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When Gail Swanson played a benefit show in January at Mulligan's on the Blue, some special friends stopped by to help out. They included Doobie Brother Pat Simmons and legendary, part-time Wailea resident Paul Simon, who sang a few songs.
"I was planning the benefit and Paul and Pat were so sweet to do it," Swanson explains. "I didn't announce it just in case something came up, but it was a big deal, super fun, and a huge surprise for everyone there."
Simon sang "Still Crazy After All These Years" and "The Boxer." "When he played 'The Boxer' he actually added a new verse, which was really beautiful," she says. "He played solo acoustic which made it even cooler. I mean who gets to see Paul or Pat in that kind of intimate setting? It was one of those epic surprise Maui nights."
A Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning artist, Swanson will return to Mulligan's on Aug. 30."It's going to be a mix of originals and covers, and my friend Cheryl Rae is going to join me for a few songs. My gigs are pretty much two hours of laughing and talking and singing and being together. We're also celebrating a good friend's five year cancer free milestone that night, who will sing a song with me."
Arriving on Maui around 40 years ago, this talented singer/songwriter, who plays guitar and flute, spent 10 years as a regular performer at Lahaina's Cheeseburger in Paradise. "I've played in just about every bar on this island," she says. "I've jumped up onto just about every bar playing my flute. That's my funny claim to fame. I got to spend lots of time in Lahaina, which I'll always cherish."
Back then, she was a bit of a rocker. Her 1999 album included a rousing version of the Rolling Stone's "Sympathy for the Devil," which was later featured in the TV shows, "Sleepy Hollow" and "666 Park Avenue."
"I was way more rocking back then," she recalls. "My voice was really raspy and I was screaming and hollering on that track. For years I screamed and hollered and yelled. That's how I blew my voice out, because when I would scream and holler and yell, the crowd would scream and holler, so I would scream and holler even more. I was really damaging my vocal cords, and all of a sudden, I lost my voice. When I finally got my it back and I was able to sing again I had to be way more careful."
In 2002, Swanson won a Hoku for Best Rock Album of the Year for her double CD "Living in a Movie." Full of memorable songs, it included the beautiful ballad "Half a Heart," a duet with Willie Nelson.
A few years later she released the brilliant Hoku nominated album "Simple Truth," which featured such celebrated friends as Willie Nelson, Pat Simmons, Michael McDonald, John Cruz, Bonnie Raitt bassist James "Hutch" Hutchinson, and Doobie Brothers' guitarist John McFee.
A highlight was another duet with Nelson, "The One That Got Away." "I wrote that with Cris Simmons," she explains. "Willie's such a good friend. I went to him years ago when I wrote 'Half a Heart,' and asked him if he'd do it with me as a duet. Right away, he said yes. He was so sweet. Him and Annie (Nelson) are always so supportive. When Chris and I finished 'The One That Got Away, we asked Willie if he would maybe do it as a duet. Right away, he said yes. Once again, just the awesome friend that he is."
And it was really cool to have Michael McDonald on board singing Skeeter Davis' song "End of the World." "Mike is such a nice guy and such a good friend," she says. "That was actually a song he started playing around with on ukulele. I asked him if he wanted do something on the album, and he played that song for me. Just him singing it. We ended up doing it as a duet, and that's him playing the ukulele."
Besides playing Maui's clubs, she has opened concerts for an impressive list of leading artists including Melissa Etheridge, the Doobie Brothers, Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, and David Crosby. "The MACC has been really kind to me," she says. "They've let me open so many shows over the years."
Looking forward to returning to Mulligan's, she says, "I like to connect with people and find things we all have in common to talk about and sing about. It will be fun. Mulligan's is so easy, it feels like home."
Gail Swanson performs at Mulligan's on the Blue on Aug. 30, between 6 and 8 p.m. Admission is $5. She will also play at the Maui Music & Food Experience benefit for Lahaina, at the "Night at the Farm" dinner at Hua Momona Farms on Sept. 5.