For Upcoming 2018 Arts & Culture Calendar email giac05@icloud.com to get listing in advance

Who’s Coming Up on Monday March 19?

Program begins at 6:30 pm

Here is the link to EKK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ekanikapilakakou.kauaistyle/

The Legacy of the Kamaka ‘Ukulele Family

hosted by Herb Ohta Jr. & Bryan Tolentino

Meeting the members of the Kamaka ‘Ukulele family was a real treat for the EKK audience. Via a documentary video created three years ago as part of the Craft in America series on PBS, we learned about the four-generation Kamaka Family business which was started by Samuel Kamaka in 1916. In addition to the video, they produced the 100th anniversary two CD album, a compilation of many artists with whom they work, the sales of which goes to support various non-profits.

The double K logo used by the company represents the two brothers Fred Sr. and Sam Jr., ages 92 and 95, both are still very active and popular among visitors conducting the tours of the factory during the weekdays.

Casey is a fulltime captain pilot with Hawaiian Airlines; he does much of the research and custom orders for the company. Christopher Sr., production manager, handles the quality control of each instrument before it goes out the door. Fred Jr. is the business manager. Many members of the fourth generation work at the shop, including Chris Jr. who was present as a guitar player for tonight’s program.

Luthiers Casey and Chris Sr. fielded many questions from the audience following the video.

Kamaka Hawaii, Inc., today makes about 3500 ‘ukulele a year, all made to order and distributed by dealers worldwide with the largest market being in Japan because that population embraces everything Hawaiian. The Pineapple ‘Ukulele designed in the mid-twenties by Sam is the Kamaka signature ‘ukulele to this day.

Ninety percent of their instruments are made from koa wood from Hawai’i island; koa is increasingly harder to get but care is taken to revitalize the forest by fencing and planting more trees. Mahoghony from Central and South America is easily available; Rosewood is also available but shipping internationally is a major problem, especially when the wood has to go back and forth. They gave pointers on the care of the ‘ukulele and shared that they will repair instruments that got damaged. They also make guitars but the demands for the ‘ukulele keep them too busy.

There are 27 full time employees working at Kamaka. Some of the workers were hearing impaired worker suggested for hire by Sam’s wife, an occupational therapist. They were trained to feel the vibrations of the wood. Because their sense of touch was so keen, they were invaluable for this task and some of them had worked for about fifty years at the company. As many of the old timers retired, new and younger workers passionate about their craft have been hired and trained to take over the various steps of producing each instrument.

Each instrument is handled by the various workers whose kuleana is one step of the assembly line process, but the workers are cross-trained to insure that every step of the process is covered in making each instrument. Chris Sr., a member of the musical group Ho’okena, said he gave an application form to another member of the group upon his retirement from Pearl Harbor.

Each instrument, customized to the needs of the artists, takes about 6 to 8 weeks to design and construct. Herb shares, “Bryan and I can’t play our music without the instruments by the Kamaka family.”

Today the shop is located in Kaka’ako at 550 South Street and sticks out like a sore thumb among all the new tall buildings, but they are in the process of relocating their shop.

Following the video and talk story with Casey and Chris, ‘ukulele players with their instruments had a chance to do a short jam session with the four musicians — Herb Ohta Jr. and BryanTolentino (who just flew in from Japan that morning), Chris Kamaka, Sr., third generation luthier with group Ho’okena on upright bass, and Chris Jr. on guitar.

They invited those with ‘ukulele to join in on Noho Paipai with Bryan calling out chords. They then played Ulupalakua w/ Herb as lead vocalist.

Following the final 35 years whee-haw!! welcome of the season with the audience members from Kaua’i, Hawai’i, mainland, Alaska, Canada and worldwide, congratulations went out to the 34 perfect attendance participants who received CD gifts with Carol’s weekly wrap. The Kanikapila portion of the program got underway.

Herb Jr. shared that he learned ‘ukulele at age 3 from Herb Ohta Sr., his father, his teacher, his mentor, his idol, and quit at age 9 on his father’s advice. But he always kept in the loop with the ‘ukulele because Herb taught his dad’s classes while he went on tours. Ledward Kaapana of the group I Kona was another major influence in his life. Herb shared a song about canoes called Holo Wa’apa by Lena Machado. He invited father and son to play together — Christopher Kamaka Sr. and Christopher Kamaka Jr. played Catching A Wave with senior as the vocalist. Junior was encouraged by his Mom to play the timeless Someday, a perfect choice for the EKK audience because it took them back to their youth.

There seems to be a lot of light-hearted bantering between Herb and Bryan. Bryan often tells people to “call him HOJ” (Herb Ohta, Jr.) so folks will actually go up and call him “HOJ”, even in Japan. Herb says, “I see you’ve been talking to Bryan.” Bryan talked about a new project between Herb and himself called ‘Ukulele Friends and ‘Ukulele Friends, The Sequel. They played a song titled Leinani w/ Chris on the upright bass.

Herb used to work at Harry’s Music Store in Kaimuki. At that time Bryan suggested that they come up with a new song for their upcoming CD. They met to work on it and wrote the new song in ten minutes. Both Chris’s came up and joined them for G Minor Fleas, a fast rhythmic instrumental with a hint of Spanish beat; it was very well received by the audience. Bryan played Pu’uanahulu inspired by the late Peter Moon, one of Hawaii’s big inspirations who played with the Cazimero brothers as “Sunday Manoa” and later as the “Peter Moon Band.” He pointed out that this song is on his first CD; one audience member reminded Bryan, “Your only CD.” Bryan jokingly came back with, “I’m not bitter.”

