E Kanikapila Kākou Week #4 Wrap

“Two decades of harmony, heart, and island storytelling — MānoaDNA delivers the sound of aloha.”

featuring

MānoaDNA

It was a crowd pleaser for sure!

MānoaDNA (D for Dad, N for son Nick, A for son Alx) is a 25-year-old family trio that was invited to perform for EKK week #4. Alx, leader of the group, was not sure how it would go as they mostly performed at private parties, corporate gigs, events abroad but never for the Kauaʻi public. When they were first invited to EKK, they looked at the EKK 2026 Hawaiian music roster: they were afraid they did not fit into the lineup...but they decided to just do it. Just press! I did not know how it would be received either as I had never seen them perform. I assured him that our EKK audience loved Hawaiian music but also loved music of all kinds so not to worry and “give it your best shot.”

Well, it was a “shotgun” for sure, and it blasted good music out to all lucky enough to be in the audience. From the first strains of their sound check to the final upbeat sounds of their audience-singalong- hana hou number, I could see PAC manager Greg Von Hausch beaming with the biggest smile and loving the music.   And so did the audience!

As the audience streamed out of the theater, they rushed down to thank me for a most enjoyable evening, I could feel the sheer happiness of the crowd as they shared their appreciation for MānoaDNA. Older brother Nick, third member of the trio, could not make it tonight but their hot bass player Mark Tanouye, rounded out the trio with his awesome bass pā’ani and singing.

To start the program, instead of the island-wide “where are you from” roll call, I wanted to see how many in the audience had been touched in some way by the Kawakami family and their family enterprises, so I called out – “how many have the Kawakami name? how many married into the Kawakami family? how many of you enjoyed the Kawakami family get-togethers? how many bought clothes from ʻIolani Sportswear, the company started by Uncle Keiji and Aunty Edith and today headed by Alx and his wife?”

Of all the questions I asked, the most hands, (about three-fourth of the audience) went up when asked, “How many of you bought your groceries at Big Save, ate at Kauaʻi Kitchens and bought your “omi-age” cookies at Kauaʻi Kookies?” These are just a few of the many companies started by the Kawakami family. Yes, the Kawakami family legacy has, in one way or another, touched the lives of many of us on Kauaʻi and statewide . . . but tonight, “How many of you are here to experience yet another family venture and be entertained by the Kawakami music?” All hands went up … and they ended up being rewarded with yet another Kawakami brand enterprise — MānoaDNA .

It was an upbeat concert; it was a happy concert and one with music and stories that we could all enjoy.

Wasted on the Way  was the lively opening song for an evening full of unexpected surprises. The audience settled in for an evening of really great music.

After playing a gig at the beautiful Mauna Lani Hotel on Hawaiʻi Island, Alx found himself back at UH Mānoa lecture hall for a boring biology lesson; thinking of the beautiful beach he just left, he started writing the song, Down in Paradise/ Ka Beauty Aʻo Manoa. They later performed this song with Tony Conjugacion at the Na Hōkū Hanohano Awards; the song describes the many favorite Hawaiian style pastimes we all enjoy. Lloyd sang the part that Tony had sung.

Alx led into the next song, Haleakalā, made famous by the duo Hapa on the CD “Maui” with a long pāʻani on his guitar. It’s interesting to note that he plays a right-handed guitar but plays it upside down. Because he started learning to play the guitar by mirroring his dad, he continues to play both ʻukulele and guitar upside down.   He ended the song with a long pāʻani. The audience loved the song.

Because he loved James Taylor music, he decided to write a song after his style – Someone Like You  has music and lyrics by Alx from the 2010 CD Evolution about the anguish of a lost love.   He pointed out that because he plays right-handed guitar upside down, itʻs hard for anyone else to play this song. Following his Dadʻs lead, he became addicted to music by Crosby Stills and Nash, James Taylor, etc ……

Fire and Rainbows is a song reflecting on lifeʻs difficulties and triumphs. The title was inspired by James Taylorʻs “Fire and Rain,” a love song sung as a duet with very cool harmony. Alx then sang the song that inspired his own writing -- Fire and Rain -- written by James Taylor to overcome great loss and adversity in his life. ʻIʻve seen lonely times that I could not find a friend.”   When singer Carol King heard it, she wrote the beautiful song in response, “You’ve got a friend,” She wanted James Taylor to know that he did, indeed, have a friend in her.

Lifetime Party  is a popular C&K song written by Cecilio Rodriguez for their 1974 debut album and made popular by the original C&K duo. It turned out to be a lively sing-along, almost like bluegrass music, with everyone clapping. It describes the relaxed atmosphere of a Sunday party in the country with great food, live music and good company . . .   a typical Hawaiian pastime. Mark Tanouye put out some great sounds on his bass. He surprised and amazed everyone with his virtuosity. Alx told him to take the solo and he ran with it, much to everyoneʻs delight.

