Aloha Friday!


In a surprise turn of events, tonight I will be joining Al Tringali at Cozmic Pizza for Aloha Friday. If you are in the area: the event runs 5:30pm - 7:30pm which also includes an open mic for ukulele players itching to jam some song.

For more information check out their Facebook page here.


The Oregon Trail

Random postal box in NY
It has definitely been a life changing past couple of weeks for me. Graduated from college, crossed off a childhood dream from my bucket list and made my first move outside of Hawaii. It really has been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks but I can honestly say it has been memorable and I will never forget this period in my life.


First of all thank you to everyone who supported the Akira Project. It was a great experience to work on, especially the jam sessions with Illisit and Mike. There were a ton of musicians who worked on that album and I know it wouldn't have been the same without each and every one of you. Congratulations Illisit, your insightful rhymes are what made it shine.


Through all this Ali and I made a quick trip to the East Coast where we stayed in Williamstown and New York. We got check out the sights and see some good friends of Ali's and hang out with Zach and Christina. Talk about serendipitous! Saw the Broadway show Once and bought myself a new toy as well. I've been needing a clean boost to help push my overdrives and help fatten up my clean tone for solos. Right now I only have my practice Cube 30 to work on but so far I have been enjoying it. Can't way to plug it into some nice tubes and really push my TS-808.


Now officially in Eugene things are finally setting in. Got a place, got a car, and got everything unloaded and set up. Thankfully the only casualties were a wine glass and a Chopin record (sad face). Hopefully I can get a couple more of my ukuleles and guitars up here soon (happy face).


With things settled I can now begin exploring. Friday night I decided to hit the town and check out some music. My first stop was at Cozmic Pizza which is a pizza joint/venue that showcases a wide variety of live music. Being the 3rd week, last night was Aloha Friday featuring some Hawaiian music. Elias Maulili Kauhane Jr. was performing traditional Hawaiian and Hapa Haole songs with his 6-string Kamaka. Even though I only recently moved, it was nice to hear some familiar tunes and talk to people who enjoy Hawaiian culture and music. After I took a stop in a place called Jazz Station because I heard they were doing a Wes Montgomery/Pat Metheny tribute. I stayed for the first set which was mostly comprised of Wes tunes including an awesome version of Four on Six. The bass solo was full of space and rhythmically expressive. I found that this Jazz Station is run by a non-profit called the Willamette Jazz Society and continue to run on donations, events and rentals, volunteers and memberships. It's nice to see people working hard to keep music, especially jazz alive.







Earlier this week I went around town stopping at music shops to see what was available. After an afternoon of self-restraint I found myself at my last stop in the Whitaker are called Pacific Winds. Pacific Winds sells, rents and repairs woodwind and brass instruments and also has a large collection of ukuleles! I met the owners, Pat and Willie Knaus and had a nice chat about ukuleles. Pat informed me of an upcoming event held on Saturday called Make Music Day which would feature a free lesson for beginners and an ukulele circle. I joined the circle for some fun strum alongs and met of really nice people excited about the ukulele. I even got to remeet some people that I had met before both in the shop at PuaPua and at uncle George's slack key workshop on Maui. It was great to see some familiar faces!




All in all it has been great so far and I look forward to see what will come up next. Hope to get teaching soon and playing some music. Until then I will be in my cave woodshedding.

Going Away Party @The Studio (Hawaiian Brians)



Alright so my good buddy Brandon Apeles is throwing a going away party/show on Tuesday, May 20th at The Studio. The night will feature performances from:

Jenna Kellikuli
Erika Elona and The Best Dudes Ever
Sing the Body
Kailua Bay Buddies

I am going to be obnoxious and potentially play most of the night (Haha!). Come down and say goodbye if you have the chance! We will be there for most of the night s come and go as you please.

You can find more details on Facebook here!

Hope to see you there!



