E Kanikapila Kākou Week #2 Wrap

"Reconnecting kānaka to ʻāina through mele, moʻolelo, and hula"

featuring

Kulāiwi

In spite of Murphy’s law and everything unexpected — the storm that did not reach Kauaʻi, State’s mandate to shut down state facilities, flight changes, rental car glitches, highway traffic jam, blasting out date change PR to coconut wireless, revamping all the original plans by volunteers, technical issues at the PAC, hotel room glitches, no ukulele teacher, yada yada yada . . . the Artists agreed to the last-minute date change, so EKK Week #2 with musical group “Kulāiwi” was rescheduled at KCC PAC.

On Tuesday, February 10, the alternate date, ardent fans braved the inclement weather and bad traffic and made their way to the PAC . . . glitches continued to hound us, but sometimes with adversity, a surprising solution arises . . . as it did in this case. Due to date change and illness, my resident ʻukulele teachers could not make it and without enough time to send out cancellation notice, it may be quicker to find another teacher, so I called my “go-to” person -- Kauai’s own ʻukulele phenom, Aldrine Guerrero, who would know a hot ʻukulele teacher . . . he did! He offered to teach the circle himself because Tuesday was his day off. SCORE!!!

He raced over after his Tuesday lesson and showed up right on time and started his “wiki” lesson with the ʻukulele-toting circle. Suddenly, another unexpected glitch! We needed more time to fix a technical emergency, so to buy time, I asked Aldrine if his “class” could do a spontaneous “opening number” for the audience . . .   and they did! The instant ʻukulele troupe performed a very hot Ulupalakua about the Hawaiian Cowboys after a super quick 15-minute lesson; this was followed by Aldrine’s quick demo of the two ʻukulele that were being given away later.

Aldrine canʻt pass up the chance to point out that his very first public performance was at EKK in the 1990’s held in St. Michael’s Church conference room along with his Kauaʻi high school Hawaiian Club musician buddies; he was 13 years old and we could tell already that he would be a STAR!

Since then, He’s traveled all over the world to perform ʻukulele and started his online “ ʻUkulele Underground Academy,” reaching thousands of ʻukulele players around the world. He continues to give weekly lessons and monthly jam sessions at the Kukui Grove shopping center.   What a guy and he lives Kauaʻi!

At long last, the stars aligned and we were able to bring to the stage our guest artists, each with decades of performing, composing, producing, recording, winning accolade after accolade. Kulāiwi, which means “land of my ancestors”, was formed because they discovered that when their voices blended, their collective harmony spoke volumes about their deep commitment to making the world a better place, reconnecting Kānaka to ʻāina through their music, their hula, their storytelling, and spreading the message of aloha, a high priority for each of them.

From the first strains of their exquisitely blended voices, you could feel it . . . their music reached out and touched the souls of those in the audience. For over forty years, Lehua Kalima made music with her two female counterparts, Angela Morales and Nalani Jenkins, as Nā Leo Pilimehana (the voices blending in warmth), putting out a new album every year they performed together. Flying in from Las Vegas, her new home, she breezed right through the evening with her awesome vocal range.

David Kawika Kahiapo, deep-rooted in the music world, came often to EKK with the group Kaukahi and in 2008 performed in a GIAC concert alongside Willie K, the Niʻihau ʻohana, Pekelo Cosma in one of the first public use of the Kilohana Lūʻau venue in Puhi; many remember that remarkable concert to this day.

Shawn Pimental wore many hats as 16-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano award winner and Grammy nominated music producer, engineer and artist; he is a virtual Renaissance man in the world of Hawaiian music and is associated with a variety of musical ventures. One of them is the “Seven Suns Band” who recently performed at the PAC.

As an integral part of the group Kulāiwi, hula practitioner extraordinaire Pono Fernandez brings the music to life with her amazing hula interpretation of each mele. Her hula lineage includes being part of Manu Boydʻs hālau who won first place at the Merrie Monarch years ago. Statuesque and a beauty that defies description, Pono is a teacher of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi – previously at the University of Hawaiʻi and presently at her alma mater, ʻIolani School. A published author, she has a Master’s degree in ʻŌlelo and is presently pursuing her doctorate in Hawaiian literature. Beauty, brains and heart . . . the whole package!

