Hawaiian Grammy nominations announced

[Leo Lakio]

Awards to be presented Feb. 8, 2006.

• Slack Key Dreams Of The Ponomoe - Kapono Beamer [Kapono Beamer Enterprises, Ltd]
• Sweet & Lovely - Raiatea Helm [Raiatea Helm Records]
• Kiho'alu - Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar - Ledward Ka'apana [Rhythm & Roots Records]
• Slack Key Guitar: The Artistry Of Sonny Lim - Sonny Lim [Palm Records]
• Masters Of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar - Vol. 1 - Various Artists; Daniel Ho, Paul Konwiser & Wayne Wong, producers [Daniel Ho Creations]

So, do you think last year's slack key win had any influence this year, do ya, huh?

[LikaNui]

I'd love to see Raiatea Helm win it, but I'm betting it'll go to Ledward Ka`apana. He's toured the mainland extensively and has worked with a lot of mainland "stars".
Familiarity breeds... a Grammy!
:D

[LikaNui]

So, do you think last year's slack key win had any influence this year, do ya, huh? Well, the five nominees last year included four vocal albums and one instrumental album... the instrumental album won the Grammy... so this year it's reversed and there are four instrumentals and just one vocal, so... whatcha gonna do?
And yes, Beamer's album has some vocals, but.

[Leo Lakio]

There are about 17,000 voting members of the Recording Academy (including yerz trooly), though not everyone votes in the "Folk" field, which is where the Hawaiian Album category is placed. But there are only around 100 members from Hawai`i, so the Mainland influence is very strong.

Slack-key is what most Mainland music folks know, if they know any Hawaiian music, and that was reinforced with last year's win. The hope is that, someday, we'll have separate vocal and instrumental categories, but until then, it's great to even have a Hawaiian category at all --- it shows how strong this unique musical style and industry has become, and it will help to spread the sound to new ears.

Congratulations to all the nominees; please do not spend the next two months biting your nails with anticipation, or it may adversely affect your playing!