Herb clarified that Bryan is one of the most sought after ‘ukulele players. Bryan said “I’m on 53 of my friends’ CDs as an accompanist. I like playing as an accompanist; it’s like flying under the radar.”

Bryan gave a much overdue intro for Herb, who has recorded seventeen albums to date, pointing out that Herb is one of the cleanest ‘ukulele players who can walk into the studio and is ready to nail everything with no need for warmups. He wanted to showcase Herb’s mastery of the ‘ukulele. This was so important because Herb is overly modest when sharing the stage with others.

Herb first shared a hilarious story that happened to him at Hy’s Steakhouse in Waikiki where he often played music for over three hours a night. One evening, an elderly Hawaiian woman walked up to the stage and tugged on his slacks, requesting a song by Iz.

Herb asked, “Which one?”

She replied, “The popular one.”

Herb came back, “They’re all popular”

She clarified, “The one they play on the radio.”

Herb said, “They play them all on the radio.”

She said, “It’s about a rainbow.”

Herb said, “I can play that song but not like Iz.”

The woman replied, “Oh well, never mind then.”

Then Herb Jr. treated us to what an ‘ukulele can sound like in the hands of a master ‘ukulele player; he played an exquisitely sensitive version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Too bad the woman never heard it.

Bryan comes often to Kaua’i. Recently, he was at E Pili Kakou Hula Conference where he met Lady Ipo Kahaunaele-Ferreira. He called on her to join them on stage; she sangNani Kauai in her sultry voice; Poai Galindo came up to dance the hula. Ipo herself was so jazzed at the way she sang the song with the excellent ‘ukulele accompaniment. She shared another song by Teresa Bright who wrote this when she was stuck at Tahiti Nui with nowhere to go because the Hanalei bridge was closed down. It’s about a voluptuous hula dancer who knew three basic steps — uwehe, ami, slide — so that’s what she did; she got up and danced Uwehe, Ami and Slide. Lady Ipo, the Queen of Hawaiian Jazz, delivered that song the way that only she can. The ‘ukulele players went to town with their pa’ani.

Chris Sr. sang the ever popular hula song Papalina Lahilahi which brought Lady Ipo, Madeleine Guyett, Polei Palmeira and Mahina Baliaris to the stage to dance.

Herb wanted to honor the late Peter Moon with I’ll Remember You, written by the late Kui Lee and sung by Chris Kamaka Sr. Bryan shared many funny stories about “an up and coming young ‘ukulele player and good friend named Jake.” Herb asked Bryan, “Do you think Jake talks about us when he performs?” Bryan shook his head.

Eddie Kamae was very influential in the lives of many — his father Herb Ohta Sr., Herb Jr., Bryan and many others were greatly influenced by the man and his music. Bryan shared his story about his last visit with Uncle Eddie. After Palani Vaughan’s funeral, Bryan and Sonny Lim went to visit him at Palolo Valley Hospice. Eddie was dressed in his red palaka shirt. Myrna was giving him ice chips, but he had been unresponsive for a couple of days. Bryan and Sonny spent some time playing music and when it was time to leave, Bryan leaned over to give Eddie a kiss when he was suddenly startled because Eddie opened his eyes, smiled and gave them a shaka sign; he passed away the next morning. The group played E Ku’u Morning Dew composed by Eddie Kamae and Larry Kimura.

It was a true kanikapila evening with a peek into the history of a remarkable family, great music and stories, impromptu sharing of hula, enjoyed among old and new friends who love and appreciate the Hawaiian culture.

The 35th season will end with a solo concert on Monday, March 19, by the fabulous Makana. Then we bid each other adieu until next January.

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E Kanikapila Kakou 2018 Hawaiian Music Program is funded in part by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, supported by the County of Kaua’i Office of Economic Development, the Kaua’i Beach Resort, and the GIAC/EKK supporters. Garden Island Arts Council programs are supported in part by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts through appropriations from the Hawai’i State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For Upcoming 2018 Arts & Culture Calendar email giac05@icloud.com to get listing in advance

Who’s Coming Up on Monday March 12?

Program begins at 6 pm

Here is the link to EKK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ekanikapilakakou.kauaistyle/

The Kamaka Story

Shortly after the turn of the century, Samuel Kaialiilii Kamaka began crafting koa ukuleles from the basement of his Kaimuki, Hawai’i home. He formed his one-man shop, “Kamaka Ukulele and Guitar Works,” and soon established a solid reputation for making only the highest quality ukuleles.

In 1921, Kamaka Ukulele established a shop at 1814 South King Street. In the mid-20s, Sam Kamaka laid out a pattern for a new oval- shaped ukulele body. His friends remarked that it looked like a pineapple, so one of Sam’s artist friends painted the front to duplicate the tropical fruit. A few years later in 1928, Sam Kamaka patented the design. Thus began the original Pineapple Ukulele, which produced a resonant, mellow sound distinct from the traditional figure-eight. The Pineapple Ukulele became an instant success worldwide, and continues to be Kamaka’s signature ukulele to this day.

