Special to the Star-Bulletin
Sol Hoopi'i is featured on the cover of Lorene Ruymar's
book on the Hawaiian steel guitar.
Between the Gabby Pahinui memorial bust concert, visitations by Jimmy Thackery and Arlo Guthrie, it's been a boom time for lovers of guitar music here. In addition, two new books appeared in local stores for and about guitar music in Hawaii.
AS a child growing up on an isolated farm in flat, fertile Saskatchewan, Lorene Ruymar spent winters in the snowy tundra listening to the music of "Hawaii Calls," the warm, liquid notes beckoning across the sea. It was unbearably romantic.
Much of the magic was due to the creamy glissando of the steel guitar, which shimmered like breaking waves, and sang like a voice in the night. Ruymar bought a steel guitar as a teen-ager and tried to learn the secret of the Hawaiian sound, but her instructor soon disappeared from the province, and she was forced to experiment, running the weight up and down the strings, trying tunings, finger-picking and strumming.
"Then I got a chance to learn from Jerry Byrd, and I joined the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association, and I was really hooked after that," said Ruymar, 65, a retired schoolteacher who now lives in British Columbia. She eventually became president of the HSGA and editor of its newsletter. Proceeds from the book will be used to promote the steel guitar in Hawaii.
The knowledge Ruymar picked up has been packaged as a lavishly illustrated book called "The Hawaiian Steel Guitar And Its Great Hawaiian Musicians" from Centerstream (ISBN 1-57424-021-8, $29.95, 216 pages).
"I'm simply obsessed by the sound, just like the human voice, just like a violin, only so much sweeter," said Ruymar.
The book, which is like a grand, well-organized scrapbook composed of images and essays, gives the background of this uniquely Hawaiian instrument -- invented in 1885 by Joseph Kekuku -- the way it became a pop-music craze throughout the world, the way it mutated and became absorbed by other musical schools -- delta-blues bottleneck, country-western pedal steel, even slack-key -- famous and infamous steel guitarists, playing techniques and technical developments, and an overview of the instrument's status today.
Steel guitarist Owana Salazar contributed to the book's research, and says it's "so comprehensive, it's incredible. I believe it belongs in every Hawaiian music library. I learned so much -- and I knew a lot already!"
Hawaii steel guitar enthusiasts are still outnumbered by virtually every other kind of enthusiast. "We can feel pretty isolated," said Ruymar. "Often a member of HSGA will be the only one in his entire country."
(The next HSGA convention will be in Honolulu in May.)
The Hawaiian steel guitar was invented about a century ago, and reached the height of its popularity during the 1920s and '30s. Many of the HSGA members are in their 80s, and Ruymar feels fortunate to pick their memories and collections now, before it's too late. "Oh, they remember well what it was like in the early days, and their collections are usually considered trash by their kids."
The entire effort took about five years to collect and collate data, and two years of massaging it with the publisher. Ruymar wanted to publish the book in Hawaii, but the projected price was $70 each and distribution would be limited. Both musical publishers she offered it to were interested, and she chose Centerstream because it had an in-house distribution system worldwide.
Question, is this book a celebration or an epitaph?
"People are concerned about the steel guitar's longevity. Well, there's quite a bit of us still around," said Salazar.
"The steel guitar was invented in Hawaii, and so was surfing, and look at surfing today. I love the steel guitar. It's the signature instrument of Hawaiian music."
Or as a fellow nicknamed Mark Twain said, "The music of the Hawaiians, the most fascinating in the world, is still in my ears and haunts me sleeping and waking."