KAUAI MUSIC: KEKAI CHOCK AT SMITH’S GARDEN LUAU

Kauai music comes from the rhythm of the waves, the sudden rain squall, and Kekai Chock at Smith’s Garden Luau.

I was there with Kauai Team Two after cruising the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto.

They were looking around while I watched our seats once the crowd started filing in.

From my part of a long table I could see a man polishing a guitar and thought, ‘He sure loves that guitar.’

I didn’t know how much.

With one eye on our team seats watching late-comers move things around to accommodate their group, I walked over to the man with the guitar.

Me: That’s a beautiful guitar and you’re making it even better. I’ve been here two weeks and miss mine.

Man: I know the feeling. Here, play this.

He handed me his guitar to play, just like that with no warning about dropping it or scratching it with a belt buckle.

I took it and warmed up before diving into my version of Foggy Mountain Breakdown, sampling Wish You Were Here, and sang the first verse of Me And Bobby McGee.

It felt like an open mic.

Guitar Love Story On Kauai

We traded guitar stories, which I wanted to do since I’d never seen anything like his guitar.

Two sound holes on top?

Either the man was a musical eccentric, or he was on to something.

I heard my name called and left, but not before I thanked him for letting me handle his #1 instrument.

The luau pig was emerging from its pit, and the last Mr. Smith was giving an explanation.

Smith’s Garden Luau didn’t need a lot of explaining since they knew their audience so well.

Food may be the heart of a luau, but music is the soul. Our Hawaiian ancestors preserved their history by passing down songs and chants called mele.

At our luau, we celebrate these traditions, as well as the songs and dances from other cultures that live in our tropical paradise.

The lyrical sway of the Hawaiian hula, the colorful precision of the Tahitian drum dances and the fiery emotion of the Samoan fire knife dance all speak deeply of the people who have come to call Hawaii home. 

We proudly share this rhythm of aloha with you.

Kauai Music With Kekai Chock

Once Mr. Chock took the stage with his bass player things came into better focus.

His guitar work was precise yet relaxed, like he’d been doing it forever.

I listened in amazement while the Django of Kauai effortlessly worked his fretboard.

How good did he sound?

The writers of “Sassy Mynah Bird” were in the front row, cheering the loudest, Wednesday when Kekai Chock and Conrad “Kona” Giminiz of the musical duo Kekona were named winners of the jazz album of the year during the 45th Annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in Honolulu, said Chock Sunday at the Wailua Creators Fair at the Hilton Garden Inn Kaua‘i Wailua Bay.

Aloha Jazz Lounge

And the winner is . . .

Looking back from the day after I have to say I’m the winner for meeting KeKai Chock.

From shining up his guitar, letting me play, then making it ring out on stage was a transformation.

Too many people find the perfect guitar and hang it on the wall.

Not this time.

That guitar made Kauai music last night.

I’m starting to believe more than ever.

From the Grand Hyatt solo singer with whales breaching behind him, to Smith’s luau, I’ve been here just long enough to feel the music in the waves.

It’s in the green sea turtles swimming past my snorkeled face, the rainbow of fish and coral, in rolling off a boogie board in big waves.

KeKai Chock gathers it all in his fingertips and releases it from the guitar I didn’t drop or scratch.

I’m the Kauai music winner because someone who knows and understands the risk with strangers saw I was a safe bet with their baby.

Thank you KeKai Chock.