The multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning group Maunalua (Bobby Moderow, Jr., Kahi Kaonohi, and Richard Gideon) is heading to Northern California to play two concerts: 6 pm on Friday March 1 at Pono Hawaiian Grill in Santa Cruz (120 Union St.) and 5 pm Sunday March 3 at the Cue in Concord (1835 Colfax St.)! An added treat: all three of the wives (Coleen “Pua” Moderow, Trina Kaonohi, and Erica Gideon) will be accompanying the group on this trip, and will be dancing hula!

Formed in 1993, the Maunalua released their first album (Maunalua) in 2000 - and promptly won the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award (the Hawaiian Grammy®) for “Hawaiian Album of the Year.” Their second album (Kuleana), released in 2003, brought Nā Hōkū awards for both Group and Favorite Entertainer of the Year. Their third album (Hoʻokanaka) was released in 2007 and won yet another Nā Hōkū Award (Group of the Year). They are currently recording their fourth album...

All strong vocalists, the group is known for its tight harmonies accentuated by Moderow’s falsetto and prowess with slack key guitar. Long a favorite with audiences all over Hawaiʻi, as well as a number of foreign countries and the continental U.S., their always-entertaining performances range from fun, high energy songs to sweet and soulful ballads, interspersed with banter between the three group members and with the audience. Whether performing for hundreds at inauguration festivities for the newly-elected President Obama in 2009, or for a few dozen people at a backyard paʻina (party), Maunalua never disappoints!

There is no cover charge for the Santa Cruz show, but a $15 donation is requested. (Go early for best seating!)

Tickets for the Concord show are $20 and available through Landeza Presents at (510) 423-3051.

Learn from one of the best! ʻUkulele master Herb Ohta, Jr. will be in San Jose, CA March 8-9 to teach three ʻukulele workshops.  There will be something for everyone: beginners through advanced.

The workshop for beginners takes place Friday, March 8th (7:30-9:00 pm). For those who want to learn chords and strum, Herb will teach students how to play the popular Hawaiian hula song, "ʻUlu Palakua". He’ll teach the chords, how to strum the song, how to sing the song, and the meaning of the song. And as a bonus, he’ll also teach the missing 3rd verse that no one else sings or performs! 

For the intermediate player that wants to learn how to pick a song, the intermediate workshop will be held on Saturday March 9th from 10:30am to noon. Students taking the intermediate class should be a little familiar with tablature (if you don't know how to read notation) and chords. In this workshop students will learn how to pick the melody of another popular Hawaiian hula song, "Pua Lililehua". This song was written by Kahauanu Lake and Mary Kawena Pukui for Margaret Maiki Aiu Lake, comparing her to a goddess of Palolo Oʻahu, Lililehua. Herb will teach students how to play the melody of the song, as well as an introduction and an ending in his unique style.

The workshop for advanced players (those who are familiar with tablature, basic music notation, and strumming) will also be held on Saturday, March 9th (2-4pm). In this class, students will learn how to play "Sophisticated Hula" in the same way Herb recorded it on his CD, "ʻUkulele Dream". (This song was composed by Sol Kekipi Bright while traveling the country promoting Hawaiʻi with many sophisticated Hula girls.)

All workshops will be held at the Ukulele Jams Studio, 565 N. 6th Street, San Jose (located above Okayama Restaurant). Tuition is $40 for one workshop, $60 for two, or all three for $80.  To enroll, call or stop by the Ukulele Source, 599 N. 5th Street
San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 998-2640.

Herb’s workshops are very popular and space is limited, so reserve your spot today!

TODAY!!! Donʻt miss this month's FREE concert in Kailua featuring Mike Kaawa! Hosted by Kawika Kahiapo (& with many thanks to the sponsoring Castle Foundation), it takes place from 4-5:30pm on the 1st floor of the parking garage by Longʻs. (I LOVE the acoustics in there!!!) Lots of seating is provided, but it can fill fast - so you might want to bring a mat or chair just in case!

About Mike: one of Hawai‘i's finest 12-string guitar players, Mike is a highly-regarded musician. He describes his music as “Hawaiian with attitude.” His career has spanned nearly four decades and he has been an important member of some of Hawaii’s most popular groups, taking Hawaiian music from Hawai‘i to the mainland as well as internationally. He captivates audiences with his stage presence, vocal abilities, and strong instrumentation. He recently released his 4th solo album, “Kuapakaʻa”.
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Mark your calendars for this free monthly series! The concerts take place on Saturdays, hula performances on Sundays.

West Coast peeps! Discover for yourselves why Weldon Kekauoha was nominated for a 2013 Grammy® Award for his album “Pilialoha”! He (along with Alika Boy Kalauli IV and Jack Ofoia) will be doing a short tour in late April, making stops in several cities - including Thunder Valley Casino Resort near Sacramento on April 27. Complete details coming soon!  

For those who aren’t familiar with Weldon’s music, here’s a video shot by Norman Markowitz when Weldon, Alika Boy, and Bryan Tolentino appeared in Santa Cruz in 2010. His version of “Queen’s Jubilee” is a fan favorite and certainly one of mine as well! 

