Infiniti Pacific Rim Jazz Festival at the Hawaii Convention Center (11-2-2013)

Hana Hou!  We made it to our 2nd Pacific Rim Jazz Festival.  Ran into many friends there too. So proud to see our local talent sharing the stage with some big names.  Check out these golden moments below.



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Local Talent:

The Bentos - A Neo soul jazz band that plays a mixture of classic and modern jazz, R & B, hip hop, and soul. http://the808life.com/music/the-bentos/ The Bentos: Jackson Helm - Vocals; Ethan Capone - Keyboard;; Ian O'Sullivan - Guitar; Mark Tanouye - Bass; Mark Lindberg - Drums; and Ambrose - Sax.

Rene Paulo - Known as Hawaii’s “King of the Keyboard”. A former graduate of the Julliard School of Music.  Rene is great showman and known for his unique piano playing style.  He is Michael's father - Musical talent runs in this family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rene_Paulo

Ginai Hill - One of our favorite singers.  Ginai is both a talented singer and song writer.  She has CD releases in Japan and Hawaii, has won 3 Hawaiian Music Awards, and 2 Na Hoku Hanohano awards. She performs with Nueva Vida, Honolulu Jazz Quartet, and the Hot Club of Hulaville.  On this night she released her new EP entitled 'Conversations', and was backed up by Riya Davis of Adagio, and NJ of EightOEight. http://ginaimusic.com/artist/jazz/

Michael Paulo - The Festival Producer & Founder of the Kapolei Foundation Michael Paulo Music Scholarship.  Michael is a World renowned saxophonist.   He has played with Al Jarreau, James Inram, Rick Braun, Kenny Loggins, Patti Austin, and Herbie Hancock to name a few. http://www.michaelpaulo.net/ 
http://kapoleifoundation.org/foundation-scholarships-and-grants

Alvin 'Pops" Okami - A former musician from the Waikiki circuit with names like Linda Green, Kui Lee, Ohta-san and the Royal Hawaiian Ban.  The Founder of KoAloha making Ukuleles, who also release his first solo cd "Uke and Me".  Pop's donated a KoAloha Ukulele that sold at the festival's live auction for $1,200.  Proceeds benefited the Kapolei Foundation Michael Paulo Music Scholarship.
http://www.koaloha.com/Images/Gallery/GalleryMain.html





International talent:

Spencer Day - A vocalist, songwriter and pianist.  This was his 1st visit to Hawaii.  He sang 'Till You Come To Me', and 'The Mystery of You', (Sandy's favs). http://spencerday.com

Keiko Matsui - Japanese smooth jazz, jazz fusion, new age keyboardist. Keiko celebrates 25 years performing in the USA. http://www.keikomatsui.com/

Gregg Karukas - New age, smooth jazz, keyboardist. Grammy award winner.  http://www.karukas.com/

Mindi Abair - A spirited blonde saxophonist that has sold over a half million records as a solo artist. Mindi was featured on American Idol in 2011 & 2012. http://www.mindiabair.com/

Brian Simpson - A keyboardist that is the music director for Dave Koz.  Brian performed with many of the top smooth jazz artists. http://www.bsimpsonmusic.com/

Bobby Caldwell - Bobby is a R&B, jazz, smooth jazz artist, songwriter.  On this night he was backed up by local vocalist Riya Davis of Adagio. http://www.bobbycaldwell.com/

Sheila E - 'Everyone knows her! "The Glamorous Life" - Another one of our favs.  Sheila is a vocalist, percussionist, songwriter, arranger, producer, and drummer.  She has played for Natalie Cole, George Duke, Gloria Estefan, Diana Ross, to name a few. http://www.sheilae.com/

Again, thank you Michael Paulo for bringing the best local and international smooth jazz talent to Hawaii!   Mahalo to all the hands, musicians and singers that put this great event together.  We'll be back for more in 2014! Till then, Don't Stop The Music!

INFLIGHT Live at Monterey Bay Canners in Aiea (10-26-2013)

We arrived at Monterey Bay Canners in Aiea, overlooking the famous Sumida Watercress Farm to see INFLIGHT. A band that we never seen before but knew of their sax player Ricky. The UofH football game was being aired so we patiently waited on the lanai to watch the final minutes of the game, and later secured a table near the bar. While waiting, we ran into musicians Dennis Apeles and Sharon Herr.