During the 30s, Sam Sr. introduced his two sons, Samuel Jr. and Frederick, to the craft of ukulele-making, even though the boys were only in elementary school. In 1945, the business was reorganized as “Kamaka and Sons Enterprises.” Sam Jr. and Fred Sr. were then drafted into the Army, and after serving in WWII, both brothers attended college on the GI bill. After graduating from Washington State University, Fred Sr. began a career in the Army, while Sam Jr. earned a masters degree and went on to pursue a doctorate in entomology at Oregon State University.

In 1952, due to illness, Sam Sr. went into semi-retirement and hauled his equipment to his Lualualei Homestead farm in Waianae. When he became seriously ill the following year, Sam Jr. abandoned his studies and moved back to Hawaii to care for his father. Sam Sr. died in December 1953, after hand-crafting koa ukuleles for over 40 years.

Immediately following Sam Sr.’s death, Sam Jr. put aside his personal career aspirations to continue the family business. Building on the knowledge he had picked up from his father, Sam Jr. restored the factory at the previous 1814 S. King Streetlocation. Five years later in 1959, the company expanded to its current location at 550 South Street.

Kamaka and Sons incorporated in 1968 and became “Kamaka Hawaii, Inc.” After retiring from the Army in 1972, Fred Sr. joined the business as its general manager. Along the way, Sam Jr.’s sons, Chris and Casey, also got involved with the company as did Fred Sr.’s son, Fred Jr. The sons now play major roles at Kamaka Hawaii, Inc.: Chris is the production manager, Casey crafts the custom orders, and Fred Jr. is the business manager. Other young family members are also helping with the business, carrying the Kamaka tradition into the fourth generation.

As the Kamaka legacy moves forward, it is important to reflect on what has made the company endure. The guiding philosophy at Kamaka Hawaii has always been the candid, but sensible advice handed down from Sam Sr. to sons: “If you make instruments and use the family name, don’t make junk.”

Kamaka Hawaii, Inc. will have their instruments and other ‘ukulele supplies available for sale at EKK on March 12 with a portion of the sales to benefit EKK.

March 5: The ‘Ukulele Lady Leads the Charge

Lady Ipo Kahaunaele-Ferreira led the ‘ukulele circle workshop at the beginning of the evening and had her class come up for their ho’ike immediately after. They sang and played E Naughty Naughty Mai Nei by Mel Peterson, uncle of Jeff Peterson. They also shared a song that Lady Ipo had written as a gift for Deanna Sanders who started coming to EKK in 2012. She is the boss of the Humboldt ‘Ukulele Group that numbers 50 regular and 50 alumni with over 100+ Facebook members worldwide; they play songs they learned at EKK for nursing homes and fundraisers, sending seeds of Aloha all over the planet. Wow!

March 5: Kuhio Travis — A One Man Show

Kuhio Travis is not yet a recording star with huge name recognition, but he put on a great show at EKK. A self-taught musician, he spent his childhood years growing up in Waimea and Koloa. He spent a lot of time with his grandfather who worked at the garden and kept Kuhio occupied with the AM radio; his favorite thing was to mimic commercials. He always loved to sing but at age 10, while in the 5th grade, he started to learn to play the ‘ukulele because his friend was getting a lot of attention from classmates playing on his ‘ukulele. He taught himself to play on a borrowed ‘ukulele. He later moved to Laupahoehoe on Hawai’i Island where he had a lot of time to perfect his ‘ukulele playing and singing.

Age 21 he returned to Kaua’i and his first job was at Smith’s Boat as an entertainer where he learned a lot on the job from the other Hawaiian musicians. He has been entertaining ever since. Today he lives in Waipahu and performs at Turtle Bay Resort and Kona Brewing in Waikiki. He spends summers in Washington State recording music.

His tiny one-of-a-kind ‘ukulele is a powerhouse instrument, custom built by a civil engineer in Washington who makes experimental instruments as a hobby. It’s a solid body electric ‘ukulele with built-in controls for on-board distortion effects. Kuhio really rips on his ‘ukulele, his instrument of choice.

He has an eclectic repertoire and loves the different era of music more than any single song or artist. It’s difficult to describe how he sings . . . you just need to be there to experience his music; he interprets the song in his own style, often doing the instrumental parts with just the sound of his voice. He’s playful and confident and loves performing.

The one Hawaiian song he chose to sing was Holei about Kalapana on Hawai’i Island, a song that we have heard for the fourth time this season, each time a stellar performance. It was not the usual falsetto version but very powerful in his lower register.

Clearly, Bruddah Iz had a great influence on his choice of Hawaiian music as he sangWhite Sandy Beach, the first song he learned to pick, Hawaiian Superman preceded by some Led Zeppelin-inspired sounds on his tiny ‘ukulele, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow . . . always an audience favorite.

His song choices cut across a wide spectrum of music styles:

Van Morrison’s Into the Mystic was followed by Crazy Without You performed by Pure Heart. The latter song was written by Alvin Loan and Lucas Estrada. Not only does his little ‘ukulele make great sounds, he can do the same thing with his own voice and he introduced the popular song recorded by Phil Phillips, the Honey Drippers and a host of other artists. Sea of Love as sung by Kuhio was lighthearted and humorous, ending the song with bugle taps.

Continuing the journey into the contemporary, he performed Wild World by Cat Stevens from the album Tea for the Tillerman followed by Breathe. His personal favorite song,Englishman in New York from the Very Best of Sting album was quite inspirational.

