Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 12, 1 December 2003 — ʻUkulele Man': Living treasure Bill Tapia still strumming, plucking and picking after nearly a century [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻUkulele Man': Living treasure Bill Tapia still strumming, plucking and picking after nearly a century

By Manu Boyd In the sleek, art deco, islandtechno office suite of The Mountain Apple Company in Honolulu's Nauru Tower sat B ill

Tapia, the 95-year-old 'ukulele virtu- \ oso whose life and experiences are as 1 colorful as the outfit he donned: pin-striped pants, red shirt, blue blazer and red socks, complete with gold chains and rings. Still spry after nearly a century, Tapia's eyes are filled with a zest for life. He is talented, witty, i-noi rrhtfn1 o ji ci nnH/-\nKfAri 1rr lzrt1r\nA

moigiJiuui uuu uuuvuuivuij ivuiviiv. vj Born in Nu'uanu on Jan. 1, 1908, to u. Portuguese-Spanish immigrant parents, r Bill Tapia lived the first 33 years of his ® life in a very different Honolulu, where 1 life was slower and music perhaps a bit ' sweeter. His father was a barber and his mother washed and ironed clothes. At the

age of 10, Bill would unknowingly embark on a musical career that \ would take him farther \ than he ever dreamed. \ "We lived on Kuakini 5 Street, near the Kumalae

ukulele shop," he remembered. "I saved up some money, but I didn't have the $1.20 the old man was asking for. All I had was 75 cents. Finally, L the man took it, I gave me a used J 'ukulele, and told j me to 'get the hell

outta here!' I taught myself to play 'Mai Poina

'Oe Ia'u' That was my first song. I

used to listen to Hawaiians playing music across the street. They would sit on logs and orange crates and just play. That's how I learned. Tapia recalls opening the Royal Hawaiian Hotel with Johnny Nohle in February, 1927: "Oh, the people dressed niee in those days. Their best dresses, white linen, gabardine suits. Not like today, everybody wears jeans. We called them 'selamokus.' That's what the workers wore. We never wore aloha shirts either. "Johnny Nohle was a great musician and eomposer. But his best songs, he didn't write. You know 'Lilile Grass ShackT He bought it for $10 from Tommy Harrison. He paid Solomon Ho'opi'i $20 for 'Hula BIues .' Gee, the big money those songs made. "Solomon Ho'opi'i and Andy Iona were great musicians, but I played better than them," Tapia joked. "Sol was a steel player, and Andy played steel and sax. He was the best sax player. Ernest Ka'ai was really good on the 'ukulele, too. "The most beautiful hula dancer in those days

was Winona Love. Jenny Woodd (grandmother of entertainer Amy Hānaiali'i Gilliom) was popular too. You remember Hilo Hattie? Her real name was Clara Inter, and she was my teacher at Royal School. Later, I played music for her. "I used to hang out behind the Moana Hotel. There was a stream that separated the Moana from the Outrigger Canoe Club," Tapia explained, referring to the long-gone 'Āpuakēhau stream and the original location of the eanoe club. "We would play Hawaiian songs for the tourists, but we didn't get paid. Waikīkī was real different. Beautiful. "The train station by 'A'ala Park was the worst part of town. I would catch the street car there and play for the sailors at bootleg joints. They were loud — drinking, hitting their bottles on the table. Plenty smoke," he said, noting that he himself finally quit cigarattes at age 85. "The cops eame and took me to jail. I was only 12!" Aside from strumming and picking the dozen-or-so 'ukulele in his current eollee lion, Tapia also plays guitar, banjo, madolin, bass and steel guitar. "To me, the

'ukulele is the most fabulous instrument," he said. " didn't think so before, but now I do." For 12-1/2 years, Tapia worked for the Hawaiian Amusement Company that owned theatres. "I used to play 'ukulele during the silent picture days. I also used to test 'ukuleles for old man Kamaka down by Pāwa'a Junction," he said. Kamaka's sons, Fred and Sam, grandson I Chris and other family members continue the f business at Kamaka Hawai'i ine., now located / on South Street. Tapia "is a good promoter of j the 'ukulele," Chris said. "You ean tell he

really loves the instrument by how he plays. You ean tell he really loves Hawai'i." Bill Tapia left Hawai'i after the outbreak of World War II and lived the next 56 years in San Francisco. For five years, he has lived in Los Angeles, where he still teaches and performs Fridays at a Hawaiian restaurant. "This is a crazy world we live in, but I ean get used to it. I've been through all walks of life, played in the worst places, and played in the best,"

Tapia said. "People leavt

Hawai'i for the money. I'm sorry I left. Here is beauty," he said. A one-hourdocumentaryonBi11Tapui titled. " 'Ukulele Man," is currently in pmduction. For mformation, visit online at www.wa1kingiris.com/filmsAJku1e1eMan.htm1, or contact Pacific Islanders in Communication at 591-0059. ■

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