AS THE MYTH tells it, Nero played his fiddle while ancient Rome burned.

According to Dan Crary, though, it couldn't have been a fiddle.

“Not at all!” exclaims the flatpicking guitar pioneer, an enthusiastic scholar of stringed instrument history. “It was a cithera, a guitar-like instrument that was popular with the Greeks and Romans at the time. So if, in fact, Nero played music while Rome burned, he was just another in a long string of guys playing guitar while they were supposed to be doing something else!”

He delivers this revelation with a wry grin, but Crary's serious about his responsibilities as a guitarist--a profession, he believes, that has ethical, community, and philosophical dimensions. “The guitar changed my life. It was a watershed experience. I've done other things, been a college professor, fifteen years in radio, umpteen years in graduate school, and so forth, but the central thing in my life is the guitar. I am passionate about it. I'm a believer.”

Over a career that spans half a century and much of the globe, Crary has found that guitar music opens doors everywhere, even in countries where the U.S. is unpopular. “The 20th century saw the guitar go from one of the weakest periods in its history to being the world instrument. Wherever you go, there are people who are part of the same community. They may not speak any English, but by God, they will know guitar music. Where do you go in this world where they haven't heard Doc Watson? Nowhere!”

This week, Crary arrives in Hawai`i fresh from a North American tour with his fellow Men Of Steel (guitarists Beppe Gambetta of Italy, Tony McManus of Scotland, and Don Ross of Canada). A pioneer of guitar as a bluegrass lead instrument, he is a founding member both of the legendary Bluegrass Alliance and award-winning ensemble California. His recordings include Jammed If I Do, an acclaimed collection of duets with Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and others, and Thunderation, which won an “Indie” award for Best String Instrumental Album.

In 2003, Crary founded Thunderation Music. The label now has three and a half releases and a distribution deal. “The 'half' release is the next California album,” he reports. “The band is throwing back the lid of the coffin!” Thunderation has also issued two live projects: Synergia, Crary's album with Gambetta, as well as an eponymous album Crary made with his fellow Men Of Steel.

The label's third release, Renaissance Of The Steel String Guitar, was Dan's magnum opus. With this project, which features guests like Gambetta, bluesmen Cephas & Wiggins, and harmonica player Grant Dermody, Crary tried to make a statement about the renaissance of the steel-string guitar. The album entered the charts at #20 on the Folk DJ list, very respectable for an instrumental project. “This is the absolute maximum that I can do, the best music I've played,” he says.

His performance at Kapono's on Sunday, April 25 is part of the second show in Bluegrass Beat Meets Hawaiian Heat from Tim Bostock Productions. Crary will appear with Maui guitarist George Kahumoku, Jr., with whom he and Ledward Ka`apana once toured the Hawaiian Islands. Called the “Hawaiian Renaissance Man” for his various interests-he is a farmer, an artist, a teacher, and a philanthropist-Kahumoku records for George Winston's Dancing Cat label.

The concert will feature Kahumoku and Crary playing a mélange of their own material. After an intermission for the Aloha Boat Days hula show, the guitarists will jam together, in an intersection of the high lonesome sound with traditional Hawaiian mele.

Gordon Freitas & Local Folk: The Acoustic Tradition Edition will open the show. O`ahu folk troubadour Freitas and his cast of seasoned local musicians will share their passion for bluegrass and acoustic roots music during their opening set. They'll return at the end of the show for the traditional big jam with Crary and Kahumoku.

BLUEGRASS BEAT MEETS HAWAIIAN HEAT, Part 2: Guitarists Dan Crary and George Kahumoku, Jr. will play at Kapono's at Aloha Tower Marketplace on Sunday, April 25. Doors open at 6:00 PM; show starts at 6:30. Advance tickets are available through Friday, April 23, by calling 545-2820 between 7 AM and 5 PM. Prices: $18 for adults; $10 for children 11-16; children 10 and under FREE. Tickets will be available at the door for $23/adults, $12/children 11-16.

Jam Workshop/Master Jam with DAN CRARY, Saturday, April 24, at The Arts At Mark's Garage, 1159 Nu`uanu at Pauahi, Honolulu, from 1:00 PM-4:00 PM. Only 60 reservations will be taken. Non-musicians $6; musicians $14 ($11 in advance). Traditional stringed instruments welcome. Please be able to make simple chord changes! Presented by Bluegrass Hawai`i & Tim Bostock. Visit www.bluegrasshawaii.com for info; for reservations email c@wrightforyou.com.