Editor’s Pick: Extra Stout
April 29, 2010 by Star-Advertiser Staff
Filed under Editor's Picks, Nightlife
Extra Stout encores with reunion gig
Star-Bulletin Staff
features@starbulletin.com
After two years away from the local punk scene, veteran rockers Extra Stout return to the stage tonight as the headlining band at their own reunion show.
From 1999 to 2008, Extra Stout toured the mainland twice and opened for the likes of Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys and Rat City Riot in Honolulu. They compare their sound to bands like the Clash, C — Sparrer and the Business.
Doors open at 9 p.m. tonight; local bands 86List, 2Face4 and Die Slow also are scheduled to perform.
>> Where: Anna Bannana’s, 2440 S. Beretania St.
>> When: 9 p.m. April 30
>> Cost: $5
>> Info: 384-5706
Inside HILife: In the Mix
March 19, 2010 by Star-Advertiser Staff
Filed under Featured, In the Mix
Trike warriors race for a cause
 Jamm Aquino /jaquino@starbulletin.com |
By Jason Genegabus
jason@starbulletin.com
WHO NEEDS NASCAR when you’ve got food service and liquor industry employees on tricycles?
That’s what Irish Rose Saloon general manager Patrick McGrail thought in 2008 when he got into a friendly discussion with some customers over the relevance of car racing to local sports fans. Two years later, the third annual “Irish Rose .500” had 21 different teams register to take part in the races, which kicked off Feb. 21 and ended Sunday.
According to Irish Rose promotions assistant William Comerford, the bar established a half-mile course inside its second floor space on Ena Road, with teams of grown adults completing the five-lap sprint on incredibly tiny tricycles. After four weeks of competition, a team comprised of employees from Yardhouse Waikiki walked away with the 2010 championship.
In addition to promoting drunken shenanigans on race days, the “Irish Rose .500” also helped raise money for a worthy cause this year. Comerford said earlier this week that more than $2,600 will be donated to the Wounded Warriors Project, a nonprofit organization that supports injured soldiers throughout their recovery process …
GOOD NEWS this week for fans of Anna Bannana’s, the historic performance venue and college dive bar on South Beretania Street in McCully. For nearly a year now, rumors have circulated in local band circles regarding a lease “dispute” between the bar and its landlord, with some believing that Anna’s is heading toward extinction.
To put it bluntly — that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. As was the case when the rumors first started to spread last June, yours truly was the only journalist to get in touch with Anna’s owner Jim Nielsen at home in Washington state. He was optimistic about his bar’s chances when interviewed last year and remains confident some sort of deal will be worked out in the coming months.
“Anna’s is not going away,” he said Tuesday. “Bands have been booked at the bar through April and beyond, and we’re honoring our bookings.”
Nielsen didn’t go into specifics regarding the current relationship he has — if any — with landlord Bishop Estate. He said last year that he wouldn’t be able to open negotiations with the estate until his sub-lease with the Tina DeBoer Long Trust expires April 30, but added this week that there will be a “surprise on the horizon.”
So don’t believe the hype — hopefully, Anna’s will be able to celebrate its 41st anniversary this July …
Click here to read the rest of this week’s column.
HILife Cover Story: Hawaiian Express Records
March 12, 2010 by Star-Advertiser Staff
Filed under Featured
Miller’s music mix spins on
FL Morris / fmorris@starbulletin.com
Longtime punk rock promoter, Jason Miller, in his home in Aiea with his family Erik, left, Tristan, Luke and wife Marina holding Riley.
HAWAIIAN EXPRESS RECORDS’ 15th-ANNIVERSARYwith the Vandals, Whiskey Avengers, 86List, Pimpbot and False Crack » Where: Anna Bannana’s, 2440 S. Beretania St. |
By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com
The combination of punk music and keeping a family intact seems contradictory, but longtime, underground promoter Jason Miller says the two have kept him happy and grounded.
As the owner of Hawaiian Express Rec ords, Miller’s behind-the-scenes work has kept the local scene and his small side business alive for 15 years, an anniversary that will be celebrated tomorrow during a special show featuring his favorite Southern California band, old-school vets the Vandals.
“Once I heard bands like that while growing up,” said Miller from his office space in the family’s Pearlridge home, “I said goodbye to my mom’s country music and dad’s Beatles.”
Along for the night’s ride will be San Francisco’s Whiskey Avengers and longtime local faves the 86 List, Pimpbot and False Crack.
“The scene here has never had a shortage of active bands,” Miller said, “and bands that haven’t been playing for some time are reforming. Exit 24 has been back since November, and the Pettyfords are practicing again, so it seems some bands don’t go away for long.”
Miller is surrounded by memorabilia of carefully filed photos, posters and fliers documenting his life’s work, along with some of the 120 or so recordings — some still in their original cassette format — that he’s released, all to help the many bands he’s worked with over the years.
“Hawaii’s scene is unique to a lot of the others I’ve seen on the mainland. It’s a lot more open and friendly here. When someone falls in a mosh pit, there’s always someone to pick him or her up. Sure, there’s some competition in some situations, that’s just human nature, but the bands here are supportive of their own.”
