are coordinated throughout the ship with the shows and the theme parties to make a better traffic flow, and to allow guests to see ALL of the shows if they wish, and to have some form of ebtertainment going at all times in the evenings. We no longer do sets in the Piazza, but they are billed as concerts. While they are not concerts in the real definition of the word, it does make for a little different atmosphere, and the result is that I think we get a little more of a connection with the crowd, as we choose to speak a bit more then we might, and to link up our material...all in all...a good thing.

So, to todays title. Many of you are not on FB, or my friends, so you may have missed my last post regarding a new steel guitar CD. A few years back, I had the audacity, (I really wasn't thinking straight) to record a steel guitar CD after having played for all of about a year. I liked how it turned out, but three years later, I think I can do better. Now, besides Hawaiian music, I have an affinity for surf music. in particular, the sound of these two things:

These are standard issue for surf music...a Jazzmaster and a Twin Reverb...but my days of being a guitar hero are long gone, so in my twisted mind I thought, why not a surf CD done on steel guitar...dripping in reverb and tremelo. I'm very excited about it, and I have a good idea of some of the songs going on it, but I do love to please everyone wherever possible. So, if you have a moment, make sure to drop in some requests in the comment section of the blog. There are "traditional" surf tunes, but almost any rock, pop, jazz or country song can be given "the treatment"...so i ask of you all dear readers, send me some ideas. If I use yours, I will send you a free copy of the CD when it is done.

My last thought for today has to do with the upcoming holiday season...I am all for celebrating each and every one of them...and everyone should be able to do it in their own way, but for hecks sake, can we not wait until it is actually the season to do so? We are just about to insert our holiday songs in the set list, which we do each year..but I for one, will always refuse to do so until it is at least December. Sorry, no Jingle Bells before Columbus Day is done. Soreff out!!


Malama Pono,
Dave