Monday, June 16, 2008

Pau Hana sound check while cruising on the Pride of Hawaii... last aloha tour!

Reposted: This old post was certainly worth resurrecting, especially for the folks who ask me what my job was on the cruise ships. The Pride of Hawai'i was a brand new ship that barely made it a year in the islands before charting a new course to NCL's international fleet as the Jade. As part of the memory, here's a partial glimpse of the mechanics of our Hawaiian Duo -J-O-B. We introduce our guests to Hawaiian free style local jammin' and include lotsa their favorite songs that reconnect them with the good ol' days of their youth... from Don Ho, IZ and Blue Hawaiian Elvis to Bob Marley, and the Beach Boys. We made so many friends on that ship. Usually, the pool deck would be packed... folks gettin' their deep Hawaiian vacation tan while sippin' a boat drink or passing around some Coronas or Coors iced in plastic football helmets. Toward the end of our afternoon shift, a little rain chased off the over-baked sunbathers while the rest were off to dinner reservations and the show in the theatre. For a few months I was doubling as the rock guitarist in the Soul Rockin' Nites show, the wedding band guitar player for Tony & Tina's Wedding production and the solo guitarist in the lounge... not to be confused with the masterful performances of my good friend Butch O'Sullivan in the atrium and restaurant. Anyway, it was time to wind down the show and roll up the hose... when Eddie Pascua decided to whip out his little Nikon and video some of my old school guitar antics. In this video clip I fumbled through some classic chops I forgot a long time ago.. Ha ha aka aka, you can hear us laughing. We had too much fun... not only THAT day, but EVERYDAY! Aside from our goofiness in these moments, couples stopped to dance while the sheltered folks on the upper decks were quite entertained as always. I ended up with an Ibanez guitar after going thru my Godin Multiac Jazz, and a favorite Antigua Fender Telecaster, but here, my first new Schecter guitar + Digitech RP-200 pedal rig proved to have pretty good tone thanks to Eddie tweekin' the pedal to my personal preferences. From this day on the jams only get better as we keep Reeling in the Years! As we acknowledge our new friends who figure we enjoy what we do for a living... with aloha and a smiLe... I hope to be a rock star like Eddie Pascua when I grow up... That buggah is my guitar hero & tech guru. Aloha to that big ship!!

Where's Gordo? Wasabi Happenin'?

Da schedule & where Gordo can be found will be
posted at the top of this blog:
Every Other Tuesday at the Ground Floor downtown, Honolulu. Local Folk solo kine coffee house variety.(Up Alakea, first right on Queen St., right onto Richard.. there on corner, free parking in garage & street... ono grinds).

Local Folk at Waianae Army Rest Camp Feb 21, Saturday evening 6-10, rockin' by the ocean w/ Gordo, Eric Petersen & Pete Moe. Da mix plate folk rock, Hawaiiana traditional/contemporary, country cha-cha ... rock-a-cha aha blue Hawaiian soul-iolo party!

You might even find Gordo playing bass or ukulele with some of your favorite island artisis... Spotted at Higher Ground Coffee & Music Cafe in Wahiawa with Todd Adamski & Adj Larioza playing the grand opening with a line up including Ernie Cruz Jr. and John Cruz... and yes, "that was in the Hawaiian trio" with Greg Sardinha at the Honolulu Airport's International Terminal. Now I'm back on land after 4 years entertaining on the NCL America ships. Picking up a few choice gigs with long-time friends and taking time out to write more songs. "Gotta empty out the space between my ears. " Look for the YouTube.com videoclip at higherground808. Thats our bluegrass buddy Bob sitting in on bass.
Upcoming performance dates at very accessible locations are being planned... dates to be announced... email request for updated schedule to"
ainafolk@aol.com

Saturday, June 14, 2008

'Aina, title track on Peter Apo new release




Peter Apo released a new CD entitled `Aina, after one of the two songs I wrote. The other song he chose to add to his musical collage was Pineapple Road. Get the CD... its way cool... funky and packed with soul. Mahalo Peter... it's great to be a songwriter, but even better when your song writing friends & mentors choose a song or even two of your songs for their CD... mahalo mo' plenty den much!