In 2022, Kulāiwi received the Album of the Year Award, Group of the Year Award, and Hawaiian Engineering Award of the Year at the Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards. With a folk vibe easily embraced by the EKK audience, they delivered an evening of new original songs and beloved island classics. Smart move, they won the audience over immediately by opening with E Ku’u Morning Dew by Eddie Kamae & Larry Kimura with their soaring vocals and exquisite harmony.

Ku’u Lei Pua Kenikeni , a hula number was written by Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett for his son who he lost at an early age; he likened his son to the beautiful pua kenikeni blossom. Lehua, with her exceptional vocals, was backed up by Kawika and Shawn.   Stunning in her bare shoulder dress and wearing a pua kenikeni lei, the statuesque beauty, Pono, brought to life the poignant lyrics coined by this master scholar and lyricist who is attributed with some of the most popular hula mele in Hawaiʻi.

Shawn called on Kawika Kahiapo to share one of his many original compositions. Years ago, Cyril Pahinui invited him to join a video shoot about slack key titled “Letʻs Play Music” and asked him to write a song . . . 45 minutes later he came up with Waimānalo . The lyrics and the soothing music speak of the love he feels for his home in Waimānalo which he calls “Godʻs Country”. Written years ago, the lyrics show how much in touch with his home he is; it’s a place that he holds dear to his heart.

Included in their recent album is a song by Kauaiʻs own Devin Kamealoha Forrest titled Pe’ahi o Makana . This song was performed at the Merrie Monarch by Hālau I Ka Wēkiu under the direction of Kumu Hula Michael Lanakila Casupang and Karl Veto Baker. Lehua tells the story of song about Makana, an iconic sea cliff mountain at the end of the road in Hāʻena with its distinctive silhouette shaped by the craggy peaks. This is one of the few spots where the ʻōʻahi ceremony is held . . . where young men would race to the top of the craggy cliffs, gather and bundle the highly scented peʻahi fern fronds, light the bundles, and throw the flaming spears down the mountain. The winds would pick up the burning spears that were hurtling down the cliffs to the water. Waiting at the bottom in the sea were the adventure-seekers. If they were skilled enough to catch the burning firebrands before they hit the water, they would intentionally brand their bodies with the flaming peʻahi spears to show their lovers what they had done.

Lehua sang the first verse followed by Shawn while Pono dramatically likened the action of the auspicious ʻōʻahi ceremony to the burning sensation of being in love -- seeing someone you love felt like the flaming ferns on your skin.

Interesting aside stories shared by the artists were fun for the audience to hear:

Shawn took some time to share the story of how they came together as Kulāiwi. Shawn and Kawika seem to enjoy their personal banter --whenever they refer to Lehua’s “Chick” group, they purposely manage to stumble over the name --“Nā Leo…something, something, something…” – all in fun. Lehua did a solo album 15 years ago with Shawn’s labor-of-love kōkua so they had ties from long ago. Kawika has been in so many different groups but, along with Shawn, often backed up other groups. Kawika and Lehua just happened to be practicing together when they found that together their sound was something special, so they asked themselves, “Why don’t we form our own group?” This was just how they came to be . . . hence . . .   Kulāiwi was born.

Shawn shared that Josh Groban, for his recent Honolulu concert, wanted Kealiʻi Reichel to sing Don McLeanʻs Vincent (Starry Starry Night) in Hawaiian. On very short notice, Pono Fernandez was able to translate the magical imagery of the song from English into Hawaiian . . . no easy task because the Hawaiian way of songwriting is a totally different way of putting images into songs -- a literal translation just does not work. But Pono, with her extensive knowledge of ʻŌlelo, managed to capture the starry, starry night into Hawaiian lyrics … and when Kealiʻi sang it, the crowd went wild.

Shawn is with another young group called “Seven Suns” – very popular with the younger generation. Shawn’s dad never goes to any of his gigs because he does not like fast music and “that kind of too loud songs,” but when Shawn plays music with Lehua and Kawika, he likes the sound and now attends all their performances.

