Inside HILife: ‘Wi Open Team Challenge’
Pau hana gaming
Jamm Aquino / jaquino@starbulletin.com
‘WI OPEN TEAM CHALLENGE’» Where: Bar 35 (35 N. Hotel St.) and O’Toole’s Irish Pub (902 Nuuanu Ave.) |
It started off as an idea four months ago to help boost a usually slow Monday night of business. Now with the holidays over, two downtown watering holes restart in earnest what they hope will be a video game league that will grow in popularity.
Bar 35 and O’Toole’s Irish Pub will once again invite teams of bar patrons to join them on the virtual field of play generated by the Nintendo Wii system, mainly using the popular “Wii Sports Resort” game bundle.
But since the league is still in its infancy and not officially approved by Nintendo, Bar 35 manager and league co-coordinator George Seabolt is erring on the side of caution by dropping the second “i” and calling the event the Wi Open Team Challenge.
Speaking during a boisterous warm-up “bowling” session this past Monday at the bar — with players throwing their virtual bowling balls using the Wii MotionPlus accessory — Seabolt said that video game competition is the logical successor to other popular group bar activities like darts and billiards.
“The competition will last eight weeks, with the team with the highest resulting point total winning grand prizes like interisland airline tickets,” he said. Weekly prizes will also be offered. There will be three rounds of play of different sports games each week, like the aforementioned bowling, tennis, golf, etc.
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Moffatt, KHON invite local bands to open for Bon Jovi
January 13, 2010 by gary-chun
Filed under Latest News
 Image courtesy Wire Image |
Do you think your band has what it takes to open for Bon Jovi in concert?
Well, start planning, because the “Opening Act Contest” is on and is open to all local groups.
To enter, each band must submit a bio describing themselves and their music, along with a CD containing one song no longer than three minutes, and their contact information (name, address, phone number and e-mail), all of which must be sent to concert promoter Tom Moffatt’s office:
Tom Moffatt Productions
1232 Waimanu St., Penthouse
Honolulu, HI 96814
The deadline for receiving submissions is Monday, Jan. 25.
From the pool of entries, 20 semi-finalists will be selected to send in a video (via YouTube link) for review by a local panel of celebrity judges. From that 20, the top five finalists will be chosen and will have a clip of their video featured on KHON-TV’s “Wake Up 2Day” morning show during the week of Feb. 1.
On Monday, Feb. 8, the five bands will be featured live in-studio as part of the Channel 2 News morning show, where the two winners will be announced.
The concerts at the Blaisdell Arena are scheduled for Feb. 11 and 12.
For more info on the search for Bon Jovi’s opening act contest, click here.
HILife Cover Story: Best of 2009
Last gasp of old rock
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Rock is dead — long live rock.
That feeling came over me several times this past year. The importance of rock music as a communal experience seemed to lessen, thanks to our keeping to our own private soundtracks due to file-sharing and downloading, but 2009 was also a solid year for concert ticket sales, both here and on the mainland.
And while there was much to celebrate as I watched the HBO special on the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I couldn’t help but feel that it was the last relevant gasp of the music of my own baby-boomer youth — one last time before the torch is firmly grasped by a new generation.
2009 marked the death of Michael Jackson and the renewal of the Beatles. The embracing of their artistry was evident by sales, as Jackson’s “Number Ones” collection was one of the big sellers in ’09, and the magic of the Fab Four’s music continued with the solid sales of their remastered and reissued albums, as well as the popularity of their “Rock Band” video game.
And while a brutal economic downturn threatens the well-being of the arts community here, a small and seemingly vital indie rock scene has sprung up. BAMP Proj ect has become, hands down, the concert promoters willing to bring new music to Hono lulu, and entrepreneurs Ara Laylo and Michelle “Catwings” Taki gu chi are helping nurture promising acts like the Jump Offs (who put out a great debut of an album), GRLFRNDS, Painted Highways, Clones of the Queen and several others.
The efforts of singer-songwriter Sabrina Velazquez are bearing fruit as well, as not only did she receive much-needed funding for her next album thanks to Kick starter.com, she also got an invite to do a showcase at March’s South by Southwest music and film conference in Austin, Texas. (She should be joined by another group of Hawaii-based acts assembled by Australian SXSW rep Phil Tripp for the second year in a row.)
Pick up a copy of HILife in Friday’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin to read the rest of this story.
