Paul Togioka, a Kaua'i resident, started his music career playing banjo. He eventually switched to ki ho'alu because the primary tuning key for banjo — G — was the same for slack key.

"You can play Hawaiian music on banjo; Peter Moon did," said Togioka, 45. "All these years, I've been trying to figure out how to incorporate it in what I do; it's possible, when you change tunings in the middle of a song.

"But banjo is scarce in Hawai'i," he said. "If it's played, it's usually a novelty. It's bluegrass, after all."

Since his debut CD, "Ki ho'alu Inn," was released late last year, Togioka has become the Garden Island's favorite slack-key artist.

"I started playing music in 1978, with banjo, but I never had the confidence of putting out a solo album," said Togioka, who by day is an engineer with Hawaiian Telcom (formerly Verizon). "I mean, who was gonna buy my album?"

Milton Lau, organizer of the annual Hawaiian Slack-Key Guitar Festival, recognized Togioka's slack-key potential seven or eight years ago and helped produce the solo guitar "Ki ho'alu Inn."

"My life has changed since then," said Togioka, who will perform in the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival Sunday at Kapi'olani Park Bandstand and offer workshops on banjo today through Saturday at the Outrigger Waikiki hotel.

"He could quit his day job today and he would survive quite well on his wedding business and recordings," said Lau.

By limiting his performing/party gigs to about 15 a month, Togioka is maintaining a happy balance. "Any more shows could lead to burnout," he said.

Music, he said, is like art. "You express what you feel; I'm more open to expression, to serving people, and with music, there are no boundaries."

Because of his history on banjo, he was recruited by Lau to offer workshops. "I have no clue how many people will show up," he said. "If there aren't any, I'll switch to slack key (guitar)," he said. But no, he's not apt to switch back to banjo as his principal instrument.

Togioka is gathering songs for his follow-up CD, which he hopes will include more original work. It's due to be released in 2006.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.