Punk music has always been a calling, not a career, for Miller. Originally from Campbell, Calif., he was a nationally recognized competitive swimmer when he came to the islands due to a swimming scholarship from the University of Hawaii. He furthered the local punk cause when he was promotions director at college station KTUH-FM for a number of years. During his stint he helped set up two summer mainland tours for Grapefruit and some supporting Hawaii bands, traveling by van through 26 states.
He returned to California in 1996 to play water polo for West Valley College in Sara toga, then moved back to Oahu to work for concert promoter Goldenvoice. It was then that he decided to make Hawaii his home and took it upon himself to help local punk bands find venues and merchandise their cassettes, CDs and T-shirts.
“I have a hard time being idle,” Miller admitted. “Even though I don’t play an instrument, I love to hang out and have fun with the punkers. I figured that since I’m already behind the scenes, I can help in some other creative way. It’s a win-win situation, and I want to help make their music available to anyone who wants it.”
The only thing missing right now is the option of downloading the Hawaiian Express catalog online, so Miller is on the lookout for either a computer “whiz kid” to help him out or purchase a relatively inexpensive program he could use to digitize the large collection.
Editor’s Pick: Battle of the Bands
February 4, 2010 by Star-Advertiser Staff
Filed under Nightlife
Bands compete to sing with the fishes
Reel Big Fish doesn’t get here until next month, but local promoter Underworld Events is already laying the groundwork by hosting a band competition to determine the show’s opening act.
Local rockers Skunkdog, Upstanding Youth, Pimpbot, Pipeline, Hauna Ahi and Disaster Kit are all scheduled to take part in tonight’s throwdown, with the winner playing on March 5 at Pipeline Cafe alongside the guys from Southern California.
>> Where: Anna Bannana’s, 2440 S.Beretania St.
>> When: 8 p.m. Feb. 5
>> Cost: $15
>> Info: 354-7625 or www.hsblinks.com/1tf
Inside HILife: ‘2009 Oahu Summer Blues Bash’
June 26, 2009 by Star-Advertiser Staff
Filed under Featured, Latest News
Filipino Blues
FL Morris / fmorris@starbulletin.com
By Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com
SUMMER OAHU BLUES BASHWith Friends of Adam, Tell Mama, Northside Art and the Mixers, the Corey Funai Blues Band and Chris Vandercook with Mark Prados Where: Anna Bannana’s, 2440 S. Beretania St. When: 4 p.m. Sunday Cost: $5 Info: 946-5190 or kekelasounds@hawaii.rr.com |
For a colorful musical genre so closely related to black folks, the “blues” are all over the rainbow these days. Black, white and brown all over.
And as the Friends of Adam ask rhetorically on their Web site, Can three young Filipino men play the blues?
So well, apparently, that Friends of Adam are the only local blues band to play both of the now annual summer “Blues Bashes” at Anna Bannanas. This year, they’ll join Tell Mama, the Corey Funai Blues Band, Northside Art and the Mixers, and Chris Vandercook with Mark Prados.
Young and Filipino are descriptors rarely used for blues bands, and, like anything blues-related, nothing came easy. When he was just starting out, FOA guitarist Clay Campania – the rest of the band are Ernie Ecraela on bass and Justin Incelda on drums – asked a friend to teach him some hot riffs. He had no idea what the blues sounded like.
“I was never exposed to the blues. My parents didn’t listen to that stuff,” recalled Campania. “Before we actually could get together, he gave me the ‘Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Jimi Hendrix’ to listen to (and) It absolutely blew me away.
“After that I knew that the blues is what I wanted to play. It just felt good, and it felt right. While searching for more music on Jimi, that’s when I found other bluesmen, and the different styles of blues that they played. From Texas blues, to Chicago blues, and eventually some Delta blues. I just pressed play to see if I could make the sounds that these blues greats were making.”
They included Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson, Elmore James, and “recently I’ve been trying to catch up on Johnny Winter and Rory Gallgher.”
Click here to read the rest of this story.
Inside HILife: In the Mix
June 26, 2009 by Jason Genegabus
Filed under In the Mix, Latest News
One local watering hole will celebrate 40 years in business next month, but the news is somewhat bittersweet.
Moiliili bar Anna Bannana’s will reach the milestone on July 7, but management isn’t sure exactly how much longer they’ll be around to serve drinks and host live performances by local bands. According to an e-mail sent out last week, the bar’s sublease is expected to run out in 2010.
“They’ve indicated they won’t renew the lease,” said owner Jim Nielsen of Bishop Estate, which owns the property. “Back in 2000, they wanted to tear (the building) down and build a health club.”
A representative for Bishop Estate said the matter is between the master leaseholder (the Tina DeBoer Long Trust) and the bar, but Nielsen, who assumed ownership of the bar in 2001, said that’s just part of the process and expressed “cautious optimism” about the situation.
“I just cannot talk to Bishop Estate directly … because I’m the sublessor,” he said. “It’ll be one of those things where they talk to me after the master lease expires next year.”
You don’t have to wait until July 7 to party at Anna’s; Go Jimmy Go headlines tonight, followed by a “Summer Blues Bash” tomorrow …
Click here. to read the rest of this week’s column.
