Live Your Music – Margaux Joy and Guest Jim Kimo West 01/13/21

I am happy to have Jim Kimo West back as my guest for Live Your Music for 01/13/21. Join us for a conversation about Hawaiian style music and hear a song from his Grammy nominated album More Guitar Stories during the show!

Having never even seen Waikiki, Jim Kimo West went right to Hana, Maui in 1985 and spent much of his time there for many years. It was in Hana where he first heard the music of Gabby Pahinui, Sons Of Hawaii, Sonny Chillingworth and Atta Isaacs. Already familiar with alternate tunings, the sound of ki ho’alu became his favorite soundtrack.

Best known as long-time guitarist for the world’s most successful musical comedy artist, Weird Al Yankovic, Kimo is regarded as one of the world’s foremost ki ho’alu or Hawaiian slack key guitar artists. This warm and engaging acoustic guitar style has it’s roots in 1840’s Hawaii.

Kimo is a 2008 winner of the Hawaii Music Awards and two time Na Hoku Hanohano (the Hawaiian ‘Grammy’) nominee. He is also a two-time winner of the LA Treasures Award for his efforts in keeping this important acoustic guitar tradition alive. He is a veteran of Hawaii’s famed slack key festivals as well as the So Cal Slack Key Festival and has been nominated for a GRAMMY for his album More Guitar Stories. 

Jim Kimo West is regarded as one of the world’s foremost Hawaiian “slack key” guitar artists and his music has garnered over 50 million streams on Spotify and Pandora.

To connect with Jim Kimo West online, visit his website: www.jimkimowest.com