Neubauer warms up WNY with Hawaiian sounds
CD REVIEW
by ROBERT E. KUPCZYK Entertainment Associate Editor

Lancaster guitarist Bill Neubauer certainly knows his way around the acoustic guitar - and not just your standard acoustic - Neubauer plays Slack Key guitar.

Translated, that means the pitch of one or more guitar strings are "slacked" or tuned lower, resulting in a sound uniquely Hawaiian. According to Neubauer, the music on "Sweet and Sacred - A Fragrant Offering" is not "real Hawaiian music, but the inspiration comes from a style called Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar."

Neubauer uses six different "open" guitar tunings on the songs on "Sweet and Sacred," a collection of old hymns. The tunings are listed in the liner notes next to each hymn, making it interesting for guitarists who want to experiment with a different sound.

And a different sound is certainly found on "Sweet and Sacred," a relaxing and fun-to-listen-to CD. The 12 hymns also include three by Neubauer. If you're expecting to hear hymns as in a church service, you'll have to go to church. Neubauer turns what could be stodgy or stiff material into interesting guitar compositions.

The guitarist's playing is clean and crystal clear and sounds intricate with moving bass and melody lines. Neubauer also extensively uses harmonics in songs as exclamation points, most notably in his own "My Song of Prayer." (Harmonics are playing a string while muting it with the playing finger over a fret. This results in a ringing note.)

"Sweet and Sacred - A Fragrant Offering" was nominated for an award in the "Best Hawaiian Album" category of the "Just Plain Folks 2006 Album Awards" contest.

The CD, produced by Neubauer, was recorded at Starfields Productions in Buffalo and engineered by Alan Dusel and Mike Grey.

"Sweet and Sacred - A Fragrant Offering" is available at CD Baby and at Borders Books and Music on Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga. For more information, visit sacredslac kkey.com.

Whether you recognize the melodies of these songs or not, the latter being my case, you can still appreciate Neubauer's playing in the Slack Key Hawaiian guitar tradition. He truly sounded like he enjoyed recording the CD and chances are great that the listener will enjoy hearing it. Aloha.