Cassette

Treasures on Tape: Mackey Feary Unplugged

To die-hard fans of Mackey: you’ll smile, you’ll cry, you’ll cherish these recordings that YouTube user paxukulele recently uploaded.

Despite the poor audio quality (not only was it a live recording, it’s on cassette tape, remember those things?), the 9 minutes 33 seconds of Mack and friends jamming is a perfect way to uplift anyone’s mood. You won’t find these recordings or photos anywhere else, as they come directly from one of Mackey’s friends, via paxukulele.

Close your eyes and transport yourself to a low-key house party where Kalapana’s lead singer keeps rhythm on his acoustic guitar without missing a chord or losing a beat. Mackey’s golden vocals pierce through the white noise of this analog recording, not that I’m surprised—it’s a testament to the irreplaceable, amazing power of his voice.

Tracklist:

1) “Pen in Hand” by Conway Twitty
2) “One Day” by John Batdorf
3) “Las Vegas Turnaround” by Hall & Oates cover (Mackey covers this on his final CD)
4) “To Be True” from Kalapana’s debut album
5) “Still There With You” by Mackey’s album “From the Heart”

To be honest, I don’t know many of these songs. Are they originals? Are they covers? Who were his friends singing along with him? Is there dialogue between songs? Are there more songs that weren’t included? My favorite track so far is “One Day”, but I enjoy all of them wholeheartedly.

Here are some notable YouTube comments so far, why not join the conversation?

“These are true treasures. This is the Mackey I remember. I can just imagine them sitting around a cassette recorder and singing while Mackey plays the guitar. But when he sang “One Day,” my heart broke. “One day, I’m sure we’ll all be happy. // Peace will soon find everyone. // One day, I’ll wake up in the morning, and all our troubles will be gone…“ We miss you, Mackey and hope you are at peace. You are still in our hearts.”

—jodyy121

“This is the Mackey that I remember. Your posting keeps his music and his memories alive. Sat., 8/13, would have been Mackey’s 57th birthday! Great early birthday gift for him and his fans. We lost him much too soon. Mackey, you are still very much missed and still very much loved. I, too, hope you have found the peace that your gentle soul deserves.”

—Windansr

And another comment from Michael Velten, who helped me put together the Mackey Feary discography in Absolutely Mackey: The Definitive Guide (which is still a work in progress. It’s tough maintaining a Hawaiian music blog when my time is so limited).

“tapes giving me chills man. This is some of his best stuff! Like bossa nova almost. The possibilities could have been endless if Mackey had got in the studio more and explored sounds like these! In a way it’s cool that he did not though commercially, and has gems like these made from just sitting around with his friends on a lazy sunday. Unreal.”

—

Mahalo to paxukulele and his friend for sharing these treasures with the world! 

On with the Show: Vic Malo Live

Just as it did 30 years ago, Hawaii’s economy thrives largely on tourism, so it’s no surprise that many of the musicians I’ve mentioned were/are also entertainers. It’s hard work entertaining people 7 nights a week (see: Phase 7), because for vacationers in paradise every night’s a Friday night, right?

Vic Malo is no exception here. His handsome voice filled the now-closed Golden Dragon Lounge at the Hilton Hawaiian Village almost every night of the week (I’m guessing) for several years—during the mid/late 1970s through the mid 1980s. Those lucky enough to hear him in person were no doubt captivated by his performances. For those like me who weren’t around (or alive) back then, we have a live performance captured on cassette, circa 1985 (as evidenced by his cover of Lionel Richie’s “Hello”).

This cassette was probably distributed by Vic himself to the fans and friends he made at the Golden Dragon. I don’t think this was for sale in stores, though I could be wrong. Unlike his studio album, which was professionally recorded, this minimally designed, 25 year old cassette suffers from poor audio quality. But despite the setbacks, Vic’s gorgeous voice still shines with each song.

“Turtle Bay”

Beyond the standard fare targeted at visitors (“To You Sweetheart, Aloha”, “Little Grass Shack”, “Red Sails in the Sunset”) Vic’s humorous wit (“The Tourist”) and love for the islands (“Turtle Bay”) are his best. “The Tourist” is my favorite, with its clever lyrics that match the political sensibility of “Ode to Waiaihole & Waikane Valley“. I can’t verify whether these two are originals, although I know that “I Don’t Want to Leave the Islands”, a farewell for an unhappy departure, was his own.

“The Tourist”

“I Don’t Want to Leave the Islands”

You can hear glasses clinking during several songs, stirring images of a low-key night for lovers absorbed in Vic’s seductive voice. Without a doubt, he stole every woman’s attention away from her date and toward the stage. Below is an account by someone who knew Vic and had seen him perform many times.

Each night we would go out and do some tourist type thing and when we came back as we walked through the hotel we could hear this voice. My mom and her friend would stop and listen, looking through the slotted wall from the hallway. I can remember them saying, “Boy, I wish I could take him home in my suitcase”…

Vic’s singing drew folks to the door to listen and a lot would then come in…especially the women…

Vic was a very personable, nice guy and, as you can tell from his voice and picture, pretty sexy. Women of all ages were drawn to him and I think guys liked him too because of his charm. He would always talk to the people in the lounge, the typical “Where are you from?” He would tell stories about himself (one of 51 children, I believe), joke around, etc.

He used some kind of synthesizer/drum machine to accompany him during these performances, probably because he wanted to minimize distractions of live instruments and other musicians on set (plus it was more cost effective). Some songs feature the same drum beat, although I wonder whether he played a guitar live… I’m guessing he pre-recorded everything so that just he and his voice were the show.

This is just what I hoped for with the inception of Aloha Got Soul—the discovery of a rare recording which documents a time now past in Hawaii’s contemporary music history. This cassette offers a unique look into a world I know so little about. So consider this a relic rather than an must-have for audiophiles. I did my best to preserve optimal audio quality while removing as much noise as possible. I also created a CD/LP version of the cassette artwork for visuals’ sake. Looks pretty good, yeah?

Mahalo to those who helped bring this music to a wider audience. I don’t know all the exact details about Vic’s story at the Golden Dragon, so please send any corrections/additions via email or by leaving a comment here.