From the album The Very Best of the Righteous Brothers, he sang Unchained Melody, a 1955 song by Alex North with lyrics by Hy Zaret. It’s one of the most recorded songs in the 20th Century. Elvis and Iz both performed this classic song. Thank you, Kuhio, for bringing nostalgia back to us.

Wishing a happy birthday for his Cousin Noe whose birthday is 3/1/84 and his own birthday is 1/3/84; Kuhio said this makes her birthday easy to remember. He dedicatedStand by Me, a 1961 song by Ben E. King of the Drifters to Noe. Inspired by a spiritual hymn titled Lord Stand by Me, this song was #122 on the Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Times. In the year 2000, it was proclaimed the 4th most performed song of the 20th Century with over seven million performances. Wow!

Kuhio does fun stuff with his medleys by putting together songs that you would not expect to hear together – Eddy Grant’s 1988 anti-apartheid song, Gimme Hope Jo’Anna, and Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl from his Blowing Your Mind album was skillfully woven together. It was fun hearing him change the lyrics to fit his sense of humor.

He did a Disney medley that was just wonderful — starting with Lion Sleeps
Tonight in falsetto complete with playful sound effects, to Kiss the Girl from Little Mermaid to the very catchy Hakuna Matata and Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds and back to Lion Sleeps Tonight. Charming and the audience just loved it.

As always, we took some time to show off the Kamoa ‘ukulele that was going to be given away to one lucky winner. Lady Ipo said she would give a one-hour lesson to whoever wins the instrument. She played the Kamoa ‘ukulele, singing Beautiful Kaua’i while Elena Gillespie and Madeleine Guyett went onstage to dance the hula. The lucky winner of the ‘ukulele was Gordon Furze from Kilauea. Double lucky guy to win the ‘ukulele and Lady Ipo’s ‘ukulele lesson.

Continuing with his combining awesome contemporary songs, Kuhio started off withHawaiian Kick Boxer which led up to Carol Douglas’s Kung Fu Fighting on the 1999 The Soul of the Kung Fu Fighter followed by Get Down On It on the album, The Best of Kool and the Gang.

Out of the blue he started singing the Mickey Mouse Song that was a favorite of kids to introduce the next song, Jacob Miller’s All Night Till Daylight and went right into John Denver’s original Take Me Home Country Road, also sang by Bruddah Iz. He had fun altering the lyrics by changing West Virginia to West Kaua’i, his ol’ home town, and slipping in Mount Ka’ala and some other local place names.

Shouts of hana hou rang out as the evening was winding down. Out of the clear blue he started singing Home on the Range which was the prelude to the most incredible yodeling song called SOLD! (The Grundy Country Auction Incident) by John Michael Montgomery. Written in 1995 by Richard Fargas and Robb Royer, this song was the top country song in 1995 and Kuhio Travis WOW’ed the audience with his fast-fast-fast ‘ukulele playing and his tongue-twisting auctioneer’s yodeling. That was the hana hou to end all hana hou . . . can’t believe he was still standing when he was pau.

So another Monday night was history with everyone joining hands and singing Hawai’i Aloha. With just two more EKK Mondays, folks were already beginning to feel sad.

* * *

E Kanikapila Kakou 2018 Hawaiian Music Program is funded in part by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, supported by the County of Kaua’i Office of Economic Development, the Kaua’i Beach Resort, and the GIAC/EKK supporters. Garden Island Arts Council programs are supported in part by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts through appropriations from the Hawai’i State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For Upcoming 2018 Arts & Culture Calendar email giac05@icloud.com to get listing in advance

Who’s Coming Up on Monday March 5?

Here is the link to EKK on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ekanikapilakakou.kauaistyle/

EKK Backyard Jam is Where It All Began

E Kanikapila Kakou is proudly celebrating 35 years of bringing the best Hawaiian music to our audience on Kaua’i and our 35-year lineup of over 300 musicians is very impressive, but it all started like a little backyard jam where everyone sat around and sang the songs, laughed at the stories, and absorbed Hawaiian culture served on a ti-leaf plate. It was simple but something that grew on you . . . like going to a party every week.

Da Titas Four What? present “What he said?”

This week we turned the clock back to the early days and had ourselves some really good fun, starting with a lesson in ‘Olelo Pa’i’ai or Hawaiian Pidgin English. Three of our four Titas showed up – Aunty Kay Den (Hob Osterlund, Aunty Choppah (Maka’ala Ka’aumoana) and Auntie Coo (Sabra Kauka); Auntie Tita (Sandy Swift) was unfortunately under the weather. Their collective mission was to help our non-Pidgin-speaking audience get acquainted with the basics of our local Creole language. More people speak Hawaiian Pidgin than any other Creole language. Pidgin is not slang. In 2013 it was declared one of the official languages of Hawai’i.

How did this group start? Nurse Hob Osterlund, who initiated and directed the Pain Management Clinic at Queen’s Hospital in downtown Honolulu until her retirement, started a Pidgin class at Queen’s in order to help the new nurses from all over the country and other countries to understand the needs of their patients, many who spoke only in Pidgin. It also helped in the communication among everyone dealing with the important task of providing medical care. Obviously, some nurses weeded themselves out of the local work force because they will never use the word “doo-doo”.

