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Columbia Center
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215 Cascade Street

PO Box 1543

Hood River, OR 97031

541-387-8877

 

Woodsong Acoustics Presents 1st Annual Yeaton Ohana Tour

The 1st annual "Yeaton Ohana Tour" kicks off in Hood River on Friday, January 15, 2010.

Featuring renown slack key and American fingerstyle guitarist Chris Yeaton, along with Adam Werner, known for his impressive "slap & tap" percussive guitar stylings — what a treat this show is sure to be!

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Show starts at 7:30pm, with a welcome song by local favorites The Hapa Hillbillies, featuring Ben Bonham, Larry Wyatt, Rick Hulett, Ronnie Ontiveros and Dennis Williams.

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About Chris Yeaton

Hawaii born, Chris Yeaton, draws from a great Hawaiian slack key tradition. His musical inspiration and journey began with one of Hawaii's most celebrated musicians, master Slack Key guitarist Keola Beamer, and continued with Big Island Slack Key master John Keawe.

Along with traditional slack key pieces he now incorporates a blend of contemporary Fingerstyle into his playing, drawing from other renowned artists such as William Ackerman, Alex de Grassi, and Peppino D’Agostino.

In 2005 he completed his first national tour with guitar masters Keola Beamer and John Keawe and has released 2 albums.

Of Yeaton's 2006 album, "Ho'o Pa'a" ( The Stand ), Woodsong says "Using progressive techniques for the solo guitar, Chris Yeaton weaves a rich tapestry of story telling into his music. Combining both traditional Hawaiian music with original pieces, the listener is transcended into a world of Slack Key and American Fingerstyle guitar."

. . . the music is innovative, refreshing and I am still enjoying listening to it.

— Keola Beamer

There's assurance and invention in his strumming; he's learned well and carries the tradition with dignity. Yeaton's got a Hawaiian soul and is one to watch.

— Wayne Harada Honolulu Advertiser

 

About Adam Werner

Adam Werner is an acoustic guitarist with an interest in unconventional techniques, styles and applications to fingerstyle guitar playing.

He has been recognized as:

• a "guitarist extra ordinaire," by Rock City News,
• "One of the killer guitar players on the L A scene," by No Ho LA and
• "an artist that provokes curiosity, is quite an unconventional player with very atmospheric and rhythmic music and musicianship that is very intriguing," by The L A Music Scene.

Adam has an impressive musical background of experience and education and is well known for his tribute to the late Michael Hedges as well as for his own compositions.

His debut label release, "Signatures," is a culmination of emotionally intense compositions with technically exceptional playing and profound musical energy. Merging the traditions of finger-style techniques with provocative percussive elements adds an extra flavor to this music.

Adam Werner is a marvelous technician who requires more of himself than simple gymnastics. His music is both impressive technically and emotionally vocative.

—Will Ackerman

 

About Slack Key

Slack key is a beautiful style of guitar playing indigenous to the Islands of Hawaii. Called 'ki ho'alu' in the native language, it means to loosen or slacken the strings of the guitar which will produce many different and beautiful tunings.

Guitars were brought to Hawaii by Mexican and Spanish cowboys called "vaqueros", who were hired by King Kamehameha III in 1832 to teach the Hawaiians how to handle an overpopulation of cattle. The cows had been brought to the islands as a gift for the King, and were considered KAPU (sacred) by the Hawaiians and left unharmed until their numbers became a significant problem.

When the hired cowboys returned to the mainland a few years later, some left their guitars with Hawaiian friends and families. The Hawaiians learned to tune the guitars according to what sounded beautiful to the ear, and over time, because the guitars had been left with different families, there derived methods of tuning and playing styles unique to each family.

 

Learn More

For more information, visit www.woodsongacoustics.com