In 2016, after a long dry bout with rejection after rejection in Los Angeles, Alx was just about to give up playing music when Henry Kapono called him. Alx had a chance to get up and play at one of Henryʻs concerts. This changed his path in life and today he is really involved with the Henry Kapono Foundation. Although he still has his hands full with running the ʻIolani Sportswear Company, he continues his passion for music. In your life is a song with the message, “Keep getting up every time you get beaten down.” Alx sang this introspective song solo.

Lloydʻs friend asked him to do a song for him in exchange for providing them with a venue to play.   Lloyd started this song, which has become one of their favorite songs to perform . It turned out to be a favorite of many -- everyone started clapping as they heard the familiar tune Hotel California, composed and recorded by the Eagles in 1976. It describes the hedonistic lifestyle of that time -- the search for more, for bigger, for better, the age-old pursuit of pleasure. There is no real Hotel California except in one’s mind; the last line reads “you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave.” Some songs take us back to a time in our past . . . you could hear the cheers of appreciation for that brief time travel through song.

Alx was very adept at encouraging the audience to clap, hum and join in on the sing-along. The momentum built as the evening moved along, one song more enthusiastically received than the one before. The audience enjoyed clapping, singing sporadically to familiar words, and humming along to tunes they knew.

Just before intermission, Alx was asked to demonstrate the Kamoa ʻukulele which was going to be given away to a lucky winner. He launched into an ʻukulele instrumental titled Follow Me. Still donʻt get how anyone can play an instrument upside down and backward, but he is fantastic. On top of that, he sang the tongue-twisting lyrics that went along with this ʻukulele number.

An unexpected second ʻukulele and vocal demonstration followed by Kainoa Keanaʻaina to show off the beautiful sound of the koa wood ʻukulele, handcrafted and donated to EKK by Anahola master woodworker Tomas Braverman. This ʻukulele is being sought after by prospective winners via silent auction.   It will be given to the highest bidder on the final night of EKK.

Intermission:   Kamoa ʻUkulele was won by Cheryl Shintani

See e-mail message from Cheryl Shintani at end of this “wrap”: EKK ʻUkulele Give-away is reaching out to the world 

When I shared with Alx about our ʻukulele circle performing on stage, first with Aldrine Guerrero and then with Aunty Bev and Haunani Kaui, he said he wanted to perform with them. I gave his songs of choice to ʻukulele instructors;   they were learning the songs during the ʻukulele hour.

After that exciting and surprising ʻukulele winner was announced, Aunty Bev Kauanui and Haunani Kaui escorted the 7-member ʻukulele troupe onto the stage where they joined Lloyd, Alx and Mark. They played Hanalei Moon in the key of F .

This opened the flood gates to the familiar EKK audience participation as hula dancers joined the party to dance to Hanalei Moon – colorful resident hula dancer Vern Kauanui, the beautiful and graceful Yumi Teraguchi, fashionable Queenie Daligdig and others delivered the popular hula with so much grace and feeling.

They followed up immediately with the ever-popular Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai, composed by the legendary Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole of Hawaiʻi Island. They did a fabulous 2-song mini-concert; what a great audience pleaser that turned out to be. Filling the stage with their beautiful and varied choreography were hula dancers Queenie Daligdig, Vern Kauanui, Donna Stewart, and that amazing hula-dancing couple -- Doctor Warren Sparks and Doctor Erin Carrington. What a treat!

After such wonderful audience participation, Lloyd opened the door to more audience interaction as he confessed that he had made a promise to his Aunty Mabel Hashisaka, grande dame of the Kauaʻi Kookie and Kauaʻi Kitchen enterprises. She was seated in the audience with her whole entourage, among the Kawakami ʻohana.

Lloyd shared that his 95-year-old Aunty Mabel Hashisaka was present along with many of his Kauaʻi cousins, “If we ever came to Kauaʻi, I promised Aunty Mabel that I would sing this song for her -- Ka Nohona Pili Kai / nada sou sou. ” And he was here to fulfill his longtime coming promise to visit her and to perform on Kauaʻi . . .   finally!

It was a song that Kealiʻi Reichel and Puakea Nogelmeier had adapted the music for his popular hula mele. A group from Okinawa called “Begin” adapted their words to fit this song. In 2007, at one of their four-year Japan Tourism gigs, their manager told them to perform the song. When they sang it, they noticed that everyone in the audience was crying. “Why? Was It That Bad?” they questioned . . . only to find that they were crying because the song was so sad, about losing someone, longing for them and wishing the person was back.

For Lloyd, this trip and concert gave him a chance to fulfill his long overdue promise to Aunty Mabel to play on Kauaʻi. The best part is that Lloyd sang the verses in Japanese. This song had such beautiful harmony, especially the chorus. It took 21 years, but he finally fulfilled that promise.

Lloyd shared his small-kid time stories about spending summers at the Hashisaka home, loading up on Aunty Mabel’s humongous tuna sandwiches, spending long days diving and camping out at the Salt Ponds, and getting to know all his Kauaʻi cousins.   He talked about Ben Franklin Store and Kauaʻi Kitchens and wished that his own kids had spent their visits like he did. By this time the Grand Hyatt was built so his kids never got to experience it.