Because the local Pidgin English is a potpourri of idioms and alterations from every ethnic group that came to work in the plantations mixed with some “butchered” Hawaiian words for the sheer necessity of trying to understand each other, a new language evolved. Highly colloquial, depending on which community of which island you are from, the need to understand each other is a survival mechanism in Hawai’i. Some outsiders hear it as condescending or making fun of each other, but that is not the intent of Pidgin. It’s inclusive rather than exclusive; it’s akin to improv comedy where each speaker builds on what the other said.

The Kam School and Punahou grads were not allowed to speak Hawaiian or Pidgin in school; they could speak only English, Latin, French and Spanish. The public school grad actually attended an English Standard high school. One of the spin-offs from these experiences was the attempt of three “experts” to give a class in Pidgin which was more hilarious than educational. They added a fourth Tita, Sabra Kauka, to give legitimacy and credibility to their group.

They covered the commonly used idioms such as “Da Kine” (universal word used for everything); “What? Baddah You…?” (am I bothering you?), “Fo’ real?” (Is that true?); “Po’ t’ing” (you poor thing).

They explained special words such as “Bolohead”, i.e. “The buggah stay ‘a’mos’ all bolohead aw’ready!” (He’s almost bald; or I cut the hedge too short).

“Wea you stay?” (not necessarily a logistical word but it gives presence)
“I stay go . . .”
“I stay sleeping . . .”
“I stay ovah hea . . .”

Tag-on phrases to elucidate intent, such as….
“I like go but …. “
“I like go li’ dat . . . “
“I like go an’ den . . . “
Hard to explain these but used in context, you can catch on . . . easy peazy; it adds a poetic lilt to the phrase.

A word that precedes any other verb such as . . .
“Try wait . . .”
“Try go . . . try come . . .”
“Try eat dis . . . try take the microphone . . “
Doesn’t mean you are trying at all, but jus’ try understand how it’s used.
A smarty-pants will sometimes come back with, “I trying! I trying!”

The difference between “Bla-lah” and “Brud-dah” was a debate that could go on and on; you can mean “tough tita” or “sweet tita” just by the way you pronounce “Ti-ta”. There are many nuances in this language, but you need to pay attention to how it’s pronounced, how it’s used in context, and even who you are talking to or who’s speaking to you.

Ethnic transpositions for a consonant such as the Filipino use of “P” sound for “F” sound and “F” sound for “P” sound can result in some mind-blowing results. When I go to farmers market, I always ask, “Is this sweet potato purple?” I always get, “Yes, mum . . . the Fotato is Furfle.” “Purple?” “
“Yes . . . Furfle.”

When the Tongan tree trimmer chain-sawed my coconut tree, I asked, “How much?” He replied, “Because you old . . . FREE.” I said, “Oh no, I need to pay you something.” He held up his hand with three fingers in front of his face and said, “Because you old . . FREE hundred.” (dollars!!!)

Hob also worked at Wilcox hospital where many of the nurses and staff were of Filipino ethnicity. At the end of each day, the housekeeper would enter her office and ask her, “Pinis’?” She would reply, “No, thank you.” She knew he was asking her if she was finished for the day. While, at times confusing until understood, these “substitutions” are often hilarious.

“As why ha’d!”

At the end of the Pidgin English lesson, Sabra was asked to play on the Kamoa ‘ukulele. She called up Milton Chung so the Titas could serenade the Happy Camper with their Pidgin English Hula by the illustrious composer, teacher, Hawai’i Territorial Legislator Charles E. King, best known as the composer ofKe Kali Nei Au, the Hawaiian standard wedding duet. Scott Gripenstraw from Koloa was the lucky winner for the Kamoa ‘ukulele. (no, he’s not from Harry Potter movie)

Hawai’i Island Sent Us Two Divas and Da Man In the Middle

Female Vocalist of the Year Darlene Ahuna and singing sensation Tani Waipa presented their masculine partner Duane Yamada who is known as the “rose” in Honoka’a. He claimed he is the rose between two thorns. “That’s the most we ever heard him talk; you folks are making him feel real great!” From the minute he got off the plane and landed in Lihu’e, he has been all smiles and full of jokes. Holding his own with Mauna Kea on one side and Mauna Loa on the other, Duane was not the silent bass partner in this trio. He was having a ball bouncing to the left and the right, leaning back on his stool and kicking his heels up with the happiest Hotei-ya-san grin on his face. “As soon as it’s no fun, I quit playing music, but it’s too much fun!”

Although they came together as the group Hoku Pa’a just about eight months ago at the Mango Festival in Waipa, they have collectively accrued over a hundred years of musical experience. They are used to playing in bars over the sound of the blenders and at family lu’au where someone always says unexcitedly, “Oh … them again?!” But for the Kaua’i audience, this very funny backyard jam party-loving trio who laughed a lot, joked a lot, and liked to play with the audience was just what we ordered. Bring it on!

As appropriate, they began with a Kaua’i song “even if Ku’uipo sang it last week . . . she stole all our songs!” Aloha Chant was a great way to start with their robust singing style, definitely well-trained by their years of singing at parties and bars; Vern Kauanui went up and danced with his ipu heke. Tani and Darlene tagged-team the verses in a second Kaua’i song, Nani Wai’ale’ale. Lady Ipo went up to dance the hula. Ipo is a familiar face onMoku-O-Keawe because she flies every chance she gets to visit her grandchildren, children of her extraordinary daughter, composer/singer Kainani Kahaunaele.