In his deep resonating voice, Kawika takes us all back to an earlier time when life was simpler and deeply connected to the land. His hymn-like song,  ʻ O ʻOe ʻIo , originating from his friends in Aotearoa, is a song that will rise to the level of classics. Originally written in Māori by Luke Kaʻa Morgan, itʻs a worship song. ʻIo means Supreme Leader. When Kawika’s wife dances and Kawika sings, the pilina is very special and can be felt; Kawika wishes she were here. Wow!   This song really moved the audience.

“We hope this music takes you away from all the madness in this world for at least a few hours to decompress. The world needs more aloha.” This was their message.

Frank Hewett, a scholar and master songwriter, penned  Kaha Ka Manu about a mythical bird so large that its wingspan blocked out the sun; it was tied in with the celestial eclipse of the sun on the same day as the birth of a high-ranking chiefess on Maui. Lehua carried the lead with the male voices adding harmonious depth to the lilting melody. Pono was a goddess in motion; no one could have interpreted the movements of this mythical bird with its magical wingspan more perfectly. What a treat to be present with so much beauty and grace.

After a short Intermission, GIAC President Bev Montel came up to draw the name of a lucky winner from the basket of donors for the Kamoa ʻukulele give-away.   None other than that very lucky person, Wendy Benton, was the winner. She walked in earlier saying, “I finally made it to EKK,” and she scored!

Shawn introduced a song -- James K. ‘Iʻiʻs Makee ‘Ailana -- that takes us back to a gentler time in laid-back Waikīkī where life was enjoyed at a much slower romantic pace in a popular sport. He described the Waikīkī Zoo parking lot area that once-upon-a-time was marshlands that attracted many to congregate, among them lovers who paddled their rowboats to the little islands . . . one of them was called Makee ʻAilana (named after Captain Makee from Maui; he was same Captain Makee whose boat sank outside of the Kapaʻa shoreline on Kauaʻi.) Hawaiian classics, both Makee hula and mele are much loved and danced by many. He called the lovely Pono back to share this popular hula; she captured the essence of the camaraderie shared by the many “hopefuls” who enjoyed rowing about in the marshlands. The group harmony was beautiful.

It appears that a big part of the stage banter by the male part of Kulāiwi is sharing their tongue-in-cheek version of Lehuaʻs long musical history with her female band when Kawika was the original guitar player for them. Shawn and Kawika sure enjoy teasing Lehua, purposely messing up the name of her “Sweet CHICK band -- Nā Leo Pilimehana,” which he acknowledges is one of the most popular and top-selling female bands out of Hawaiʻi. They talk about how long Nā Leo has been recording . . . from the days of cassette tapes, 45ʻs, 8-tracks, and even phonograph records . . . L O L . . . she goes along with their funny comments.

When I ThInk of You was written by Lehua while riding around in her beautiful island of Hawaiʻi. Growing up in Keokaha, she captures fond memories of the home she loved – waterfalls, crystal skies, gentle winds --- and all of it tied in to falling in love.

This song really helped with getting into the mood for the upcoming Valentines Day weekend. Nā Leo Pilimehana, Lehuaʻs group, will be performing with the Stylistics this weekend for a Valentines special at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

One of the groupʻs missions is to teach the next generation in a way that perpetuates all that is good. When they were trying to get their rental car, the clerk who was so helpful to them pointed out, “Carol was my teacher, too.” Shawn pointed out the importance of how we deal with raising our students as we have a big influence on them – physically, mentally, spiritually.

Shawn pointed out that it was interesting that all his friends on the continent say that they never hug their classmates when they meet up after long absence . . . itʻs strange to us because all we know here in Hawaiʻi is that we hug and kiss each other. Kawikaʻs personal testament to this end is that he has 5 children, 3 grandchildren, and he remembered all their ages…amazing! The song that they chose to sing to punctuate this concept was “ Teach Your Children Well” by Crosby Stills & Nash, a song that is as relevant today as when it was first sung. Another great harmony! Itʻs good that they found each other!