HILife Cover Story: The Village People
Disco icons back in town
Courtesy the Village People
NEW YEAR’S EVE DANCE PARTYwith the Village People » Where: Hawaii Grand Ballroom, Sheraton Waikiki |
Whether you’re gay or straight, young or old, everyone celebrates the disco camp classic “Y.M.C.A.,” complete with letter-spelling arm choreography, whenever the iconic chorus comes ’round.
“(The song) will be around as long as …” — here the Village People’s David Hodo paused briefly when reached by phone, running through all comparable tunes in his head — “… ‘Polly Wolly Doodle.’ It’s always going to be part of American tradition.”
The sneakily subversive pop hit is so ubiquitous that it’s practically heard year-round at sports events and parties. Hodo and his Village mates should be in top form come New Year’s Eve when they headline at the Sheraton Waikiki.
By his count, this is the third time the Village People have traveled to Honolulu for a NYE bash.
With the exception of a thankfully brief reimaging in New Romantic garb in the early ’80s, the Village People have always performed in stereotypic gay-masculine costumes — Hodo as the hunky construction worker, with fellow original members Alex Briley (soldier) and Felipe Rose (American Indian). They join “policeman” Ray Simpson, Jeff Olson (cowboy) and Eric Anzalone (biker) as one of the longest-running groups, approaching its 40th year of existence. Read more
Inside HILife: Ahmed Ahmed
Battling bias with humor
Courtesy Ahmed Ahmed
It’s good to be a comic of “color” these days — just ask Ahmed Ahmed.
In 2004 he won the first Richard Pryor Award for Ethnic Comedy at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in Scotland. The following year, his profile kept ascending as a member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour and then being handpicked by Vince Vaughn to join the blitzkrieg 30-date Wild West Comedy Tour. (Both went on to enjoy further success as a Comedy Central special and a theatrical release documentary, respectively.)
After doing small roles in major studio films as “Iron Man” and “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan,” Ahmed continued his cause to disarm ethnic prejudice through laughter by showcasing himself and other American comics with a tour through the Middle East in his self-financed documentary, “Just Like Us.”
Through all this, he constantly tours. Ahmed will make a stopover in Honolulu next week.
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Inside HILife: M. Ward
Growing reputation
Courtesy Merge Records
M. WARD» Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pokukaina St. |
On first glance you wouldn’t think Matt Ward had the personality to match his large reputation in indie folk-rock circles. But no doubt about it, the multitalented musician who goes by the relatively anonymous moniker of M. Ward is someone to contend with.
He made his name with his albums, particularly 2005’s “Transistor Radio” and ’06’s “Post-War.” Last year his profile rose through his collaboration with actress Zooey Deschanel, working together under the name of She & Him. And this year, after releasing the solo album “Hold Time” in February to wide fan and critical acclaim, he joined forces with Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes for an album and a tour as the wryly dubbed “supergroup” Monsters of Folk.
With the conclusion of the European leg of Monsters of Folk tour last month, the Portland, Ore.-based Ward gears up for a solo concert on Wednesday in Hono lulu.
“The whole experience with the guys was incredible,” Ward said by phone last week. “For five years now, considering the experience we’ve gathered playing with our own three bands, we always toyed with the idea of trying to tour and perform together. … What we did was play songs from our own rec ords, as well as those from rec ords that we worked collectively on together.
“And the bond survived — the best metaphor I can think of is having a dialogue with three of your greatest friends. Even though we’ll all be busy with other things in the immediate future, as far as I can see, this proj ect of ours will never die.”
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Inside HILife: Dave Wakeling
The English Beat goes on
Courtesy davewakeling.com
IN CONCERTThe English Beat » Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pokukaina St. |
The memorable sounds of one of Britain’s more popular bands from the ska revival of the late 1970s comes full circle, under the leadership of one Dave Wakeling.
Now a longtime resident of Los Angeles, Wakeling continues to mine the melodies and rhythms that made the English Beat a great group in its heyday. The singer-songwriter returns with his beat-mates this week for an interisland tour that culminates tomorrow at the Pipeline Cafe.
Amidst the economic and racial turmoil of England during those years gone by, a true musical revolution arose amongst the disengaged and disenchanted youth, melding punk energy with the hyped-up reggae known as ska. Enjoying a bit of revival these days, the music is still being championed by Wakeling and his current version of the Beat.
Starting with a ska version of the Motown classic “Tears of a Clown” in 1978, the English Beat had a great run that spanned three albums, with timeless hits such as “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Best Friend,” “Twist and Crawl,” “Too Nice to Talk To,” “I Confess” and their most popular song, “Save It for Later.”
After the Beat’s disbanding, Wakeling and singer-toaster Ranking Roger continued into the ’80s as General Public, scoring hits with “Tenderness” and “Never You Done That.”
