Search - Stephen Inglis :: Driftwood

Driftwood shines with acoustic radiance and the heart of a native son. On his second solo set release of mostly originals, Honolulu-born Stephen Inglis crosses styles and an ocean back to his homeland shores of Hawai'i. Steve blends his signature folk-rock tapestries, drifting deeply into Hawaiian traditionals and slack key.

An exciting new voice, coupled with extraordinary instrumental talent, is catching attention these days on the Bay Area music scene and beyond. Honolulu-born guitarist and songwriter Stephen Inglis is delighting fans of songcraft with his "poet's ear for narrative and hypnotic guitar plucking" (reviewcentre.com, U.K)

With roots firmly planted in the evocative art of ki ho'alu (Hawaiian slack-key guitar), Stephen?s years of performance in rock, folk, jam band and reggae/ska outfits give him a versatility to mesh the native sounds and cultural forms he grew up with like few artists from any single stylistic world.

From his earliest years, Stephen had the unique advantage of working with and learning from seasoned musicians. As a five-year old student, he performed on stage with the venerable founder of the Suzuki method, a system that has trained the ears of countless successful instrumentalists.

Not long out of his teens, Stephen linked up with The Grateful Dead?s Bill Kreutzmann, as lead guitarist and vocalist for the veteran drummer's House of Spirits. Stephen has also gained the respect of his peers in the younger set. He cut his teeth professionally as the bassist for the popular Honolulu reggae/ska outfit Red Session, opening for such headliners as Sublime and The Specials. For several years, he was the mainstay of the improv-rock band Palolo Jones, playing to packed houses throughout the Hawaiian Islands and warming up mainlanders such as Big Brother and the Holding Company.

In 2002, he joined slack-key phenom Makana and Hawaiian music legends The Makaha Sons on a highly successful tour of Tahiti.

Summer 2004 saw the release of his first album. Fringes of the Wayside was celebrated with a sold-out night at The Hard Rock Cafe in Honolulu. "Inglis is expanding the boundaries, or at least the perceived restrictions of the singer/songwriter genre" said Kirby Raine of Ink 19 magazine, giving the album the Editor?s Pick. Following a successful six-week West Coast tour in the summer of 2005, Stephen finished recording his second album, Driftwood. The CD digs even deeper into the slack-key realm and features a guest appearance by musical friend Makana.