There’s still time to make your Valentine’s Day reservations AND be among the FIRST to see McCloud, better known as Kale Chang, in his return to performing! Joining him on stage will be Bin Yasuno, Dan Baduria, and Fred Alcain. There will also be a very special guest appearance for one song, and even some hula!
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For a man still in his 30s, McCloud has already accomplished more than most people will in a lifetime. Or several lifetimes.

As a performer and recording artist, McCloud’s numerous credits include the Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre, the Honolulu Symphony, and the hugely popular group Reign. He’s opened for the Commodores, Lou Rawls, and 50 Cent. He’s performed and/or recorded with Kuana Torres Kahele, Robi Kahakalau, Ua, Ernie Cruz, Afatia, John Cruz, Mackie Feary, Zanuck Lindsey, Fiji, Pacific Blu, Ilona Irvine, Chant, Kata Maduli, DJ Pratt, the Makaha Sons, Jake Shimabukuro, Justin Young, Henry Kapono, Maila Gibson, Inoa’ole, Kamehameha Schools, Weldon Kekauoha, Red Degree, and many more. And he had a guest role on the premier season of Hawaii Five-0.

A graduate of Kamehameha Schools and UH Mānoa (with a BA in music, with emphasis on Hawaiian music), McCloud began working as a choral assistant for Kamehameha Schools upon graduation from high school (and while attending college) – preparing students to compete in the school’s esteemed annual Song Contest. A year later he added Choral Director of the school’s summer Performing Arts Academy to his busy schedule.

While still attending the University of Hawaiʻi, he began working as a music specialist at Saint Louis School, and upon graduation became a music teacher at Anuenue School - the first full time music teacher hired at a Hawaiian Immersion School. He then worked as the choral director at Saint Louis School, and for five years managed the Mamiya Theater. He was also the choral director of the highly prestigious Honolulu Boy Choir.

2004 was an especially busy year. McCloud not only began work at Tihati Productions as an entertainer, producer, technician, musician, master of ceremonies, and recording engineer (he also performed at the White House for President Obama), he also opened Soul Tree Studios. His role as the owner of Soul Tree also includes record producer; recording engineer; sound, lighting, and stage technician; and vocal coach. As such, he played a large part in the creation of numerous Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning albums, including those by Reign, Afatia, Weldon Kekauoha, Kūpaoa, Waipuna, Nā Palapalai, Mark Yamanaka and more.

His appearance on Pakele Live marks the beginning of yet another new chapter in McCloud’s life – that of a solo performer making the music he has always loved: R&B.  

Aloha!

I just read an interesting post on the DIY Musician website that addresses a pet peeve of mine. The post was entitled “DON’T BE THIS BAND” – about a band that has a multitude of social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, SoundCloud, Tumblr)  but that doesn’t have a website. The post explains how the lack of a website became a problem when a journalist wanted to write an article about an upcoming concert the band was to play, but he couldn’t find a place that had all the information he needed. The band in question was the big loser in this instance, because the journalist eventually gave up and wrote about another band on the bill. The post included a picture of the frustrated journalist’s tweet stating, “Wish bands could just have websites with all useful info – songs, pics, dates, CONTACTS – instead of scattering all over...” followed by reply tweets from others in strong agreement.

I have long advised clients of the need to maintain a presence in a variety of social media – a Facebook band page, Twitter, YouTube – but most importantly, a website. Social media is an important tool with which to attract new fans and keep engaged those fans an artist already has. But a website is mandatory. All of the social media accounts should be linked to it, but the website should be the primary “go to” place not only for fans, but also for the media, booking agents, venues and others. In addition to things like a calendar, song clips, a discography, info on where people can buy the music, (etc.), it should have contact information (names, email addresses, and phone numbers of the manager, who to contact for booking, the publicist, and any other pertinent members of the artist’s or band’s team). AND IT SHOULD HAVE A PRESS KIT – with quality photos that can be downloaded and used for publicity or in media articles (both high resolution – required by print media - and regular), and a short- to medium-length band bio.

As the booking agent and publicist for Pakele Live, one of the first things I do is look for an artist’s or band’s website. I also search all the social media. And yet I frequently find myself in the position of trying to cobble together stray pieces of information about a musician or band in order to give our viewers some information about our guest(s) in any given week – because the artist doesn’t have a bio, or any usable photos. On several occasions I’ve even created a bio by taking notes while talking to an artist over the phone - asking questions and talking story (and I use photos I’ve taken myself at past gigs, if I have them).

While I love talking story with musicians and hearing about their exploits (oh. em. gee...haha!), that’s not the point. As mentioned at the beginning of this post, a journalist looking to write an article is not going to take the time to go searching all over creation to get the basic information s/he needs – they’ll just move on to an artist or band that has made all the information easily available in one spot: their website.

(If you’re a Hawaiʻi-based artist or band who needs help with a website, writing a bio, creating a press kit... contact me! Let’s talk!)