It appears the earlier Pidgin English lesson set the tone for the evening because Darlene, like Ku’uipo the week before, was explaining everything in Hawaii Island Pidgin. She asked, “What does TSA stand for?” The answer was a loud “TSA!!!” spat out between her teeth. She wanted to share how her grandparents used to scold them. “TSA! Gun-fun-it . . . Slap yo’ head!” She continued with that expression all evening long, and for the listeners, it’s like that song you can’t get out of your head because I heard several folks saying,“TSA!!!”

Back to singing, Darlene sang an old style Hawaiian mele titled Ke Aloha No O Honolulu which she learned at age 18 from Uncle George Na’ope for the steamship Honolulu which stopped at ports between west Hawai’i and Honolulu. Perfect song for her beautiful voice.

Duane is not a silent bass partner. He sang Ke Ala A Ka Jeep by Eddie Kamae and Auntie Mary Kawena Pukui. The audience was getting in the act with shouts of “Yeehaw!” and “TSA!” “When we record our CD, we will add a jazzercise track by Duane singing this feisty song.” Boosted by the cheers, Duane sang about his three girlfriends – tuberose, ilima and pikake – with another sassy Wai O Ke Aniani.

Ka Huila Wai by Tani honors the building of the first water wheel used to generate power for the sugar plantation in Ka’u; huila means wheel and waimeans water. I think she threw in some lines from the song rollin’, rollin’, rollin’. She spoke the words of the Carburetor Song that talks about loving someone even if their “parts” were falling apart like an old car. This song is from a Jewish genre of music called klezmermusik. Go figure.

So much in the groove, Tani launched into a fast-paced song about the westside of the island called A Kona Hema. Originally written as a chant in honor of chief Ehunuikaimalino and later put to music, the song takes us along ports that Kalakaua might have visited on his frequent trips to the island. There was no stopping her as the fun-loving Tani went to town withBlue Darling, a country western that commonly closes down the evening at backyard parties. This trio has had a lot of practice at this. According to Tani, every 15th and 30th of the month, they have to perform at parties . . . they are “pay day” parties. Reminds me about the Kupaoa party song . . . way to go!

These songs had such great beats that the entire back row of volunteers got up and started to boogie … and this continued the whole night. The trio had found their groove as they saw the happy dancers hopping all over at the back of the ballroom. It should be noted here that at least two of the dancers had just had hip surgery. You could never tell by the way they were bopping around.

Tani continued in her extraordinary crystal clear voice singing Aloha Punalu’u by George Kealoha Iopa which speaks of the beautiful beach area in Ka’u known as Punalu’u. One of the most beautiful songs in their repertoire, she has incredible harmony and pacing. She shared stories about her grandfather who was born in 1900 in Kapa’ahu in the Puna district. The area is now covered by lava but at one time the Waha’ula (Red Mouth) heiau was still in use and the Queen’s Bath is still there. He described the beautiful volcano waterfall that flowed over the cliffs of Holei. They did activities you can do only on Hawai’i island such as cooking on the lava flow and shoveling out the hot lava and dropping a quarter in the hole to watch it melt. Tani’s grandmother was born in Waimea on Kaua’i but moved to Ka’u on the south side of the island where she was hanai’ed as an only child with her new family. Someone shouted Kalapana (Holei). Their voices blended together in the most exquisite harmony. Their pacing was beautiful and you could just taste the deliciousness of the melody when they sang.

Darlene spoke about the late Don Ho and the beautiful songs he sang and recorded by master composer Kui Lee who left an incredible body of work when he passed away much too early. Tani shared that he’s probably the only composer who used words like “Trousseau” and “Aurora Borealis” in his songs. Tani was by this time so cut loose that she was making instrument sounds with her voice . . . she probably got hold of a bottle of champagne somewhere. Ain’t No Big Thing by Kui Lee had the “back row dancers” cutting up the rug.

By Hob’s request, they sang another great song, written and sung by the Beamer Brothers back in the 1960’s called Sweet ‘Okole. Tani pointed out that ex-husbands give a lot of inspiration and she knows because she tried it twice, enough to make up her own new verse to the song which she sang with such sweetness. She even wrote a verse about Duane. When asked if she composes, her reply is, “No, I trash what everybody else wrote.” When I first heard about this trio, I read that they sang the song Sweet ‘Okole, and I mistakenly thought that was the name of their trio, so initially, I booked them for EKK under that name. But the sweetness of their harmony makes that name most appropriate for them.

Darlene then introduced and sang Keyhole Hula or Kauoha Mai by one of her favorite composers, Lena Machado. The juicy story behind the hula is that Lena’s friend was invited to her gentleman friend’s home. She knocked on the door but no one answered so she peeked through the keyhole and what to her surprise, this is what she saw. Definitely, the swing beat is this group’s singing forte.

Another thing they do really well is to modulate their verses from low to high, somewhat like climbing musical steps as they did with Kaulana O Hilo Hanakahi penned by Lena Machado. It’s a tour of Hilo’s landmarks –Wai’anuenue or Rainbow Falls, Kuhio Bay and Moku Ola or Coconut Island. Tani thinks it’s a song that was probably written for a lap steel guitar with the half step movements in the bridge of the song to feature a lap steel pa’ani.

They followed with another traditional mele about King Kalakaua’s royal court dancer Emalia who met a young boy named Henry and sneaks away to meet him by the sandy shoreline of Hilo Bay. Hilo One (pronounced O-ne), another perfect song for the trio’s harmony, refers to this bayshore area. By this time the audience was so loud, so excited, so animated and caught up in the music. Hana hou requests were being shouted out by the audience, so it looked like this party might go on until morning.

