Ben Diamond
SON STONE - THE BAND:
Son Stone are musical storytellers with a sharp lyrical edge and a rich sonic aesthetic. Blending gritty Americana, soulful rock, and poetic folk, their songs take listeners on deeply personal and often unexpected journeys. "Dime Store Mannequin" is their latest work -— a bold and vividly produced album that showcases both their songwriting range and a commitment to telling stories from unique perspectives.
Son Stone is Ben Diamond, Jeff Brody, Dan Doll, and Erich Stollberger. Ben, Jeff, and Dan started out as a Hawaiian Slack Key trio, playing original instrumental compositions together for over 15 years across Long Island and New York, and even opening up for Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna. It was backstage at a Hot Tuna show that drummer Justin Guip convinced the band to record their Americana Rock songs with him. (Justin has three GRAMMYs for producing Levon Helm's records.)
Ben had been writing folk songs for years and released a folk album, “Two Birds To Kill A Stone,” in 2016. The seeds for the band's sprout from Hawaiian Slack Key to Americana were sown. Dozens of songs were waiting to be watered by the band and they quickly grew into a copse of trees. Expect more Americana albums shortly!
HAWAIIAN SLACK KEY:
For Ben, it was love at first sound – a chance encounter at Tower Records in 1996. Ben has played guitar since 1981 and started playing Ki ho'alu (Hawaiian slack key or "open" tuning) after a random listening of Cyril Pahinui's “Panini Pua Kea” on Dancing Cat Records' “Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Instrumental Collection Volume 1” . At first, he figured out songs by ear. Over the years, he's studied Slack Key with Hal Kinnaman and Keola Beamer and released 8 Slack Key albums.
On "Ben Diamond and Friends" 2016 CD, "Out of Eden", you'll hear influences ranging from Hawaiian Slack Key finger-style, to Leo Kottke / Americana, to Mississippi Delta Blues bottle-top slide. Dan Doll and Jeff Brody are among the many “Friends” featured on the album.
Ki ho'alu, which literally means "loosen the key," is the Hawaiian name for the solo fingerpicked style unique to Hawai'i. In this tradition, the strings (or "keys") are "slacked" to produce many different tunings, which usually contain a major chord, or a chord with a major 7th or a 6th note.
Slack key derives its unique sound from techniques such as "hammering-on" and "pulling-off." These techniques mimic the yodels and falsettos common in Hawaiian singing. Harmonics and slides are also common.
The roots of slack key can be traced to the 1830's when the guitar was first introduced to the islands by the Spanish and Mexican cowboys who were hired to teach Hawaiian cowboys how to handle an overpopulation of cattle.
My slack key journey was launched by a chance listening at Tower Records in 1996. It was love at first sound.
Here are some of my favorite tunings to play in:
G Major or "Taro Patch" Tuning (D-G-D-G-B-D)
Jeff Curtis D Tuning (D-A-D-A-D-E) (Very similar to Irish C Tuning: C-G-C-G-C-D)
C Major Tuning (C-G-E-G-C-E)
D Major Tuning (D-A-D-F#-A-D)
D Wahine (D-A-D-F#-A-C#)
F Wahine Tuning (C-F-C-G-C-E)
and of course ..
Standard or "Western" Tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E)
I've also recorded songs in:
C-Wahine or "Keola's C" Tuning (C-G-D-G-B-E)
Leonard's C or "Drop C" Tuning (C-G-D-G-B-D)
G-6th Tuning (D-G-D-G-B-E)
Old Mauna Loa (D-G-D-E-A-D)
G-Major-7th or "Double Slack" (D-G-D-F#-B-D)
G Minor Tuning (D-G-D-G-Bb-D)
Irish D Tuning (D-A-D-G-A-D)
Check out my custom built Koa two-hole (puka-puka) guitar named "Kaimana":
The guitar was built by Vance Peters, Bucksport, Maine. Here's the Yelp page and Facebook page. (Yes .. the link goes to a tropical fish store .. Vance sells tropical fish and builds awesome guitars. His guitar page is down right now, so contact him via the fish site.)
Check out http://www.lihsa.org/luthiers.html to see Vance building Ben's "Kaimana" guitar.
Want some video? Check out Ben's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/kaimanaslack Also check out Ben Diamond and Jeff Brody live on TV from 4/9/2016 - "Wes Houston Presents"