This band describes their repertoire as R&B, Light rock, Contemporary, Old school, Local music. Basiclly a little bit of everything. Some of the songs played tonight included: Maria Maria, Can't Tell You Why, Spooky, Game of Love (Michelle Branch), Footloose, Sara Smile, You Abandoned Me (Madonna), Can't Tell You Why, Wildflower, Billy Jean, Do It Again, etc. We like! Especially the songs written by a female artist and sung by a male.  Even though UofH lost the game tonight, we scored in getting to see this band perform.

Please see these captured golden moments below.
Mahalo INFLIGHT! & Don't Stop The Music!



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INFLIGHT BAND:
Donovan Egloria - guitar, vocals
Travis Pajimola - guitar, vocals
Craig Gallafent - bass guitar, vocals
Ricky Ricardo - sax

Band contact: craigallafent@yahoo.com

Pocket Live at Ige's Restaurant & 19th Puka (10-11-2013)

POCKET is a groovin' dance band based in Hawaii featuring Old School Club Hits from the 70s, 80's & 90s; Disco, Funk, and R&B.  We like the diverse music in this group! 

On this night at Ige's Restaurant & 19th Puka, Darla & Jules burned up the stage with HOT songs by Evelyn Champagne King, Donna Summer, Teena Marie, Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Maddona, Mary Jane Girls, Taste of Honey and more.  What a great throw back down memory lane! We need to visit them again!




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Mahalo POCKET! & Don't Stop The Music! 

POCKET:
Jules Kam - vocals
Darla Pestana - vocals
Kristie Ching - vocals
Dwayne Higa - keyboards
Wesley Aoki - lead guitar, vocals
Aaron Kimura - bass guitar, vocals
Wendell Ching - drums
*Ricky Ricardo - saxophone

*Guest artist

Easy Street Live at Club Mambo (10-5-2013)

We've visited with EASY STREET before.  This band plays Island Favorites from Kalapana, C&K, America, Ka'au Crater Boys, Billy Kaui, Jack Johnson, etc.  We like!  We're amazed how Myron Pang can sing lead the entire night with no strain.  However, here is an interesting story.  Tonight we headed out to the downtown restaurant to see them.  When we arrived, the place was dark and closed. Turns out the restaurant owner was traveling and inadvertently forgot they had a band gig on the calendar.  Shame, shame!  Well, there is a silver lining to this story!  This is where having good friends in the industry and access to social media saved the night.  Through social media we learned that the band called Steve Ruiz, quickly picked up their gear and headed to Club Mambo Sport Bar & Grill. Yaaay!  We made a beeline to the Chinese Cultural Plaza Center just in time for their 1st set. 

Good music, good food, good service.  The band even sang Happy (belated) Birthday to Sandy and Gardenia Aipoalani.  With Halloween around the corner,  Allen's lovely wife decorated the tables, and passed out chocolates and glowing favors to the crowd.  How fun!  We also saw Dwayne Higa, Dianne Dar, Carol Tamura & Rodney Kaneshiro there; and did some Karaoke with them after the show.  The night was a success thanks to Steve & Easy Street!

Please enjoy these captured Golden Moments.




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EASY STREET BAND:
Myron Pang - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Allen Yamaguchi - bass guitar
Darrell Larm - lead Guitar, synth guitar, backing vocals
Jeff Tarumi - electronic and acoustic percussion, guitar, backing vocals
* Bradley Choi - drums

* Guest Artist

Band website: http://www.808easystreet.com

Mahalo EASY STREET! Till next time...Don't Stop The Music!

King Pins Live at Ige's Restaurant & 19th Puka (9-27-2013)

It's always a pleasure to visit with the KING PINS.  What a happy bunch of guys!  Donned in their red & black bowling shirts (we really like their band logo), they know how to put on a good show and fill the dance floor with a variety of dancers.  Their music is Classic Rock---Oh yeah Baby!  After checking out their website at: http://www.kingpinshawaii.com/frames.html; we were surprised to learn about their history & activities spanning back to 2001.  Bet they have some great gig stories to share! (wink! wink!)

Please enjoy these captured golden moments.





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Mahalo KING PINS! Till next time...Don't Stop The Music!

KING PINS:
Harvey Yamauchi - guitar, vocals, harmonica, head pin
Bradley Choi - drums
Harvey Yoshioka - keyboards, vocals
Lance Tigner - guitar, vocals
Randall Rosenberg - bass guitar, vocals