Aunty Bev’s very loud and commanding voice shouted ‘Akaka Falls so Darlene sang about this beautiful waterfall about 13 miles outside of Hilo near Honomu. Darlene’s grand aunt, Helen Parker Lindsay, wrote this song originally titled Wailele ‘O ‘Akaka about the star-crossed lovers who met at this private meeting spot. It’s quite appropriate that Darlene would have this as one of her signature songs. Her soaring voice and nuanced modulations made this song so memorable.

Composed by Ellen Wright Prendergast after the illegal overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani, Kaulana Na Pua is often called a protest song, but it’s actually a song that calls people to come together, work together and do what is right and just and pono. In the past it was also known as the stone-eating song referring to the fourth verse which speaks of the people that would rather eat stones than follow a new leadership. The audience stood and held hands as they joined in the song.

A fast-paced song titled Heha Waipi’o by Sam Li’a about the Waipio Valley was harmonized brilliantly by the trio. Yes, we ran over time but the party goers did not stand up to catch any plane. Finally, everyone stood up, held hands, and called it an evening with Hawai’i Aloha. Yes! It is a Monday night, but we have been known to party early in the week and love it always.

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E Kanikapila Kakou 2018 Hawaiian Music Program is funded in part by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, supported by the County of Kaua’i Office of Economic Development, the Kaua’i Beach Resort, and the GIAC/EKK supporters. Garden Island Arts Council programs are supported in part by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts through appropriations from the Hawai’i State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For Upcoming 2018 Arts & Culture Calendar email giac05@icloud.com to get listing in advance

Jumping Fleas Frenzy Wipes Out the Audience

What happens when two musicians whose ‘ukulele are like extensions of their arms meet on stage without a playlist? They share their music in a spontaneous way. This is what happened on Monday.Usually, when ‘ukulele players are on stage, they play all the best songs in their repertoire, and finally, at the very end, they will top it off with Europaby Carlos Santana . . . if they are able to play it. Not these two.

I introduced Kyle and Aldrine, although the plan was for Kyle to do an opening set, Aldrine to follow with his set, and finally the two play together. Put on the spot, they jumped into Europa as their opening number and they began to speak to each other with their ‘ukulele . . . it was like two cowboys facing each other at the OK Corral except that these two petite artists were wielding their ‘ukulele and talking to each other in “uke-talk”, playing off of each other and trying to out-lick the other until the final high “ping” on the last note. What a way to start . . .at the top of the ladder!

So who are these two ‘ukulele friends? Aldrine Guerrero is no stranger to EKK as his very first gig outside of church was at EKK when he was about 13 years old and the president of the Kaua’i high school Hawaiian Club under the advisorship of Fran Nestel. He showed up in the parish hall at Saint Michaels and All Angels church where everyone sitting in their noisy metal folding chairs crowded up to the front to watch Aldrine and his motley crew of very talented middle school musicians put on an unforgettable show. At that age Aldrine was a stand out with his ‘ukulele. Over the years we have asked him back to our stage and watched him grow as an artist who now commands huge audiences all over the world. His biggest claim to fame and connection with ‘ukulele players worldwide is the ‘Ukulele Underground website where he and his partner Aaron Nakamura have created a virtual classroom where anyone who wants to learn to play the ‘ukulele can get a start or advance their skills. He walked in tonight saying, “I don’t even know what day it is,” because he just became a father to his new-born child.

Following the “Music is Our Legacy” theme for this year, he asked his friend and prodigy to share the stage with him. He heard about and met Kyle Furusho who was a student at Kaua’i high school. They became ‘ukulele buddies as they played together over the years. Kyle has been a part of the ‘Ukulele Underground show as an interviewer and musician. He said he wanted to share the stage with another ‘ukulele player rather than his band because he wanted something special for EKK that you would not see at other venues.

Because I never met Kyle before tonight, the first thing he said to me was, “You were my mother’s high school teacher; her name is Lani Taba. Your brother visits my grandma all the time, and my auntie Joanie Taba knows you well.” Joni is my barbeque ‘ohana. Talk about a small world!

Kyle is a multi-talented artist working with photography, film, guitar and other interests. He recently moved back from California to work as the music director at his church in Kailua and focuses on using his interests to develop new creative projects. Recently married, his wife is a music teacher in the public school.

“Tonight I will play some of my favorite songs; I like to take someone else’s song and add my own twist to it,” said Kyle, and his started with Bob Marley’sWaiting in Vain. Kyle is a little taller than Aldrine but he is slight in built, very fair and has that forever youthful baby-face look. But his next song was surprising as he belted out Josh Turner’s Your Man in a very low gravel-voiced western drawl. Well, that was unexpected. He continued the country western with Otis Redding’s Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. He’s a singing ‘ukulele player, more of an exception than the rule. He continued with an animated crowd-pleasing version of Black Water by the Doobie Brothers.

Aldrine took the stage. He says funny things. Earlier when he was being interviewed for a video segment, the videographer asked him, “What is the answer you want to give to the question that is never asked?” Aldrine’s answer was, “. . . the question that I’ve always wanted to answer is how tall I am, and the answer to that is at least five feet, maybe six . . . I don’t know . . . at least five.” When asked, “are you taller on video or on the radio or live,” “I like to tell people that if you just take your two fingers, go like this, and pretend like you’re watching YouTube, it doesn’t matter how tall I am in person; it’ll look just like how you’re looking at me on your computer screen.”

