Details

Latitude

-8.646225

Longitude

146.2945

Start Date

1990-06-06

End Date

1990-06-06

Tape#1: Story of musicican Kauboi. Side A & B Kauboi (Mere Mohi) comes from the Ihu District of Gulf Province and moved with parents to Port Moresby living in the Kaugere settlements. His father was employed by an expatriate where he worked as a domestic labourer at his premises. Mere had the fascination of music playing the ukelele and guitar mainly self taught by listening to the radio with songs played in programs. Mere did not any much education and he joined "rascal" activities around the city so spent most of his early years involved in crime. He then took up music and playing in public places such as shopping areas with his ukelele and guitar with songs in Tok Pisin, Motu and "rock and roll" learnt from the radio. He was dressed mostly with "cowboy" like clothes and that was how he got his name "Kauboi" which is in Tok Pisin. He occasionally played with bands in performance not as part of the bands but in breaks or intervals due to his popularity and a soloist musician. He was later picked up by a recording studio CHM in the mid 1980s' where he made his album of songs which as popular amongst grassroots followers and his "ex-rascal" audience for his style of music more a contemporary style of music of pop and rock and roll in the local languages and english which he had picked up along the way. His music was popular in Port Moresby and his local Kerema town and his cassette sales was on demand by his people as a rare musician of Gulf Province. Kauboi later contracted leprosy which affected his hands and feet, got married to a woman from Mailu in Central Province which affected him continuing with his music so he stopped performing his guitar and ukelele. At the time of the recording of his interview, he was no longer performing but only describes his musical journey and background. (Steven Gagau, July 2019)

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