“We need to write more songs like these…itʻs important to put good lyrics into the songs so messages are PONO. Today we have a lot of fast-food music . . . . songs that go right through you . . . music that just sticks to your hips.”

Because much of the stories written about Hawaiʻi were written by people who conquered us, it becomes even more important to re-tell these stories and share what is truly important to those who call Hawaiʻi home . . . to share our moʻolelo with the world.

To illustrate this point, they spent time talking about the events that made the news about the conflicts faced by the people today. There are 13 telescopes on top of Mauna Kea, many of them are already decommissioned but they are left there on the mountain. This could adversely affect the water at the base of the mountain; this biggest aquifer must be kept clean and pure for everyone on the island. All who went up to the mountain to protest the development did not know what would be used by the enforcers to stop their protest; they just had to do what they believed was right.

Lehua Kalima wrote this love song for the Mauna in 2019 -- Ka Nani A’o Maunakea . Growing up in Keokaha, she felt the protection of Mauna Kea breaking up the approaching Eastern storms that threatened her island home. She wrote this in appreciation for this mountain. At this time many others composed songs about this mountain which ended up in an album titled Kūhaʻo Maunakea .   Pono created a hula that speaks of Lehuaʻs deep love and respect for this mountain. It’s so emotional that they often cry when they perform this song.

When he observed the plight of the people in the images of kūpuna being taken away by force, Kawika was compelled to write the song E ō Kū Kiaʻi Mauna. He was moved to write this song in his personal protest. He invited the audience to join in on the song by shouting “E-O!” as part of the chorus of the song.

Shawn pointed out the many topics important to us; they spend time going around the world to share this message. We need to stand together and sing what aloha means to us.   It has nothing to do with politics; but we have the power to control what kind of world we live in; we need to spread aloha and try to be the best human being that we can be. We can do this through the songs we share and by what we teach our children. We all need to focus on this.

The next song, Shawn Pimental’s Ē Liliʻu Ē , was written as a letter to the Queen who wanted to protect her people and avoid bloodshed by abdicating her throne. This song was sung in the room where she was imprisoned. This song is for the next generation – the pua , the flowers, the children. Such a beautiful melody with a heart-wrenching chorus.

Song by Lehua about those who have moved on, Catch you if you fall, to remember those who were special in your life. What a poignant melody with a message that we can all embrace; we have all lost and continue to lose people who were an important part of the fabric of our lives. It’s always a good reminder to remember them.

Lehua shared that she got the story of the next song --   Matthew Kaneʻs Ka Makani Kāʻili Aloha -- from Frank Hewett at his birthday gathering in a Mexican bar; this is how it went: A Maui couple daily went to work -- the wife would go to pick limu by the seaside and her husband went up on the mountain to work in the fields. The visiting high Chief, going by in his canoe, enamored by this limu-picking woman, took the wife back to Oʻahu with him. The broken-hearted husband could do nothing. He was advised, “Think about your wife, pour out your heart about all the ways you love her, and put that in into this ʻ umeke and float it out to sea.” Months later, this ʻ umeke was found by his wife in Oʻahu. She opened the ʻ umeke which was filled with her husband’s love for her. She was filled with longing for her husband, and she wanted to return to her home island. The wind and waves had carried his love to his wife, and he succeeded in getting her back.

The music was so perfect in capturing the mood of the song; their voices collectively carried the sensation of longing love; Pono’s beautiful hula captured the sense of longing and the husband’s desire to recapture the love of his life and how his deep love brought his wife back to him. So poignant and so beautifully delivered. This was supposedly the final song, but the audience kept shouting hana hou , so the artists shared one last song.

At the Waikīkī Shell they always end up with the audience singing along this fun song; the audience happily knew the words to Kenny Loggins’ Dannyʻs Song and sang the upbeat song along with the artists.

Of course, for the EKK audience, the ending to an evening of good music is complete when they join hands with their neighbors and join voices in unison to Lorenzo Lyonsʻs Hawaiʻi Aloha.

After the concert fans express their appreciation for an evening of uplifting music and dance. (Photo by Elena Gillespie)

Photo Credit:   Mike Teruya

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