Earlier in his career, he really liked jamming the intricate stuff on his ‘ukulele, but he found out that people just like to sing along and he just wants to enjoy playing the ‘ukulele; he likes to write the lyrics of a song behind his eyelids, close his eyes, and just sing. He asked the audience to join him singing his version of Prince’s Purple Rain. Howls of appreciation! He knows his audience.

Although Aldrine no longer has any more of his sold out CDs to sell, during his earlier visits to EKK, he had been recording a number of CDs; his third CD by the title Bandito Tyler is a real sound track to a fake movie that Aldrine made up in his wild imaginings. One of the songs on this CD is an “ukulele waltz” titled Dance with a Bandit in which the Robin Hood-like character is dancing with the leading lady; he likes to imagine what it looks like for two ‘ukulele to be dancing together. The beautiful light-hearted instrumental was perfect for that image.

His Mother named him after Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, second human to walk on the moon, but she wanted to give it a little Filipino twist so she added the “e” at the end and called him Aldrine. Because of his connection to his name-sake Buzz Aldrin, he wrote a song called Space Suits, another product of his wild personal imaginary world. Putting away his space suit was a metaphor for putting away his aspirations to fly to the moon.

When he was working at a hotel passing out pool towels and raking the sand around the pool, his growing aversion to a nine-to-five job where he had to put away his parent’s aspirations “our son is going to make it to the moon,” and seeing his friends playing music on the stage prompted him to write this song about putting on his Buzz Aldrin space suits. Seems it has worked for him as he has been buzzing all over the planet in his ‘ukulele-inspired space suit.

On a different note, he switched to a classic Beatle’s song released in 1969.Something is one of his favorite songs to play. He played it with such sensitivity. Along the same vein he moved right along into another Beatle’s favorite, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. He acknowledged his mentor and teacher Jake Shimabukuro with whom he spent time in coffee shops, polishing his ‘ukulele repertoire while he was attending school in Honolulu. He then played Bandito Tyler from his CD of the same name.

When asked to sample the Kamoa ‘ukulele that was going to be given away after the intermission, Aldrine showed off the tight, close to the ground style of playing he is known for by getting the audience yelling out “FASTER!”, “FASTER!”, “FASTER!” with his Crazy G instrumental. He showed off his comedic slant by doing his Qi Gong breathing, cross his heart and exercise routine before his final attempt. He out-raced himself.

Mark Perkins of Wainwright, Alberta, Canada won the Kamoa ‘ukulele. Well deserved! For several Mondays, he had been making a lot of donations for tickets to win the Kamoa ‘ukulele. So what did this generous winner do with the ‘ukulele after posing for a photo? He turned around and gave it to a most deserving teacher from Kapa’a Middle School, Mary Lardizabal, who every year takes an army of students from her music classes along with an army of parent chaperones to perform at the World Strides Heritage Music Festival at Disneyland on March 15-22. Don’t you just love it when you see a genuine show of Aloha extended to someone else?

Mary writes to us, “We loved EKK! The winner of the ‘ukulele gifted it to our program and we will be finding a creative way to give it to a student who will be very appreciative! I met Mark last year when he brought his daughter-in-law who played the fiddle. He plays piano. It was awesome. He came back with a friend of the family this year. Take care and bless you for the many years of your incredible love for the arts!”

After the intermission excitement, Aldrine and Kyle took the stage together. Maroon 5 – Sunday Morning is one of the songs they taught the ‘ukulele circle and is also one of Aldrine’s tour favorites; it gives him a chance to sing while playing the ‘ukulele.

The crowd went wild when they played Body Surfing, ‘ukulele master Ohta-san’s classic. It’s a favorite “rite of passage” song for ‘ukulele players to master with its lightning-fast tricky fingering which would be daunting for most but a real challenge to any ‘ukulele player who wants that song in his repertoire. Even Jake Shimabukuro played this song when he was part of the Pure Heart group with Jon Yamasato and Lopaka Colon.

By this time, Kyle and Aldrine were really cutting loose and having a great time. They did a face off, going back and forth with bluesy riffs, challenging each other to see who could come out on top. They both did. They played Don Miguel, one of Aldrine’s original composition on his CD about his world of imaginary super Heros. This was followed by Aldrine’s version of Dancing In the Moonlight which won him a Na Hoku Hanohano Award.

Time was up but the audience was not done; they called for a hana hou, so Aldrine asked, “What do you want?’’ Someone shouted, Europa! “We did that at the beginning!” Someone else shouted Wipe Out! “I’m a crowd pleaser . . . let’s play Wipe Out!, came back Aldrine. Not only were their hands a blur with their lightning-fast finger action but the two of them were hopping and jumping all over the stage like two frisky fleas. It wasn’t just their fingers; they were the “jumping fleas”!

What a night! Everyone calmed down with Hawai’i Aloha, and left the hotel premises just a little bit younger, just a lot more light-hearted, and just a great deal more appreciative of our up-and-coming young talents.

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E Kanikapila Kakou 2018 Hawaiian Music Program is funded in part by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, supported by the County of Kaua’i Office of Economic Development, the Kaua’i Beach Resort, and the GIAC/EKK supporters. Garden Island Arts Council programs are supported in part by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts through appropriations from the Hawai’i State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.