Photograph by Peter Dominguez

Slack Key ‘Ohana after their performance at the “Concert’s at the Cove” series presented by Belly Up and the City of Solana Beach.

Performing Hawaiian slack key guitar music takes dedication, focus, respect, and of course, only the best Hawaiian shirt patterns. “I really like our white-and-red rayon and beach-green shirts with outrigger canoes,” enthuses Kamaka Mullen, co-founder of Slack Key ‘Ohana. “Both of those were straight from Hawaii. Brian [Witkin, co-founder] and his ohana [family] picked them up in March when they were there last. I love rayon, because it just feels so good on my skin and is light, which is good for gigs. Hawai’i is for sure the best spot to get unique Aloha shirts. However, you can get lucky at stores like Kohl’s, and even Amazon. It’s hard finding a good print in all our sizes, but matching Aloha shirts is our thing and I love it.”

The San Diego natives met when Witkin was searching online for a slack key teacher and found Mullen. “Eventually,” says Witkin, “I ended up tracking and producing one of his solo albums at my home studio. After that, we started collaborating and performing together. So it happened over a period of years, organically. From there, we expanded from a duo to include both of my parents, Carol Witkin on ukulele and Joe Witkin” — who played with Sha Na Na at Woodstock — “on keys, Rand Anderson on pedal steel, and sisters Alana and Alyssa Godoy as hula dancers. So, there’s literally a lot of ohana in Slack Key ‘Ohana.”

May 2022 saw the release of a limited edition vinyl run of their self-titled debut album specifically mastered for vinyl, with each disc pressed in a unique red and yellow “lava” pattern. Upcoming gigs include September 14 at the Carlsbad Camp Store, and The Pacific Islander Festival on September 24. Their residency at the newly opened Luau in La Mesa finds them performing at the former Go Lounge as a duo most Saturdays from 8-10 pm.