Some Memories

With the clock ticking on my move in the near future I was recapping on some of the bands/shows I have had the pleasure of being a part of here on Oahu. I ended up with a list of things and thought I would share them. I know for sure I am missing somethings here and there but I think I got the bulk of it! Let me know if I am missing anything :P

2008

Celebrate the Arts! Solo Ukulele at the Hawaii Theatre

2009

Founded rock/funk/jazz trio Dirty Widows with Max Benoit (Rob Halloway – Drums). 2 shows at Anna Bananas (when it was still AnnaBananas! :P)

Founded psychedelic rock/fusion/rockabilly band Sex Puppets with Ken Lykes and Makayla Farley. Over the years playing included musicians Stephen Locke, Marshall Machado, Taisuke Tanaka, Glenn Molina and Bronson Murray. Played Chinatown/Waikiki circuit. Featured as a jazz trio (Ken, Makke and myself) under the name Amore for the live Hawaii showcase Pakele Live. Opened for Goddess Alchemy and local act Kings of Spade. Recorded tracks Window for compilation Amplify (John Fritzler/Stephen Locke), My Chevelle for compilation album Alternative HI (Shawn Mosely/Brandon Apeles) and an unreleased EP. Alternative HI was nominated for a Na Hoku Hanohano award for Alternative Album of the year. Left band in May of 2012.

Last show at Hawaiian Brians

2011

Joined the Erika Elona Band (formerly known as Erika Elonaand the Best Dudes Ever) in August. Since my joining the band has featured almost too many musicians to count! This includes: Brandon Apeles, Mike Nakamoto, Seann Caroll, Elijah Oguma, Sean Cleland, Alex Oasay, Ernie Ercala, etc. Played Chinatown/Waikiki/North Shore/Kihei circuit including the Alternative HI show at the Hawaii Theatre, live Hawaii showcase Pakele Live, and Corona Nights. The band was featured as an opening act for Third Eye Blind, Meiko, Tom Curren. and local act Kings of Spade. Recorded Erika’s first single Easier in November. Over the next two years we recorded Erika’s first full length album Things To Break (Shawn Mosely/Brandon Apeles/Stephen Lynch) released in January 2014.
Alternative HI show at the Hawaii Theatre

Tracking Things to Break

2012

Founded fusion/rock/funk trio Broke Aesthetic in January with Max Benoit and Michael Nakamoto. Played the Waikiki/Chinatown circuit. Opened for the Republic Music Festival at the Kaka’ako Waterfront Park and at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. Funny story, we were actually suppose to do a live jam with the artist Gyptian but due to unforeseen circumstances Gyptian was not able to make it so we got the opening slot! We recorded some unreleased tracks at Jolt Studios with Joel Thomas and released our first ep House of Bones which we recorded with Jordan Mamiya (Prevail) in March 2013. The band disbanded in July 2013 with Mike moving to Japan and Max leaving for Seattle in October.

Beach jam
Hanging out after a gig with Mano Kane


Recorded an ukulele version Jingle Bells with David Kamakahi for Season Greetings from Soul Sound Vol. 2 (Stephen Lock/Shawn Mosely). Album was nominated for the 2012 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards for Christmas album of the Year.

2013

Joined and formed improv/freestyle hip-hop rock group Illisit and the NME Band alongside Illisit the Misfit, Navid Najafi, Aksent Topou, Ernie Ercala, and Mike Nakamoto. Band played several shows in mid-2013 in the Chinatown/Waikiki circuit. Recorded several live jams with Illisit and Mike at Soul Sound Studios which ended up becoming some of the tracks featured under the album The Akira Project (alias of Illisit). After Mike’s departure the group continued under the name The Akira Project with rotating musicians. Filmed debut music video Strange with Zach Manzano in October. The album The Akira Project (Stephen Lynch/Brandon Apeles) is currently nominated for the 2013 Na Hoku for Hip Hop album of the year.


Played with Jenna Keliikuli on live Hawaii showcase Pakele Live.

Joined the Alternative HI group for a performance at the 2012 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards show featuring a medley from songwriters Erika Elona and Kelli Heath Cruz.

2012 Na Hoku Awards

Joined Kings Of Spade for a Guns and Roses Tribute show at The Republik and Charly’s in Paia, Maui.

Played the first Hashtag:No Filter Improv show at the Doris Duke Theatre. Featuring a large ensemble of musicians from different genres of music.

Joined an unnamed RnB/Funk/Fusion/Soul group in August with Ken Lykes, Will Tafolo, and Jeremy Robinson. Recorded song That’s On You at Soul Sound Studios (Ken Lykes/Locke Lynch). After Jeremy’s departure the group was joined by Von Baron and soon after Danny Carvalho in 2014. 

I went miss out!