Cousin Ann Hashisaka (Mabelʻs daugthter) told Lloyd, “About time you come to Kauaʻi to perform; the last time you performed for us was under the kiawe trees at Salt Pond Beach, and I was five years old!” Uh! Oh! … itʻs been a very long time coming and GIAC is very pleased to make that happen!

What is it about Hanapēpē and Salt Pond? At Raiatea Helm’s last EKK performance in 2025, she, too, got so nostalgic when sharing about all her yearly summer visits with ‘ohana in Hanapēpē, spending long days at Salt Pond Beach.

Again, Alx wanted his dad to explain about the “platypus metaphor” … basically, they really did not know if they were duck, or beaver, or whatever.   It’s just music and harmony that they love; fortunately, that is what turns this audience on.   Topping it off with such an exquisite song for his Aunty . . . WOW! Leaves one speechless.   The crowd was cheering soooooo loud.

Opening the song  Seven Bridges Road, MānoaDNA sang the first portion a capella with such harmonious precision; it turned into a feisty instrumental jam which had the sound of bluegrass music (where did that banjo sound come from?). Written by Steve Young in 1969 and famously recorded by the Eagles in 1980, it was chicken skin and the audience was dropping their jaws with disbelief; it was incredible! Itʻs an Alabama song about Seven Bridges with that distinctive bluegrass sound. Mark Tanouye was in his element as he showed off his paʻani on his bass.   Really hot! Audience loved it.

Lloyd talked about great music icons that he worked with and admired. Although they are all gone, their influence on his love for music still lives on – Malani Bilyeu, Macky Feary, and DJ Pratt, founding members of Kalapana , an American pop-rock band in Hawaiʻi – left a lasting impression on Lloyd.   He wanted to share a song for Malani titled You Make It Hard. Lloyd took the vocal lead on this popular song that we connect with the musical legacy left by the band Kalapana. Audience sang along.

“As we get older, we forget about going back home”. Alx reminded us all that going back in time is important. Although Alx did not have the childhood benefits of long summers spent with family on Kauaʻi, he had his own share of small kid time fun and one of the lively songs he wrote, Count From Ten , was about playing hide and seek. He turned the typical count down into a wonderful audience interaction song which took us all back home and reminded us all of the fun of going back in time.

He watches his own kids spending time outside doing nothing but having a great time. It’s a song about playing the timeless small kid game of “hide and seek”. He had the entire audience shouting and counting backward from TEN to ONE. The audience just loved the song…counting backward in unison took us all back to recess in the school playground.

Kauaʻi is such a tightknit community. For that reason everyone should sing along to You’ve Got a Friend . . . and everybody did! The three of them launched into a very long instrumental piece – Alx and Lloyd on their guitars and Mark just went to town on his bass.

The Crosby Stills and Nash song -- Suite: Judy Blue Eyes  -- written by Steven Stills refers to his former blue-eyed girlfriend Judy Collins. This 4-part song was the opening number for Crosby, Stills and Nash and sung for the first time at Woodstock. They sang and delighted the audience with the whole 7-minute long 4-part song -- Part 1: “I am yours . . . you are mine . . .   you are what you are”; these words are as timeless and meaningful and important today as it was back then. Part 2: half-time 3-part harmony followed by Stillʻs solo acoustic guitar. Part 3: “Chestnut brown canary ruby-throated sparrow.” Part 4: in Spanish “ doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.”

The audience especially loved the poetic section beginning with “Chestnut brown canary, ruby-throated sparrow” , but they truly threw themselves into the final section which, although it was written in Spanish, the audience was all present, singing along with pursed lips -- “ doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.”    

Their super-long instrumental was mind-blowing and although it probably left them with bleeding fingers, it left the audience with happy tears streaming down their cheeks. As Alx wrapped up their amazing performance, the whole audience was already on their feet clapping hard and shouting hana hou!

Recognizing how much the audience loved to sing along, Dad Lloyd called out, “You guys will know this song. I know it!” and they launched into the Beatles anthemic Hey Jude! about John Lennonʻs son Julian. In the old days, audiences would fire up their BIC lighters and hold them up with arms swaying to the beat of the music. These days . . .   hey . . . no more smoking, so in tune with current technology, cell phones lit up to help everyone engage, and soon the theater was filled with lights swaying back and forth. As the voices got louder and louder, more and more lights began to fill the entire auditorium. Soon, there were lights swaying back-and-forth throughout the whole theater. An awesome sight -- audience caught up in the mood of sharing wonderful music.

I’ve seen it many times on TV at Americaʻs Got Talent , but it was my first time to experience it at a live event on Kauaʻi – the audience waving their iPhone lights as they all joined in the sing-along to “ Hey Jude !”

As always, the evening ended with everyone singing Hawaiʻi Aloha with hands clasped; you could see how energized everyone was . . . that is the magic of music!

Photo credit:   Mike Teruya & Kathleen Ho

Words by Carol Kouchi Yotsuda, assisted by Jodi and Victor Ascuena

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