Keni Blue will ‘shred’ at Mulligan’s on Friday
A remarkable YouTube video shot in 2011 features a Kamali‘i Elementary School student named Keni Blue. Standing in front of his classmates he begins playing a guitar and singing The Trogg’s rock classic “Wild Thing.” A couple of minutes into the song, he wields his electric guitar behind his head and somehow continues playing it. He was five.
Fast forward to Dec. 17, 2023 and the former Kamali‘i student is now 19. He walked on stage at the Lokahi benefit concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, and with Marty Dread on vocals and backed by Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, he tore into “Hey Joe,” immortalized by Jimi Hendrix, for 8 blazing minutes.
Blowing away the sold-out crowd with his dynamic passion, ferocity and guitar prowess, he even played with his teeth and behind his head and back like his departed hero. At some moments, it felt like Hendrix had reincarnated on the MACC stage. It marked his first major concert appearance.
“It was great to see him take that moment and shine,” said Lukas Nelson. “He’s a great guitar player, an amazing talent.”
As Blue began shredding away on his guitar, Nelson and some of the musicians were smiling in amazement. “When we rehearsed, he was so shy,” Nelson continued. “He didn’t do any of that. So when he started playing with his tongue and all that, it took us all off guard and we were all laughing. It reminded me of being 19 myself. It was great.”
“It was awesome,” said Blue about his moment in the spotlight. “I hadn’t played for more than 100 people before then, and I didn’t tell them I was going to do any wild stuff. I first played behind my head in kindergarten.” About two weeks later, he played “Hey Joe” at a private party in Wailea surrounded by rock legends like Alice Cooper, Sammy Hagar, Mick Fleetwood, Pat Simmons and Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora. Cooper complimented him. “His jaw was wide open when I was playing,” Blue recalled. “He said ‘nice playing’ and told me he knew Jimi Hendrix.” Sambora talked to him about jamming with Eddie Van Halen and gave him an impromptu lesson on how to play the guitar solo on Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” power ballad.
Next up, Blue will make his debut as a headliner at Mulligan’s on the Blue on Feb. 16, performing with some Maui musician friends including Marty Dread.
When he was in preschool, the children were once asked what they liked best and what they wanted to be when they grew up. He responded he enjoyed playing with building blocks and “when I grow up, I want to be a rock star so I can play the guitar.” It was in kindergarten that he first showed he was a budding musician by playing “Wild Thing.”
Why did he pick “Wild Thing?” His dad, Kenny Geiser, who plays with The House Shakers, explained “I used to play a lot of Jimi Hendrix DVDs in the house. So we would have the Monterey Pop (DVD) on a lot, and he played ‘Wild Thing’ at Monterey Pop. I had bought him a guitar and I taught him how to play ‘Wild Thing’ just using one finger.”
When a student in his kindergarten class accused him of lying about being able to play, he proved him wrong. Geiser recalled telling his son: “I said, if you want this kid to stop bugging you, take your guitar into class and play a song for him. When he was learning the song, one time he just said to me, ‘dad, I’m better than you.’ He was five.”
From that moment on, his father had no idea that his son was such a prodigy, until high school days. “I’ve never even heard him practicing the guitar,” said Geiser. “I didn’t even know he was still playing the guitar, because he would do this stuff at night when everyone was sleeping. So then he was going to play for some sort of class display in junior high, and I went to watch him play. I couldn’t believe it. He played solos, and I was like, Oh my God.”
Amazed at his son’s skill, Geiser noted how other musicians have commented how he plays in the style reminiscent of jazz legend John Coltrane. “He’ll play kind of melodic or a rock and roll guitar, but then he’ll slip in notes when he’s tapping, and he’ll go in and out of that stuff. It was like what John Coltrane was doing in the 1960s. Jazz musicians would say, ‘he’s like John Coltrane,’ and that’s when I knew this is something, now he’s off somewhere else. I never told him what to do as far as technique or whatever. He figured all this stuff out on his own and it’s still evolving.”
As far as guitar influences, Blue cites legends like Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, and Slash of Guns and Roses. Composing his own material for a while, Blue said he likes the Beatles and the Texan progressive rock band Polyphia.
Looking forward to an evolving life as a musician, he said, “I have a passion for music. I just like playing music. Obviously, I would like to play more and be able to do shows.”
Keni Blue and Friends perform on Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Mulligan’s On The Blue. Tickets are $20, available at: https://aloha.ticketleap.com/ keni-blue/