When the two parted ways, Wakeling carried on in America while Roger stayed in England. For a time there were two versions of the Beat in both countries, although Wakeling said by phone from his L.A. home on Monday that Roger’s band seems to be on hiatus.
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Hawaii’s Grammy Award nominees announced
December 2, 2009 by gary-chun
Filed under Latest News
 Courtesy Associated Press Daniel Ho and Tia Carerre accept the Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album during the 2009 awards ceremony. |
Daniel Ho’s domination of the Best Hawaiian Music Album category of the Grammy Awards continues, as the 2010 nominees were announced today.
Two of his Daniel Ho Creations label albums were selected, “Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2” (Volume 1 won the Grammy in 2006) and his most recent collaboration with Tia Carrere, “He Nani,” a follow-up to last year’s Grammy winner “ikena.”
Other Best Hawaiian Music Album nominees include Amy Hanaiali‘i’s “Friends & Family of Hawai‘i” and “Nani Mau Loa: Everlasting Beauty” from the male quartet Ho‘okena. Both Hanaiali‘i and Ho‘okena are second-time nominees: the last one for Hanaiali‘i was 2007’s “Generation Hawai‘i,” and for Ho‘okena, 2005’s “Cool Elevation.”
Since the folk music category was created in ’05, Ho has been a consistent winner from 2006 on. In its first year, Big Island producer Charles Brotman’s “Slack Key Guitar Volume 2” on his Palm Records label won the Grammy.
The 52nd Grammy Awards will be presented on Jan. 31. Click here to see the complete list of nominees.
Inside HILife: Gabriel Iglesias
Funny, fluffy and ready to roll
‘Gabriel Iglesias: 2 Hot 2 Fluffy’» Where: Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall, 777 Ward Ave. |
Stand-up comic Gabriel Igle sias has been so taken to heart by his Hawaii fans, you might as well call him an honorary local. The outsize funnyman has certainly embraced our local food culture.
“I’m the king of the luau! I keep hittin’ Germaine’s when I’m there. It’s just great to eat, drink and hang out,” he said. “And when I found out that Hawaii consumes the most Spam in the country, I said, ‘Wow, I love Spam!’
“I was in heaven when I heard that your McDonald’s makes a Spam McGriddle sandwich.”
Other outdoor activities, however, have to be approached with caution.
“I tried snorkeling, and I almost drowned in only two feet of water. I just cannot breathe through a tube,” he said with a laugh.
Iglesias checked in last week while doing a couple of nights in Buffalo, N.Y., a long way from his Long Beach, Calif., home. But it was a brief inconvenience for this comedian, who is currently on a hot streak. He currently has one of the top-selling comedy DVDs on Amazon.com, “I’m Not Fat … I’m Fluffy!” his latest Comedy Central special taped in El Paso, Texas, which aired earlier this month.
Iglesias is always working his variety of social networking Web sites, something that suits his outgoing personality. His star appeal has grown such that the man has graduated from working clubs to performing in larger venues. He returns to Hawaii to play the Blaisdell Concert Hall tonight and the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater tomorrow.
“I’m on a great roll and everybody’s happy,” he said. “My plan is to go global. Because of the Internet and DVD sales, I’ve been able to reach people in Sweden, Norway, Australia and Canada, so I’m broadening my fan base.”
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Inside HILife: Xiayin Wang
Local ties ease pianists isle debut
 Courtesy Sarah Shatz IN CONCERTXiayin Wang Where: Orvis Auditorium, University of Hawaii at Manoa |
In her first visit to the islands, classical pianist Xiayin Wang should get a special feel for Hawaii, thanks to her local-born manager.
With an interisland tour starting Monday on Oahu, TanNa Young, Wangs manager as well as managing director of Palomino Entertainment Group, will probably include Wang in a family visit.
My mom and brother live in Makakilo, and to answer the obvious question, I went to Campbell High School, and I also got my degree in theater from UH (University of Hawaii), said Young by phone last week from her New York office.
Wang, who previously worked at the New York City Opera, is Youngs first client and the only classical artist on Palominos roster.
Theres something wonderful about her, Young said about the pianist, a very real sense of genuineness and being open. When she first came to this country, she was very naive because her whole world was music.
Being from Shanghai and to travel to the U.S. to be, first, a student (at the Manhattan School of Music) and now a professional pianist, shes been inspired by all the new experiences shes had here.
I just started to tour over the past two years, Wang said by phone last Friday, and TanNa helps me a lot with the last-minute things that come up. I do about 50 dates a year, plus master classes.
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